he’d never had. For a moment, compassion for the little boy he had once been touched her and she forced herself to concentrate on the present.
‘But it wouldn’t be good for Amil to grow up and see his parents in an unhappy marriage.’
‘Why assume it will be unhappy?’
‘Because...’ To her own annoyance, not a single reason sprang to mind that didn’t sound stupid. Eventually she said, ‘You can’t expect me to sign up to a life sentence with a man I don’t even know.’
‘Fair enough. Then let’s rectify that.’
He smiled—a smile of the toe-curling variety, like sunshine breaking through a grey cloudbank. And she couldn’t help smiling back. But then the moment was gone and the stormy skies reappeared.
‘Rectify it how?’
‘Let’s get to know each other. Bring Amil to Lycander and—’
‘No! Once we are in Lycander I have no idea if we will be subject to Lycander law. Which, as far as I can gather, is you.’
The smile was a distant memory now, his face set in granite. ‘You don’t trust me?’
‘I don’t trust anyone.’ After all, if you couldn’t trust your own father, who could you trust? His promise to her mother that he would look after Sunita, care for her as only a parent could, had turned out to be a bunch of empty, meaningless syllables.
‘So we stay here.’
He raised his hands. ‘Fair enough. But I can’t be away for too long. I can stay in Mumbai for a few days or... Wait, I have a better idea.’ The smile made a return. ‘How about we go away for a few days? You and me. Away from the press and the politics and the spotlight.’
‘You and me?’ Panic and horror cartwheeled in her stomach.
‘Yes. You and me. I’ll put my money where my mouth is—you said you couldn’t marry someone you didn’t know, so here’s the opportunity to spend time with me. Twenty-four-seven, with no distractions.’
‘Be still my beating heart.’
Now his smile broadened and this time she was sure her hair curled.
‘I knew you’d like the idea. Would your grandmother be happy to look after Amil?’
‘If I agree to this, Amil comes with us.’ A frown touched her brow and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. ‘Surely you want to get to know your son?’
‘Of course I do. But before we spend time together as a family, we need to know where we stand. I know he is only a baby, but I want him to have certainty and stability.’
The kind of certainty she guessed he’d never known. Again for an instant she wanted to reach out and offer comfort. What to do? What to do? In truth she didn’t know. She should close this down now—but was that the right thing for Amil?
Frederick wanted to be a real part of his life, wanted to make him his heir. She couldn’t in all conscience dismiss it out of hand. More than that, insane though it might be, there was a tiny part of her that didn’t want to. That same tiny part that two years ago had wanted Frederick to ask her to stay, to sweep her into his arms and—
Cue mental eye-roll and a reality check. Fairy tales didn’t exist. This was for Amil’s sake.
‘OK. Two days. I won’t leave Amil longer than that.’
‘Deal. Where do you want to go?’
Sunita thought for a moment. ‘Goa.’ That would keep it all in perspective—her parents had spent some time in Goa; they’d been happy there, but that hadn’t led to a happily-ever-after in any sense.
‘OK. Here’s how it’ll work. I’ll have my people pick up Amil and your grandmother now, and bring them to the hotel. Once we make the announcement about Amil the press will converge. I want my son safe here, under royal security protection.’
She could feel the colour leech from her skin and saw that he had noticed it.
‘I don’t believe he is danger, but his position has changed. No matter what we decide, there will be more interest in him and his life from now on.’
She inhaled an audible breath. ‘You’re right. I’ll call my grandmother and prepare her.’
Pulling her phone out of her bag, she rose and walked to the opposite end of the room.
* * *
Frederick watched as Sunita paced the width of the room as she talked, her voice low but animated, one hand gesturing as the conversation progressed.
It was impossible not to admire her fluidity of movement, her vibrancy. At least she hadn’t blown the marriage idea out of the water. But he’d known she wouldn’t do that—for Amil she had to consider it. What woman would deprive her son of a crown? Yet unease still tingled in his veins. Sunita might well be the one woman who would do exactly that.
Ironic, really—his chief advisor had a list of women who wanted to marry him, and he’d proposed to the one woman who didn’t even want to audition for the part of bride.
No matter—he would convince her that this was the way forward. Whatever it took.
His conscience jabbed him. Really? Whatever it took? Maybe that was how his father had justified the custody battles.
Abruptly he turned away and, pulling his own phone out, set to work making arrangements.
He dropped his phone back in his pocket as she returned to the table. ‘How did your grandmother take it?’
‘With her trademark unflappable serenity. I think she suspected—she may even have recognised you earlier and put two and two together. She’ll have Amil ready.’ Her chin jutted out at a defiant angle. ‘I’ve asked Sam and Miranda as well.’
She really didn’t trust him. ‘Do you really think I will take Amil from you by force?’
Silence greeted this and he exhaled heavily.
‘If you can’t trust my morality then at least trust my intelligence. I want you to marry me—kidnapping Amil would hardly help my cause. Or garner me positive publicity in Lycander. You hid Amil from me for two years. I have more reason to distrust you than vice versa.’
‘Maybe it’s best if neither of us trusts each other.’
She had a point.
‘Works for me. Whilst we are away Amil will be in your grandmother’s charge, with Sam and Miranda as your back-up. But they remain based in the hotel, and if they go anywhere one of my staff goes with them. Does that work for you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. Once they are safely here I’ll announce it to the press. We’ll leave for Goa tomorrow, after my visit to the school.’
‘Whoa! Hold on.’ One elegant hand rose in the air to stop
