“Yeah. To the castle.” Pulling her bag down, she set it on the floor between them, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered. “Home.”
He kissed her sweetly, unable to resist having another taste. Grinning, he laughed into her mouth as the plane erupted in cheers and clapping. “I can’t wait to get you home,” he whispered into her mouth.
“Good,” she whispered, tightening her grip on his hair. “Now let’s go so I can show you, in privacy, just how much I love you.”
“As you wish.” He kissed her one last time. “Anything you wish, forever and always.”
With her lips and her body pressed against his and her hands in his hair—this was it. This was what he’d been waiting for his whole life.
Their happy ending.
Epilogue
Six months later
Alicia stood in front of the mirror i
n her bedroom, staring at herself with wide eyes, parted lips, and so many diamonds on her that it was ridiculous. She wore a sequined gold gown, a diamond tiara, a bracelet, teardrop earrings, bright red lipstick that stood out in stark contrast against her blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes.
And, once again, she felt utterly out of place.
And she wasn’t even there yet.
She stood in an opulent room with lush furnishings, and in the mirror she could see the bed she shared with the man she loved…who just so happened to be a king. Resting her hands on her vanity, she shook her head at the turn her life had taken over the last few months. She’d gone from living in a small studio apartment in Harlem, by herself, to living in a legitimate palace, and never being alone.
It was crazy.
Insane.
Unbelievable.
And yet…it was real.
Even though they never spent a night out of each other’s arms, they kept up appearances by keeping her in her own room three doors down from his. He’d wanted to put her in the queen’s chambers, but she refused. It was enough that the people had to accept an American as their King’s lover, but to make it so she broke tradition and slept with the king in his bed before marriage…
She drew the line there.
She had to draw the line somewhere.
Someone knocked on the door, and Scotty bolted under the bed, leaving behind a tuft of fur as he hid from whoever interrupted his supper. Shaking her head at the cat, she straightened, pressing a hand to her stomach, which fluttered nervously, and tried to stop worrying so freaking much. Tonight was a big deal, though, because Leo had awarded her with some lands that made her an official lady. Lady Wallace—in honor of her dead fish. Poor guy.
But anyway, she now owned a country estate on five acres of rolling hills and lush meadows. That had been her Christmas present from Leo.
A freaking cottage.
She’d gotten him a fitness watch. He’d acted like it was a million dollars.
“Come in,” she called out.
The door opened, and in stepped the man of her dreams. The man who had given her more in these last six months than she’d ever imagined possible. Things she hadn’t even remotely believed she could have.
Like happiness.
He shut the door behind him, whistling through his teeth as his gaze raked over her. Like always, her body leaped to life at his appreciative stare. “You look utterly, breathtakingly, unbelievably beautiful tonight. I am, hands down, the luckiest man on this planet, because I get to have you on my arm.”
Her cheeks heated, and she smiled. “And you, sir, are as smooth a talker as ever. But you already have my heart, so you can stop with your flowery words.”
“Never,” he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her forehead. “The day I stop saying how lucky I am, is the day I start taking you for granted, and it’ll be the day I start to lose you, so it’ll never happen. Not on my watch.”