Page 32 of The King's Fake Bride

The espresso machine whirs as she pulls two shots before mixing up the iced lattes and bringing them over to the table.

She pulls over a third chair and sits down, crossing one leg over the other. “You’re going to have to tell me how the two of you met. This one here didn’t tell me a thing about you, Your Majesty.”

Xander sips his drink, gaze flitting to me like he’s unsure of being here. “Call me Xander, please,” he says.

“Good.” Beatriz nods her approval, leaning forward and folding her arms on the table. “I think Your Majesty sounds pompous,and from what I’ve seen of the interviews you’ve done since taking the throne, you’re anything but.”

I wrap my hands around the plastic coffee cup, wishing that the ground would open and swallow me whole. “Beatriz, you know people are going to be upset if they hear you talking like that.”

She clicks her tongue. “I don’t care what they think, and you shouldn’t either. People are always going to have their opinions, and to be honest, what they think of you is none of your business.”

Chuckling, Xander holds his coffee, tipping it toward her. “This is the best coffee I’ve ever had. You’re going to have to come to the castle and teach the others how to make it this way.”

Beatriz beamed. “Not going to happen. It’s an old family recipe, and it dies with me.”

Xander groans before launching into another conversation with her while I just watch the two of them.

If every interaction we have with the public is this smooth, maybe being the future queen will be easier than I thought.

I step through the glass doors that lead to the pool, dropping my towel on one of the loungers.

The day in town was long, and I spoke to more people than I think I’ve met throughout the rest of my life. All I want to do is go for a swim and then spend the rest of the night in my chambers.

My chambers.

That still sounds so wrong. I don’t know why there’s both a sitting room and a study attached to my bedroom and en suite, but there it is.

And then after the marriage, I’ll be moving into Xander’s room. We’re going to have to act like husband and wife.

Maybe I could convince him to move the desk out of his study and put a bed in there. It wouldn’t have to be large, just something I could curl up in at the end of the night without thinking that my attraction to him is going to ruin everything between us.

I sigh and step to the edge of the pool, toes dangling before I push off and arch my body, diving into the cool water.

When I surface, Xander is sitting on the edge in nothing but a pair of black swim trunks, showing off the smattering of hair that trails from his chest all the way down beyond his waistband.

There’s a tightening in my core as I dip back beneath the water.

It’s not as effective as a cold shower, but it’s a moment to get myself together and stop thinking about the afternoon we spent together.

“What are you out here thinking so hard about?” Xander asks as he slides off the edge and into the water.

I slick my hair back from my face. “Nothing, really.”

“Doesn’t seem that way to me.” He stays in the shallow end, floating on his back.

I swim closer to him, my heart hammering in my chest. “I guess I’m thinking about everything going on. It feels like I’m notgetting it, but then when we were in the village today, that felt natural.”

“Why?” He tilts his head back to glance at me, concern in his eyes.

“Beatriz is easy to be around. She treats me like I’m Amy and not just this woman who showed up to marry you and run a country she knows nothing about. Daphne and you treat me like that too, of course, but you’re pretty much the only ones. With everything else, it feels like I’m an invader and people are just waiting for me to leave.”

Xander stands up, droplets of water running down the planes of his chest. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not going to.”

“Because of the money?” he asks, his tone even, though the look he’s giving me is searching.

I fight past the lump in my throat. “Not just because of the money.”

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