Page 72 of The Heart of the King

Jazz took a sip of her wine and tried to process what he’d told her. She knew he had to have a past of some sort, likely something along those lines, but hadn’t been able to bring herself to look it up online after the glimpse she had the first morning after their wedding.

But at the same time, he said he wasn’t that person anymore, and since she’d known him, he’d given no indication that he was anything but an upstanding gentleman being pressed into an important job and pouring himself into it.

“I’m glad you told me.” She would have heard about it sooner or later, most likely in public or some other uncomfortable situation.

He looked straight in her eyes. “But is it something you can live with?”

24

The moments while Jasmine contemplated whether or not she could live with his past were some of the longest moments of David’s life.

“I’m not thrilled about it,” she said with a sigh. “But what’s done is done. You’re not that person anymore, right?”

David shook his head. “No. I haven’t been for a while. Several years ago, I realized my parents and grandparents weren’t the best examples of how to live life, especially my father and grandfather. They believed that because they were or would be king, they could do basically anything they wanted. That’s how Hazel ended up being born and how my father ended up in prison. It’s why my grandfather is likely behind trying to keep us out of the country and the bombing attempt.”

He sipped on his wine. “When I heard the truth about the so-called Walrus exercise in Sargasso and saw their reactions to it, I started to reconsider my role models.”

“Sargasso has walruses?” Jasmine’s nose wrinkled in that cute way it did when she thought hard about something. “Walrusii?”

David chuckled. “Not real walruses. WLRs Team Nine. Water-Land Rescue, the Quad Countries solution to your Navy SEALs. Prince Isaiah, Benjamin’s uncle, had taken the entire Eyjanian and San Majorian families hostage, along with Gabe and Esme. WRLs Team Nine went in and rescued them, but it got me thinking. Isaiah’s mentality was a lot like my father and grandfather. I realized I didn’t want to be like that. I started looking at Edward in particular to see what a real king should act like.”

Jasmine blinked. “I had no idea.”

“When I started thinking about it, I realized my father and grandfather likely wouldn’t be above doing the same thing to keep their power and control. I stopped doing the things I had been. I had a long talk with Gabe about six months later, and we cleared the air about a lot of things, including his discovery of Hazel. That discovery, over time, led to my father’s conviction.”

“And your ascension to the throne.”

He nodded. “I would much rather it had been under other circumstances. Normally, the king retires. The announcement came during Gabe and Esme’s honeymoon, but I didn’t warn him about it. My father’s coronation was on Gabe’s birthday. He and I had a lot to straighten out before we could be on good terms again, but we are. Edward is a mentor to him as a husband and father and to Esme as a monarch. I need to ask him if he’d do the same for me. I’m not the man I want to be, but I’m trying.”

“I think that’s all any of us can do.” She took a sip of her wine. “We talked about King David, right?”

He nodded.

“He had a ton of wives. Though that was legal for him, I’m sure they weren’t crazy about sharing him. That was their present, not their past.” She sighed. “And he did a lot of other things that weren’t great - like sending Uriah to his death to cover up his affair with Bathsheba.”

“It’s in my past.” He reached for her hand. “You won’t have to share me in the future. I promise you that.”

“I know. I believe you. My point was that we all have things that we’ve done, but it’s what we do going forward.” She smiled. “I think we’ll probably need to talk about it sometimes, but overall, I think we’re okay.”

“Good.” Another thought occurred to him as he sipped his wine. “I was never an alcoholic, though I did drink to excess far more often than I should.”

“Also good to know.” She stared into her nearly empty glass. “I guess that means it’s my turn.”

“If you’re ready.” He wanted her to be, but he wasn’t going to push her.

“I’m in this for the long haul. It hasn’t been that long since I was widowed. It hasn’t been much longer since I married Leo. I loved him. I truly did. A part of me always will. But it was such a whirlwind when it came to our actual marriage. We were only married about ten days, and he was out of town for most of it. He was killed when the driver of a delivery truck fell asleep at the wheel, ran a red light, and t-boned his rental car.” She tipped her head back and swallowed the last of her wine.

Jasmine set the glass down. “I think Leo and I would have been happy together. I think we could have had a long, happy marriage with kids and a mortgage and the whole nine yards. But that’s not what happened. I think it probably wouldn’t have been as easy as I like to imagine it would have been, but I think we could have made it work. But that’s not what happened. I might not remember everything about that night, but I know I married you for a reason. Here we are, and I’m committed to making us work.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.” He wanted to reach for her, but instead waited for her to go on.

“I’m not in love with you. Not yet. But I’m headed that way. I don’t remember much about the night we got married, but I know I made vows with you. I take that seriously.” She managed a half-smile. “I still wish we’d had a proper wedding, though.”

“I know.” He needed to give her a proper proposal as well. That was something that had been rattling around in his brain for a while. “And while I’m happy to have you move in with me whenever you’re ready, what are your thoughts?”

Jasmine went to the table and brought back the bottle of wine, splitting what was left in the bottle between their glasses. “I liked sleeping in your room last night.”

David grinned back at her. “I liked having you in there.” He sobered. “Having you there when I woke up was nice. I don’t have nightmares like that often, but it was nice not to be alone when I did.”

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