‘No, it cannot wait. Nothing can wait. Not any more.’
‘What does that mean?’ she enquired.
‘It means everything has changed.’ Reaching down, he stroked her cheek. He wasn’t sure why it hadn’t occurred to him before. Jasmine wasn’t the perfect candidate but she was miles better than anyone he knew. There would be no false proclamations of love to confuse issues. They were compatible in bed.
And she was carrying his child...
Her silky skin made his pulse jump. Or was it his own senses jumping from the situation presented so perfectly before him? So perfect, he wanted to kiss her!
Walking away before he was tempted to give in to the hunger churning through him, Reyes strode to the polished teak desk.
‘Reyes, you’re not making much sense.’
They both stopped at the knock on the door. ‘Yes?’
His young aide entered. ‘The council is here. I’ve put them in the conference room, as you requested.’
Reyes nodded. ‘Gracias, Antonio. I’ll be there shortly.’
Antonio retreated and Reyes rounded the desk. There was so much he wanted to say, and yet he couldn’t find the right words to say it. In the end, he crouched in front of Jasmine and took both her hands in his.
‘This was as much my responsibility as yours. I failed in my duty to protect you, and for that I apologise. I got carried away...but I can assure you I don’t have any adverse health issues you should worry about.’
‘Neither have I,’ she blurted.
He nodded. ‘Good. I hope you’re agreeable to what needs to happen next, too.’
She frowned. ‘I’m not sure I follow.’
‘It means I’m calling off next week’s wedding. And I’m getting married in three days instead.’
Jasmine felt the blood drain from her head. It was a good thing he was holding on to her because she was sure she would’ve collapsed in an agonising, pathetic heap.
‘I... Okay. Leave it with me. I’ll call Miss Holden and arrange for her to fly to Santo Sierra,’ she replied through numb lips. Her whole body was going numb and she really needed to sit down before she fell.
Reyes’s brows bunched. ‘Why would you be calling her?’
‘Because you’re marrying her?’
‘You misunderstand, Jasmine. The wedding is for you. I intend to marry no one else but you.’
As proposals went, it wasn’t the most romantic she’d heard. But even through the shock engulfing her, she realised there would be nothing resembling romance, or love, in whatever Reyes planned for them.
THE PICTURES JASMINE had seen of Santo Sierra didn’t do it justice even in the slightest.
As the royal jet circled majestic green mountains and turquoise waters in preparation for landing, she could barely contain her awe.
‘Now I get a reaction from you. I thought I’d have to surgically remove you from that tablet.’
She turned sharply from her avid landscape gazing. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘You’ve hardly spoken a word since we took off.’ He frowned. ‘In fact, you seem to have lost the ability to speak the last twenty-four hours.’ His gaze raked her face. ‘Are you feeling unwell?’
She struggled to keep her features composed and not show how much turmoil she’d been in since he’d announced she was his choice of bride.
Her bewildered ‘Why?’ had been met with incredulity.
‘Are you serious?’
‘Of course, I’m serious. You have your perfect candidate already picked out.’
‘And you are carrying my baby. My heir.’ His brows had clamped together. ‘What did you think was going to happen when you told me?’ he’d asked with a heavy dose of astonishment.
And there their discussion had ended.
The council had been waiting. He’d summoned Antonio to call the doctor, who’d arrived just as the council meeting had ended.
Reyes had peppered him with questions and he’d listened with an intensity that had terrified Jasmine. Even before the poor doctor had been dismissed, she’d known Reyes was heavily vested in his baby’s welfare. And that she wouldn’t be returning to London to raise her child as a single parent.
She was going to Santo Sierra to marry Prince Reyes Navarre.
She, a juvenile delinquent with a chequered past, was going to be crowned Princess in just over forty-eight hours.
And if that weren’t terrifying enough, the realisation of what she was trying desperately to deny had finally hit her in the face this morning. She was developing potentially heart-risking feelings for Reyes. Ironically, her mother had called this morning just as she was busy denying her feelings.
Jasmine would never have thought in a million years that she would adopt her mother’s head-in-the-sand approach to life one day.
‘Jasmine?’
God, the Latin intonation to the way he said her name...
‘No, I’m just a little nervous.’
He waved her nerves away. ‘Don’t be. The palace staff will cater to your every need. And my sister, Isabella, will also be on hand should you need a female perspective on any concerns.’ He smiled.
Her breath caught.
Scared he’d read any unwanted emotion on her face, she looked out of the window again, towards the mountain she’d learned was called Montana Navarre. Set on the highest peak, it was where the Royal House of Navarre had been born and where Reyes’s ancestors had ruled Santo Sierra for several centuries. Airplanes were restricted from flying directly over the palace, but the aerial view she’d seen of it had taken her breath away.
With supreme effort, she looked at him. ‘Are you sure we’re not rushing this? I’m sure there must be special protocols to royal weddings that I need to learn first?’
His eyelids descended and his nostrils flared slightly before he pierced her with that incisive grey gaze once more. ‘You’re carrying my child, Jasmine. Everything else ceases to matter in light of that reality.’
She couldn’t read anything into that thick emotion in his voice. It was just shock.
Recalling how his councilmen had beamed at her when they’d emerged from their meeting, Jasmine added another reason as to why Reyes was pleased about the turn of events.
Next to a royal wedding, a royal baby was the most joyous celebration for any country. Reyes was returning home not just with his future bride, but with his future heir, although the formal announcement of her pregnancy wouldn’t be made for another few weeks.
Coupled with his economic plans for Santo Sierra, those two events would surely regain him his people’s love and devotion.
A part of her felt relieved and thankful that her actions wouldn’t leave permanent damage on Santo Sierra. The other, selfish part of her couldn’t hide the pain of feeling like collateral damage.
‘You’re still troubled,’ Reyes observed.
She’d forgotten how well he could read her. Clearing her throat, she passed restless fingers through her hair. ‘It’s my problem.