“I owe you an apology,” Milos said, stepping forward and taking my hands. “You are my wife, and as such, you are my partner. I should have listened to you. I was so terrified that you would feel even an ounce of pain or humiliation that I was hell bent on making it all disappear. In the end, your wisdom and courage are not only what made me fall in love with you, but they are what saved us from a lot of negative consequences. I promise from here on out, I will do my best to listen to you and work through these things as partners, instead of fearing the outcome.”
“I love you for loving me so much,” I responded. “But you have to get over what happened early on in our relationship, because I have. That was another time and another man. You have grown and become one of the most honorable and noble men I have ever known, and when you stoop to things like you did today, it takes away from your caring and loving person. You know what the right answer is. You just have to push back those fears and embrace it. I am never going anywhere ever again, and I know that working together, we can create a beautiful life for us, our child, and our kingdom, hand in hand.”
“You are a wise woman,” he said, leaning down and kissing my lips. “And I promise to walk hand in hand with you from now on.”
“Good,” I replied, stepping back and taking in a deep breath. “Now, who wants to send the guard to pick up Reg and throw him in jail?”
Everyone laughed, though it wasn’t really a joke. Milos walked forward and took my hand, kissing the back of it and then bringing me in close for a hug. I missed his touch so much, and I was more than glad the last few days were over with. We could finally take a deep breath and move forward, no fear, no questions, and no worry. I looked down and rubbed my belly as the baby flipped and flopped inside. The baby knew I was finally feeling better, and it could hear its father’s voice, calm and collected like it should always be. I loved my life, and now I could fully live it.
Epilogue: Milos
The amount of people that turned out to greet us at Adriana’s last public appearance before the baby’s due date had to have been a record. I had never seen so many people gathered around the castle at once. They were cheering, chanting, waving roses, and holding signs of well wishes for Adriana and the baby. Even the tabloids had broken from tradition and ran positive stories, lifting her name up and praising her for her courage and strength.
The outpouring of love was almost overwhelming, and even my mother was taken aback by it, and she wasn’t easily surprised. They absolutely adored their future Queen and could not wait until the baby was born, and she could take her place on the throne. I was so relieved, especially now that I was able to step back and really look at the situation, and see that Adriana had followed her instincts and addressed the country as a whole. It had gone better than I could have ever imagined. Even more, with the love they felt for her, came an automatic acceptance and love for our child that was due any day now.
We had decided at the last sonogram to hold out and wait to see what the baby would be. I had my suspicions that it was a boy, and even though Adriana would only reveal that she hoped for a healthy baby, I knew she had a gut feeling of whether it was a little Prince or Princess. Either way, we had finished the nursery and hung up the excessive amount of clothes and baby items that we had picked up over the last few months.
Our mothers finally got to see their hard work come to fruition when the baby shower of the century was thrown in the kingdom’s gardens. They had more flowers than I think I had ever seen in one place, along with games, fireworks, and pretty much every important person in Europe, including the Prince of England and his wife. It was quite the celebration, and it almost eclipsed our extravagant, royal wedding. I was just happy to see Adriana more relaxed than I had ever seen her, and enjoying being free from secrets.
Reg had been apprehended trying to sneak out of Silesia after watching the broadcast of Adriana’s confession. He attempted to play it off, but no one was buying the idea that he just wanted a casino built inside the capital. He was taken to court very quickly, and we are still waiting on the final ruling from the judge. However, from the looks of his cocky and demeaning attitude when he took the stand, it looked like Reg will be staring down the back side of a set of bars for a very long time. Adriana didn’t really like the idea of retribution at first, but after hearing him degrade her on the stand, and watch as the whole country came to her defense, she came to a good place and was pretty happy to watch Reg be shoved into an orange jumpsuit and put to work in the local prison system.
When the courts seized all his property, Adriana requested that I do her a favor. I granted Sveta, her best friend, the right to run the Caspian while we sorted out the whole mess. Turns out Sveta was quite the business woman, and before long, the place was more than booming. All her girls were properly taken care of and paid. It may still be a strip club, but Sveta was not taking any shit from her clients and always made sure that the dancers were treated like human beings.
As a surprise, I had Sveta flown up for the baby shower. She had handled herself with so much grace and class, no one even realized she was Adriana’s best friend from the strip club, not even my mother. I had a sneaking suspicion that Brat had a crush on her, but he knew convincing his family, though not first-generation royalty, would be harder than convincing the whole of Silesia that it was an honorable upbringing. By the end of the shower, I had promised Sveta that once the assets were fully seized to pay off his debts, I would help her become the full owner of the property. She had big plans to expand, not in Silesia of course, but definitely in other places across Europe.
Adriana and I had taken a small vacation to Prague to visit Sveta and grant the media a one-time ability to tour the Caspian. They had been begging for the ability since Adriana had come forward with her news, and finally, we decided to give in. Adriana requested not to be on camera, so we let Sveta take the reins. The place looked completely different from when we had first met. Sveta had gotten rid of all the tacky red velvet, and the place was fully decked out in gothic style décor. You might think it would tacky, but the way she incorporated the history of Prague into every art piece that donned the walls, it was almost like taking a tour through a museum.
It was gorgeous in every way possible, and Sveta even had talked about turning it from a strip club into more of a theatre. She wanted to give the girls the chance to really show their creative side, so the shows were no longer just girls bouncing up and down the stage. They were choreographed numbers, set to new age music, with amazing pageantry. She had even built a separate stage for herself, where she put together a new age art installation where she painted canvasses in the nude. The clients loved it, and every night was packed to capacity.
Back home, when we weren’t preparing for my crowning or the baby’s birth, we were relaxing in our wing of the castle, watching old movies, talking until the break of dawn, or planning our next vacation to the island. We decided that after she had been crowned Queen, we would take the baby, who we decided would be named Milos, Jr., if it were a he, or Reece, if the baby were a girl, and go to the house for our first real family vacation. Knowing how much Adriana loved spending time with her newly sober mother and the Queen, we had two other houses built on the island so that when we went on family trips, everyone could be there to enjoy the time.
Of course, we definitely were going to go back by ourselves again, maybe when it was time to start trying for baby number two. Our mothers had already started asking when we would be announcing the second addition to our family, and we hadn’t even had the first.
It didn’t seem to bother Adriana at all. She talked about expanding our family as large as I wanted. Though having a big family definitely was in my plans, I was a bit more interested in the creating part of the deal than anything else. Adriana laughed whenever I said that and slapped me in the arm whenever I said it in front of my mother. Before the crowning, my mother had given Adriana a very special pair of earrings that she wore when my father was crowned
. They were definitely a good team, and I couldn’t imagine a better choice in a mate, than Adriana was for me.
I couldn’t tell if my mother was more excited for the birth of her first grandchild, or her opportunity to finally retire. I had walked into her sitting area several times to find her in deep meetings with the gardening service, planning out huge expansions for her landscaping. It made me laugh to see her in such good spirits, and it made me realize that becoming the man I needed to be not only took a great deal of stress off of me, but it took a great deal of stress off of everyone that was around me. I even found the service staff to be much kinder toward me.
I had made sure that everyone that had to deal with me during those few weeks of alcohol rage inside my room got a card of apology and an extra bonus for the holidays. Adriana was proud of me for accepting that I had been a complete ass, and for being humble enough to apologize to those that deserved it, which was pretty much everyone.
As far as I went, it was just two days after my official crowning as King, and I had already enacted some laws that would start leading Silesia into the future. We were embracing alternative energy, and we were making agreements to improve the quality of our schools, our roads, and working conditions in the factories. The Parliament seemed pleased to have me on the floor with them whenever I saw fit, which I could see was regularly, and my mother actually looked at me as if I had finally made her proud.
My crowning ceremony was both exciting and bitter sweet, as I said goodbye to my father and my King, something I had not taken the time to do after his passing. However, having Adriana there as support was more than I could have ever asked for.
I stood in the doorway of the balcony overlooking the capital of Silesia, watching as my beautiful wife waved and smiled at all of her adoring fans. She had gone from a sassy, gold spandex wearing, hard headed girl to a beautiful, intelligent, and still sarcastic Princess of the people. I couldn’t believe how someone I hadn’t given two thoughts to at the beginning had jumped so swiftly into my soul. As soon as I saw the look in her eyes on our wedding night, even though I refused to admit it, I knew this woman had captured something in me that would forever change me as a person. Her beauty radiated from her body and soul, and her smile was what kept me going every single day.
I couldn’t even start to understand what kind of change she brought into my life. It was beyond anything I ever expected or ever felt that I deserved. She lit up my life with love and laughter from the first moment, and those feelings had only continued to grow as we awaited the birth of our first child. Looking back at all we had gone through really brought a sense of understanding as to how quickly life can change and move.
While she stood there, glowing with the life that was growing in her belly, I was standing here glowing with the love that she had given me. Though our child is one of the best things to ever happen to me, I couldn’t imagine a life without Adriana in it. She brought a sense of excitement and light to everything she touched, and I couldn’t remember a Princess in history, including my mother, that was so loved by everyone who came into contact with her. Her kindness and generosity spoke volumes to the people, so much so, that even though she had not made any speeches since her broadcast, the news reported on every charity event she hosted, every hungry child she fed and hugged, and every caring smile that came across her face.
I looked up at the bright sunshine beaming down on our Kingdom on this very special day and couldn’t help but feel like everything had changed in such an incredible way. I walked forward and wrapped my arms around Adriana, feeling the life moving in her belly below my hands. The crowd cheered even louder as she turned her head and kissed my lips. I buried my face in her hair as she continued to wave and acknowledge the people that came to see her.
“I love you, Adriana,” I whispered. “And I always will.”
Falling for Her
Book Description
Neil Driscoll has no intention of looking back. He’s got a trajectory in mind and he’s sticking to it, whether it ruins other people’s lives or not. He’s worked hard to get where he is and has no intention of stopping, not for anyone. Not for anyone or anything, that is, aside from a tragedy that drives him to the home he has come to hate. He vows to stay for as short amount of time as possible, however, and has no intention of breaking that vow, even when a chance encounter throws his entire world off balance.
Fay Turner has never left home and has no intention of doing so. Why would she, when home has everything in the world she could ever want? Her life is predictable and she likes it that way, right up until a surprise encounter turns everything upside down in a matter of moments. When two old lovers come together again, will it rekindle something long believed lost or will the time between them prove too large an obstacle to overcome?
Chapter 1: Fay
“Oh my God!” I said. “Don’t do that kind of thing to me, Courtney! You know I hate it when you do.”
“That’s right.” Courtney grinned at me from the space where she’d suddenly inserted her face in between me and my book. “I do. Which is probably why I do it. You realize that, don’t you?”
I rolled my eyes at her and pushed her head out of the way, gently enough so as not to hurt her but hard enough so that she knew I meant business. Or at least, hopefully she knew I meant business. Courtney Paige and I had been best friends for literally as long as I could remember. Such a long-lasting friendship was mostly a good thing, but it also had the unfortunate effect of giving her the ability to see right through me. She knew when I was actually angry and when I was just kind of annoyed, like right now.
Courtney knew I was just mildly annoyed, not actually pissed off at her. She allowed herself to be physically moved, but she showed no signs of actually leaving me in peace so that I could continue reading my book without interruption.
That was really too bad because I had a feeling the story was starting to get to a really good part, where the hero would finally tell the girl he’d been pining after how totally in love he was with her, and had been for years and years. I was a sucker for that kind of thing.
I probably would have gone right on reading for the rest of the day if I hadn’t been so rudely interrupted. Courtney, on the other hand, was a different story altogether. She had never been much of a fan of reading, and she seemed to have a particular hatred for the romance books I completely loved.
Courtney frowned at me, pretending to be stern. “Um, little lady, you do know that we’re at work, right? I mean, technically, that is?”
“Right,” I said. “What’s your point?”
“Well, I guess my point is that this is a diner, not a library. Do you really think you should just be sitting there at the counter, reading a book like you don’t give a shit who sees you?”
“Are you kidding me?” I asked, laughing. I grabbed a napkin to use as a bookmark before shutting my book. “You’re actually drinking a beer right now. We’re at work, as you so lovingly reminded me, and you’re drinking a beer. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Totally different.” Courtney grinned before taking another long swig off of her longneck bottle. “Not even in the same ballpark.”
“Oh yeah? And how do you figure? I mean, how do you justify that drinking a beer on the job is more professional than reading a book while we wait around for even one customer to come in? I would really love to know.”
“Hmm, beer is part of the food industry? So at least I’m sticking with the correct genre? Sure, let’s go with that. Besides, it’s time for you to stop reading that crap anyway. You’ve got to know that by now, Fay. You aren’t a dreamy little girl anymore. You’re twenty-six years old, for Christ’s sake. Don’t you think it’s time to grow up some?”
And there it was. The thing at the heart of this recurring fight about my voracious reading. It wasn’t the actual reading Courtney had a problem with so much as the subject matter. She made no secret about objecting to my choice of entertainment. She hated romanc
es. She didn’t just dislike them, but hated them. She hated them as if they had somehow managed to personally offend, even though they were only inanimate objects.
They were just stories. Just things I used to pass the time and add a little magic to my life. But to look at the scowl Courtney wore on her face now, you would think I was reading about Hitler.
She hated them like someone would hate the mean girl who bullied them in high school. I had never really been able to understand her hostility toward romance novels, despite her loud explanations for it. Explanations she was going to offer up all over again, by the look of it.
“Fay, you’ve got to stop filling your head with nonsense, okay? I mean, for real. What do you think it’s doing to your brain, filling it with so much crap?”
“But it’s not crap,” I insisted.
“Oh yeah? How do you figure? You aren’t telling me you think those stories are all realistic, are you? Because if that’s the case, we’ve got bigger problems than I thought. Like, ‘call the men in the white coats’ problems.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Of course not. But stories don’t all have to be one hundred percent realistic to be worth reading.”
“But they aren’t worth reading. That’s my point! It’s all crap because life doesn’t work that way.”
The ringing of the little bell over the front door of the diner interrupted the momentum of Courtney’s impending tirade. At least, for the moment. We both looked up, mildly surprised at the intrusion, seeing as how people rarely ate in our little hole in the wall. Courtney took the man a menu and got him started, leaving me to mull over the things she’d been saying to me once again.
Passion: A Single Dad Small Town Romance Page 47