It was fear.

All he could do to help was hold her hand and assure her she wasn’t making a mistake in loving him. Because now that she loved him, too, there was no way in hell he was losing her again. If she didn’t want to stay here…

He’d find a way to make it work.

To have her.

Breaking off the kiss, he cupped her cheeks and pulled back. She blinked up at him, looking a little bit confused and lost. “No buts. You love me.”

She licked her lips. “Yes…but—”

“And I love you.” He smiled, and the crowd around them broke out in excited whispers. “I’ve always loved you, and my father was right to bring you here. He wanted me to fall in love, and get married, and I would never do that with you out there somewhere, maybe thinking about me as much as I thought about you.”

“I was. I am.” She covered his hands with hers. “But you’re a…” She side-eyed the crowd around them, cutting herself off. “…uh…prince.”

He cocked a brow. “And that’s a problem for you?”

“Well…yeah.” She bit down on her lip, staring up at him with the brightest, purest, prettiest eyes he’d ever seen. His heart gave out a little burst of warmth, because here, right now, in front of all these people, he saw his future in those eyes. And it looked pretty damn good. “I might have done research on your customs…”

He blinked in confusion, ripping himself out of his thoughts. “What customs?”

“You know.” Her lashes lowered, and her cheeks pinked. “Marriage customs, and stuff. I looked it up, and you have to marry a princess, which is fine. I mean, it’s expected, considering…you know. Who you are.” Her cheeks went even pinker. “God, I can’t believe I just admitted I Googled that.”

Knowing she had looked into the possibility of them ending up together…? Yeah. It fucking sealed the deal, in his mind. Even before this moment, she’d wanted this. She’d wanted them together, even in the slightest, smallest way, and that was all he needed to hear to know he was making the right choice. As if he’d ever doubted it.

He loved her, and she loved him…

So there was no decision left to make.

Lowering his face to hers, he smiled and brushed his lips across hers gently and whispered, “By the way, that law has been changed. My father saw to it six months ago.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait. What?”

“You heard me.” Pulling back, he laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “I swore I wouldn’t do this. That I wouldn’t ask you to stay. But I—” His gaze scanned the crowd, and all the women on the flight watched him with their hands pressed to their chests, or their mouths, and the men stared with wide eyes. This was probably the worst place to have this conversation, and it wasn’t something a prince should do, but it didn’t matter anymore. None of that did. “Don’t go. I love you, and I’ll always love you, and we were just kids when we met, and when we made those promises, but I stand by every word I said back then, as the man I am today.”

She smiled sadly, taking a shaky breath. When she opened her mouth to speak, he pressed his fingers to her lips, because quite frankly? He was scared to hear her reply.

Scared she’d tell him she loved him, too, but that love wasn’t enough.

But it had to be. This time, it had to be enough.

“More importantly, I stand by what I said yesterday, too. Even if you stay on this flight and go home, I’ll always be here, waiting for that phone call.” He ran this thumb over her lower lip, watching her pink lips give way under his touch. “A year. Five. Ten. A million. Doesn’t matter how much time passes. I’ll be single, and waiting for you to change your mind, waiting for my phone to ring because you’re here and you need me to pick you up at the airport. Because a love like we have? One that survives ten years of lies, separation, and pain? That doesn’t die. It never will. I’ll be here. Waiting for you. I swear that.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks again, and she reached up, burying her hand in his hair, letting out a small chuckle. “God, that was good. Like, really, really good. How long have you been planning that speech?”

“Ten long, lonely, horrible years.” He slid his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping away the tears. “And I’ll do it all over again, if that’s what you want from me.”

She threaded her other hand in his hair, shaking her head, and smiled. “I don’t want that. I want you. This. Us. But—”

“If you don’t want to stay, that’s okay. You can go home, and we’ll make it work. Facetime. Phone calls. Texts.” He tightened his grip on her, the idea of letting go of her so she could leave not settling well in the pit of his stomach. But he’d do it. He’d do anything for her. “We can make it work.”

“You’re right. We totally could.” She let go of him, backing up, and he held his breath, because if she sat back down in that seat…a small part of him would die. He watched her closely as she opened the overhead compartment. “But—”

He winced. “Please. No buts.”

“But—” She cut herself off. “I mean… Take me home.”

He raised a brow. “Home?”

Tags: Diane Alberts Modern Fairytales Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net