Page 48 of Royal Agenda

“No worries then?”

“None.” She smiled. “Just living in the moment.”

He nodded. “That I can do with great success.”

“What about the other places you’ve lived? Did you leave a mark there?” She kept her face on her work.

Ryker hated to brush her off. He wanted to tell her every bit of his history, including Christmas morning surprises and New Year’s resolutions he did not keep. “I did not think of it then,” he replied. Which was the truth, though not what she wanted.

She smiled, but it was watery, and he was not happy that he brought a cloud over her sunshine.

He sprayed blue and then white to make the ocean. “This is nice, si? Working side-by-side on a project.”

“Si.”

A deeper thought settled inside of him and he glanced at Grace, wondering if he should share it.

“What?” she asked through her smile. She could not seem to look at him without smiling, and it made his heart light, light enough to lift like a balloon–one that she held the string.

“I like leaving a mark here.” He stepped back, checked the card, and then sprayed two black lines for the flamingo’s legs. “It feels permanent and such a thing as a person does to their homeland.”

She cocked her head. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. But you’re right. And this is concrete, so it will be here for quite some time. Even if we’re horrible and they paint over it, it’s still here.”

“Is this a place you would want to stay?” he ventured, hoping she did not understand how much her answer meant to him. He, the man who almost died, faked his own death, won over a group of Navy SEALs, and thwarted an assassin, was breakable. For her. Only for Grace.

She continued to work, focusing even more on the mural now that she was into the details. “I really like it here. For me, it’s not about finding a home as much as a home base. I’ll always travel.”

He nodded. That was to be expected. “I would like to officially put Diamond Cove on your list for home bases.”

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You’re too late. I already wrote it there.”

He put an arm around her and stepped closer, wanting to feel her body melt into his. She did not disappoint. “When? When did you write this down?”

Her eyes sparkled. “The night we found the moonstone.”

“Bene.” Good. He leaned closer, whispering in her ear. “How do we cross off the other options?”

Her breath hitched, and he reveled in knowing he had this effect on her. “Too late. I already did that, too.”

“When?” he breathed the word.

“The first time you kissed me.”

“That was the same night.” He pulled back to look into her luscious blue eyes.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “I was a goner for you, Ryker.” She ran her hand up his forearm, his arm, his shoulder, and then tickled her fingers at the base of his neck. “Still am.”

He touched his forehead to hers. “You are brave, la mia sirena. Brave with your heart and brave with your words. Amarti é un dono.” To love you is a gift.

She gasped. “You . . . you love me?”

He kissed her softly. “I love you with all of my heart.”

“Ryker,” She wrapped her arms tight and kissed him. He turned her and pressed her up against the wall, slowing down the kiss and taking his time to explore her lips, her neck, and her jaw. He let his promises, his commitments, every one he wanted to make now and all the ones he knew would come, flow from him and into her. She tasted like mint and kissed as if she could not help herself.

When they were both quite spent and liquid, he kissed her cheek one more time. She grinned wickedly.

“What?” he asked with suspicion.

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