But she was beginning to realize that her upbringing, so isolated from society, had not prepared her for dealing with complex relationships, and she suddenly doubted herself. She’d always thought she was a good judge of character, but apparently she wasn’t. It seemed that she knew too much about science and too little about human beings. Which was why she’d told Alexander on arriving in Aargau that she’d include him in their child’s life, even share parental responsibilities with him—because that was the fair thing to do—but he’d refused to even consider co-parenting. Their baby would live with him in the palace. Their baby required both mother and father, and they’d do it together. Married. And that would never ever happen. She’d never agree to marrying him, not after he’d revealed his true colors.
The door swung open and Prince Alexander Julius Alberici stood on the threshold, tall, broad shouldered, and impeccably groomed. His thick black hair was ruthlessly combed back, hiding the fact that it had an inclination to curl. His blue eyes focused on her with that laser focus that always made her feel as if he could see straight through her.
She sat up taller, her own shoulders squaring, chin lifting defiantly. She’d been told on first arriving in Roche that she should curtsy before him, and she’d laughed. Laughed. “I’d sooner have a lobotomy,” she’d snapped.
Prince Alexander had heard and his lips had tightened.
His mouth—which she’d once thought so lovely—tightened now, but she no longer cared. Right now she didn’t care what he thought, and right now she didn’t care what he did, as long as he let her return to Khronos. It felt as if every good and tender feeling had been smashed, and it was his fault. He’d done this to her. To them.
“Can I help you?” she asked coolly.
Alexander entered the tower bedroom, unsurprised to find her where he’d last seen her, in the middle of her bed with a pile of books around her, her expression hard and shuttered. Her sketchbook was open next to her, a charcoal pencil against white paper, but the page was blank.
“How are you this morning?” he asked, stepping into the room, the door closing and locking behind him.
He saw her head turn, her honey hair scraped back from her face, pulled into a severe knot at her nape. Her green gaze focused on the door, her lips compressing with displeasure as the lock scraped closed. He knew she hated being locked in, and he hated locking her in. But he wasn’t about to run the risk of her leaving Aargau in the dark of night, not when she was pregnant with his child.
“I am as tired of this as you,” he said flatly, approaching the bed. “I just want a resolution. I want us to move forward.”
Her head jerked up, eyes flashing with contempt. Even with her hair drawn back and not a bit of makeup to enhance her features, she was strikingly beautiful. He’d wondered when he first returned from Greece if he’d imagined her and her breathtaking beauty. He hadn’t. If anything, she was more ethereal, and even lovelier than he’d remembered.
But her delicate beauty belied her strength. Josephine was livid, and she was not about to be strong-armed into marriage. “I don’t like this any more than you,” he added. “Marry me so we can be done with this. We were friends once—”
“Not friends.”
“On Khronos you told me you loved me, Josephine. You said the words.”
Color flooded her cheeks, making her eyes brighter. “I had no idea you weren’t free. I had no idea you were...you.”
“Neither did I.”
“For your information, I liked the other you better, the one with amnesia. The one that didn’t know his name, because at least he knew how to be kind. What you’re doing now is unforgivable. You can’t lock women in towers. It’s medieval. Machiavellian.” Her chin lifted, her gaze locking with his. “Even you must know that it’s not done.”
“I’m not happy about this, bella. I would prefer you to have a normal guest suite. I would prefer to be able to introduce you to my family and friends—”
“And your fiancée, Princess Danielle Roulet? What about her? Or have you not given her any thought or consideration?”
“You know I ended my engagement to her the moment we had confirmation of your pregnancy.” He leaned against one of the enormous wooden posters on the antique bed. “There is nothing standing in the way of our marriage now.”
“Nothing but my objections, but apparently that doesn’t signify in your world. You’re a prince, and I’m just an ordinary American girl.”
“Who will one day be queen.”
“I don’t want to be queen. I’m not marrying you.”
“Josephine, I’m trying to make this work—”
“Locking me in a tower is not making it work, Alexander!”
“You shouldn’t have tried to run away.”
“I wasn’t running away. I was simply leaving the castle.”
“With the intention to take a ferry to Italy and then disappear into Europe.” He gave her a sympathetic look. “Next time, don’t admit so much to a taxi driver, especially when he’s a member of palace security.”
“I did think it strange that you had a taxi just waiting outside.”
“He wasn’t there for you, if that’s any consolation.”
“It’s not.”
“Can we agree that you’re not going to run away anymore? Because if you can give me your word—”
“I’m not sure I can, Alexander. I’m sorry.”
“I am, too, because the baby you carry is my heir and thus the heir to the Aargau throne, which gives you two choices—marry me, or grant me sole custody of our child.”
He saw her lips press and pain shadow her eyes. “You know I’d never give up my child. You’re not giving me a choice.”
“Most women would jump at the opportunity to become Aargau’s queen.”
“I’m not one of them.”
“You’re offended because it’s not a romantic proposal.”
“I’m offended because you’re arrogant and rude, and baffled by what you call a proposal. You’ve flung the word marriage at me as if I’m a dog being dangled a bone. But the bone, Your Highness, isn’t remotely appealing.”
Alexander was torn between amusement and outrage. He wondered what his old self would have thought of her response. He’d been told by his friends that his old self lacked a sense of humor. That was interesting because sometimes Josephine made him want to laugh. Or shake her. Or make fierce, hot love to her.
“I’m phrasing things badly,” he said. “But we have a wedding to plan, cara. We can’t keep arguing and wasting time. We have to marry soon. It’s essential we avoid scandal.”
“You mean it’s essential to you. I don’t care about the scandal.”
“That’s because you live on an uninhabited rock, apart from society. The rest of us, I’m afraid, are not so lucky.”
“You’re not serious.”
“About the marriage, or being determined to avoid scandal?”
“Both.”
“We don’t do scandals in Aargau. There has never been a divorce in the Alberici family.”
“Just unhappily married, is that it?”
“My parents and grandparents and great-grandparents all knew better then to air dirty laundry. If there is strife, it’s dealt with privately, behind closed doors. As we are doing now.”
“So women are routinely locked in chambers and towers here?”
“You failed to mention the dungeons.”
“I suppose if you have a historic castle, one should use all the rooms.”
His lips twisted faintly. She amused him, and yet their current situation was anything but laughable. The palace was in an uproar. His father wasn’t speaking to him. His mother was quietly frantic. The public couldn’t understand what had happened to their prince.
“I want out of this room,” Josephine said clearly, firmly.
“And I want you out of this room. I’d like it to become my retreat again. It used to be one of my favorite rooms, but holding you hostage here has diminished my pleasure in it.”
“Poor Prince Alexander. How you suffer!”
He had to smash the laughter. “You are in such a foul mood. Perhaps I should kiss you—”
“No!” She scooted back on the bed. “You come near me and I’ll throw every book I have at your head. And I’ve a good arm. Believe me.”
“I do. That’s why I want to move forward. It’s why I want to introduce you to my kingdom and my people, but I can’t do that until we’ve come to an understanding.”
“We can raise our child together without being married.” She paused, her winged eyebrows arching even higher. “Or resorting to locking me away as if I’m a dangerous criminal. You must know your strong-arm tactics only make me dislike you and mistrust you more.”
“Trust goes both ways.”
“Absolutely, and when have I ever let you down? Or betrayed you in any way?”
“You left me on Khronos. You disappeared without a word. And then you tried to run away from here after we saw the doctor. Josephine, I accept that I haven’t been the model prince, but you have a poor track record when it comes to staying in place.”
“Fine. Next time I’ll put up a few signs to advertise that I’m leaving so there won’t be any mixed signals,” she flashed, hiding how much he continued to hurt her. She told herself she didn’t care about him anymore, but if that was true, why did his every word wound? Why did he have such power over her? Worse, how could this be the man she’d loved so passionately on Khronos? He was nothing but cold and hard and calculating. How had she not seen his true nature before?
“Give me your word that you will not run, and I’ll move you from the tower to a proper suite in the palace. Better yet, accept my proposal and let us plan the wedding together so that our baby will be born without any shame or scandal surrounding his or her birth.”