“So you’re not even considering going for it with the king?” Ari asked. “Come on. You were practically panting like a dog in heat when you talked about your weeklong affair. The man wants to marry you. Why not just give it a chance?”
“No. It would never work out. We’re too different. Besides, if I married him, I’d be queen. It’s not something I’ve really processed, but I do know that I don’t even have my own life figured out, let alone know how to rule a country.”
“It’s probably not that bad. Don’t you just wave a lot for the cameras? How hard could it be?” Ari asked.
“From what I’ve learned, there’s a lot more than smiling and cutting ribbons,” Rachel replied. “You’re on charity boards, and you help organize fundraisers. People come to you and expect answers. I wouldn’t know what to say or what to do. What if I did something that ended up leaving the people of Corythia scandalized forever? What if I embarrassed my children as they got older?” When Ari and Lia laughed, Rachel said, “OK, I’ll most likely do that anyway, but I hope not on camera in front of the entire world. Anyway, no. I can’t marry him. Besides, I won’t marry for anything less than love. I’ve always felt that way.”
“Isn’t it possible that you will fall in love?” Lia asked, her eyes drooping a little as she spoke the words.
“Yes. I could fall in love, could give my heart to this man. That’s the biggest problem of all. He has told me he won’t fall in love. It’s about duty and honor and the heir to the throne. None of it’s about me,” Rachel replied. Her voice was thick with melancholy.
“Aww, Rachel. He’d be a fool not to fall in love with you,” Ari said, and she wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
“Well, you are agreeing to stay here and get to know him. That says something,” Lia reminded her.
“Yes, that says that I want to know the father of my children. I don’t want to tell them that I had a seven-day affair and then never saw him again. We have great parents, Lia. I think Adriane and I can be great parents, too. We just have to get past the bickering. He’s agreed to quit talking about marriage, at least for now, but he seems to slip a little too often.”
“I can’t imagine that he’s a man who’s easily swayed. Maybe he’s just trying to appease you for now. We could always sneak you out of here at a moment’s notice. All you have to do is ask,” said Lia.
“I know. You have no idea how much I appreciate that,” Rachel replied. “I love you both so much.”
“Well, Mom will be here in a couple of days and I dare the king to tell her no. If you want to leave, nothing in this universe will stop her from bringing you home,” Lia said.
“True. I may just have to keep her here until I’m ready to go. She’s quite protective,” Rachel said. She felt better just sitting there with her sister and friend and knowing her mom would be there soon. There was so much she needed to talk to all of them about.
“Yes, but be prepared for the lecture of a lifetime for not telling her about the pregnancy sooner. She was devastated to find out secondhand that you were carrying her first grandchild,” Lia warned.
“I feel so bad about that — like a terrible daughter. I should have trusted Mom.”
“She is pretty excited about it, even if she had hoped you’d be married to a wonderful man and settled down first. When she finds out you’re having twins, she’s going to be over the moon. I want to be there when you tell her. It’s taken every ounce of control I have not to spill the beans over the phone,” Lia said.
“Thanks for waiting, sis. I want to see her reaction. I do have to admit that I was grateful to miss the initial reaction, though. She must have turned white as a ghost.”
“That about describes it,” Ari said.
“I am really sorry about the wedding, Ari.”
“You have apologized ten thousand times now for something that was beyond your control. Please stop, because you’re making me feel bad about it. Everything worked out perfectly anyway. Now, I get to marry in a royal cathedral, just like a princess,” Ari said.
“Everything happens for a reason. This will be the best wedding day ever,” Rachel promised.
“I have no doubt about it.”
Just then, all three men stepped from the water, walking up the beach together.
All conversation stopped as the girls watched the show almost in slow motion: water dripping down toned stomachs, hair practically sparkling in the hot sun, and strides, long and muscled, as the men made their way on the sand.
It was a calendar photo shoot come to life, and it was one hell of a picture. The three girls stared, their breathing becoming a bit more shallow as the oxygen seemed to be sucked from the air.
“Do you ladies mind sharing?” Rafe asked as they reached them.
Ari forgot to speak as she looked at Rafe, relaxed, tanned and sexy as hell. Oh, this man is about to declare to the world and God that he’s mine forever, she thought, dancing with glee inside.
“Of course not,” she replied, wanting nothing more than for him to join her on her chaise longue. She could forget there was anyone else on the beach as long as she was looking into the rich purple-blue eyes of her lover.
“You look good enough to eat,” Rafe said as he sat down at her feet, lifting her legs up and placing them in his lap.
“I was thinking the same thing about you,” she said, leaning forward for a kiss. She just couldn’t resist tasting his mouth.
“Why don’t I take you back to the palace so we can get cleaned up?” he asked, and her stomach clenched.
“Yes, I really should get out of this sun,” she agreed, leaping from the chair and bounding forward with Rafe right on her heels.
“Go for a walk with me, Lia,” Shane suggested while he grabbed a crystal glass full of ice-cold water from a table and guzzled it before sitting down on her chair.
“I’m fine right here,” she told him, knowing that if she went anywhere with him, talking would be the last thing on her mind.
“Yes, you are,” he replied with a deep rumble in his voice as he scanned her from head to toe, making her feel as if she’d just been thoroughly loved without the happy ending.
“Shane…” she began, still not knowing what she was going to say.