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Stevie frowned. “I don’t know that it’s a terrible thing. I think it’s quite a relatable thing.”
“By keeping myself in the headlines, I made it so that my mother couldn’t ignore me. Also, I made myself more famous than she is. I know that bothers her. And I’m also quite certain it’s why my father never really reined me in. I did what he couldn’t. I made sure she couldn’t run away from this reality. From what she had left behind. I made sure that we followed her.”
“Were you… Were you aware of that when you were a teenager causing all these…dramas?”
“Oh, yes. Because every time I did something I knew there would be a headline, I imagine her face when she read it. And I imagined my headline being bigger than hers.”
“I understand that. I’ve never much had occasion to be petty or vindictive, but I feel that I would be.”
“Yes,” he said, regarding her closely. “I have a feeling you are not one who would take a slight lying down. Though, I have a feeling you would not consider it petty or vindictive. You would consider it justice.”
“Well. I guess so.”
“Now. Enough talking. Let’s dance.”
He extended his hand, and Stevie took hold of it, and he pulled her up against him. He had left the cane leaning up against the wall, and he was counting on his body to hold itself together so that he could lead his future bride across the dance floor.
“You are…much steadier than when last we tried this.”
“I ought to be. I’ve had time.”
Time to heal. Was that what this had been? What a strange thing to call this period of time where everything had shifted, where he had gone to Montana to chase Stevie down, brought her back, convinced her to marry him.
And now she was in his arms, soft and in a gown, rather than in her snow gear.
She looked up at him, and he felt something in his chest catch fire. And rather than indulging it, he reached into his pocket and began to play music over the system in the room, and swept her into a waltz.
His leg hurt, and he did his best to ignore it. He wanted nothing more than to remain in control. He needed nothing more than to remain in control.
And so he would.
Every step was a testament to that. Every beat of the music that he hit with precision.
Stevie followed his lead naturally, and he didn’t think about how extraordinarily she fit into his arms.
It was for the country. It wasn’t for him. And it certainly had nothing to do with the pounding desire that was beginning to heat his blood, as he allowed her softness to sink right into him.
When the song finished, they stood there, breathing hard, and Stevie’s eyes went glassy. She stretched up on her toes, and he knew that she was going to kiss him. He took a step away.
“We must focus on what matters,” he said. “You have to complete your princess training. We don’t want to cloud your mind with sex.”
Stevie looked as if he had struck her.
“You don’t… Cloud my… How dare you? How dare you suggest that… I was the one who… And why are you acting like I’m the only one that’s attracted here? You feel it too.”
“I never said I didn’t. But the simple truth is, we must remain focused in this moment. I cannot allow for there to be a distraction, and neither can you. It wouldn’t be beneficial to either of us to introduce emotion into it either.”
“Do you feel emotion with sex? Because it doesn’t seem like you do. If you did, you would be affected by the first time we were together, but you aren’t, are you? What you are is just… You’re just a man. And I ticked all these boxes for you, and you like having sex with me well enough. And are you even actually going to offer me fidelity? Or was that just to placate me?”
“Marriage is long,” he said. “You don’t even know what you’ll want in ten years.”
“Yes I do. Because I know who I am. And I know what matters to me. What’s special to me, and what isn’t. You don’t get to… You don’t get to make all the decrees. And you definitely don’t get to act like I’m somehow the one that’s more invested here than you are. That isn’t fair. And I don’t deserve that.”
“You’re the one making a very small thing into a very big thing. I am simply suggesting that your focus must lie elsewhere.”
“Great. Well, how about this, you don’t just get to demand sex when you want it, then. Because I’m not here for the sole purpose of being ordered around by you. You might be the Prince, but I’ll be the Princess. I refuse to be treated like I’m small, or gauche, or inexperienced or less. Because I’m common. Because I was a virgin. If you wanted that, then you should have married somebody different. Someone who didn’t know their own mind. And somebody who doesn’t possess the capacity to be vengeful and petty. You identified that yourself. Why you decided to put yourself in the situation is beyond me.”
His body felt like it had been brushed with fire.