LITMIR.BIZ

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conduct its investigation. If the situation is as healthy for the children as you say, they’ll rule in your favor, without my interference. The Ministry does good work. I have complete faith in it.”

      “I’m afraid they won’t,” Nicholas said. “They’ve made it pretty clear—no wife, no adoption, no kids.”

      Easton felt for this cobbled-together family, he really did. But his hands were tied by his own principles.

      A long, awkward silence followed Nick’s pronouncement. When it became clear Easton wasn’t going to change his mind, Amelia cleared her throat and stood. “Well, then, I’m sure you have important matters to attend to.”

      “We appreciate the audience,” Nicholas added. “It’s…interesting for an ordinary citizen such as myself to get a firsthand look at how the royal mind reasons out problems.”

      Easton had come close to the end of his patience with Nicholas Standish. His veiled sarcasm didn’t come close to escaping his notice. A generation ago, men had been thrown into leg irons for lesser insubordination. But Easton knew how upset Eleanor would be if he did anything to her brother, and good secretaries were hard to find. So, again, he let the comment pass.

      Nicholas stood and hoisted Jakob onto his hip. He gave Easton a curt nod, then held the king’s gaze until Easton nodded back, giving him silent permission to withdraw. The little girl stood last. She said nothing, didn’t even look at Easton. But he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. The silent tears were almost Easton’s undoing, and he knew he would be haunted by her solemn eyes for many nights to come.

      NO WIFE, NO ADOPTION, NO KIDS. Those words ricocheted through Amelia’s head as Ellie escorted her, Nick and the children down the echoing embassy hallway toward the elevator. Nick’s face was hard, impassive, but Josie was blinking back tears. She understood what had just happened. Even Jakob was quiet.

      “Come home with me,” Amelia said impulsively. “We’ll have a nice lunch, and we’ll try to figure—”

      “No, thanks,” Nick said curtly. “The kids and I are going back to our hotel to change out of these clothes, then I’m taking them to the Statue of Liberty. They might as well learn some history while they’re here.”

      Amelia made herself smile at the kids. “That sounds like fun!”

      “You can come with us,” Josie said cautiously, which pleased Amelia. It was the first friendly overture Josie had made to her.

      “No, she can’t,” Nick said, speaking to Josie but looking at Amelia. “Her Highness can’t step out her front door without reporters and groupies descending on her, and I’m not up to dealing with that right now.”

      Amelia wanted to argue that he was wrong. She could usually move about the city with a certain amount of anonymity, provided she was careful. But she knew an excuse when she heard one. Nick didn’t want to be with her.

      “When do we go to the orph’nage?” Jakob asked innocently.

      “No one is going to any orphanage,” Nick said firmly. “Josie, what have you been telling him?”

      “But that’s where kids go when they don’t have parents,” Josie said. “Remember that movie we saw, Annie?”

      “There are no orphanages in Korosol, sweetheart,” Eleanor interjected. A bell announced the elevator’s arrival, and she gave Nick and the kids quick hugs.

      “Call me later.”

      The elevator doors opened, and Amelia started to get on, but Eleanor held her back. “Amelia, I just remembered, I have a…package for you to take home with you.”

      Ugh. More study materials about Korosol. Amelia hadn’t read so much boring material since her last political science class. Nick and the kids boarded the elevator. Jakob waved to her, Josie stared at her, her young face full of disappointment. Nick pointedly ignored her.

      Amelia wanted to scream at the ineffectual way she’d handled the situation.

      “Come back to my office,” Eleanor said. “I don’t really have anything to give you. But I wanted to talk to you…about Nicky.”

      She said nothing else until they were settled in Eleanor’s little alcove sipping tea. “How much do you know about Nick’s past?” Ellie asked.

      Amelia shrugged. “Not very much, really. We became friends in Palemeir, but we never talked about personal things.” He’d been easy with her, kind to the children, but she’d recognized an emotional wall when she saw one. There were certain boundaries she’d learned not to cross during their brief acquaintance. One of those was Nick Standish didn’t talk about his past.

      “Let me show you something.” Eleanor reached behind her and picked up a silver-framed photo from a group of personal knickknacks she’d arranged on top of a low bookcase. She handed it wordlessly to Amelia.

      The subject of the photo took Amelia’s breath away. It was an informal portrait of a family—a beautiful young woman with black hair and dark, dramatic eyes, laughing into the camera; a darling little boy not much older than Jakob, his eyes full of mischief; and a younger, more boyish-looking Nick.

      “He was married?” This was something Amelia had a hard time visualizing.

      “For five years, very happily. Then Monette and William died in a car accident, about four years ago. It changed Nicky, made him into a different person. He resigned from the army and became a mercenary. He took crazy chances with his life—I believe he didn’t care whether he lived or died.”

      Amelia struggled to absorb this new piece of the puzzle that made up Nick. Now his aura of reckless danger made sense. She’d been drawn to it as much as to his rugged, handsome face and enough muscles for a wrestling team. He and his band of ragtag soldiers had been hired to subdue rebel forces and restore order to the capital city. But somehow he’d gotten caught up in the plight of refugees trying to flee the fighting.

      “Those children have changed him,” Eleanor went on. “He’s not quite the lighthearted, fun-loving man he was before, but I see flashes of the old Nicky beginning to surface. If he loses Josie and Jakob, I don’t know what will become of him. A man can only take so much pain.”

      “I had no idea he’d suffered such a terrible loss.”

      “I wanted to tell you—not because I think there’s anything more you can do, but just so you’ll understand why he’s acting a bit harsh.”

      “I don’t blame him. I put him in a terrible position. If I’d only realized—”

      “Don’t blame yourself, either, Your Highness.”

      “Please, could you call me Amelia? We’ve become friends, after all.”

      “Yes, but you’re soon to be queen.”

      Amelia resisted the urge to groan. She detested pomp and circumstance.

      “At any rate,” Eleanor went on, “I wanted to express my appreciation for what you did to help Nick and the kids. It was a huge risk for you as well, staying behind until the ICF practically dragged you out.”

      But it had been an easy choice for Amelia. It might have been a marriage of convenience, but she’d have done anything to protect those children. And Nick—well, saying vows in a church with him at her side had been a little frightening, but a part of her had thrilled at the idea of being married to such a powerful, dangerous man.

      If she had it to do over again, she would have stayed with them, returned to Korosol with them and consequences be damned. But she’d made the wrong decision. Now she carried the responsibility of that mistake with her. The fates of those children were on her head, and it was up to her to make things right. But how?

      Chapter Three

      Macy’s opened early on Sunday morning specifically

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