Page 59 of The Forgotten Queen
Slowly she walked over, sitting down on the edge. “What can your imagination do for me?”
“Let me show you.” He sat up straighter, looking deep into her eyes in a playful way. “You are Sydria Alyson Hasler.” He leaned in, whispering in her ear for dramatic effect. “Or so we’ve been told.”
“You forgot McKane,” she reminded him.
“Right. You are Sydria Alyson Hasler McKane. The queen of Cristole, married to the most charming and handsome man there ever was.”
One dark brow lifted. “Is this going to be about you or me?”
“You,” he dragged out the word, answering her question, “have a soft spot in your heart for sea animals. You enjoy cumulus clouds.”
She laughed. “Cumulus clouds? Really?”
“And brisk walks at dawn.” She shook her head at his description. “You’re passionate about passion fruit.”
“I don’t even know what passion fruit is.”
“A rare delicacy,” he whispered as a side note. “And you don’t like green beans.”
She crumpled her nose. “I hope there’s more to me than that.”
Marx swept his eyes across her face, and a rush of heat filled his chest. “You’re honest. You mean what you say and say what you mean. You ask sincere questions. You’re kind to others. You have these amazing convictions, and you stand up for what is right even if it isn’t popular. You’re beautiful, classy, and put-together.” Sydria blinked back the emotion in her eyes and glanced away. “You get shy when you’re the center of attention, but you can also shine in the middle of a crowd, lighting the room with your smile. And you bring out the best in people.”
That was true for him. Sydria brought out the best in Marx, the way Palmer always had.
Her dark eyes shifted to his. “You’ve learned all that about me in a few days?”
Marx hadn’t planned on saying anything like that. It had just come out.
His voice softened. “You’re easy to know.”
Sydria’s hand went to her chest, rubbing the base of her neck. A strand of her black hair pressed against her lips. Marx slowly lifted his fingers, skimming them across her cheek. The touch of her smooth skin sent an eruption of chills down the length of his arm as he pulled the stray hair away from her lips and released it into the wind.
“It’s actually split pea soup,” she whispered between them.
“What?” he asked.
“I don’t like split pea soup.” Her lips donned a soft smile. “The verdict is still out on green beans.”
“You’ll have to let me know what you decide about them,” he said, holding her gaze. Marx could see why Kase had been mesmerized. There was something about Sydria, about her eyes. A man could easily get lost in her beautiful, dark eyes. He couldn’t let that happen to him. He’d learned from experience not to get too close to people. He usually ended up disappointing them. He stood, placing his hands in his pockets. It was time to flip into business mode.
He cleared his throat. “We need to talk about the next few days.”
“What’s happening in the next few days?”
“We have a lot of public events scheduled. There’s a meeting with the newswriters to announce our marriage to all of Cristole. Dannyn is throwing us a party on the beach. My mom’s planning a wedding reception for the ruling class. Things like that.” He shrugged. “We need to sell this relationship at each of those events.”
Sydria looked up at him. “What do I say to the newswriters?”
“I’ll take care of it. Just defer all questions to me.”
She nodded. “I understand. I’ll be ready to pretend.”
Marx was more than ready to pretend. For some reason, he looked forward to their game.
18
Doctor Von
