Page 70 of Royal Pain

Chapter 24

Belinda

I find myself staring into space a lot these last few days. I was doing it right now. No matter what happens this will most definitely be the biggest decision of my life. How do you decide on something you’ve never even considered possible? I wasn’t the little girl who dreamed of being a princess. I never became obsessed with the Disney parade of Royal heroines. I was more into skateboarding and riding my bike.

But now I’m faced with a life altering choice. Am I seriously considering what Zan proposes? Actually it’s the queen who made it clear. Zan has given me some time to digest the idea of him being king. But my time is up, because he wants us to have “the conversation” tonight.

He gave me fair warning. I’ve set the stage for a relaxing dinner, hoping it puts us in the right mood. No fancy food made by the palace’s cooks. I wanted to cook our meal, although I use the word loosely. There’s no cooking genes in my body. To be fair, I haven’t tried it enough to come to a conclusion. Maybe I’m a fabulous cook, given the chance.

When I asked what he wanted for the meal, he said hot dogs. I can do that! It’s pretty revealing that I’m getting excited about boiling water.

“Smells good in here,” Zan says, coming out of the bedroom.

“It’s the onions I sautéed.”

“Umm.”

“You look too sexy to be a king.”

“Would you like to kiss my ring?”

“You can kiss my ass. How about that?”

“Sounds great!”

The wet hair, the bare chest, those running pants hung low. He’s got the best peen ravine I’ve ever seen.

He grabs the sweater drooped over the couch and slips it over his head.

“What are we having besides hot dogs?”

I go into my faux chef lingo. For some reason it’s with a French accent. “Well, Monsieur tonight we will dine on potato le salad, and how do you say beans?”

“Haricots.”

“Ver haricots and Le Vin.”

He starts laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I say, joining in his fun.

“You said we were having worm beans and wine. Sounds appetizing, Chef.”

“What? I thought I said green beans.”

He comes and wraps me in his arms. Leaning his head against mine, he sweetly kisses me. This feeling isn’t something I can ever see myself living without. Ever.

“You’ve been deep in thought,” he says.

A sigh leaves me speechless.

“I know.” He locks eyes with me. “It never leaves my mind either.”

“I’m working under a handicap because I’m not sure what this all means for us. I need you to be very clear, but at the same time I’m not sure you even know yourself.”

“Time for some liquid courage. For me anyway,” he says, pouring us both a glass of wine.

I take the goblet and wait for his toast.