‘It’s also harsh. What about affection? Mutual respect? What about passion?’
She had no idea where that last had come from—she’d meant to say love.
His gaze narrowed in on her mouth and a hot tide of colour stung her cheeks. ‘Those things can come later. After the marriage is consummated.’
‘That’s provided you marry someone nice,’ Regan pointed out. ‘What if this important man is horrible to her?’
‘The Crown Prince of Toran will not be horrible to my sister or he will have me to answer to.’
‘That’s all well and good in principle, but it doesn’t mean your sister wants it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my family, but when it comes to marriage I’d like to choose my own husband. Most women would.’
‘And what would you choose?’ His voice was deep and mocking. ‘Money? Power? Status?’
His questions made Regan feel sorry for him. Clearly he’d met some shallow women in his time, which went some way to explaining his attitude. ‘That is such a cynical point of view,’ she replied. ‘But no, those things wouldn’t make my top three.’
‘Let me guess,’ he said, a sneer in his voice. ‘You want kindness, a sense of humour, and someone to want you just for you.’
Surprised that he’d hit the nail on the head, Regan was flummoxed when he started laughing.
‘I don’t see what’s so funny,’ she griped. ‘That’s what most women want.’
‘That’s what most women say they want,’ he retorted with masculine derision. ‘I’ve found that those things fall far short of the mark unless money and power are involved.’
‘Then I’d say you’ve been dating women far short of the mark. Maybe you need to raise your expectations.’
‘When I marry, Miss James, it will not be for kindness, love or humour.’
‘No,’ Regan agreed, ‘I’m sure there’ll be nothing funny about it. Or loving.’
His lips tightened at her comment. ‘I don’t need love.’
‘Everyone needs love. Believe me, I see the kids in my classroom who aren’t properly loved and it’s heartbreaking.’
‘I agree that a parent should love a child,’ he rasped, ‘but it’s irrelevant in a marriage.’
‘I disagree. My parents were deeply in love until the day they died. My father was someone who showed genuine love and affection to all of us.’
‘No wonder you have a fairy-tale view of relationships.’
Regan tilted her head, wondering where his un-fairy-tale-like view had come from. ‘What about your parents? Were they happily married?’
‘My parents’ marriage was a merger.’
‘Not a surprise, I suppose, given your attitude, but I didn’t ask why they married, I asked if they were happy.’
One minute he was sitting opposite her and the next he was standing at the windows, staring out at the darkening sky. He took so long to respond to her question, and was so still, Regan would have assumed he’d gone to sleep if not for the fact that he was standing up. Just as she was wondering what she could say to break the tension in the room he turned back to her, a scowl darkening his face. ‘Whether my parents were happy or not is unimportant. But actually they weren’t. They rarely saw each other. My mother found that she didn’t have the stamina to be a queen and spent most of her time in Paris or Geneva. My father was King. A job that leaves little time for anything else. He did what needed to be done. As my sister will. As my brother will, and as I will.’
His words painted a somewhat bleak picture of his early years.
‘That sounds a bit cold. Maybe your sister wants something different. Maybe she and my brother are in love. Have you considered that?’
If the muscle jerking in his jaw was any indication, then yes, he had considered it. And not happily.
‘You’d better hope not,’ he growled.
‘Why not? What if they’re in love and want to get married?’ God, what if they were already married? This man would probably skewer Chad like a pig on a spit-roast. ‘Would that be such a big deal at the end of the day?’
The look he gave her was dangerous. Dangerous and uncompromising. ‘Milena is already betrothed,’ he bit out softly. ‘And that betrothal cannot be broken. It will not be broken.’