Page 38 of The Heart of the King

She simply shrugged and said cooking wasn’t her strong suit, but she did make a mean snickerdoodle.

He had no idea what that was.

Maybe she’d make them sometime. Hopefully, he’d like them.

By the time dinner ended, he knew her parents a little bit better, but he didn’t think they could say the same for him.

They went to the sitting room nearby to continue their conversation.

Jasmine and her mother ended up looking at one of the tapestries hanging in the room. It reminded David that he needed to tell Jasmine about the secret passages they could use to escape should they ever need to. There weren’t many - not like he’d heard the palace in Akushla had - but there were a few.

“We’ve done our research.” Mr. Roberts stood close and spoke quietly. “It doesn’t seem that my daughter has - or that you’ve told her.”

“I don’t think she’s searched for my name online, and things have been crazy since we met. Less than a week later, my father was convicted of financial malfeasance and a bunch of other stuff which means he’ll spend the rest of his natural life in prison. In the process, I became the head of the Auverignonian government. We took a quick trip to New Sargasso for a wedding, then Christmas. My brother and sister-in-law were supposed to visit, though they canceled at the last minute, then New Year’s, all while I’m trying to get a handle on everything and so is she.”

“That doesn’t excuse it.”

“I know. I know we need to talk, but finding time when we don’t have a thousand other things going on is going to take some doing. Our assistants are working to find a time when we can get away together for a couple of days, but I don’t know when that will be.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “She’s amazing though.”

“Yes, she is.”

“She’s turned some of the palace staff on their ear. But so far, the people seem to love her. That’s important after the mess my father and grandfather have made of things.” He still suspected that his grandfather had something to do with the airspace issue, but nothing definitive.

“It’s not the most important thing, though.” Her father crossed his arms over his chest. “The most important part is that you’ll treat her like the princess she is.”

David felt his brows pull together. “She’s actually a queen consort.”

The other man shook his head. “She is a daughter of the King. Treat her with the respect she deserves, or you’ll answer to me, crown or not.”

This time, David nodded. “Absolutely. I have no intention of treating her with anything except the utmost respect.”

Mr. Roberts stared into David’s eyes for a long moment. David wanted to shift, to break the contact, but he couldn’t back down.

Finally, the older man nodded. “I do wish she could have had a real wedding. I wish I could have walked her down the aisle.”

David turned to look at Jasmine, taking his hand out of his pocket and twisting his ring on his finger. Would she have liked a real wedding? A royal wedding with all the trappings and trimmings? A smaller one with friends and family? Something in the middle?

He made a mental note to find out, and to have Stewart find out what the people thought. Did they want a royal wedding to give them something to celebrate after his father’s conviction? Or would they be happy with something smaller, but still televised or streamed since there wouldn’t be another Auverignonian royal wedding for at least a couple of decades... Not until his children were old enough to get married.

Something else he and Jasmine had not discussed. He was expected to have two children, minimum.

How many children did Jasmine want? He prayed she wanted children, or this was going to be a very difficult decision.

He blew out a breath. If all else failed, David supposed Gabe’s second child could take over once he was no longer king.

Not ideal, but at least a potential option.

That conversation needed to happen, sooner rather than later.

But since they weren’t doing anything that would be affected by their desire - or lack of - for children, the discussion could wait a bit at least.

Jasmine and her mother moved away from the tapestry and the four of them sat down to continue their conversation from the dinner table.

He needed to tell Stewart to find time for the two of them to get away as soon as possible, to give a sense of urgency to the plans.

David needed to get to know his wife.

And soon.

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