Which spoke well of Kon’s personal integrity.
“Yes.”
“You didn’t get together with Nataliya though.”
“I needed time to get over us.”
“I bet that didn’t make your dad happy.”
“Considering he had no idea why I was dragging my feet? No. He was very angry with me.”
“And then Queen Tiana died.”
“And I was off the hook.” At least during the period of formal mourning.
Even an announcement of engagement would have been considered in poor taste during that time. Not to mention, it would have been unkind to flaunt the idea of marriage in front of his brother who had just lost a wife.
That his father had not continued to push the issue after that time was up was something he’d always been grateful for and hadn’t questioned too closely.
“But not entirely.”
“No.” Kon shrugged. “Though I put off fulfilling the contract as long as I could.”
“Why?” Emma didn’t believe Kon had been holding out for getting back together with her.
“Nataliya had a thing for my brother. She always felt more like my sister than my potential bride.”
“But you did court her.”
It was Kon’s turn to grimace. “I had my staff send her gifts and flowers. I never even called her.”
“Not much of a courtship.”
“It was a business deal.” He shrugged. “Not a romance.”
“Are we a romance?” He had said he wanted to court her.
“We belong to each other. I am the best man for you. You are the ideal woman for me. Courting you is only natural.”
Typical Kon, avoid a yes or no answer if it wasn’t what he thought she wanted to hear. But his answer wasn’t a bad one regardless.
“Hmm...” Emma didn’t quite know what to say to that.
He was talking like his feelings for her were something deeper again, but Kon had been pretty clear that he didn’t consider himself capable of romantic love.
“When do you want to go to Mirrus?” Kon asked her.
“Mickey graduates from preschool in two weeks. We can plan to fly out any time after that, but do you have business in Seattle you have to attend to?”
“I can work from Mirrus as well as Seattle, if not as efficiently.”
“Okay.”
“We will fly out the day after Mishka’s graduation. Is he really going to wear a graduation gown?”
“Yes. I ordered it months ago. It’s pretty adorable. We went to last year’s graduation so he could watch his friends. I’ve rarely seen anything as cute.”
“Do many preschools do this?”