taking a wife before the coronation. That you’re pursuing your dreams in New York.”
Cara’s eyes fill with tears, but she blinks them away rapidly. She clears her throat. “If that’s what you want, it sounds good. Logical.”
“Is it what you want?”
“Does that matter?” Her gaze sharpens. She tilts her head as her hand stays on her stomach. It’s like Cara’s wrapping her arms protectively around herself, and I hate that I have that effect on her.
“Of course it matters.”
“Theo, you’re the King. You’re the one who needed a wife, and I’m the one who agreed to pretend. Why do you care what I think?”
“Because I care about you, Cara.”
She frowns, scoffing. “Are you asking me if I want to marry you?”
I gulp. “I don’t know. I’m asking you what you want.”
“Why?”
I jab my fingers through my hair. This is going all wrong. Nothing is coming out the way I meant it to. I wanted to come here, profess my love for her, and find out if she felt the same way. I had visions of her throwing her arms around me and promising herself to me. Saying she wanted to be my wife. Telling me she wanted to have my children.
But her acceptance to voice school changes that.
Now, if I tell her how I feel, I’m standing in the way of her and her dreams. Asking her to give up singing school is too much of a sacrifice. She’d be giving everything up…for what? For me?
I take a deep breath. “I care about you, Cara. I just want you to be happy.”
Cara’s face crumples as she turns away from me.
“Cara…” I put my hand on her thigh, the heat of her body sending a zing of heat through my arm.
Can I really let her go?
“Cara, I’m so proud of you. You deserve to go to the best voice school. You’re going to do amazing things.”
When she turns to face me, her eyes are clear again. She takes a shaking breath, gulping.
“So I guess this is goodbye?”
My heart squeezes. “I guess so.”
When Cara leans over and presses her lips to mine, I know it’s over. My heart splinters and cracks, sending pain radiating through my chest. Agony shoots through every muscle, every bone, every ligament and tendon in my body. I tremble, leaning my forehead against hers as I suck in a painful breath. My shoulder aches. Everything hurts.
Cara pulls away first, not meeting my eye.
“You’ll make a great King, Theo.” She stands up, smoothing her shirt down before lifting her gaze to meet mine. “Thank you for taking me with you on the tour. Even though it was temporary, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in a long time. Maybe ever.”
So, stay. Be with me. Marry me. Be my queen.
The words are trapped in my chest. I stand up, bow, and turn on my heels to walk away.
Cara doesn’t follow, and I show myself out of her house. It’s done.
22
Cara
When I walk out of the living room, Cathy is standing near the doorway. Her lips are pinched and her eyes are full of sadness.
Behind her, my mother is leaning against the wall.
“What are you thinking, Cara?” my mother chides. “Did you just turn down the Crown Prince?”
“I can’t turn down someone who’s not asking me to be with him.”
“Oh, please,” she answers, rolling her eyes. “I couldn’t hear everything, but I know what the look on his face meant.”
“You shouldn’t have been eavesdropping.”
I turn away from the two of them, unable to withstand the assault of their gaze. Cathy looks heartbroken. She knows I didn’t tell Theo about the baby.
In my mother’s eyes, all I see is disappointment and deep-seated anger. I just ruined all her hard work. All the years she spent moving up the social ladder in Argyle. All the money she spent clothing us and sending us to etiquette school. All the social events she attended in order to get us closer to the royal family.
I finally had the chance to make it all worthwhile, and I threw it away.
At least, that’s what my mother thinks.
I could see Theo’s eyes. I heard him with my own ears when he told me about Dante’s discovery. Even if we had a magical few weeks together, that’s all it is—a few weeks.
I can’t marry him. I can’t become Queen of Argyle. It’s not what Theo wants.
He wants to be a good king, and serve the people of Argyle. He wants to be responsible and dutiful, and being