arms, it felt like everything.
WHEN SHE WOKE Leo was still stretched out beside her, a slight smile curving his mouth and softening his features. Alyse gazed at him unreservedly for a moment and then, feeling bold, brushed a kiss against that smiling mouth.
Leo’s eyes fluttered open and his hands came up to her shoulders, holding her there against him.
‘That’s a rather nice way to wake up,’ he said, and before she could respond he shifted her body so she was lying fully on top of him, the press of his arousal against her belly.
‘I think you might have an even nicer way in mind,’ she murmured as Leo slid his hand from her shoulder to her breast, his palm cupping its fullness.
‘I certainly do,’ he said, and neither of them spoke for a little while after that.
* * *
Later, when they’d showered and dressed and were eating breakfast in a private dining room, Alyse asked him what his plans were for the day. Despite their morning love-making, in the bright light of day she felt some of her old uncertainties steal back. Perhaps Leo was content to enjoy their intimacy at night while still keeping himself apart during the day, consumed with work and royal duty.
Sitting across from him, sneaking glances at his stern profile, she was conscious of how little he’d said last night. I don’t know how much I have to give. Really, in most relationships—if they even had a relationship—that would have been a warning, or at least a disclaimer. Not the promise she, in her naïvely and ridiculous hope, had believed it to be.
Leo considered her question. ‘I have a meeting this morning with some Cabinet members about a new energy bill. But I’m free this afternoon. I thought—perhaps—I could give you a tour of the palace? You haven’t actually seen much of it.’
Alyse felt a smile bloom across her face and some of those uncertainties scattered. Some, not all. Leo smiled back, a look of boyish uncertainty on his face.
‘That sounds wonderful,’ she said, and his smile widened, just as hers did.
They talked about other things then, a conversation that was wonderfully relaxed and yet also strangely new, exchanging views on films and books; relating anecdotes they’d never thought to share in the last six years. Simply getting to know one another.
After breakfast Leo excused himself to get ready for his meeting and Alyse went upstairs to unpack. She spent the morning in her room, catching up on correspondence and tidying her things before she went down to lunch.
Sophia had gone out for the day, thankfully, and Alessandro was otherwise occupied, so it was just her, Leo and Alexa at the lunch table.
‘So how is married life, you two?’ Alexa asked after the footman had served them all and retired. ‘Bliss?’
Leo smiled faintly and shook his head. ‘Don’t be cynical, Lex.’
‘You’re telling me not to be cynical?’
‘Wonders never cease,’ Leo answered dryly, and Alexa raised her eyebrows.
‘So marriage has changed you.’
Alyse held her breath as Leo took a sip of his water, his face thoughtful and yet also frustratingly blank. ‘A bit,’ he finally answered, not meeting anyone’s gaze. Although she knew she shouldn’t be, Alyse felt a rush of disappointment.
She took a steadying breath and focused on her own lunch. She knew she needed to be patient. Last night had changed things, but it was all still so new. She had to give it—him, them—time to strengthen and grow. Time for Leo truly to believe he could change.
Believe he could love.
After lunch Leo took her on a grand tour of the palace. They wandered through a dozen sun-dappled salons, empty and ornate, their footsteps echoing on the marble floors.
‘This must have been great for hide and seek,’ Alyse commented as they stood in one huge room decorated with portraits of his ancestors and huge pieces of gilt furniture. She tried to picture two dark-haired, solemn-eyed brothers playing in the room. Had Leo and his brother Alessandro been close? Had he missed him when he’d left? She had so many questions, but she knew Leo wasn’t ready for her to ask them.
‘I didn’t really play in these rooms,’ Leo answered, his hands shoved into his pockets, his gaze distant as he let it rove around the room. ‘We were mostly confined to the nursery.’
‘We?’ Alyse prompted, and his expression didn’t even flicker.
‘The children. And of course, as I told you before, I went to boarding school when I was six.’
‘That’s rather young, isn’t it? To go away.’
He shrugged. ‘It was what my parents wanted.’
She thought of the remote King, the haughty Queen. Not the most loving of parents. ‘Did you miss them?’
‘No. You don’t miss what you’ve never had.’ She didn’t think he was going to say anything more, but then he took a deep breath and continued, his gaze focused on the sunshine spilling through the window. ‘If you’ve ever wondered how my parents got the idea of having us pretend to be in love, it’s because that’s all they’ve ever done. They were only interested in me or my— Or any of us when someone was watching.’ His mouth twisted. ‘A photo opportunity to show how much they loved us. As soon as it passed, they moved on.’
‘But...’ Alyse hesitated, mentally reviewing all the magazine inserts and commemorative books she’d seen about Maldinian’s golden royal family: the posed portraits, the candid shots on the beach or while skiing. Everyone smiling, laughing.
Playing at happy families.
Was Leo really saying that his whole family life had been as much a masquerade as their engagement? She knew she shouldn’t be surprised, yet she was. It was so unbearably soulless, so terribly cold.
No wonder Leo didn’t believe in love.
Her heart ached for Leo as a boy, lonely and ignored. ‘That sounds very lonely,’ she said and he just shrugged.
‘I’m not sure I know what loneliness is. It was simply what I was used to.’ Yet she didn’t believe that; she couldn’t. What child didn’t long for love and affection, cuddles and laughter? It was innate, impossible to ignore.
But not to suppress. Which was what it seemed Leo had done for his whole life, she thought sadly. Now her heart ached not just for Leo as a boy, but for the man he’d become, determined not to need anyone. Not to love anyone or want to be loved back—only to be let down.
‘Anyway.’ He turned from the window to face her, eyebrows raised. ‘What about you? You’re an only child. Did you ever want siblings?’
She recognised the attempt to steer the conversation away from himself and accepted it. He’d already revealed more than she’d ever anticipated or even hoped for. ‘Yes, I did,’
