Page 28 of His Forever Princess

And he was left to stare at the hotel floor plans.

I just want you to be happy.

That's how he felt about Alessandra. If she was happy without him in her life, maybe the right thing was to walk away. Go back to the way things had been for the past fifteen years. Keep his broken heart to himself.

But he couldn't make the choice for her, could he? He was going to have to find some iota of courage and tell her how he felt. Find out whether she was really done with him.

Over the past week they'd spent together, he'd thought he felt their relationship opening back up again.

But once she'd stepped foot in Glorvaird, she'd gone silent.

Maybe that was his answer.

But he was a stubborn cowboy. Had been his whole life. He was going to make her say it to his face.

But first, he had to make sure she survived the night.

* * *

"You look different," Bea said.

The video connection on Alessandra's phone flickered momentarily and then stabilized. She was riding in the back of a black Town Car, this one reinforced so it was as secure as possible. She was alone in the backseat—the first time she'd been alone since she'd awakened this morning. One bodyguard drove, while another sat beside him in the passenger seat.

"My stylist hasn't changed," she told her daughter.

She looked past the image on the phone to the proposal still in her lap. The final version. She was meant to meet with the ambassador in an hour. They were only minutes from the hotel.

"That's not what I meant. Mother—do you need to go?"

She felt a faint flush rise under her skin as Bea called her on her distraction. She locked her eyes on the screen.

"I can talk for a few more minutes. What did you mean?"

"There are fewer lines around your mouth," her daughter said with a smirk. "Have you been smiling more?"

Alessandra felt her cheeks pull into a too-false smile even as she answered her daughter. "I smile."

Bea lifted an eyebrow.

"I smile." This time her voice held a note of petulance.

In the front seat, one of the guards shifted and Alessandra straightened in her seat automatically, self-conscious.

"I was afraid you and Dad would argue the entire time."

"We did."

But the memory that popped into Alessandra's head wasn't from those tense first few hours. It was Gideon watching her as she'd knelt over a basket of puppies and giggled like a young schoolgirl.

"You're smiling now," Bea pointed out helpfully.

Alessandra strove to control her expression. She didn't know what was wrong. She'd struggled to contain her emotions all day. She'd nearly snapped at a poor staffer who'd done nothing but moved a bit too slowly when Alessandra had hoped to have a few minutes to locate her husband.

"Are you seeing Dad tonight?"

Alessandra's gaze flicked to the front of the car and back to the phone. "I don't know. I'll be at this trade meeting for hours. I haven't been able to get in touch with him."

She'd called once. He hadn't answered, and she hadn't left a voicemail. It had seemed too impersonal after everything they'd weathered the past week.

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