Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Picking up my phone from the nightstand beside me, I tapped her image to call her.
“Hi, Tristan. I’m sorry, I’m running late to class, so I can’t talk right now—”
“You’re going to make the time, Dani,” I snapped.
There was silence on her end, and I figured I’d stunned her with my harsh tone. I hadn’t intended it to be so rough, but I was tired, frustrated, and worried.
“Loni tells me you’ve been sick.”
Dani sighed. “Tattletale,” she muttered under her breath.
“Why did I hear it from your security detail, princesse?”
“I didn’t want you to worry. It’s not a big deal.”
Being pregnant with our baby wasn’t a big deal? What the fuck?
“It’s my job to take care of you, Dani, even if I can’t be there to do it in person. But I can’t if you aren’t honest with me.” I waited for her to take the bait and was incredibly disappointed when she didn’t.
“I’m a big girl, Tristan. I can take care of myself.”
“I know that. The point is that you don’t have to. And I want to be there for you. I love you.”
I heard a little sniff, and my chest tightened. I hated it when she cried.
“I love you, too, Tristan. And I’m proud of the man you are. I would never want to change you.”
Something in her tone bothered me, but she hurried on before I could dig into it.
“I really do have to go. But I promise I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Merde!” I cursed when she hung up.
I almost pitched my phone into a wall, but it was the only way for Dani to contact me, so I stamped down my frustration. This shit needed to be handled right the fuck now.
A loud knock startled me, and I climbed off the bed and stalked out into the living area of my suite to find out who pounded on my door like a lunatic.
“Qu'est-ce que c'est que cette merde?” I snapped.
“I think we figured it out,” Philippe tossed over his shoulder, already walking away.
My heart squeezed, and hope sucked the air from my lungs. I only wore a pair of sweatpants, so I grabbed a shirt and put on shoes before practically running after my brother.
My parents and Céline were in my father’s office when Philippe and I arrived. They looked excited, more so than I’d seen any other time we’d thought we were close to a solution.
“Did you really find it?” I queried.
“We did,” my father confirmed with a giant smile.
8
TRISTAN
Normally, it took years to plan a coronation. Other than a royal wedding, it was the most important, practically sacred, event in the history of the country. But neither Philippe nor I were going to wait a fucking year to start our lives with the women we loved.
And the longer it took to make Céline queen, the more time the Beauchenes had to contest the decision. They would never win, but until it was settled, the passing of the title would remain on hold.
In an amazing stroke of luck, Philippe had been scheduled to be crowned king this year, and the date just happened to be a few weeks after we solved the issue with the line of succession. So everything for the coronation was already in place.
At first, I’d been excited to tell Dani everything. But then I thought about surprising her. Coming home and informing her that she was now engaged to a regular guy…well, for the most part. I wasn’t in line to be king, but I was still a prince, as well as holding several other titles.
If she hadn’t told me about the baby by then, I was no longer going to pretend I didn’t know. Even if it meant showing all my cards. Besides, I couldn't imagine Dani was completely unaware of the depth of my obsession with her.
“Sign here,” the attorney said, drawing me out of my thoughts. He pointed at yet another document, and I quickly scribbled my name on the bottom. I barely paid attention, which would have seemed crazy to anyone else since I was signing away my claim to the throne. But I hadn’t been able to reach Dani or Loni since yesterday morning when Janice went off duty.
I’d called Jonah, and he’d promised to look into it, but I hadn’t heard from him so far.
The coronation was at ten in the morning, and the second it was over, I would be on a plane back to New York. When I found my princess, I was going to spank her pretty little ass until she couldn’t sit down for a week.
“That’s everything,” the attorney droned as he gathered up all of the paperwork. The man was a stick-in-the-mud, but he’d been invaluable in helping us to make the necessary changes ironclad and irreversible.
“I can’t believe it,” Céline breathed as she stared up at Timothée, her husband, who stood beside her with his arm around her waist. “Am I crazy to think I can do this?”