HALF-ASLEEP, I SWATTED AT a tickle
on my shoulder. It happened again, and I instinctively rolled away. The tickle
returned, traveling across my back. Oh. It wasn’t a random breeze or
another feather that had escaped from my pillow.
Those were kisses.
Eyes still closed, I smiled to
myself as Maxon brushed away a lock of hair to find a new place to kiss. Waking
up to the feeling of Maxon’s breath on my skin reminded me of how we ended
up knotted in these sheets in the first
place.
I giggled as his mouth hit a
ticklish spot on my neck.
“Good morning, darling,” he
whispered.
“Good morning.”
“I was wondering,” he began,
murmuring the words into my cheek as I rolled over. “Seeing as it’s my
birthday, do you think we could get away with spending the entire day in bed?”
I smiled and forced my sleepy eyes
open. “And who will run the country?”
“No one. Let it fall to pieces. So
long as I have my America in my arms.”
His hair was a perfect mess, and he
was so warm that every last particle in my body wanted nothing more than to
stay here with him. It was completely fascinating to me the way that love grew.
I kept thinking I’d found a way to give him all that I had, but then I’d learn
a new quirk, hear a new story, go through a new experience, and my heart
swelled.
“But what about the party? We spent
weeks planning,” I complained.
He propped up his head on his hand.
“Hmm. Okay, we’ll take a ten-minute break to check out the party and come right
back.” Maxon wrapped his arms around me, and I laughed as he covered me with
kisses.
We were so distracted, we didn’t
even hear the butler open the door. “Your Majesty, there’s a call from—”
Before he could finish, Maxon
chucked a pillow at him, and the butler retreated into the hall, pulling the
door shut behind him. There was a pause before a muffled voice filtered in.
“Sorry, sir.”
I’d gotten used to a lack of privacy
since living in the palace, and as far as those awkward moments went, this was
one of the better ones. I covered my mouth, trying to contain my laughter, and
when Maxon saw my smirk, he smiled, too. “Well, I guess that answers my
question.”
I sat up to kiss his cheek and
immediately felt a rush of dizziness. “Oh!”
“Are you all right?”
“Mmhm,” I mumbled, covering my
mouth. “Sat up too quickly.”
He ran his hand over my back, and I
leaned into him.
“What time’s the party again?”
“Six. Everyone’s coming, even my
mom.”
“Oh, then it’ll really be a party!”
I swatted him. “Are you ever going
to let it go? It was one time.”
“She danced in the fountain on New
Year’s Eve, America,” he said, a childish amusement in his eyes. “It was
amazing, and I will never let it go.”
I sighed. “Anyway, don’t be late.
I’m going to get dressed. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“Okay.”
I pulled the sheet off the bed as I
stood, wrapping it around me.
He lay back and watched me go. “Of
all your dresses, that’s my favorite.”
I bit my lip as I took one last look
at him before opening the door that led to my suite. There was no way I was
ever going to have enough of him.
Mary was waiting for me, of course.
She was used to seeing me walk back from Maxon’s room or watching him bolt out
of mine, but it was that knowing smirk that got me every time.
“Good morning, Your Majesty,” she
greeted me with a curtsy. “Have a good night, then?”
“Wipe that smile off your face!” I
teased, tossing the sheet at her and running to the bathroom.
I had been worried about the cut of
my dress, but it fit spectacularly. Heads turned when I walked in to the party,
and I tried to accept the attention graciously. Even after two years of
marriage, being in the spotlight still took some getting used to.
May rushed to my side. “You look
radiant, Ames!”
“Thank you. You clean up pretty well
yourself.” I touched one of her perfectly placed curls and marveled at how well
my sister had adjusted to life as a royal. Not that I was surprised. She had
always been charming and bubbly, and almost as soon as she and my family moved
to Angeles, May had become a media darling. While plenty of pictures of me
would be printed tomorrow, there would be twice as many of May.
“Are you feeling okay?” she asked.
“Just a little distracted. You go
have fun. I need to make sure everything’s running smoothly.”
“Have fun? I’m on it!” She dashed
off, waving to people I was positive she didn’t even know, sparkling all over.
The party was in full swing by now, and it looked as though the guests was
enjoying themselves. The decor was simple, the lighting was lovely, and the
musicians were doing an excellent job. I hoped Maxon was pleased.
I made my way across the floor,
sampling some hors d’oeuvres on my way. None of the food seemed terribly
appealing, though. Maxon’s favorites weren’t necessarily mine, I just had
to trust that everyone else would enjoy the selection.
I stretched up to my tiptoes,
scanning the room. If Maxon had listened to me, he ought to be around here
somewhere by now. I didn’t find him, but I did see Marlee. She rushed over as
soon as she saw me, leaving Carter talking with some of the guards.
“The party is amazing, America,” she
gushed, kissing my cheek.
“Thanks. I’m trying to find Maxon.
Have you seen him?”
She turned to look with me. “I did
see him come in, but I have no idea where he is now.”
“Hmm. I’ll have to do a lap. How’s
Kile?”
She smiled anxiously. “Good. I’m
trying to get used to letting a nanny put him down.”
Kile was just over a year old, and
Marlee absolutely adored him—as did I. He was the only male who regularly spent
time in the Women’s Room without expressly asking for permission.
“I’m sure he’s doing fine, Marlee.
And it’ll do you good to spend some time with Carter alone.”
She nodded. “You’re right. We’re
both having so much fun. But just you wait and see. It’s hard to let them go,
even for a little while.”
I smiled. “I can only imagine. Go,
enjoy some of the food. I’ll see you later.”
“All right.” She gave me another
kiss and made her way back to Carter.
I looped around the room, searching
for my husband. When I finally saw him, my heart lit up. Not simply because I
was happy to find him, but because he was talking to Aspen.
Aspen’s cane was gone now, but there
were times when he still limped, especially if he was tired. We all considered
it a miracle that he had healed so well, but if anyone could have recovered
through sheer determination, it was Aspen.
They looked deep in conversation,
and I moved closer, coming up behind them.
“Was your first year hard? Lots of
people say it is, but you two seemed to do so well,” Aspen said.
He and Lucy had planned to get
married not too long after Maxon and I did, but when her dad got sick,
everything was put on hold. He eventually recovered, but even after that Aspen
dragged his feet more than he needed to. I suspected he was afraid Lucy would
change her mind, and I blamed that fear on me. They were so right for each
other, he never needed to doubt. And when they finally did tie the knot, I was
as happy as I’d been on my own wedding day.
Maxon sighed. “Hard to say. I don’t
think it was the marriage part that was so hard as much as the duties. It was a
lot to ask her to step into the role of a queen when she’d barely gotten used
to the idea of being a princess.”
“Did you fight?”
“Are you kidding? That’s what we’re
best at!” He and Aspen shared a laugh. I wanted to be offended, but it was
true—we were good at arguing. Still, that had died down a lot.
“I don’t know why it feels like such
a big deal,” Aspen said, his laughter fading. “We wanted to get married for so
long. Why does it feel so overwhelming now that we are?”
“It’s the title.” Maxon took a sip
of champagne. “It’s scary to be a husband. It feels like there’s more to lose.
I worry about that title more than being called king, easily.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Aspen was quiet, considering this.
“Listen,” Maxon started. “This isn’t
me kicking you out. You’re always welcome here. But maybe what you and Lucy
need is your own place.”
“What, like a house?”
“Look around. Take Lucy with you and
see if you find a place you like, that feels like something you can work on
together. Making a life together might be easier if you have a home that’s
really yours.”
“Marlee and Carter do fine here.”
“They’re a different couple.”
Aspen looked down, and I could see
that something about this made him feel like he’d failed.
Maxon clapped him on the back. “I
don’t trust many people the way I trust you. You’ve done a lot for me and for
America. Just go look. See if there’s something out there that you two really
love, and if there is, consider it a gift from us.”
“It’s your birthday. You’re supposed
to be the one getting gifts,” Aspen protested, but there was a smile on his
face all the same.
“I have everything I want. A country
on the upswing, a happy marriage, and good friends. Cheers, sir.”
Aspen lifted his glass with a smile,
and they drank. I blinked away my happy tears and came up, tapping Maxon on the
shoulder.
He turned and broke into a sunrise
of a smile. “There you are, my dear.”
“Happy birthday!”
“Thank you. This is really the best
party I’ve ever had.”
“You did good, Mer,” Aspen added.
“Thank you both very much.” I turned
to Maxon. “I need to steal you away for a bit.”
“Of course. We’ll talk more later,”
Maxon promised Aspen, and followed me from the room.
“This way,” I instructed, pulling
his arm.
“Perfect!” he said as we walked into
the garden. “A break from the madness.”
I giggled, putting my head on his
shoulder. Without instruction, he led us to our bench, and we sat, him facing
the forest and me facing the palace.
“Champagne?” he offered, bringing
over his glass.
“No thanks.”
He took a sip himself and sighed
contentedly. “This was a wonderful choice. Truly, America, this was the best
birthday I could have hoped for. Well, second best. I still would have liked
the option I came up with this morning.”
I smiled. “Maybe next year.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
I took a steadying breath. “Listen,
I know we have a full night ahead of us, but I wanted to give you your birthday
present.”
“Oh, darling, you didn’t need to get
me anything. Every day with you is a gift.” He leaned in and kissed me.
“Well, I hadn’t planned on getting
you a gift, but then something presented itself, so here we are.”
“All right then,” he said, placing
his glass on the ground. “I’m ready. Where is it?”
“That’s the only problem,” I
started. I felt my hands begin to shake. “It won’t actually arrive for another
seven or eight months.”
He smiled but squinted. “Eight
months? What in the world could take . . .”
As his words drifted away, so did
his eyes, leaving my face and making their way to my stomach. He seemed to
expect me to look different, for me to be as big as a house already. But I’d
done my best to hide everything: the tiredness, the nausea, the sudden distaste
for foods.
He stared on and on, and I waited
for him to smile or laugh or jump up and down. But he sat there, frozen to the
point that it started to frighten me.
“Maxon?” I reached out and touched
his leg. “Maxon, are you all right?”
He nodded, still watching my
stomach. His eyes filled with tears as he spoke. “Isn’t that remarkable? I
suddenly love you a hundred times more,” he said, quietly and in awe. “And I
didn’t think it was possible to find love for a person I don’t know at all.” He
finally looked up at me. “Are we really going to have a baby?”
“Yes,” I breathed, welling up, too.
His eyes lit up. “Is it a boy or a
girl?”
“It’s too soon to tell,” I said
through happy tears. “There’s not much the doctor can tell yet except that
someone is definitely there.”
Maxon placed a gentle hand on my
tummy. “We’ll shorten your workdays, of course, or we can cut them completely
if we must. And we can have more maids put on call.”
“Don’t be silly. Mary and Paige are
plenty. Besides, you know my mother will want to be here, and Marlee and May
will be around. I’ll have too many people taking care of me.”
“As you should!”
I threw back my head and laughed,
but when I looked at him again, I saw that his expression had turned dark.
“What if I’m like him, America? What if I’m a terrible father?”
“Maxon Schreave, that isn’t
possible. If anything you will be too generous. We’re going to have to hire the
strictest nanny in the world just to even it out!”
He smirked. “No strict nannies.
Happy nannies only.”
“If you say so, Your Royal
Husbandness.”
Maxon cleared his throat and wiped
away his tears. “I’m assuming this is our secret?”
“For now.”
He smiled brightly. “All the same,
now I definitely feel like celebrating.”
He scooped me up, rushing me back
inside, and I couldn’t stop laughing. I peeked up at his expression, so hopeful
and excited, and I knew we were only just getting to the best part of our
lives.
