His Forbidden Princess (14 page)

“You should let them take you to hospital,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want to leave you. There are going to be a lot of questions.”

“I’ll handle it.”

And she would.

Princess Sofia had taken down two dangerous insurgents with a hockey stick and a bottle of window cleaner. She’d kept her wits about her and had acted in a way he hoped his agents would act in a crisis.

She acted the way a
leader
should act in a crisis.

And her country needed that more than ever.

“I’m going to tell the truth, Ian,” she said. “There’s nothing hard about that.”

He couldn’t argue with her, but over the past few days he’d learned that arguing with Sofie was usually a pointless exercise.

She took both his hands in hers and he could feel her incredible spirit, her warmth, seep into him. “Please let them take care of you?”

Her eyes were clear, her voice steady. She was beautiful and confident, a living example of the word noble. There was no question about what he had to do. He had to go.

“You were amazing today,” he whispered. “I love you. Never forget that.”

“Sofia,” the deep voice from the doorway was the Ambassador from the Aubonnian

Embassy whom he recently discovered was Sofie’s uncle.

Sofie rose and hugged her uncle, made introductions, and by then, Ian was trying to focus on getting out of there. He had to get out before he broke and asked her to stay with him forever.

Mercifully, the medical evac helicopter had arrived.

She bent in to kiss him. This was one of those times when doing the right thing made you want to die. When he was with Sofie his heart beat stronger, his purpose in life was clear, everything was right. The brush of her lips against his and the back of Sofie’s hand stroked his cheek. The tenderness of each touch broke his heart. She didn’t know it yet, but they were over, and Ian hoped she didn’t hate him too much when she realized they wouldn’t be together.

Sofie had things to do, important things, and Ian wasn’t about to hold her back.

“Your next meeting is in ten minutes, Your Highness. The Counselor General would like to go over your statement again regarding what happened when you were in New York.”

Sofie stretched her arms over her head, not sure she could take another minute of

questions from the Counselor General. “This is getting tedious. I wonder why the counselor can’t read his notes from our previous meeting.”

Her new personal secretary, Sara, was a flaxen-haired young lady from Britain with ties to the royal family. She’d graduated from Oxford with honors, and spoke six languages. Sofie liked her very much, because she brought to her work a level of refinement that made old Louis look like a circus act.

“If you’d like, I can remind him that I sent extensive notes from both your prior

meetings.”

“If he wants to talk again, I’ll take you up on it.” Sofie thought Sara might need a raise.

Sara was a love, and one of the only people who didn’t ask her ten times a day if she was alright. Which she wasn’t. When she got up and left the room, Sofie had time to think, to go inside her own head, and that was a dangerous place to be.

Leaning forward and bracing her elbows on her knees, Sofie surveyed her palace office.

She hated it and there was no good reason. It had been fully redecorated in the two months since she’d been home from her ordeal in the States. The walls were a soft, buttery yellow; the furniture wasn’t stiff or formal, but relaxed and easy with dark, earthy wood tones and soft, supple fabrics. It was a mood she wanted to create.

Of course, when she'd first come home and settled back into her role, she was a very different person. That person was happy, optimistic, and looking forward to the future. She was in love. But now? The person she’d become was brokenhearted and sad. Still in love, but resigned to a life without it.

Which was why everyone was worried. Why Ella checked on her constantly. Why her

parents hovered. Why her sister regularly asked how she was feeling. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could tell them.

Sofie had no idea why Ian had cut her off without a word. They’d been so happy and, with the threat to her family gone, she was free to think about a life with him--the life they talked about when they were shut in the big house on the water. The place where she found herself.

Now there was nothing, just a hole in her heart and questions that would never be

answered.

Walking to the window, Sofie looked out at the formal gardens. It was a gorgeous late summer day, sunny with bright blue skies. It wasn’t too hot thanks to the gentle breeze blowing down from the mountains. One of the servants was playing with the dogs, two silly Labrador Retrievers, on the great lawn. Sofie wished she could have that job. Yes, being a dog nanny was a truly pleasant idea. It was much more pleasant than having another conversation with the General Counsel, or speaking to Parliament.

The residence had been built in the early nineteenth century and had housed members of her family without interruption. Not as large as many royal residences in Europe, the Palazzo Reale was the most talked about structure when anyone visited Aubonne City. It was lovely and elegant, a mix of style and sophistication, and she’d lived her whole life inside the carved granite and marble walls. And now that things were returning to normal, there was less of a cloud hanging over her family.

Herself excluded
.

There was a gentle knock at the door. She guessed her appointment was early, so it was much for a break. Time to be a princess again.

“Come in,” she called over her shoulder.

She heard the door open and close. But…that was odd. There was no announcement from Sara. It didn’t matter, probably because these meetings were getting to be old hat.

“Very well, Counselor. What do you need to know this time?”

Rather than hearing the Counselor General sniff his disapproval. Words bounced around the big room, and Sofie’s heart stopped.

“I need to know if you’ll forgive me.”

Oh, God.

The voice. It was a gentle, deep baritone that drifted over her the same way it had on their walks along the River Cam, or when he made love to her during a storm. It made her heart pound in her chest, and her soul believe anything was possible.

Sofie turned and standing near the door, was Ian.

He was so very handsome in his blue suit, looking every bit the lethal special agent that he was. But there was something different about him, something not right.

Then she saw his eyes, and recognized what she saw. The same sadness that had been consuming her had been doing the same to him.

And now he was here and she didn’t know why.

“Are you going to say anything?” He took several steps toward her, but Sofie couldn’t move. She was frozen in place, her back to the window overlooking the garden.

Ian was here, and with each step, another tear slid down her cheek.

“I know I don’t deserve to ask you for a thing. I turned my back on you and I don’t know how you’ll ever forgive me, but…”

He was standing right in front of her, his dark eyes filled with unshed tears, and his words tearing at her heart.

“I love you, Sofie.” He took her hands in his and kissed each one. “I haven’t been right since you left. I can’t sleep, I can’t think of anything except how I hate being without you.”

Looking down at their joined hands, one of Sofie’s tears dropped on his knuckle. “Where have you been, Ian? How could you…” She stuttered to a stop. “How could you pretend we never happened?”

“I’m an idiot. It’s my only defense and I hope you’ll take pity on me. I thought I would drag you down, that your country needed you so much that there wasn’t room for me.”

“No room for you?” Sofie reached up and for the first time in months, her hand cupped Ian’s face. Just like always, his skin was warm, smooth. “I have room. That’s all I have. I’ve been an empty shell because nothing—no job, no task, no affair of state—makes me feel alive the way you do.”

“Forgive me, Sofia. Please. I can’t live without you.” Dropping to one knee, Ian kept hold of one hand while Sofie watched him become the white knight in the fairy tale and Prince Charming all in one. Ian was her very own hero. A man who was strong, brave, and true.

And best of all, he loved her.

“Your Highness, I know we are not of the same station, but I am here with the blessing of your parents. I want to ask you,
beg you
, to be my wife.” He swallowed hard before continuing.

“I love you, Sofia. I want to grow a family with you, care for you, support you in any way I can.”

“You spoke to my parents?” He hadn’t left anything to chance. This wasn’t about her leaving Aubonne and going back with him to the United States, Ian was ready to give up his life for her. He was doing all of this
for her
.

“I want to make you happy, Sofie. Please let me make you happy. Say yes.”

On a breath, the word came out, no hesitation, no question. All she felt was love. “Yes.”

“Yes?” He stood. “Really?”

On a watery laugh, Sofie answered him again. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you, Ian Stuart. I will.”

Cradling her face in his hands, Ian dropped the gentlest kiss on her lips. It was a promise of everything to come, of everything they meant to each other. He did it again, and again. “I will love you forever, Sofie.”

“I love you, Ian. Forever.”

Reaching into the pocket of his suit he pulled out a blue box with a perfect white bow.

He bought her a ring.

“Your mother told me that there were several rings in the vault I could have chosen from, but I wanted to do this for you, as a symbol of our unique love.”

He showed her the most perfect emerald-shaped diamond. “Oh, Ian. It’s beautiful.

Perfect.”

He slid the ring onto her left hand, and Sofia stared at it, not quite believing forever was happening to her. Twining her arms around his neck, Sofie looked up into his beautiful eyes and couldn’t have felt more like a princess than she did at that very moment.

Ian was her love story, her happily ever after.

And she was his.

Because that’s how a good fairy tale should always end for a princess.

The End