Page 57 of Redemption of a Prince

She turned.

He held out a hand. “Dance with me?”

Nikki smiled as she put her hand in his. “Anytime.”

Zeke held her close as they moved slowly around the open portion of the room. “I’m falling in love with you, Nik. For real. I thought what we had as teenagers was real, but this is different.”

She rested the side of her head against his chest. “I agree.”

His fingers brushed against her hair. “You look adorable with your hair like this, but I like it better down.”

Nikki rolled her eyes, but stepped back to take the plaits out. She fluffed it a bit. “Like this?”

Zeke framed her face with his hands, his fingers tangling in her hair. “Just like this,” he whispered before he kissed her.

As much as they both wanted to let it become more, they didn’t. When the kiss ended, they started dancing again.

Their movements slowed to a sway. “Working with you showed me how much I missed you. Being here with you the last few days has showed me I want to spend all of my days with you.”

Nikki froze. “What?”

“I’m not proposing. Not yet. We haven’t been dating again long enough, but someday soon, I will.”

“Someday soon, I’ll be ready for you to.” She stopped moving all together. “But there’s something I have to tell you.”

Zeke looked down at her, but she kept her gaze averted. He took her hand and led her to the lounge in front of the window. They sat down next to each other. “What is it?”

Nikki still didn’t look at him. “When we broke up, as teenagers, I thought that was the end for us. I never, ever expected you to call me up and apologize for something that wasn’t your fault.”

He remembered the day clearly. From where Nikki was standing, it had looked like he kissed another girl.

He hadn’t.

But he understood why she thought that. It had taken him a while, and it helped that the other girl admitted to setting him up. She’d set out to break him and Nikki up. It had worked.

The fight he and Nikki found themselves in had been pretty epic.

But apologizing and working things out had to be the smartest thing he’d ever done - even if it had led to another phone call several weeks later.

One where Nikki told him she was having his baby.

She took a deep breath. “When we were broken up...”

A knock sounded on the main door. Zeke sighed. “Come in.”

The head of his security team walked in, a somber look on his face. “Sir, I need you both to come with me.”

Zeke felt his stomach drop. “My father?”

The man shook his head. “I’ve had no word on his condition or how the surgery is progressing.”

“Then what?”

A thump-whomp sound reached Zeke’s ears. “A helicopter?”

“Yes, sir. It was decided that you need to be in New Ancora. Just in case. Plus, your father will want to see you when he wakes up. You’ll want to see him as well, I would imagine.”

“You’re right.”

---