Page 117 of Raul
“Reach down in that pocket beside you on the right, and you’ll find what you need,” Rocky said.
“Wait, I’m working on my answer,querido mío,” Erica said into the mic as she scrabbled in the pocket and yanked out several sheets of paper. She laughed as she saw that they all had YES! printed on them.
She held one up to the window, dropped it and held up another, dropped it and held up the last one. “Yes, I’ll marry you, you crazy person! I love you too!” She felt like fireworks were exploding inside her.
Their two pilots cheered before Rocky said, “We’re transferring you two lovebirds to a private radio channel now.”
“Ay, mi amor,you kept me waiting so long,” Raul said, but there was laughter in his voice. “I thought you were going to reject me.”
“How could I when the only options you gave me were ‘yes’?” Erica pointed out.
“I was taking no chances,” he said.
“I want to kiss you so badly right now,” she said. “Why did you have to propose to me while we’re in separate jets?”
“I wanted to catch you in a good mood.” His tone turned serious. “Mi corazón,marriage with me will alter your life in ways you might not like. That’s another reason I proposed to you in separate jets. You’ll have a little time to think about it before we get back to the carrier. You can change your mind.”
She shook her head, the helmet making the motion awkward. “Nothing could make me change my mind.”
“I hope not, but you have that right. Marrying me brings a lot of burdens. I’ve tried to show you at least some of them.”
He had, hadn’t he? Given that she had no official role, she had sometimes been puzzled about why he had wanted her to accompany him to various events in his role as crown prince. Now she understood. He wanted her to experience being constantly in the public eye. Another thought slammed into her.
Someday I will be the Queen of Caleva.
She shoved the thought away, hating it for all kinds of reasons, but mostly because it would mean that Raul’s father would be dead, and she didn’t want to think about that.
Better to think that her children—if she and Raul were lucky enough to have them—would be princes and princesses. How insane was that?
The image of having children with Raul made her insides go squishy. He would be such a wonderful father.
“I jumped into the terrifying ocean in the dark to save a dragon for you,” she said. “I found the courage to do it because I knew you would be there to pull me out. I can face down a horde ofministrosand paparazzi because you’ll be right beside me. Together, we can handle anything the world throws at us.”
“That is another reason that I proposed to you in a fighter jet,” Raul said. “It seemed like the appropriate place for my fierce Amazon.” He paused a moment. “I don’t doubt your courage,mi amor,but it would break my heart if you hated the life you would have to live with me.”
“The only life I would hate is one without you,” she said. “Now stop trying to talk me out of marrying you. I accepted your proposal. It’s a done deal.”
His laughter held a note of relief. “And that is why I adore you.”
Rocky’s voice broke in on them. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re coming up on the carrier. Who wants to land first?”
“I will,” Raul said. “Let Erica have every moment she can in the sky.”
Another of the thousands of reasons she loved her prince.
“Roger that,” Raul’s pilot said before his jet flipped up a wing and turned away.
“Well, I gotta say, that’s a first for me,” Rocky said.
“A marriage proposal in your plane?” Erica asked, feeling so buoyant with joy that she could probably hold up the jet if its engines failed.
“Not just any proposal. A royal proposal,” the pilot said. “Hella romantic. Congratulations!”
“Thank you. I’m over the moon.”
“Your prince went to a lot of trouble to make it special,” Rocky said. “And not everyone has the guts to get launched off a carrier.”
“Raul is the bravest, most thoughtful man I’ve ever known,” Erica said. And now he officially belonged to her. She hugged the knowledge to her as happiness surged through her.
