“How about the beginning,” Mom smarts. “That’s always a good place to start.”
Chapter Eleven
Liam
After telling my mom the entire truth about how I met Natalie, she was shocked to say the least. But after the shock wore off, she told me that she will support my decision and will give Natalie the benefit of the doubt. She could’ve easily fought me on this, insisted the risk of a scandal is too high, but just like she’s done my entire life, she took my side and assured me it will all work out. My mom is a romantic. She and my father met when they were in their teens and fell in love. Within weeks, they were married, and they remained in love until the day he died. She could’ve remained the acting Queen of Lexenburg, but without him by her side, she said her heart wasn’t in it. He was the other half of her. So, she formally stepped down and I became the acting king.
I’m the first King of Lexenburg to reign without a queen by my side, and because of that, the country loves to speculate and gossip. I can’t speak to a woman without stories being circulated. Because of this, I have to be very careful until I find out what’s public knowledge regarding Natalie’s past. It’s not that I’m ashamed of her. If anything, knowing her past makes me that much prouder of her because I know where she came from and how hard she worked to make a better life for herself. But not everyone will see it like that.
“Daddy!” Jasmine yells, running down the hallway. She’s wearing a pretty pink dress now and her hair is in pigtails. Natalie must’ve had her change at the hotel. When she gets to me, she throws herself into my arms and I lift her, my heart full. I thought it would take time for her to warm up to me. I had mentally prepared myself for her to be shy and for our time together to be awkward, but based on the way she’s hugging my neck, she’s already accepted who I am and is embracing it, and for that I am thankful.
“Sorry,” Natalie says, catching her breath. “I told her not to run.” She mock glares at Jasmine, who remains with her arms wrapped around my neck.
“I wanted to get to my daddy faster,” Jasmine explains. “Can we go pick my room now?”
“We sure can,” I tell her. “And tomorrow you can help Mrs. Evelyn, the estate decorator, decorate it.” Stephanie, despite not being thrilled about all of this, scheduled for Evelyn to come out tomorrow. She also scheduled the private tours like I asked and rescheduled any meetings or events that could be rescheduled.
I give Natalie and Jasmine a full tour of the Garden Estate, which is where our family resides. The rest of the castle is broken up into wings and towers—all named after various flowers. There is a place for everyone, but aside from the occasional event that takes place in the Rose Garden tower, neither of them will need to go anywhere else. Everything they need is here.
After Natalie and Jasmine pick out their rooms, which are located near mine, we spend the remainder of the afternoon together. We go for a walk through my private gardens while Jasmine tells me all about her travels, her family in Florence, and how excited she is to start school. In return, I tell her about her uncle Nate, who is in Hawaii with his new wife, Annabelle, on their honeymoon, and my cousin, Jack, who lives in town and has twin daughters a year younger than Jasmine. There are many more people in our family, but I don’t want to overwhelm her.
The entire time we hang out, Natalie and I exchange silent looks and glances. At one point, I catch her staring at me, and I smirk knowingly, making her blush. It might’ve been six years since we were together, but the attraction is still there on her part, and that’s good because it’s definitely there on mine, and I have every intention of exploring it.
When evening rolls around, we join my mom for dinner. She spends the meal asking both Jasmine and Natalie questions, but I notice she stays clear of our past, and for that I’m grateful. At first, Natalie is nervous, guarded, answering vaguely, but once she realizes my mom is simply trying to get to know her, she opens up. By the end of dinner, both she and my daughter have won my mom over. And when Natalie takes Jasmine away to give her a bath, my mom tells me as such.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to lie with you?” Natalie asks Jasmine for the third time. She’s been bathed and is in her princess pajamas, lying in bed. She insisted I read her the fairy-tale story she gave to her mom because she doesn’t have any other books. I told her we would buy her some new ones tomorrow and that seemed to excite her.