by Dani Collins
“What are you saying?” How could that be possible?
He was implying Nataliya had some emotional hold on him.
“I have come to realize that while I was sexually besotted with Tiana, I never really loved her. My grief on her death had more to do with what could have been than anything that was.”
“Okay.”
“I realized on our honeymoon that I do love you and knowing the depth of my feelings for you when you do not feel the same has made me...” He paused, took a deep breath and then offered. “Insecure.”
“You love me?” she asked, the shock of such a possibility making her heart race and her face go all hot.
“With everything in me. My staff and cabinet are right to worry. I would move heaven and earth for you.”
“But Nikolai, I do love you. I have since I was a teenager.”
“That was not love. You felt attracted to me like I was attracted to Tiana. Love is a much deeper emotion.”
“Do you remember what we learned on our wedding night?” she asked.
“That we are insanely sexually compatible?”
“That I know myself better than you do. After all, I am living in my skin.”
“Yes, of course.”
“So, when I say I love you, I mean it.”
“You mean it?” The smile that came over his features was so vibrant it almost hurt to see. “You mean it! You love me.”
“I do.”
The intimacy that followed was shocking. She didn’t know they could have sex this time of month, but showers were an amazing thing.
Later, they shared a leisurely breakfast on the balcony to their palace suite.
“Did you love me when you accepted my proposal?” he asked.
She refrained from rolling her eyes. Barely. He’d been asking questions like this since they sat down. “Yes.”
“Did you know you loved me?”
“Yes.”
“And when you made your vows...”
“I meant every one. Nikolai, I love you.”
“Enough to forgive me for doubting you?”
“I was never actually angry.”
“But—”
“Nikolai, we both brought damage into this marriage.”
“Your damage doesn’t have you accusing me of things I would never do.”
She was glad he recognized she would never use him the way Tiana had. “My damage made it impossible for me to admit my love before you acknowledged yours.”
And that shamed her. They’d both suffered pain because of her inability to offer emotional honesty.
“I did not tell you right away either.”
“You realized you loved me on our honeymoon. Your timing has mine beat by a mile.”
He grinned. “I do not care. You love me. That is all that matters to me.”
“I’ve loved you half my life, it feels like. It’s a permanent condition.”
“Nothing could make me happier.”
* * *
He named her Queen of Mirrus on their first anniversary and she wore a dress and robes that had to be accommodated for her tiny baby bump. They made it into the media spotlight often because the love between the King and Queen of Mirrus had the world enthralled.
It was the romance of the century.
Nataliya never cared about stuff like that, but waking every morning with the knowledge she was loved so completely made each day better. Her very dignified husband showed an affectionate side no one thought he had.
A side he had never shown another.
Nataliya was honored to be his Queen, but she adored being his wife.
And Nikolai made it clear every single day, in small and big ways that he adored being her husband.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488073564
Queen by Royal Appointment
Copyright © 2021 by Lucy Monroe
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ISBN-13: 9781488073571
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Her Impossible Baby Bombshell
Copyright © 2021 by Dani Collins
The Playboy’s “I Do” Deal
Copyright © 2021 by Tara Pammi
From Exposé to Expecting
Copyright © 2021 by Andie Brock
Queen by Royal Appointment
Copyright © 2021 by Lucy Monroe
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