“He never would.”
“You didn’t think Queen Crazy would either.”
“No, I did not. And the truth is I misjudged both my brother and my deceased sister-in-law. He cares for me far more than I thought, and she was no friend to me at all.”
“I would agree, at least with the latter.”
“You’ll see that Nikolai is a good man.”
“If he is, then he won’t mind signing the custody agreement.”
Konstantin frowned. “This is really important to you, isn’t it?”
“I want to trust you, Kon. You don’t know how much. I see how important you already are to our son, how keenly he misses having an extended family, but I’m his mom.”
“And no one will ever try to take that away from you,” Konstantin promised fiercely.
“So, sign the contract. Get your brother to sign it. Give me something to trust.”
“I am not enough.”
“Stop saying that. Don’t you see that you doing this shows me that you’re as committed to Mickey’s happiness and my safety as you claim to be? This would be you being enough. This would be you being trustworthy in the way that I need it.”
The only question was would His Royal Highness’s pride allow him to follow up all his verbal promises with action?
Konstantin grabbed his phone and dialed. “I have a task for you,” he said into it rather than a greeting. “I need a custody agreement that guarantees Emma’s role as primary custodian of our son, regardless of any other circumstances. In addition, you will include a proviso for financial support.” He named a monthly sum that was ridiculously high. “The palace will take responsibility for security for both Emma and Mikhail.”
The man, Emma thought it was probably the lawyer she’d met earlier, Albert Popov, squawked at the other end of the phone.
“That is not your decision to make,” Konstantin replied.
The man said something else.
Konstantin’s expression turned iceberg cold. “And why would I take your advice on matters of this nature after your colossal error in judgment regarding the TRO you took out on my behalf against the mother of my child?”
Emma could not hear what the lawyer said, but she now knew for sure it was Mr. Popov. Konstantin relaxed just a tiny bit, so whatever the man had said, it must have been conciliatory.
“There needs to be a place for me to sign, but also my father, my brothers and my sister-in-law.” Konstantin frowned. “I am quite sure I know how my family will react to being asked to sign this agreement better than you do.”
Mr. Popov said something else.
“Da. Have the paperwork officially recognizing Mikhail as my son ready to sign.” Impatience lined every inch of Konstantin’s face. “We have already done the DNA testing.”
Emma had insisted on it that first week and now she was glad.
“Yes, it was Emma’s idea. But there was never any question I am Mikhail’s father.” He said this to Emma, though she was sure the lawyer thought Konstantin was talking to him.
Konstantin gave the lawyer a couple of more directions that would put definitive protections for Emma’s role in Mickey’s life in place and then ended the call.
“Do you have a lawyer to look these papers over?” he asked her.
“I...no. I’ll have to get one.” She would use the rainy day fund she’d been saving for the house’s repairs and remodel. “Thank you for that. You did more than I expected. Are you really going to get your whole family to sign the agreement?”
“Yes.”
“But will they?”
“Yes.”