Page 65 of Lorenzo & Lily

He rubbed a hand lightly over her back and bottom. “You need more time.”

“I wish I didn’t,” she confessed. “My body certainly wishes I didn’t. It’s still just too new. And you’re right: we’re don’t trust each other yet.”

He cupped her head and tilted it back. He spent a long minute searching her eyes, for what she didn’t know. Finally, he kissed her forehead, then moved her from his lap to snuggle into his side. “We will. We will trust each other again. We can, at the very least, trust each other to want the best for Liliana.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Then let’s focus on her for a while. How’s her school?”

This she could talk about, and handle much more easily than his lips. “Education-wise, it’s good. She’s learning a lot and her teacher keeps her engaged. Though, as you heard, some of the other children aren’t all that nice.”

“They’ll become less nice once their parents realize who she is,” he said darkly. “I asked the agents to do a safety analysis on the school.”

She blinked and sat up. “A safety analysis? On a pre-school?”

He nodded as he reached for his coffee. “Like it or not, she’s a princess. She’s not an heir, but she very well could be.”

“But Prince Al–, I mean Alex is the heir.” Though the prince had told her to call him ‘Alex’, she had trouble remembering it. It was odd to think of him as Lorenzo’s brother and Liliana’s uncle, rather than the next Vallerian king.

“He is the heir, but she’s also the first grandchild. My sister Arianna’s daughter might rule Brazenbourg one day, so she can’t be Valleria’s heir. If none of my other siblings have children, she could become a queen.”

She must have stopped breathing, as Lorenzo started rubbing her back. “Lily, take a deep breath. Now, Lily.”

She sucked in a large, shuddering breath, her chest heaving. “Queen? I never thought–”

“I’m the seventh child of the king; it’s understandable you wouldn’t think of it. Few would, unless they’d given birth to the direct heir’s child. I don’t think it’s likely she’ll become queen. The way all my siblings are pairing off, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before other children come along. Cat and Eddie would have the most pressure to conceive if Alex and Rebecca don’t have a child. As you said, I’m lower on the totem pole, but that doesn’t mean I’m off it.”

She took a few bracing breaths, and tried to get her head together. She should have realized this. Her daughter – their daughter, she reminded herself – could be queen one day.

“If you’d realized this, could you have come to me sooner?”

“I, I just don’t know. I tried for years to reach you. The people involved…they knew you were a prince. Perhaps if I’d tried harder, perhaps if they’d known how much was at stake–” She cut herself off. “I just don’t know.”

“It seems your secret comes between us again.”

“Yes,” she whispered, and said nothing more.

He nodded, lips tight. “All right. Well, I propose Liliana be tutored through the rest of this year as she gets accustomed to her new life. I want her to feel more confident before she has to face the wrath of jealous children and parents again.”

Lily knew jealousy. People were often jealous of the Brionnes, of their wealth and beauty, and of her most of all. She’d developed a thick skin because of it, and because of other events in her life. She could and had put up with a lot of mistreatment from others; her most recent job was a prime example of that. She wanted Liliana to just be happy for a while before she was forced down that road, as so many women were.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

Lorenzo blinked in surprise.

“Do you know where we can find a tutor?”

“Yes. Well, I thought we might be able to convince Miss Jane to leave the school.”

“I don’t think you’ll be able to, especially in the middle of the school year.”

“I think for the right price she might consider it.”

He had a point. “That’s true, but still she wouldn’t leave in the middle of the term, so we’d need to wait until the winter holidays. She would want to keep as stable an environment as possible for the rest of the kids.”

“Which is all the more reason to hire her.”

“Yes, but after a year, then what? She’ll still need a steady job. If she stays at the school, she’ll have that. I’m not suggesting you can’t ask her. However, given what I know of her, I think you should have a backup plan.”

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