The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,25

she said, unable to keep a smile off her face. “I can’t believe it. But yes. I’ll marry you.”

He let out a happy laugh, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her deeply. Naomi let herself be drawn into his embrace, captivated by his strength and the taste of him alongside the sea salt on her lips.

“Tomorrow,” he said, holding her at arm’s length, searching her face for a reaction. “We’ll do it tomorrow. We’ll go to that church we were looking at in town, the one you liked so much.”

“The one where you tried to give me a lecture on the importance of being practical?” she said wryly.

He laughed. “I guess you won that debate,” he said.

What a beautiful place to be married. “It will be perfect,” she told him.

He reached into the pocket of the shorts he had left on the beach and pulled out a small box. Then he reached for her hand to help her up. “Stand up,” he said. “I want to do this right.”

Naomi giggled and got to her feet. Petr rolled onto one knee and held up the box, flipping it open to reveal a beautiful ring as he did so.

“Naomi West,” he said, “will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes,” she said, pressing her hands to her cheeks to conceal the fact that she was blushing.

He pulled the ring from the box and held out his hand for hers. She gave it to him, and he carefully slipped the ring onto her finger.

The style looked antique. A gold band featured a large round diamond surrounded by smaller gems arranged in a pattern that resembled a flower blossom.

“This is beautiful,” she said.

“That belonged to my grandmother,” Petr said. “My father’s mother, when she was the Queen of Sovra. I inherited it when she passed.”

“Wow,” Naomi whispered. She had never felt more in awe of Petr’s royal lineage. To think that the ring she was wearing had once belonged to a queen!

In that moment, something occurred to her.

“Wait a minute,” she said. “When we’re married, will I be a princess?”

“Well, only technically,” he said. “Since I don’t hold the throne or have any royal duties, there won’t be anything to the title.”

“Still, though,” Naomi said. Pop star and princess, all in one lifetime? I can’t really complain that my life is boring now!

Being a princess wasn’t exactly important to her. It definitely wouldn’t have been enough, on its own, to get her to accept Petr’s proposal. But she couldn’t deny that the idea was exciting.

He got to his feet and took her in his arms, kissing her again.

A wave came in and broke around their ankles, and Naomi felt the sand shifting beneath her feet, some of it pulled away by the undertow.

“The tide’s coming in,” Petr said. “This beach gets pretty small at high tide. Maybe we should get back to the house.”

Naomi nodded. “I’m going to need the rest of the day to figure out what I’m wearing tomorrow, to be honest with you,” she said. “I definitely didn’t pack with a wedding in mind.”

Petr laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders as they started back up the path that would take them to the house. “You can’t plan for everything,” he said. “Maybe we should do some shopping this afternoon, if you don’t have anything you want to wear.” He grinned down at her. “My treat.”

Naomi leaned into him, her heart racing, as they left the beach.

Chapter 9

It was a million miles away from the wedding Naomi had always imagined she would have.

And yet, somehow, it felt perfect.

She awoke early in the morning and dressed in the knee-length ivory lace dress she and Petr had found in a boutique the day before. They had had it tailored so that the fit was perfect, and Petr hadn’t allowed Naomi to look at the receipt as he’d signed. She was grateful. Even though they were about to get married, even though she knew that what was his was technically hers now, she felt guilty allowing him to spend money on her.

She supposed that was something she was going to have to get over. He was clearly someone who enjoyed spending money. That would be part of their shared life. And there were certainly bigger problems to have than a husband who was overly fond of spoiling you.

Husband. The word felt magical in her mind. Much more special than princess had.

She did her makeup—just a few light touches—and left her