you—a hardworking, passionate, thoughtful, compassionate, kind, and strong woman—is a problem, then that is a problem for them. Not you. Full stop.”
“But it matters,” I say, my voice shaking.
“No, it doesn’t. There will always be people who don’t like us. Some will be vocal about it. I don’t give a damn about what they think. I care about the work I do. I care about leading the monarchy forward in a progressive way. You could be a part of that movement one day, Poppy. If you fall in love with me, that is. But if you think I can be arsed worrying about people judging you for not wearing bloody tights or icing biscuits, you’re wrong,” he says. His hands move to my hair, stroking it. “So wrong.”
His words were spoken with such passion, such conviction, I know he’s speaking from his heart, too. Xander doesn’t care what people say. I nearly want to sink into his chest with relief.
“Believe me,” he says, his voice commanding. “It. Doesn’t. Matter.”
I bite my lip and nod. “I believe you.”
Xander draws me into his arms, nestling me close in a protective embrace and dropping a kiss on the top of my head.
“Good,” he murmurs, resting his chin there. “Good.”
I close my eyes and listen to his heart beating against my ear. I feel reassured. Secure that he doesn’t care what the papers might say about me if it ever came to that.
If.
Now, my face is on fire. Not only did I leap galaxies ahead in my thinking and worries, but I shared those thoughts with him. I cringe into the soft fabric of his button-down shirt, knowing I need to address this next, even if Xander seems completely un-faffed by my throwing out the future of us so freely after a week. That I’m not only thinking of it but actively worrying about it.
I clear my throat and step back from him, keeping my hands on his chest. “I know I shouldn’t leap so far ahead in my thinking. We’ve talked about it, I know, but I don’t want you to think I have any expectations for us like that.”
Xander’s brows knit together. “But you do see it, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
A smile lights up his face. “Good, because I can see it, too. And it doesn’t scare me, because it’s you.”
Warmth floods me from his sweet words. “It doesn’t scare me, either.”
My heart races in the silence that falls between us. Xander cups my cheek in his hand. “This doesn’t mean you won’t change your mind and think I’m an arse by next week and dump me.”
I grin. “I don’t see that happening.”
“It could. You could learn something disturbing about me. Like the fact that I leave the cupboard doors open, and I don’t organise my socks. Or that I chew ice.”
I chuckle. “Those are terrible things. I’ll take that into account. But to be fair, I chew ice, too, so that one is okay.”
He grins and drops a sweet kiss on my forehead. “Come sit next to me.”
“Okay, let me get my tablet. I can see if we have received any good CVs for new bakers.”
Xander nods and goes back to the sofa, retrieving his tablet. I fish mine out of my tote and sit down next to him, tucking my legs up underneath me. Xander picks up the stylus and goes back to work, and while I log into the job posting board where Matilda posted a job opening ad, I notice he’s frowning as he stares at the screen.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
Xander rakes a hand through his hair. “Some of these lines don’t sound like anything I’d ever say.”
I lean into him and glance down at the screen, immediately drawn to long, flowery sentences that sound nothing like Xander.
“Your purpose is to draw attention to the organisation and their fundraising needs, right?” I ask.
Xander nods. “Yeah, and this goes way into the history of the organisation, which is lovely, but too much detail. I’m skim-reading, and I’m the one giving the damn thing. We need a speech that will give sound bites. This is the first time I’m doing it. Usually, my father does. But this sounds like him. It’s probably what people expect, you know.”
I see the struggle. Xander knows this is his father’s charity, but he’s representing him.
Xander needs to be brave enough to make this his, I think.
“They are coming to see you speak,” I say. “Not only as a prince, but as a retired military