Page 4 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8
‘Am I displeasing to you?’
Lord, no. Quite the opposite. He was the most devastatingly attractive man she’d ever come across. He was built like a god. Or maybe a warrior. All broad shoulders and virile strength, he would be as suited to armour and a sword as he was to a jacket and tie. At six foot four he towered over her, and she was by no means short. He had thick dark hair she longed to plough her fingers through. Deep brown eyes that threatened her thought processes every time she gazed into them, and since she’d had a poster of him pinned to her wall the minute he’d stepped into the limelight as a sixteen-year-old hunk she’d been gazing into them a long time.
But it wasn’t just his staggering looks and powerful physique she’d fallen for. When she’d started working directly for him and gained further insight into his character, she’d swooned even more. His dedication to duty was unshakable. His integrity ran deep. He inspired trust and loyalty and gave both in return. She’d grown up in a household filled with confrontation and discord, her parents at one another’s throats pretty much constantly, even more so towards the end, and his ice-cool composure and steadfastness was like a balm to her soul. She hadn’t seen him lose his temper once. He rarely even raised his voice. She couldn’t imagine him ever throwing something in a rage. He epitomised everything she valued, everything she admired, everything she’d ever wanted in a man.
‘No, of course not,’ she said, clamping down hard on her roiling emotions and biting back the appalling urge to confess just how pleasing she found him. ‘But that’s not the point.’
‘Then what is the point? I like you. I have enormous respect for your abilities. Many marriages are based on less. Certainly royal ones. Is there someone else?’
Someone else? Ha. As if that was a possibility when he dominated her thoughts and owned her heart. ‘There’s no one else.’
‘So what objection could you possibly have?’
Apart from the shock and inappropriateness of this gear change in their relationship? ‘Well, what about whatIwant?’
His brows snapped together. Confusion shot across the handsome planes of his face. Evidently her role in this scenario had been to simply agree, but he was nothing if not adept at altering his strategy to achieve his goal. ‘Whatdoyou want?’ he asked, a glint of ruthlessness lighting his eyes. ‘Name it and it’s yours.’
If only.
‘It’s not that simple.’
‘Materially, you will want for nothing.’
‘Materially, I want for nothing now. You pay me extremely well.’
He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. Then he leaned forward, giving her the worrying impression that he was about to bring out the big guns.
‘I can offer you security,’ he said, as if he could see into her soul. ‘Loyalty. Support. Companionship. Children. Not love, I’m afraid. I haven’t the time for that and can’t afford the distraction. Nor am I remotely interested in the drama it can cause. I’m not interested in drama full stop. But I would give you everything else that’s within my power. You and I would be a partnership of equals, Sofia. We would rule together. Side by side. In harmony. A united front to secure the future of the monarchy. You could continue to work, if that is what you wish. Beyond the requirements of the role, you could do anything you please. I am aware that this is a sudden decision, and one born out of necessity, but I’m nevertheless convinced it’s the right approach. I believe we would do very well together. I have to spend the rest of my life with someone, and I’d like it to be you.’
Ivo stopped and sat back. Sofia reeled, her chest so tight she was barely able to breathe. Well, that was deeply unfair. How was she supposed to keep her head when he promised her so many of the things she craved? And how had he known which buttons to push when, before today, their interactions had always remained strictly professional? A crystal ball? A lucky guess?
Whatever it was, it was badly shaking her resolve. He painted an alluring picture of a full and fascinating life. Alarmingly, she was beginning to think that she could do a lot worse than a drama-free partnership based on mutual respect and common interests. How he might go about giving her those children was certainly sending her imagination into overdrive. She could practically feel his mouth on hers. The thought of his hands slowly stroking over her skin as they explored her body electrified every nerve ending she possessed.
So, could what he offered be enough? Was she content to enter into such a one-sided relationship just to be with the man she adored?
No.
Absolutely not.
What was shethinking?
Everything about this was ludicrous. Her brain had gone so awry that she ought to be getting up right now and walking away before she lost what was left of her marbles.
Potential sexual fireworks aside, marrying him would be a disaster. A one-way ticket to misery. Although, to be honest, she’d been feeling pretty wretched recently anyway. She’d always recognised the need for his marriage—from his perspective as well as hers—but she hadn’t liked it. Whenever she thought of some other woman sharing his bed, she seethed with jealousy. Her heart physically ached at the bleak reality of resigning and never seeing him again in person.
But now, in light of this frankly bizarre conversation, none of that need happen. If she accepted his proposal, she would no longer have to worship him from afar. Wistfulness and pining would be a thing of the past.Shecould be the one in his bed and in his life. She could have it all.
Well, nearly.
She’d have to keep how she felt about him to herself, of course. Presumably, unrequited love was exactly the sort of drama he strove to avoid. But it wouldn’t necessarily turn into bitterness and resentment. It would be up to her to manage that. And despite his assertion to the contrary, who was to say that over time he wouldn’t develop some sort of feelings for her? Her parents might have more or less ignored her, preferring to indulge their toxic feelings for each other instead, but that didn’t mean she was completely unlovable, did it?
So perhaps she was being a tad overdramatic about this. She did value the monarchy—he was right about that. She cared about it deeply. She’d been fascinated by the mystique and glamour of the royal family for as long as she could remember. Daydreaming about what life in the palace might be like and putting herself right in the middle of it had provided a mental escape from the emotional turmoil of home. She’d been so enthralled by the idea of it that when she left school and embarked on a career in PR, she’d done so in the hope that one day she’d end up there, which she had. The day she’d started working directly for Ivo—both the man and the King—had been the most thrilling of her life.
Did she really want to be responsible for the collapse of an institution that had survived for five hundred years? Its future hung in the balance. Time was running out so fast for him that he’d sounded as though he was very close to begging. She knew how he felt about his second cousin taking the crown, and even though she couldn’t understand why he hadn’t set about finding a wife sooner, she loved him too much to let him down. He’d worked so very hard to keep the peace and build on everything his father had achieved. And so had she with her unerring support. She couldn’t allow her self-centredness to cause him—them—to fail, for all that immense effort to come to nothing. She just couldn’t.
And then there were the children he was promising. She’d always wanted those. They could make a start on the line of succession right away and within five years or so, assuming all went well, she could have the happy family she’d longed for ever since she’d realised how dysfunctional her own was.
It was funny how life could turn on a sixpence, she thought a little dizzily, as what remained of her resistance and her brain crumbled to dust, and excitement swooped back in. Twenty minutes ago, she’d been mentally sticking pins into Princess Amalia. Yet now, here she was, unbelievably about to agree to take her place, positioning herself at the very heart of the royal family, where she’d always dreamed of being, married to the man she worshipped. It was more than she’d ever thought possible.
