He leans forward. “I can help.”
I let out a breath. I know he means well, but I also know it’s not possible. “Your presence will only cause discord and tension during a time when unity is required.”
He leans back in his seat and crosses his arms. “You’re not marrying him.”
He’s right. I had to consider the possibility, but now that I’m looking at the man I love, I know I can’t go through with it.
I swallow over the tightness in my throat. “I won’t, but by denying him, I’m taking a big risk. Our people will be unsettled, and he will do everything in his power to overturn the monarchy in his fury. He employs half the island, which gives him great influence.”
He stares at me for a long moment. “You have no power to lead alone. You told me that before.” He uncrosses his arms. “Pol, I understand you want to help, but I can’t allow you to sacrifice yourself.” His voice cracks. “Nothing can happen to you.”
Tears sting my eyes, and I steel myself against them. I can’t allow myself the indulgence of personal feelings. This is the moment I’ve been trained for, to assume leadership, to put my kingdom above myself.
He rises from his seat and crosses to me, pulling me out of my seat and into his arms. “You said you’re with me.”
My throat closes with emotion, and I hug him tight. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and the hurricane will shift out to sea.”
He holds me by the shoulders and pulls back to look at me. “I don’t want our relationship hanging on the whims of the weather. Stay here. You’re meant for me. I knew it the first time we met.” He frames my face with his hands. “I lo—”
“No. Don’t say it. If the worst happens and I must return home, I will call for you as soon as I’m sure you can have a place with me.”
“You expect me to live there?”
“Yes. I will be needed there, and I want you by my side.”
“And what about my business here? I’m supposed to abandon the one chance I have to contribute to my kingdom? I’m supposed to abandon Adrian to run everything himself? We’re supposed to be partners—the three of us.”
“I don’t have all the answers!”
He cups my jaw and strokes his thumb over my cheek. “I thought we had an understanding. You here on Villroy with me. You’ll be safe here.”
“I may not have that choice.”
“You do. You just won’t take it.”
I pull away. “You don’t understand what it means to be the heir, especially the sole heir. The kingdom looks to me. You said it yourself, you’re the middle-of-the-pack prince, and there are no expectations on you to lead.”
He scowls. “I know exactly what limitations my place comes with.”
“And you know my limitations as well in my traditional kingdom, but I can’t turn my back on them.”
We stare at each other at an impasse.
I swallow over the lump in my throat. It hurts that he’s not agreeing to join me one day in the future on Beaumont, and I fear it means the end of us.
I break the tense silence. “We’ll wait and see.”
His eyes flash. “Wait and see which way the wind blows. Great idea, Pol.” Then he stalks out of the room.
~ ~ ~
Oscar
It’s one a.m. and she’s not here. She’s always in my bed by one a.m. Something’s wrong. My gut churns. She’s leaving me. She’s pulling away already. No.
I grab my phone and text her. Where are you?
Polly: In my room.
Me: Why?
Polly: I’m thinking.
Me: Think over here.
No response.
I take a deep breath, reaching for calm, and text again. Which room is yours?
Polly: I’m next to Marge. Do NOT come here.
Me: Then you come here.
I wait for her response and, receiving none, text again. If you don’t tell me which room is yours, I will knock on every door in the east wing until I find you.
Polly: I’m the last room on the second floor.
I pull on a T-shirt, slip my phone in my pocket, and head out. By the time I get there, I’ve calmed a little. I don’t want to fight with her. I need to be with her as much as I can before she slips away. Her door is unlocked, so I let myself in, not wanting Marge to hear my knock.
She turns from where she’s standing by her bed, and my breath catches. She’s just so beautiful. I don’t know why it catches me by surprise now. Maybe because I fear I’m losing her. Her heart-shaped face, bright brown eyes, and pink cheeks are all so familiar to me, yet I find myself trying to memorize her features. Her dark curly hair cascades over her pale pink nightgown, a light silky material with spaghetti straps, which ends at her knees. It’s a loose, flowing gown but still so sexy because I know every inch of what lies beneath. A surge of affection has me closing the distance between us in a flash.
I frame her beautiful face with my hands. “I love you.”
Her eyes well.
“That’s all you need to know. There’s nothing else to think about.”
She turns away. “It’s not that simple,” she says quietly. “Not that black and white.”
I cup her cheek and turn her back to me, pressing my lips to hers. “This is right. You know it is.”
Her voice is strained. “Yes.”
“Let me in.”
“You’re in, okay?” Her voice chokes. “You’re in my heart so deep I could never get you out.” She frowns. I’m a complication to her straightforward simple path to queen. Marry the man who benefits her kingdom, and she gets everything. Be with me, and it’s all a question.
Still, I press for more. I want everything with her. “Invite me to your kingdom.”
“I will when the time is right.”
“Okay, and then I’ll invite you to mine.”
She throws her hands up. “I’m in yours already.”
“I mean ours together. Our own place—a home of our own. We’ll get one not far from here.”
She sighs. “And now we’re back to square one.”
I never wanted her to give up her kingdom, but it’s different now. No one is looking out for her back home. They don’t respect her and her abilities. Here she can have everything. We both can.
I pull her in for a hug, and she melts against me. I wait for her to lift her head, and then I kiss her, trying to make her remember what we have. She returns the kiss eagerly, her hands tunneling through my hair, her hips arching up against me, instinctively seeking more.
I break the kiss and take her hand, leading her to bed. “We’ll talk about it again once we know more. We’ll make a plan.”
“I’m good at making plans,” she says with a soft smile.
I pull her close, kissing her again, and lower her to the mattress. There’s just no question—together is where we belong.
~ ~ ~
It’s Friday night, and I’m feeling desperate. The hurricane is expected to hit the main island of Beaumont early Sunday morning, and I refuse to let it take Polly from me. She won’t commit to a life here and refuses to let me join her there. The pressure for her to marry Peter or risk the downfall of her family is never far from my mind. The sale on my land still hasn’t cleared. There are no easy answers. Hell. I’m tired of fighting with her, so I go to a higher authority—her cousin and closest ally, Queen Anna.
It’s early still, only eight p.m., when I knock on the door of their suite in the west wing. A maid answers and lets me in.
Gabriel and Anna are in the sitting room on a beige sofa, watching TV.
I ask the maid for privacy and then burst out, “Anna, you have to stop Polly from leaving. Forbid her.”
Mila’s cry rings out from the bedroom.
“You woke the baby,” Anna snaps.
“Sorry,” I say.
“I’ll get her,” Gabriel says, striding to the bedroom. He returns a moment later with my niece, who’s red in the face and looks pissed off for being woken up. He pac
es the length of the room, patting her on the back. “Probably just gas,” he says. “Not you, Oscar. She’s used to lots of noise and conversation.”
He disappears back in the bedroom.
“Sorry I blamed you.” Anna rests her head back on the sofa. “We’re exhausted. Mila is a round-the-clock crier. Now what’s this you’re saying about forbidding Polly from leaving? You’re not making sense.”
“You’re the queen. Issue a royal decree to make her stay.”
She looks to the ceiling before meeting my eyes. The similarities between her and Polly strike me again—same dark curly hair, heart-shaped face, and brown eyes, but different. Polly’s spirit shines through, and something in it speaks to me. “Would you like me to lock her in the dungeon?”
I consider this. We actually do have a dungeon. How mad would she be?
“I was joking!” Anna exclaims.
What else would keep her here? “Move the christening to an earlier date. She’ll have to stay as godmother. I just need more time.”
“Time for what?” she asks.
I shove a hand in my hair. “To make her commit to a life with me here.”
“Oh, Oscar.”
My throat nearly closes at the sympathy in her voice. I know I sound crazy, but I can’t help it. Peter is still a threat, and I can’t share the sordid details. Polly doesn’t want other people to know. The only way to keep her safe is to keep her here. And I firmly believe that long term we’d both be better off together on Villroy. I can see that future clearly and it’s all good. I’m not being selfish. I want her to live in a place where she’s loved and respected, where she can soar without any restrictions on her.
I swallow hard. “I love her.” And I know she loves me back. She tells me in the privacy of my bedroom, whispers in the dark. Sometimes she texts me during the day too. Just a heart, but I know what it means.
Gabriel is back and must’ve overheard me because he and Anna exchange a look. He hands Mila to her, saying, “She may be hungry.”
She whips out her breast before I can look away. Oh-kay.
“Maybe I should go.” I turn and head toward the door.
Gabriel follows me. “Love can make you crazy,” he says matter-of-factly.
He’s my older brother by four years and he’s always looked out for me, so I’m really hoping he has some sage advice. “Did it make you crazy?”
He stops by the door, a wide smile lighting up his eyes. “Absolutely. I hit crazy when I thought I’d lost Anna forever. She’d decided she needed to leave so I could be the king I was meant to be and marry someone in the nobility.” Anna is a commoner and he had to convince my parents to allow the marriage and let her be queen. Our parents are reasonable, though, unlike Polly’s traditional parents. My parents recognized love and honored it. And Gabriel didn’t have someone blackmailing him.
Gabriel goes on. “I stripped down to my underwear, dove off our yacht, and swam in the frigid sea to board the public ferry she was riding out on.”
My eyes widen. That’s extreme for him. Gabriel has always been bound by royal protocol as the heir. Before he met Anna, my brothers and I privately called him Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass. I know, we were the worst, especially since we never had the kind of pressure on us that he had, being groomed to be king.
“It was so romantic!” Anna calls.
He grins. “Yes. So that is what you should do as well.”
I stare at him. “Maybe my brain is fogged trying to figure this situation out, but I don’t see how that applies to me. She’s not riding out of here on the public ferry.”
He claps a hand on my shoulder. “I was willing to do what it took to keep Anna. I fought for her. That’s what you need to do.”
“Yes, but this is different. She’s leaving, and she doesn’t want me to go with her. She says I’d bring more tension during a difficult time.”
“C’mere, Oscar, so I don’t have to shout,” Anna calls.
I return to where she’s nursing the baby, and keep my eyes on her face.
She gives me a small smile. “Polly knows better than any of us how and when to bring you into the picture. If she loves you as much as you seem to love her, she’ll do everything in her power not to go along with her arranged marriage. She’s sharp and clever. I’m sure she’ll come up with a plan. You just need to trust her.” If only it were that simple.
I slam my hands on my hips. “So I’m supposed to stand by and do nothing?”
“Sometimes that’s all you can do.”
Gabriel joins us, taking a seat close to Anna. “He needs to take action. It’s not in our nature to stand by. Rourke men have always been warriors. It’s in our blood.”
Anna turns to him. “Yes, sweetie, but this isn’t a battle. It’s a relationship.”
He goes on as if she hasn’t spoken, and I’m glad, because her advice is terrible. “Oscar, with this hurricane and the kind of monarchy she’s part of, well, there simply aren’t any easy answers. Let her know you’ve got her back no matter what. Stand by her side.”
She won’t let me stand by her side! They’re not getting it, and why would they? They have everything—marriage, family, the kingdom, the business.
I do a quick bow and take my leave.
Chapter Thirteen
Oscar
I pull Polly into my arms. “We should get married right away.”
She leans back to meet my eyes. “I love you, I do, with all my heart, but—”
“No but. That’s all that matters.”
“I want you to be accepted by my kingdom. We need to wait until the timing is right.”
I go cold. She’s speaking as though she means to stay on Beaumont. “That’s only if you stay there. Villroy is a better possibility, or France. Anywhere but your traditional kingdom. They’ll never value you the way they should, and Peter is still a threat. Here you would always be safe.”
She’s quiet.
I tip her chin up and get straight to the point. “Swear to me you won’t marry him to save your family and your kingdom.”
“I won’t marry him.”
“Swear it.”
She turns away. “Oscar, you’re being ridiculous.”
I want to howl. “You’re making me crazy.”
She sighs. “You’re acting crazy, but it’s not because of me.”
“It is. You won’t let me join you there, and you won’t stay here.”
She takes a deep breath, drawing her shoulders back. “I will not be rushed into a marriage here or there. You must have faith in me.”
“I know you. You put others above yourself.”
“I put my kingdom above myself, as is my duty.” She sounds like a queen, and I hate that she feels so distant, hiding behind her title.
I clench my jaw. “And it’s my duty to look out for you.”
She softens. “I appreciate it, but the work I must do at home is my responsibility. I need you to have faith that there will be a place for you by my side in the future. I don’t know yet what that future will look like.”
There’s nothing more to say, the future horribly uncertain, so I kiss her, a raw carnal kiss of possession. She wraps her arms around my neck and returns the kiss eagerly. The fire ignites between us like it always does, fueled by love and passion. If only that were enough.
~ ~ ~
Polly
I’m frozen in terror, watching the news. A Category 4 hurricane hit Beaumont this morning, Sunday, as predicted, and Beaumont is cut off from the world—no cellular, radio, internet, or power. The extent of the damage is unclear. The hurricane hit the northwestern end of the main island of Beaumont first, ripped through the center, and exited at the southern point. It’s expected to hit neighboring islands soon. I’m waiting for aerial footage on the news, but they can’t get in there with the storm still so close.
My palace is on the southern tip of Beaumont, directly in the hurricane’s path. I tell myself my parents are alive. They have to be. I’d sense it i
f something catastrophic happened, wouldn’t I? The palace itself is solid stone, reinforced after a hurricane decades ago. I force my mind to logistics, mentally cataloging what could be damaged. The resorts on the northwestern side of the island—Peter’s resorts—are likely destroyed. Vegetation destroyed too. The center of the island is our infrastructure—power plants, the water reservoir, the hospital, schools, and private residential homes. Likely flooded and severely damaged. The airport is on the east side. Hopefully it wasn’t hit. If I’m correct, Peter will be desperate for the alliance, having lost so much. At the least, he’ll be desperate to have his loan repaid in full. What will a desperate man do? I can’t worry about that right now. I must think of the kingdom.
We’ll need funds for disaster relief and funds to rebuild. The loss of tourism revenue in the meantime will be devastating. Fortunately, tourists and some of the islanders evacuated before the storm hit. My parents would never evacuate. The leaders of the kingdom must remain until their dying breath. My vision blurs with tears, and I wipe my eyes in irritation. I will not grieve them until I know the facts. I must keep hope.
“Polly, you should eat something,” Marge says, offering a tray with fresh fruit and scones.
I wave her away and return my gaze to the TV.
Marge, Vaughn, and I have been in the parlor since dawn, watching the news. It’s now sunset. Vaughn, my guard, has family on Beaumont. Marge only has me. Oscar is here with me, and I raised hell to get Marge to back off about him. I will not be denied his comfort because of propriety. I need his solid presence and I need his soothing touch. These are catastrophic circumstances. The rest of his family has stopped by to check on me and the news. Only there is no news. It’s the same information recycled over and over. A Category 4 hurricane hit the northwestern end of Beaumont, ripped through the center, went in a southerly direction and out to sea. The island is in a communications blackout. The extent of the damage is unclear.
I’m just waiting for the first clue to what’s going on in my homeland. I need to be there, need to help in relief efforts. I hate feeling helpless.
Oscar places a glass in my hands. “Drink, Pol. You don’t have to eat, just drink.”
Royal Player (The Rourkes, Book 5) Page 14