Chapter Sixteen

When he returns from the bathroom, Luca tucks himself into bed next to me, his arm going around me to pull me back against him. "Come close, Schatz. Ich brauchedeinenahe."

My whole body is humming, and I feel warm. I think this is what total satisfaction feels like. "You have to speak English when we're in bed together."

"I will try, but only until you learn some German. I'm afraid my brain isn't at its best when you're naked. Another part of me takes over, and he only speaks German." He chuckles behind me, and we're so close I feel it go through his body. "Though you should know that almost everyone in Ralavia speaks English, too. My mother spoke Dutch, so she picked up German very quickly. Or you don't have to learn at all, and I'll ensure everyone speaks English around you."

I tilt back so I can sort of get a look at him. His arm tightens around me, and I realize he's worried he's pushing me. He doesn't seem to understand that he's kind of blown away all my walls. "I'll start learning as soon as I can get my phone back. Unlike Your Majesty, I haven't had access to any kind of electronics, and it's not like there's a tutor here. I want to know what you're saying to me."

He settles back down, seemingly calmer. "I'm saying how beautiful you are and how long I've waited for you." He kisses the nape of my neck. "Are you feeling better now? I meant what I said to you earlier. You're not causing anyone harm. We're not hurting anyone at all."

I'm not so sure about that, but now that I'm here with him, I know I can't leave. "I don't want to think about the show right now. I want to be here with you for as long as we can."

Because in a few hours we'll be right back on set, and he'll be dating a bunch of women I've come to count as friends.

"Good. I don't either," he admits. "I want to think about you and the here and now. You should know that I've come to like your mother and her business partner very much. I might talk to her a bit when you're not around."

"I'm sure she's told you some stories." I try not to think about the fact that this is one of the reasons we can't work. Our circumstances are wildly different. We don't live in the same world. My mother makes sandwiches for a living and his was a queen.

"She has, and you're adorable in all of them. I think we get along quite well, though she did tell me to be careful with young ladies' hearts. Tonya seems to be watching me. Told me I should be careful. I was worried until I realized you're like a daughter to her, too. I was surprised to find out Harper has managed to get herself a job on set. I thought she owned her own business."

"Oh, this job isn't about money," I explain. "Harper is here to stick her nose directly into my business. She's trying to protect me and honestly, I don't know what I would do without her."

"Well, I hadn't seen her until earlier today and she has already threatened to use her sharpest tools on me if I hurt you, and I believe her. Please, my darling, tell her I have the best of intentions."

"I'll talk to her and my mom. Tonya can be a little intense. They won't poison you or anything," I promise him.

"Hans tests all my food, so it would be him," he says with a sober expression.

I turn, facing him. "Are you serious?"

His lips split in a delightful grin as he laughs. "Of course not. That would be ridiculous. No one is looking to take me out. Except your relatives and friends. I like that everyone is so protective of you."

He doesn't know the half of it. Somewhere in the city there is a tech goddess who is probably planning ways to destroy Luca on the Internet. "Oh, you have no idea. It's Ivy you really have to worry about. She's got a protective streak, and she's excellent with a computer."

A brow rises over his eyes. "So I've heard. I'll have to watch my step with her. You know I heard something earlier about an Ivy. Production mentioned the name. I couldn't help but wonder if they weren't talking about your Ivy."

"I can't imagine why they would. Well, I can. She had this article released about how the whole Jensen Medical thing went down and then it came out that her CFO—who happened to be her boyfriend at the time—sold the whole company out. It turned out okay because now she works with her fiancé on a startup dealing with a matchmaking AI," I reply and my mouth keeps going. "Did you know that matchmaking in Victorian England was seasonal? They had a whole season for it. It started around Easter with a big debutante ball and ended on August 12th because that was the opening of grouse hunting season. What is a grouse?"

He chuckles, and his arm tightens around me. "It's like a goose. And you are filled with information. I promise not to give Ivy any reason to need revenge on me. It's obvious how many people care about you. Probably because you're kind and tenderhearted and an excellent friend." He punctuates each compliment with a stroke of my hair.

The sweet intimacy pierces me. Tomorrow we have to play our roles, but tonight we get to be Ani and Luca. Tonight we get to shut the world out and be together. "Do you have any friends you've had since you were a kid?"

I think it would be odd to go through life without deep friendships, without someone who understood what your childhood was like. We're so shaped by how we grow up.

"I wasn't allowed friends," Luca admits. "Not in the way you would understand. There were no playdates or football teams for me. I had mates at school, and I had my cousins, but my childhood was isolated. I'm the last of the line, and when my parents accepted that they wouldn't have another child, I'm afraid they became protective of me."

"Because they loved you."

He snorts, a not entirely unsexy sound coming from him. "No, because if I died one of my cousins would be the heir, and my father couldn't stand his brother or sister so keeping them away from the throne was of the utmost importance. No. It wasn't about love. They left me with nannies. There were always three, so they took shifts. When I was older, I went to school, and there was a bit of freedom in that, although it turns out raising a child only around adults makes one awkward. It took some time to build any kind of normal relationships with the other lads in my class."

That sounded terrible. "You should have been able to run and play. My parents… Well, I don't remember a time when they didn't fight. They weren't a good match, but they tried for a long time. It was a relief when they divorced. After my dad decided he'd punished my mom enough, he was effectively out of my life. Even when they were married, it wasn't like he did his fair share of the childcare. I spent a lot of time on sets like this one. My mom or Tonya would pick me up and I would do my homework at the craft service table, handing out sandwiches. I knew how to make coffee way too young. But she always made sure I got time with my friends."

"I don't think I made a real friend until I was an adult," Luca muses. "It's hard because I have to put my people first. That means being friends with or dating me can be disappointing. I can't tell you how many times I have to cancel because of some emergency that forces me to return to the palace."

"Your girlfriend should understand that you have a thankless job that you never asked for." I feel for Luca in this. He never got to dream about what he would be when he grew up. His path was set the moment he was born, and it wouldn't change unless he was willing to leave his people behind.

"Perhaps it's why I've never had a truly serious girlfriend. I've never considered marrying any of them. The one I was closest to threw a huge fit when I had to leave our vacation in Greece to deal with a problem with parliament. Tell me what you would have done. Perhaps not thrown an empty bottle of Dom Pérignon at my head."

"No. I wouldn't have done that." I know exactly what I would have done. "I would have packed up and gone with you. If I couldn't, I would have followed you when I could. You don't have a nine to five job. You have a whole country depending on you. That's why allowances must be made."

There's a knock on the door that reminds me that despite our intimacy, we're never truly alone.

Luca sighs and kisses my forehead. "Remember that you said this, Schatz. The only reason Hans would interrupt is for a problem only I can handle." He stares at me for a moment. "I don't want to leave you."

Another knock.

I kiss him briefly. "It's okay. I understand."

He slides out of bed and retrieves his boxers and pants before opening the door. After a short conversation with Hans that has me wishing I knew more German, Luca sighs and nods his head.

"I have to go," he says as he pulls his shirt over his head. "Apparently there are papers I have to sign. It's already morning at home, and parliament can't meet without them. I would have them come over here, but I don't trust anyone besides Hans with our secret. I'll see you tomorrow at the elimination ceremony. I can't wait to see what you wear." He winks. "Something short, I hope. You always look so beautiful, Schatz. Do you want to get rid of Shelby? This I will do for you if you think it will make the house calmer."

See, this right here is why I'm feeling guilty. "You can't discuss eliminations with me, Luca. I think you should talk to the producers. She does make for good TV, and you have to think about that. You're here for a reason."

He slips his shoes on, and he's so adorably disheveled it takes everything I have to not throw myself at him again. "Reasons can change. Or perhaps evolve is a better word. I still have to think about Ralavia, but that doesn't mean you're not a priority. You are, and I won't let you go easily." His lips curl up. "The good news is I still have two weeks to convince you. I think I'll practice looking pathetic so you can't deny me when I ask you to be my queen."

I laugh because if he asked me right now, I would absolutely say yes. I would chuck my whole future to be with him. He's straightening his clothes when I remember I wanted to ask him a question. "Where did you hear about Ivy?"

"Uhm, we're supposed to do something with a woman named Emma later this week," he explains. "She's coming in with your friend, Ivy."

My jaw drops. Well, she's found a way to get her ass in here. I shouldn't have doubted her for a second. "Emma's not a person. She's Ivy's matchmaking AI. They're going to run us through to see if we're compatible. Now I know why all the women were filling out forms earlier. I didn't have to. They already have mine."

He frowns. "You were going to allow a computer to find you a boyfriend?"

"You're allowing a reality show to choose a wife." I point out the obvious.

"No, I'm allowing a reality show to give me a pool of candidates and then I choose, and so far it's worked out well for me," he replies.

"Only because someone dropped out at the last minute. Otherwise, I would be the person getting you drinks," I counter.

"No, my darling, you would be the crew member I was secretly fucking and the reason none of this worked out because I'm so crazy about you. It's fate. You can't run from it. I don't care what that silly computer says," he returns.

Another knock. So Hans is getting impatient. "Go run your country."

"Fate, Schatz." He winks at me and then he's gone and I'm alone again.

But his side of the bed is still warm and still smells like him, so when I settle back down I fall asleep.

It's no surprise that I dream about him.