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Heart thumping against his chest, he sat forward.
Georgie finally gave up on him and hopped down to the floor, where he sat looking up at Gordon with big brown eyes. “But your country…the money issues…?”
She blinked. “What money issues?”
“The PR girl, she told me Belle had to marry George because of financial reasons. That your country would fail without him, and Belle would blame me.”
Shaking her head, she glanced out the window. “That’s a lie. We are financially stable. Extremely so.”
“So you’re not a failing country?”
“No. Not at all, and Mary will be dealt with for telling such awful lies.” She sighed. “Yes, it would be better if she married a prince. If that prince brought riches to our country. I’ve always told her that her country was the most important thing, and that she had to sacrifice all for it. But after seeing her do exactly that… I’ve changed my mind. There is something that is more important to her father and me, even though it took me a long time to realize it, and I have a feeling it’s more important to you, too.”
He cocked a brow. “And what’s that?”
“Isabelle’s happiness.” She stood, rubbing her palms briskly over her dress. “Are you still willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she’s well cared for? To protect her? Do you love her?”
He gritted his teeth. Though he didn’t know much about love, he had a feeling this burning pain he had in his chest might go away if he won Belle’s trust back. If he could hold her again, the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach would go away, too.
Did that mean he loved her?
He had no fucking clue. They’d only known each other a few days, but he knew if given more time, he could love the shit outta her.
“Honestly? I wouldn’t know love if it punched me in the face.” He stood, locking gazes with Belle’s mother. “But I know that I miss her so much I can’t sleep. I already had trouble sleeping before her, but now I really can’t sleep. I miss how she curled up with me at night, her hand on my chest. I miss her laugh. Her smile. Her hair. Everything about her. All the—”
He broke off, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. He hadn’t meant to ramble so damn much… But all of it was true. Every single word.
“That’s a lot of missing going on,” she said, her eyes lighting up with a smile.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I know I care about her. I have an empty feeling in me that won’t go away, and it has been here ever since I sent her home without me. And I know it kills me when I think of her being with another man. Especially Prince George.”
She smiled. “That sounds like love to me.”
“Then maybe it is.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Should I call the castle and have them start the announcements?”
“I don’t want her to know until I get there.” He paced. “I want to be the one to tell her. Can we keep her in the dark?”
“Hmm…” She tapped her chin. “I can send her on a spa retreat. I’ll tell her it’s a present from her future husband, and she simply must accept.”
He grinned. “I’ll go there, then, and talk to her. I hope she’ll forgive me.”
“I have a feeling she will, if you grovel enough.”
Flinching, he cupped the back of his neck. “I’ve never done that before, but I can try my best. For her, I’d do anything.”
“I know. That’s why I want you to be my son-in-law. I’d thought Isabelle could marry a prince of our choosing and find happiness, just like I did. Not all arranged marriages are bad. I fell in love with her father, after all.”
He shook his head. “Then you’re lucky. Not all arranged marriages work out that way.”
“I know that now. I thought that our country should come first, but now I see that finding love doesn’t mean you still can’t put country first. Forcing Isabelle into a loveless marriage isn’t the right thing to do, and I’m willing to help make things better now that I’ve seen the error of my ways.” She smiled. “Please. Go pack. We’ll leave within the hour.”
“The hour?” He glanced at the clock. “I have to talk to my boss. Tell him—”
“Oh, please. Don’t stress. That is already taken care of,” she said, her smile widening. She seemed to be hiding some sort of secret from him, but she wasn’t telling, if she was. “Yes, I know it’s presumptuous of me. But I followed a hunch.”
Laughing, he headed for the stairs. “I think it was a good hunch. I’ll go pack now.” He only made it two steps before Georgie tripped him. He frowned down at him, thinking of one possible issue. “Uh…how does the palace feel about a royal dog?”