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I’ve also gotten to know him in the past twenty-three months. He’s also stubborn. And always thinks he’s right. And he thinks he wants to be king.
I know the Constitution of Cara inside and out. There is no requirement for the ruler to be married.
Probably simply because no one ever imagined the king, or queen, wouldn’t want to be.
But if Torin has a wife, she has equal power. As long as an O’Grady sits on the throne, his or her spouse has equal power. Of course, he’s going to be careful with who he gives that title to. It will have to be someone he trusts. Someone who he can see as a true partner.
“This is important to you,” I say. “That I go on these dates?”
“Yes,” he says. He glances at Jonah. “I actually had picked out a few other men as well, but I got vetoed.”
I lift a brow. “Vetoed?”
“Jonah thought it was a bad idea.”
Jonah Greene is probably the only person on the planet who can veto Torin on anything and make it stick.
“He thought you should start by dating men you’ve met before and have a pre-established connection with.”
So Jonahhasbeen a part of concocting this plan.
Well, that’s what I needed to know, I suppose.
I tip my head. “How many is ‘a few’ others?”
Torin lifts a brow, obviously surprised I asked. “Ten.”
“You came up withtenmen you thought would be good matches for me?” I don’t know if I should be flattered or appalled that my fiancé could come up with so many other people to set me up with.
“I realize that you could have a hundred dates by tomorrow night if you simply put a profile up on the internet,” he says, holding a hand out to Jonah.
He says it so matter-of-factly that I don’t know if he even means it as a true compliment so much as he just thinks it’s a fact. Which is nice, actually.
“Thank you.”
“But you can’t date just anyone,” he says, taking the folder Jonah hands him.
I note Jonah’s heavy sigh as he hands over the material.
“The man who will be a good partner to you will have to, of course, be of a certain…caliber,” Torin says.
Both of my brows are arched now. “Caliber?”
He hands me the folder. “Of course. Probably a thousand mechanics and fishermen and farmers would show up, falling over themselves and one another, to simply take you to dinner. But the men who are actually your type are on a much shorter list.”
I look down at the folder in my hand. My should-be fiancé made a list of men he thinks I should date.
This isn’t strange at all.
“I know you haven’t had a chance to really date,” Torin says. “I know that you’ve always had this thing between us hanging over your head. So I think you need a chance to go out and meet a bunch of amazing men who will think you’re amazing. To see what it’s like. To see if someone else can make you feel…” He trails off and swallows.
“The way the woman you danced with made you feel?” I ask.
“Yes.”
I don’t roll my eyes. The whole soulmate, love-at-first-sight, one-true-love thing just doesn’t feel real to me. It’s hard for me to believe in that. But, hell, I’ve never ever looked at another man with even a tiny romantic thought in my head. I’ve always been…off-limits, I suppose, for lack of a better word. Maybe I’ve been missing out. Maybe I really will feel differently if I go out with a manwithoutconsidering myself engaged.
I flip the folder open, curious despite myself.