“A few weeks ago your sister told me to ask you something. I never did.”
“Ask now.”
“She said we’d met before six months ago. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“But I don’t recall meeting you. And I assure you I would. Were we young children? Is that why I don’t remember?”
“It was almost seven years ago at a masquerade party. Given the host’s reputation I was a little surprised to discover the young woman I rescued was none other than Lady Olivia Darcy.”
Gabriel had been her savior. The man whose kiss had set the bar for every other romantic encounter she’d had since. “You knew who I was?”
“Not until after you’d left and Christian informed me who I’d been kissing.” Gabriel’s fingertips grazed her cheek. ?
??When I kissed you that night, something sparked between us. I wasn’t ready to get married and you were far too young, but something told me you were the woman I was destined to marry.”
“But that was one kiss seven years ago.” She couldn’t imagine how a single moment in time could impact him so strongly. And yet hadn’t she felt the magic between them? Compared his kiss to those that came after? “And my father approached you about building a plant in Sherdana.”
“That’s true, but Christian put the idea in his head. My brother is very clever when it comes to business dealings and had an inkling of how much you interested me.”
“But you loved Marissa. You would have married her if Sherdanian law had allowed it.”
“I never wanted to marry Marissa. She was my way of rebelling against duty and responsibility. I loved being with her, but I know now that I didn’t love her. Not the way I love you.”
His lips found hers and delivered a kiss that managed to be both incredibly arousing and spiritually satisfying at the same time. Olivia was weak with delight when he set her free.
“I can’t quite believe all that has happened today,” she murmured as his fingertips worked their way along her shoulder. “When I woke up this morning I was cautiously optimistic. Now I’m happier than I ever imagined I could be.”
Gabriel gifted her with a smile of resolute tenderness. “And it’s my intention to do whatever it takes to ensure you stay that way.”
* * *
After disappearing from the radar for a week, and then reappearing with a glowing bride in tow, Gabriel had anticipated a media frenzy, but he hadn’t expected the capital’s streets to be lined with people.
In the back of the limousine, Olivia waved at the enthusiastic crowd, looking every inch a princess. But by the time the vehicle pulled up in front of the palace, her nerves had begun to show.
“Are we going to be taken to the gallows and shot?” she questioned. “Is that why everyone turned out to see us?”
“A member of Sherdana’s royal family hasn’t been executed in almost three hundred years.”
“That’s not as reassuring as you want it to be.”
Gabriel squeezed her hand. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“Since when are you such an optimist?”
“Since marrying you.”
A footman stepped forward to open the limo’s door. Olivia nodded toward a glowering Christian, who was striding through the palace’s ornate main doors.
“He doesn’t look happy.”
“I think he’s realized the trap has been sprung.”
“You sound as if you’re enjoying this far too much.”
“Do you have any idea how many dossiers I looked through over the years, weighing my future happiness against what was right for the country, while my brothers ran around the United States and Europe following their dreams?”