Royal Chase

The hallway from the elevator to his suite was the longest hallway in the history of ever. I finally made it to the door, nervous, excited, and worried all at once, and inserted the key.

The light turned green, and I pushed down the handle.

He was standing next to the windows, looking out at the city. I didn’t even notice the room, because he was all I could see. He turned when he heard my heels on the travertine tile in the entryway, and pointed at an armchair. “Please, sit down.”

“Dante, I—”

“Wait.” He rubbed the back of his neck with one of his hands. “Limone, there’s something I need to say to you, and I need you to just stay there and listen until I’m done.”

I nodded and sat down in the chair. He had already taken off his suit jacket and his tie, and unbuttoned the first few buttons on his dress shirt.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that movie we watched on our date. Gone with the Wind. And I’ve been thinking about how much our situation is like that one. You’re marrying Ashley Wilkes, and Rhett Butler is standing here telling you that it’s a mistake.”

I understood what he was trying to say, but some panicked part of me wondered whether he had forgotten that Rhett left Scarlett in the end.

“You’re getting married in three days. The honorable thing to do would be to step aside and say nothing. But I can’t be honorable right now.”

He swallowed a couple of times, and I stayed quiet, not wanting to say anything to stop him from what he was building up to. My heart beat so loud in my chest that I wondered if he could hear it where he was standing. He crossed over to me, knelt on one knee, and took both of my hands. I went absolutely still, unable to move.

“I love you, Limone. I am so in love with you, and it is killing me that you’re doing this. He will never know you or love you the way that I do. He will never make you happy the way that I will. He won’t carry out quests or slay dragons for you.”

Dante loved me. Dante loved me. I wanted so badly to throw my arms around him and tell him that I loved him too. But something held me back, and it wasn’t just that he had asked me to listen. Some part of me was still afraid and still doubted.

“I know you don’t want to be vulnerable and give up control. I know he feels safe. That you think you can keep your heart safe. But you can’t control life. You can’t control me or us. But I promise you this—your heart will always be safe with me. I promise to protect it with my life.”

I tightened my hands on his, clinging to this one point of contact.

“I also promise you that despite what you think, I would never cheat on you. I saw what cheating did to Rafe, and it nearly destroyed him. I could never do that to someone I love.”

“Nico told me . . .” My voice came out as a whisper.

“I know.” He smiled, rubbing his thumbs on the back of my hands. “I’m glad he told you. I should have told you about Rafe sooner. I’m just so used to protecting him and pretending to be that man. I had hoped that you could see past it, which is why I asked you to stay on the show. I didn’t want you to be a spy. I wanted you to get to know me, the real me. Not just my flaws, but the good parts too.”

Carrying around my fearful, battle-scarred baggage was so exhausting. I wanted to believe in him.

“I’m tired of being hurt,” I confessed. “I just want a man I know I can trust. Someone I can believe in. Someone I won’t doubt.”

“I am that man, Limone. I give you my word. You know that I would never break a promise to you.”

I did know it. Even with my doubts, I knew it.

“Nico told me once that the thing he regretted most with Kat was not telling her how he felt before she left. He said he was worried that she would run away if he told her, a fear I now understand. I’ve been afraid that if I was serious with you, you would leave. And I’m not sure I’m strong enough to lose you. I need you. But you have to know that everything I’ve ever said to you, everything you interpreted as a joke or teasing, I meant every single word.”

A big old lump formed in my throat, and my chest ached. There were so many emotions, so many things that I wanted to say but couldn’t. Not yet.