The Crown Prince's Bride (Royal Duology 2)

Marco was there by her side, holding out a handkerchief. “Wipe your mouth. It’ll help get the taste out.”

She took the square of fabric and did what he said. His big hand was on her back, anchoring her as she gulped in big breaths.

When she was better, she stood up straight. “I’m so sorry.”

He watched her carefully. “Ceci wasn’t often sick with the babies, but if she got worked up . . .” He leaned down a bit to look straight into her face. “I’m guessing you’re in the same situation.”

“That’s a pretty big leap, Marco.”

“I have sisters. Four of them.” He smiled a little. “I’m sorry, Stephani. It’s complicated, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “Incredibly. He’ll ‘do the right thing’ by me, but he doesn’t love me, Marco. And I don’t think I can marry someone who doesn’t love me. Or who will always love someone else better.”

He gestured with a hand, motioning toward the garage. “Come with me for a moment. I want to tell you a story.”

He led her inside and to a desk area. She’d never been inside Marco’s personal “office,” and it was plain but comfortable with a desk, computer, filing cabinet, and not much else. She sat in a sturdy chair and he grabbed a rolling stool and perched on it.

“I was driving the night of the accident,” he said softly, regret hanging on his words. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wondered what I m

ight have done differently. If I’d taken a different route, or gone slower, left a few minutes later . . . Ceci would still be here. Mariana, too. And the children . . . they were so scared. It was the worst night of my life, but it’s nothing compared to the pain Raoul felt.

“I know you saw him after. We all watched him go from shock to grief to . . . well, months of going through the motions. He made a big show of having a stiff upper lip. Not that he fooled anyone, but did you ever see him cry?”

Stephani shook her head. Not once. She’d known he was holding it all inside, but he’d never broken down in front of her.

“I did,” Marco said, his voice hoarse. “When he came to the hospital, and she was gone, and I was alive. And he hugged me and cried, Stephani. Sobbed like a baby on my shoulder and said he didn’t want to live if he had to live without her.”

The pain in her heart was real, and stabbed at her like knives. “I know he loved her, Marco. I can’t compete with that.”

He shook his head. “See, that’s where I think you might be wrong.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand. “Hear me out. The thing is, I’ve known Raoul for a long time. Longer than you, actually, and when he falls in love, he goes all in. Then he lost her in the blink of an eye. No chance to say goodbye, no nothing. Just a phone call saying his world had collapsed. Tell me, how eager would you be to love like that again, knowing how it feels to lose that one person who was everything?”

She sat silently, unsure of what to say.

“Stephani, I watched the two of you in France. What you have is real, but he’s scared to let himself care too much. It’s not that he can’t. Or that he doesn’t. It’s that he won’t let himself. I’m not saying you should marry him for the baby. But I guess I’m saying, don’t give up.”

“I can’t hold on to an impossible dream forever, Marco.”

“Then maybe just take a breath and let things unfold over the next few weeks or months. He’ll figure it out.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

He smiled. “My eldest sister runs a design business right here in Marazur. She’s stubborn and also brilliant. Having a partner to run the administration would be perfect, and I have leverage.”

She laughed then. This really was home, both the Navarro family and the people who worked here. “Thank you, Marco. I needed the chat to get out of my own head a bit.”

He stood up and held out his hand, helping her rise. “You’re welcome. I care about both of you, you know. I think you would make him very happy, and you’d make a wonderful queen, too.”

He walked her to her car and she made the drive home in the dark, thinking about what Marco had said. Maybe Raoul really did love her. Maybe it wasn’t that he wasn’t ready, but that he was afraid to lose again.

But until he could admit it, she was no further ahead than before.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Raoul met Diego up on the battlements, as per his brother’s request. He had a feeling he knew what the conversation was going to be about, and also why Diego had chosen it. Every single time Raoul had given Diego a lecture on behavior and responsibility, he’d taken him to the top of the castle where they could survey all of the royal grounds, and much of the surrounding island.

That he and Diego had seemed to have switched places was disturbing.

Diego was waiting, his hands resting on the stone wall and the wind ruffling his hair and he looked south toward the ocean. When Raoul approached, his shoes clacking on the rooftop, Diego turned.