Page 51 of One Hot Christmas

Being reasonable isn't working. Trying to appease her isn't either. Maybe I need to take a different approach. "I don't need your permission, Mum. This is my life, and I decide how to live it."

She stares at me without expression for several very long seconds. "I need to speak to Samantha alone, please."

"Mum—"

"Please."

Sam touches my knee. "It's okay. I'm happy to talk to her one on one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She kisses my cheek. "Wait in the bedroom."

While I leave the living room, I glance back several times. But my mother and Sam have not moved or spoken, not yet. Whatever Princess Olivia wants to say to my girlfriend, I know Sam can handle it. She's an amazing woman.

But how will Sam respond if Mum demands she break up with me?

Chapter Twenty

Sam

I'm sitting six feet away from a princess, the wife of the most powerful man in their country. She acts pretty much the way I'd figured a monarch might—regal, commanding, self-assured, and used to getting her way. I can tell she loves her son, and he loves her too. Neither one of them has gotten nasty, and instead, they had an adult discussion. Princess Olivia clearly doesn't like that Ben refuses to do what she says, but she hasn't told him to dump me.

Not yet.

A private conversation with a royal? A woman who seems to disapprove of me? Not sure I'm ready for this, but I'm doing it for Ben.

I fold my hands on my lap. Keep my chin level and my gaze on her. And I wait for her to speak.

"What do you do for a living?" Olivia asks.

"Virtual assistant. That means—"

"I know what it means, dear. We do have the internet in Mithoria." Her lips tighten in a slight smile. "And mobile phones too."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. When I told my parents about my job, they didn't get it. They do now, but at first, it confused them."

Olivia studies me with her head tipped to the side. "You hardly know my son, yet you claim to love him."

"I do know him. Ben and I have talked a lot, and I feel closer to him than I do with my family. We've shared everything with each other, and I've never had that kind of intimacy before. It's wonderful."

Maybe I shouldn't have blabbed all of that to her. What if she thinks I'm an idiot? Will she actually abduct Ben back to Mithoria?

Olivia leans back in her chair, crossing her legs. "What would you do if I ordered you to end your relationship with my son?"

"I would say hell no."

Yeah, I'd thought about saying something more diplomatic, but I think she's testing me. I need to show her who I really am, so she'll understand that I won't let her take Ben away from me without a fight. I realize I risk offending her with this tactic, but I need to be honest.

She raises her brows. "You do realize you're speaking to the second-highest ranking member of the Mithorian royal family."

"Isn't your family just you, your husband, Ben, and his sister?"

"Yes." She rests her hands on the chair's arms and slowly taps one finger. "What would you sacrifice to be with Bennett?"

"Anything. I love him."

"Bennett is a crown prince. You are not even an aristocrat."

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