Her prince dropped to his knees and pointed out the different figures and asked Bjorn if he knew who they were. The toddler named every single one of them, including the one meant to be Blythe.
"What a smart boy you are, Bjorn," Tor said with more warmth than he used with any of his other family members.
Bjorn's grin was huge. "Thank you, Uncle."
Then the little boy gave Tor a spontaneous hug.
Which the prince returned without hesitation despite the physical distance he had maintained with the adults in his family since his arrival.
"You will make a good father yourself, one day," Prince Canute told Tor, his voice laced with approval.
The affirming words sliced into Blythe's heart with the precision of a stiletto.
Any children Tor had would not be with her.
The longer their casual relationship lasted, the less casual it felt. And the more grief she felt at the prospect of losing Tor to his destiny.
That night at dinner, there was one guest Blythe had not been expecting. Janne had told her it would be a family dinner, which usually meant exactly that: family.
The only exceptions there had ever been at these more intimate meals had been Blythe herself and Tor's friend, Else.
Else was not here to see Tor because she was preparing for her wedding. Tor had told Blythe in one of his texts last week that he probably wouldn't see the other woman until his next trip home.
If then.
Apparently, Else's parents had demanded she and Tor cool their friendship so as not to feed the continuing speculation about them.
Blythe could not tell if Else submitting to the dictate had hurt Tor, or not. She'd asked but he'd said no.
The problem was, Blythe wasn't sure Tor would have admitted it if he had been hurt.
Regardless, it wasn't Else at the dinner table tonight, it was the daughter of one of Lady Ingrid's friends. A member of the English nobility, Lady Angela was a beautiful young woman with impeccable manners and who was completely at ease amidst the royal family.
Blythe despised her on sight.
Lucky for him, Tor was polite to the other woman, but he didn't smile at her. And he did not look at her like he wanted to devour her body.
Like he looked at Blythe when no one else was around.
They had agreed to be exclusive as long as they were together and Blythe had no intention of tolerating any aberration to that agreement.
She wasn't letting Tor go until she had to, and that day was not here.
Even if it was obvious Prince Canute was ready for his youngest son to settle down.
Tor had told Blythe he had no intention of even considering a future with a woman until his military service ended.
"Are you all right?" Janice asked Blythe partway through the meal.
Blythe forced a smile and turned it on her friend. "Of course."
"You're awfully quiet."
"Are you saying I'm not usually?"
Janice just laughed, but then she sobered. "When you meet new people, you normally ask tons of questions. It's that journalistic curiosity you hone with your travel Vlog, not to mention the show you're hosting. You usually struggle to rein it in."
"So?"