Page 48 of Lily and the Billionaire Prince

“You seem upset,” he said. “What were you talking about?”

The King’s reasoning for asking her to leave didn’t seem like some shrewd ploy. He made too much sense for her to disregard the request as she wanted to, even if he had been rude to her in delivering the message. He wanted what was best for his country. She couldn’t blame him for that much, at least.

“Do you want to be king, Henrik?” Her voice was a whisper.

He pursed his lips, thinking through her question. “I didn’t always,” he admitted. “Being king has always felt so restrictive, so pressured, and I dislike the way my father has handled things. But reliving the more admirable parts of my family’s past these few days with you has changed my mind. You’re helping me to see this old place in a different light. That was my wish at the well,” he admitted.

“To rule better than your father has?”

“Yes. He is so steeped in tradition, he cannot see that change would benefit our tiny kingdom.”

“What kind of change?” Lily asked.

“Well, you, for one.”

Lily’s mouth parted. “Me? How can I possibly help your kingdom?”

“Your fresh perspective is one reason I invited you here. You have a different view, a far less royal perspective that can help me see things from all sides.”

Warning clanged inside of her. “Don’t go against your father, Henrik. Not because of me.”

“I’ve always been against him.”

“I’m not worth the trouble it would cause,” she said. The trouble it had already caused. Henrik and his father had done nothing but fight since she’d arrived.

He smiled tenderly at her and dusted his thumb across her cheek. “But you are,” he said.

Guilt shrank her insides, making her reel to and fro as if she were sailing on unsteady waters. She could give him the exact reason why she would be no good for him. But she was a coward, plain and simple. Lily had gone over the words a thousand times to herself, but every order of admission she tried, every approach, only made her sound that much more pathetic in her mind. She didn’t want Henrik to think she was incompetent or untrustworthy, but she wasn’t sure how to tell him without it coming across as if she had been.

There was nothing else for it. The King was right. She glanced wistfully at the sitting room, letting the decision settle. “I think I should go home,” she said.

Henrik shook his head. “Maybe you’re not understanding what I’m getting at.”

“I understand only too well. You want to rely on me to help fix your problems with your father.”

“That’s not what I said. I told you I’ve always been against him.”

“But of the two of us, he’s the only person who has experience running a country, Henrik. I don’t have the training you need in a wife.”

“You could learn all of that. My mother will be here, she will be happy to teach you.”

“I left a kingdom of my own behind,” Lily said sardonically.

“Your animals? You can bring them all here. We’ll set up your personal zoo. They did it at the Tower of London—”

“Henrik.” Lily knew he would put up every solution he could to her arguments. “My answer is no.”

“I haven’t even asked you to marry me yet.”

“No, but you’re going to.”

He didn’t argue that.

“I think it would be best all-around if I left quickly. I’ll go in the morning. I bet your parents won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“Iwill notice,” he said through gritted teeth. “I will follow you back across the Atlantic. I will perch myself on your doorstep every night like one of your strays until you take pity on me and let me in. I’ll—”

“I can’t, Henrik.” She rose and headed past lush plants and dripping ivy toward the conservatory’s elegant entryway.

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