“Maybe four hundred years ago, but not anymore. If King Henry the Eighth had to deal with the modern press, things would’ve ended very differently for him and all his poor wives.”
“So you’re saying it’s all about appearances? I have to be squeaky clean on the outside to keep the press and the people happy?”
“It’s bigger than that. Your recklessness is indicative of an emotional disconnect. That’s what worries me. You need to prepare yourself for the marriage that is just around the corner for you. You may not even have met the woman yet, but I guarantee you’ll be married before the first year of your reign comes to an end. That means no more skirt chasing. You have to take this seriously. You have to really connect with someone, and I don’t see that coming easily to you.”
“You don’t think I can connect with someone?” He seemed insulted by her insinuation.
“Relationships—real relationships—are hard. Love and trust and honesty are difficult to maintain. I’ve only been around here for a few days, but I haven’t seen you interact with a single person on a sincere level. You have no real relationships, not even with your family.”
“I have real relationships,” he argued, but even as he spoke the words, she sensed a question in his voice.
“Name one. If something huge happened in your life, who would you run to with the news? If you had a secret, who would you confide in?”
There was an extended silence as he thought about the answer to her question. There would be a quicker response for almost anyone else she asked this question of. A mother, a brother, a best friend, a buddy from college... Gabriel had no answer. It was both sad and disconcerting. Why did he keep everyone at arm’s length?
“I have plenty of friends and family. Since I’ve been announced as the future king, they’ve been coming out of the woodwork. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about having a person in your life who you can tell anything, good or bad. Someone to confide in. I don’t think Jessica or Tammy is the right answer. But I also don’t think Rafe or Bella are, either. Everyone needs a person like that in their lives. I feel like there are people who would be there for you, but you won’t let them in. I feel a resistance, a buffer there, even with your own family, and I don’t know what it’s about. What I do know is that you need to learn to let those walls down or this week will be nothing compared to the next year.”
“I figured the opposite would be true,” he replied at last. “When you’re the king, everyone wants something from you. You can’t trust anyone. Your marriage is arranged, your closest advisers jockeying for their own pet projects. I would’ve thought that keeping my distance would be an asset in that kind of environment.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she admitted with a sad shrug. “I certainly would’ve been more prepared for the world of modeling if I’d gone in believing that everyone wanted something from me and that I couldn’t trust them. But I think everyone, even a king, needs someone.”
“Believe me, it’s easier this way,” he said. “If you don’t trust anyone, they can’t betray you and you’ll never be disappointed.”
There was an honesty in his words that she hadn’t heard in anything else he’d said when they were together. That worried her. Someone, at some point, had damaged Gabriel. She knew it shouldn’t be her concern, but she couldn’t help wondering what had happened and how she could help.
The people of Alma—Serafia included—wanted more from their king than Gabriel was willing to give them. He hadn’t even been crowned king yet and she worried this was going to be a mistake. No amount of haircuts or fancy clothes could fix the break deep inside of him.
He had to do that himself.
Four
Two days later, Gabriel stepped onto a private jet and left the life he knew behind him. They flew overnight, his father, Rafael, sleeping in the bedroom of the plane as he and Serafia slept in fully reclining leather chairs. It was a quiet flight without a lot of conversation once they finished their dinners and dimmed the cabin lights.
Gabriel slept soundly, and when he awoke, they were thirty minutes out from landing in his new country. He’d only been there once before with Rafe on a whirlwind tour, but when he got off the plane this time, he was supposed to be their leader.
“You need to get dressed,” Serafia said beside him. “Your suit is hanging up in the bathroom.”