Page 22 of The Heart of the King

Making his way to the most desirable of the guest quarters, he wondered where Jasmine was and if she was already asleep. He found himself wanting to talk to her, to decompress after the long day.

Once the door closed behind him, he called her name softly.

“I’m in here,” she answered.

The sound came from the smaller of the two bedrooms in the suite. The door stood open, so he didn’t hesitate to walk in.

She sat, cross-legged, in the middle of the large bed, cozy looking pajamas on and her hair up in one of the sloppy buns she seemed to prefer when they weren’t in public.

In front of her sat a laptop, but she wasn’t looking at it. She was watching him.

“How was your day?” She started the conversation. “Tough?”

David sat in one of the other chairs and nodded. “Mentally taxing.” He stifled a yawn. “I’m exhausted.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Want to meet my parents? They’re calling in like two minutes.”

He closed his eyes. “Probably not my preference, but may as well.”

“I just don’t want them hearing about this from some tabloid reporter. They need to know before my picture is all over the Internet. I know we were photographed the other day and again today, but it’ll be the coronation before really good photos are out there, and people start figuring it out.”

Before he could give her a definitive yes, her laptop chimed.

She took a deep breath and sat up straighter. “Here goes nothing.” She tapped the mouse and waited a second. “Hi, Mom, Dad. How are you?”

“A little concerned.”That was her father.“You’ve never gone away like this without giving us more information on where you are in case of emergency, and never overseas. I know Mama Beach said you were fine, but I wish we could have seen you, too.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It all happened so fast.” She sucked in another breath. “You’re going to find out tomorrow, that is Saturday, so I wanted to make sure I told you first.” Jasmine held up her left hand. “I got married.”

David couldn’t see the screen, but he could imagine the looks on their faces.

“Do we know him?”her mother finally asked.

Jasmine shook her head. “No. He’s right here, though.” She held out her hand toward him.

Managing to withhold his sigh, David stood and sat next to her on the bed, one leg folded in front of him and the other hanging off the side. “Hello.” He wished he’d either removed his tie entirely or put it back the way it was supposed to go. Too late now.

She slid her hand through his elbow like she’d done several other times. “Mom, Dad, this is David. David, these are my parents, Betty and Tom Roberts.”

He lifted a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, though I do wish it could be in person. Circumstances being what they are, that simply wasn’t possible this week. Perhaps you’ll be able to come visit soon.”

“You won’t be coming home for Christmas?”His new mother-in-law’s disappointment came through in both her tone and her slightly pixelated expression.

David shook his head. “I’m sorry, but no. I have obligations that can’t be rearranged, and Jasmine will need to be here with me.”

Jasmine’s grip on his arm tightened. “There’s something I haven’t told you yet about David.”

“What’s that?”her father asked.

“As of this afternoon, he’s King David the First of Auverignon.”

He could see her bite her bottom lip in the smaller screen with their pictures in it.

It took several seconds to sink in.“What?”Her mother was the first to respond.

David tilted his head toward them. “I am King David the First of Auverignon, an island nation between Iceland and Eyjania on one side and the British Isles on the other. I was born Prince Steven Charles David Chauncey and chose to use David as my regnal name for a variety of reasons. I don’t particularly care for the person I used to be as Steven. There’s already a Prince Charles who will likely be king sometime in the next decade, and Chauncey simply wouldn’t do.” He wrapped his arm around Jasmine, letting his hand rest on her other shoulder. “That makes your daughter Her Majesty, Jasmine, Queen Consort of Auverignon. That became official when I signed the new Orders of Precedence shortly after my father’s conviction in court and removal from the throne this afternoon.”

Her parents’ jaws dropped.

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