The Man's Outrageous Demands Page 0,41
starving. While you’re coming up with your next question, how about if I let the waiters serve?”
“That’s fine,” she whispered, suddenly intimidated by his closeness for some reason. It was probably the way his eyes stared at her mouth, as if he wanted to kiss her rather than eat the delicious smelling dinner waiting for them.
Without blinking an eye, Sam took a step back, then raised one hand and, instantly, five servants appeared, placed various plates and serving dishes on the table already covered with white linen and candles, then just as quickly disappeared.
“Shall we see what’s on the menu for tonight?”
“Sure, but I think this counts as one of your questions,” she said and sat down in the chair he held for her.
“How so?” “You wanted to know what my favorite dish is. And now you’re going to find out.”
“Ah, but I didn’t ask the question. I simply requested the food be served.”
“Basically the same thing,” she shrugged.
“I beg to differ,” he said as he lifted the silver cover off both plates and looked down curiously. “No question was asked, therefore, I still maintain that I didn’t ask it.”
She laughed at his sidestepping of the finer points of the game. “Fine. Who’s turn is it?”
“Well, if you don’t know, I’ll take the lead. Shrimp scampi,” he smiled over his shoulder.
“Smells delicious, doesn’t it?” she asked, taking her seat and waiting for him to seat himself.
“Sure does. What’s your least favorite food?”
“Broccoli,” she replied instantly. “No! Asparagus,” she said nodding. “No…actually, cauliflower.”
“Not a vegetable person, I’m guessing.”
“Oh, I like vegetables. Just not all of them. But I absolutely hate those three and you wouldn’t believe how many times those are served at functions I attend.”
“Do you eat them?”
“Of course,” she said indignantly. “I have to.”
“Why is that?”
“Because it would be rude if I didn’t.”
“Are you always polite?”
“When it could cause a major political issue? Yes.”
“How often is that the case?”
“According to my parents when I was growing up, every meal. Even at our own family meals, apparently.”
Sam laughed. “You sound like you had a tough childhood.”
“Oh, no. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t fall into that poor little rich girl syndrome. I know I had a great childhood. I got to do more things than the people I was reading about in the stories so I understood how great it was. But there are pros and cons to every situation. Having to eat my vegetables is one of the cons of being a princess,” she laughed.
“What are some of the pros?”
“I got to visit places most people could only read about.”
“Like what?”
“I’ve been to all the continents and almost every country in Europe. Not very many states in the United States, but I’d like to visit more of them. I’ve also been to Canada, Mexico, China and several other countries. How about you?”
“I’ve been to several places,” he said and took a bite of shrimp. “Do you like to travel? Would you say that’s the best part of being a member of a royal family?” he asked, steering the questions away from the places he’d traveled. He’d been to many of those same countries but not legally and not in any capacity that he’d be able to talk about. It was better that she not know about that part of his life.
“No. Not the best part,” she said, thinking about her family and how tightly knit they were. “I think the closeness of our family is the best part. I know in other families, people tend to drift apart. But because we’re so isolated from the rest of the world, we really focused on each other and drew strength from that bond. My brother still has dinner with my parents any night there isn’t an event he or they have to attend. That’s about three or four times a week in most cases.”
“Isn’t that to update the king on state issues?”
She nodded in response. “Yes, but there’s more to it than that. And I’m sure, once he gets married, he’ll back off that and will want to be alone with his family, but hopefully, we’ll all bring that closeness to our new families.”
Sam looked at the gentle woman across from him and his throat tightened at the idea of her bearing his children. His body instantly reacted to the image he formed in his mind of Marabeth growing large with their children, being there with her when she gave birth to them. He hoped she wanted a large family because