Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“I remember everything except the part where we left the bar and came home.”
“Oh, that was the fun part though.” He chuckled. “As soon as we got here, you started undressing and demanded sex.”
“What?” I squeaked. “In front of Pierre and Mayra?”
“And the four new security personnel we brought along, yes.”
“Oh, my God.” I threw myself onto the pillows behind me and covered my face with my arm. “So embarrassing.”
“They’ve seen worse.”
“Meaning what?” I uncovered my face and narrowed my eyes at him.
“I mean they’ve seen worse behavior.” He chuckled. “I can’t imagine they’ve seen a better body on a more gorgeous woman.”
“Shut up.” I groaned. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“I’ll let you shower and get dressed. We have a lot to discuss.” He stood up, leaned over and gave me a kiss on the forehead, and left the room.
I did as instructed, and when I was dressed in the clothing that was on top of the bed—a nice, conservative floral dress with tags on it, that hadn’t previously been in my wardrobe—I walked out of the room. I looked presentable and that was the important part. Only the security personnel were hanging out in the living room. Mayra pointed at the French doors that led to the balcony, so I headed there and found Elias sitting at the same table we’d had our first date. Pierre was standing by the edge of the balcony, looking at the ocean. It was a beautiful day to lay out in the sun.
“Let me guess, Pierre chose this.” I pointed to my dress.
“I figured after last night you might want to cover up a bit.” Pierre turned to look at me. My jaw dropped. I felt my cheeks heat. He laughed and added, “I’m just kidding.”
“He’s not kidding.” Elias, who was reading a newspaper, glanced up, mischief in his eyes.
“We need to replace your personal secretary,” I said, taking a seat beside Elias.
Pierre laughed louder. “I’ll be back with champagne and orange juice.”
“Oh God. Champagne?” I made a face.
“Not all of us drank our weight in wine last night.” Elias looked at me over the paper.
“Not all of us were moping and mourning the loss of a fake boyfriend.” I raised an eyebrow.
“Real boyfriend.” He folded the paper and set it down, reaching for my hand. “Nothing about this has ever been fake.”
“So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked after a moment of staring into his deep green eyes.
“Our future.” He let go of my hand. “I need to know if you’re genuinely okay with leaving your life in London and your company behind for this. For me.”
I thought about it for a moment. I’d been willing to leave it behind before, and now that I’d been without him for a just couple of days and felt how that was, even more so. He looked nervous. I nodded.
“I’m ready.”
“Good.” He stood up, the chair scraping slightly on the pavement. Without warning, he took a knee beside me and pulled out a little black box from his pocket, opening it to show me the most beautiful engagement ring I’d ever seen. My heart pounded against my chest. I gasped, bringing a hand up to my mouth. “This stone has been in my family for centuries. Pieces of the original stone are on the crown of each King of France before me, and my own, and I thought it was time it was also in a queen’s possession.” He smiled.
“The first night I met you, right on this very balcony, you had no idea who I was. You just knew you liked me. You gave me a gift that evening when you went to bed with me. You showed me that I was more than my title. That I was more than what anyone said I was. You looked at me and you saw me. You knew me. Finding you again has been the best thing that’s happened since that night. At the end of my reign—because all of them must come to an end—I will still believe that keeping you has been the greatest achievement I will have accomplished.” He took a breath.
“I don’t want to die like King George IV. I don’t want to die with just a regretful memory of you and a locket with your picture on it. You make me a better man every single day. Your heart makes mine beat faster. Please accept me, Adeline. Rule with me, by my side.”
I cried throughout his entire proposal, and my voice shook with tears as I tried to say yes, so I nodded, and nodded, and nodded furiously.
“Yes?” he chuckled, standing up. I stood with him, throwing my arms around him. He carried my feet off the ground and swung me around. “Yes?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes a million times,” I said. When he set me down, I wiped my face and kissed him hard. “I love you, King Elias, even if you are a major pain in the neck.”