face, her stiff, too-regal posture. He wanted to needle her. He wanted to do more than that, after the hell she’d put him through. Unfortunately, he also wanted to bed her. A year’s separation hadn’t taken the edge off his desire.
A year ago, he’d naively thought a marriage license might afford him that privilege. But once the adoption papers had been filed immediately after their hasty wedding, she’d deserted him.
He wouldn’t trust her again. He’d ask for her help, but this time he’d make sure there were no loopholes.
She looked fantastic, he conceded. He’d been half-afraid she would look different in her princess environment, with her hair tortured into some silly style, maybe wearing a tiara and two pounds of makeup. But she was still just Mellie, a natural beauty who required no enhancement. That tumble of gold curls was as unruly as ever, inviting a man’s fingers to bury themselves in them. Her green eyes still flashed emerald bright, even out of the intense Palemeiran sun. And her body was just as curvy and luscious as he remembered, more tempting in a casual, flower-sprigged dress.
“So what’s going on? Why are you here?” Amelia asked point-blank.
“It’s those do-gooders at the Ministry of Family,” Nick said. “News of our marriage—and that it wasn’t legal—has been picked up in Korosol. The fact you dumped me on our wedding day has brought social workers down on me like a ton of bricks. They say it’s obvious the marriage was a fraud, and so was the adoption. Thanks.”
Amelia gasped. “They want to take the children from you? They can’t!”
“Apparently they can. Korosol isn’t America. There’s not any legal recourse. The Ministry of Family will investigate, and their decision is final.”
“But surely they’ll find you’re a good father. You’re very devoted to those children.”
“How would you know? You haven’t been around for the past year—a fact that hasn’t escaped the social workers’ notice. They say we got married with fraudulent intent, adopting children without ever meaning to live as a family. They’re old-fashioned in Korosol.”
Amelia looked away. “That’s my fault, I suppose. But I couldn’t stay in Palemeir. The ICF wanted me out of there, and I had to do what they said.”
“So you just abandoned your new husband and the children who needed you. Do you have any idea how badly you disappointed Josie?” And him, although he’d shoot himself before he’d admit that to Amelia.
His barb hit its mark. He saw the sheen of tears in her eyes, but she ruthlessly blinked them back. “We both knew the marriage was strictly so you could get the children out of the country,” she said. “Even if it had been legal, it was a sham.”
He intentionally softened his voice. “That kiss at the airport didn’t feel like a sham.”
Amelia’s face turned a flattering shade of pink. She had no ready comeback, and all she could do was look away. He was glad to know that kiss had affected her as it had him. There they’d been, arguing at the Palemeir airport—if one dirt airstrip and a cinder-block terminal could be called that—and suddenly they’d been in each other’s arms. They’d never kissed before, not even at their wedding.
That kiss, long and slow and hot, had been everything Nick had fantasized about, and more. He thought he’d won, that he’d convinced her to stay with him. Then he’d realized it was a kiss goodbye.
“I wanted to at least see you and the children to Korosol,” she finally said. “But the children were already getting attached to me. It was better that I left when I did. Surely you can see that.”
All right, maybe she had a point. There had never been any question that the marriage was one of convenience. He and Mellie had been friends—good, close friends, bonding quickly the way people do in adversity—but nothing more, not that he hadn’t wished for more.
They had never discussed a future together, and in fact, what could he have offered her? He was not husband material, and never would be—never again. For that matter, he wasn’t really great father material, either. He was no longer capable of fully opening his heart to a child. But in the last year he’d grown so fiercely protective of those kids that he would die for them. Mellie was right about that. Maybe he didn’t always say the right thing. Maybe he was too strict. But he refused to let anything bad happen to them—including another major disruption in their home life. He would fight the Ministry of Family with every weapon in his arsenal to prevent them from ripping the kids away from him and thrusting them into foster care.
After a few moments, Amelia was more composed. She sat up straighter, and in a brisk tone, said, “I’d like to help with your situation. What can I do?”
“I would think that would be obvious. You’re a princess. Your grandfather is my king, and he’s here. Oh, don’t look so surprised. I know he is still here, that he didn’t return to Korosol after CeCe’s wedding. My sister could never keep secrets from me.” Nick had tracked Eleanor down in New York, and had figured out that if she was here, so was the king.
“So you want me to intercede on your behalf.”
“You get an A.”
She looked uneasy, which he didn’t understand. The request he’d made of her was simple—far simpler than falsifying marriage licenses and adoption papers.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“I’ll do what I can, of course. But it’s not as simple as you make it sound. First, I’m not exactly on intimate terms with my grandfather. I barely know him. And second, I’m certainly not among King Easton’s favorites right now.”
“Ah. He doesn’t like it when his princesses make the gossip columns?”
“Exactly. And third, he’s a stickler for following the letter of the law. He doesn’t micromanage his country. Interfering with the Ministry of Family’s normal course of business isn’t his style.”
“You’re saying you won’t even try?”
“No, I’ll give it my best shot. But I think we should see him together, present a united front. It’s the best chance we have.”
Exactly what Eleanor had suggested.
“We should probably bring the children with us, too,” Amelia continued. “It couldn’t hurt for Easton to see you all together, as a family.”
“Let’s do it, then.” He stood up, anxious to get his audience with the king over with. The sooner he got this mess straightened out, the sooner he could get his kids back home to the peace and quiet of Montavi, the little mountain town where he was building a new life for himself and the children. And the sooner he could get away from this woman who’d lied to him but still made him tingle in uncomfortable ways.
Amelia laughed. “We can’t just walk in on him. We’ll have to make an appointment. Fortunately, your sister is the one who can set it up.”
“I’ll talk to her, then.” Hell, he’d pulled Josie out of school for this trip, thinking it wouldn’t hurt her to miss a couple of days of first grade. But now it looked as if she might miss a week or more, and she was already a year behind because of the language problem.
“I’ll
