I’m the first King of Lexenburg to reign without a queen by my side, and because of that, the country loves to speculate and gossip. I can’t speak to a woman without stories being circulated. Because of this, I have to be very careful until I find out what’s public knowledge regarding Natalie’s past. It’s not that I’m ashamed of her. If anything, knowing her past makes me that much prouder of her because I know where she came from and how hard she worked to make a better life for herself. But not everyone will see it like that.
“Daddy!” Jasmine yells, running down the hallway. She’s wearing a pretty pink dress now and her hair is in pigtails. Natalie must’ve had her change at the hotel. When she gets to me, she throws herself into my arms and I lift her, my heart full. I thought it would take time for her to warm up to me. I had mentally prepared myself for her to be shy and for our time together to be awkward, but based on the way she’s hugging my neck, she’s already accepted who I am and is embracing it, and for that I am thankful.
“Sorry,” Natalie says, catching her breath. “I told her not to run.” She mock glares at Jasmine, who remains with her arms wrapped around my neck.
“I wanted to get to my daddy faster,” Jasmine explains. “Can we go pick my room now?”
“We sure can,” I tell her. “And tomorrow you can help Mrs. Evelyn, the estate decorator, decorate it.” Stephanie, despite not being thrilled about all of this, scheduled for Evelyn to come out tomorrow. She also scheduled the private tours like I asked and rescheduled any meetings or events that could be rescheduled.
I give Natalie and Jasmine a full tour of the Garden Estate, which is where our family resides. The rest of the castle is broken up into wings and towers—all named after various flowers. There is a place for everyone, but aside from the occasional event that takes place in the Rose Garden tower, neither of them will need to go anywhere else. Everything they need is here.
After Natalie and Jasmine pick out their rooms, which are located near mine, we spend the remainder of the afternoon together. We go for a walk through my private gardens while Jasmine tells me all about her travels, her family in Florence, and how excited she is to start school. In return, I tell her about her uncle Nate, who is in Hawaii with his new wife, Annabelle, on their honeymoon, and my cousin, Jack, who lives in town and has twin daughters a year younger than Jasmine. There are many more people in our family, but I don’t want to overwhelm her.
The entire time we hang out, Natalie and I exchange silent looks and glances. At one point, I catch her staring at me, and I smirk knowingly, making her blush. It might’ve been six years since we were together, but the attraction is still there on her part, and that’s good because it’s definitely there on mine, and I have every intention of exploring it.
When evening rolls around, we join my mom for dinner. She spends the meal asking both Jasmine and Natalie questions, but I notice she stays clear of our past, and for that I’m grateful. At first, Natalie is nervous, guarded, answering vaguely, but once she realizes my mom is simply trying to get to know her, she opens up. By the end of dinner, both she and my daughter have won my mom over. And when Natalie takes Jasmine away to give her a bath, my mom tells me as such.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to lie with you?” Natalie asks Jasmine for the third time. She’s been bathed and is in her princess pajamas, lying in bed. She insisted I read her the fairy-tale story she gave to her mom because she doesn’t have any other books. I told her we would buy her some new ones tomorrow and that seemed to excite her.
“I’m okay, Mommy,” Jasmine insists. “I’m not a baby.”
Her words hit me straight in the heart. I missed her being a baby. Her first word, her first steps… I missed everything. I have so much time to make up for.
“I know you’re not,” Natalie tells her. “But this is a strange place…”
“No, it’s not,” Jasmine argues. “It’s Daddy’s castle and I’m the princess.”
Natalie nods. “I know. Okay, well, if you need anything, my room is right next door.” She gives Jasmine a kiss on her forehead and then one to each of her cheeks. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” Jasmine says through a yawn. Then to me, with sleepy eyes that are barely open, she adds, “Love you, Daddy.”
And with those three words, I’m pretty sure my heart just imploded inside my chest. How my daughter can be told I’m her dad and, just like that, accept me so completely, is scary on so many levels. It shows you how vulnerable and innocent children are.
“I love you too,” I tell her, meaning it with every fiber of my being. “Get some rest because tomorrow we’re going to see the gardens and church like you wanted.” Her tiny sleepy face lights up for a quick second before her blue eyes droop in exhaustion.
After kissing her cheek and wishing her sweet dreams, Natalie and I leave her to get some sleep.
“She’ll be out within seconds,” Natalie says, once we’re outside the door. “Today has been a big day for her.”
We remain standing there, quietly, for a minute and then she peeks her head in. “Yep, already out,” she confirms. I look inside and sure enough, Jasmine’s eyes are closed and she’s snoring softly, cuddled up with her stuffed puppy that her uncle Gio and aunt Aria bought her when she was a baby. She told me she wants a real one just like it, but before I could offer to buy her one, Natalie cut me off, saying maybe when she’s older. I shrugged, mentally noting to contact the animal shelter.
After closing Jasmine’s door, Natalie walks down the hall toward her room. She stops in front of her door and I scramble to think of a way to keep her with me. To keep her talking so I can spend some time with her. All afternoon it’s been about Jasmine, and I’m okay with that, but now that she’s asleep, I want some time with Natalie.
“You never ate your cake,” I point out.
She snorts out a laugh. “Is that the best you can do, Liam?” She raises a single brow. “If you want to spend time with me, just say so.” Fuck, I love how open and honest this woman is.
“I want to spend time with you.” I push her against the wall until our bodies are flush against one another. “I want to spend time around you…” I run my nose along the length of her slim neck. “In you.” I kiss the sensitive spot behind her ear that I know from experience makes her squirm. “I’ve thought about what I would do to you if I ever saw you again, so many times over the years…”
Her breath hitches. “I have too,” she whispers. “So many dreams… fantasies.”
“And now here we are.”
“I want you,” she murmurs. “It’s too soon.” She shakes her head. “We’ve only just reconnected but—”
I capture her mouth with my own, cutting her words off. I don’t give a shit how soon it is. I knew she was the one for me back then and I know it now. I let her go once, accepted that she had disappeared and I couldn’t find her. I should’ve scoured the earth for her. Demanded to know where she was. But I didn’t and we lost so much time because of that. I’m not going to waste any more. She’s here, in my arms, and I’m going to make damn sure she never disappears again.