“I am in the unique position of training for a job that I may not have for years,” he said. “I do not wish my father to die, yet this is the expected way of succession.”

“Would he abdicate?”

“We have talked about it. He does not want me to wait indefinitely.”

“So you would be king sooner rather than later?”

He nodded.

She didn’t like the sound of that. Not with a proposal still hanging between them. Bad enough to be a lousy princess, but it was so much worse to be a horrible queen.

“You would do well,” he said, reading her mind.

“I have many, many doubts. I could put them into categories and have them spiral bound for you, if you’d like.”

“Calandria is a small country. Your duties-”

She cut him off with a strangled cough. “See, that’s the thing. Any sentence that begins with the words your duties isn’t for me. I’m not the duty type.”

“There would be compensations.”

She wasn’t sure if he was going to talk about the wealth and relative power or the thrill of being married to him. Right now she didn’t want to think about either.

“What about Danny?” she asked. “What would his life be like?”

“He would have tutors.”

“Now?”

“Of course. There’s much he has to learn.”

That didn’t sound good. She remembered what Rafael had told her about his years growing up.

“Just so we’re clear,” she said flatly, “he’s not being sent away to some European boarding school. He can go to a regular school with other Calandrian children.”

Rafael stiffened as if she’d slapped him. “My son is the heir to the Calandrian throne.”

“Funny, because my son is just a little boy. Are you saying Calandrian schools are substandard?”

“Of course not. They are the best in Europe.”

“Then think of the money we’ll save. Besides, if Danny is going to grow up to rule the people, doesn’t it make sense that he get to know them from an early age?”

She could feel Rafael winding himself up for some kind of princely tirade, so she quickly asked, “Did you like being sent away when you were all of seven? Didn’t you miss your friends and your family? Do you really want that for Danny?”

“There are traditions,” he began.

“There’s also reality. It’s a new century, Rafael. How about pushing the monarchy into it? I’m not sending Danny away to school.”

She also was fairly sure she wasn’t going to be marrying Rafael anytime soon, although the idea was fun to think about.

“You are right,” he said, stunning her into silence. “I did not enjoy being sent away. I was angry and resentful. I vowed it would be different for my son.”

“You might want to remember that,” she said, trying not to melt at the thought of a scared and lonely seven-year-old Rafael.

“Was it too horrible?” she asked.

“I survived. I had my uncle Vidal, who visited me frequently. My father’s brother,” he added. “We were close. Much closer than I ever was with my father.”

She imagined it would be tough to get close to the king. “It’s too bad your father didn’t remarry. Having a woman around would have helped.”

“Perhaps, but my father had done his duty and saw no reason to do it again.”

Marriage as duty-an interesting concept. “What about marrying for love?” she asked.

Rafael took her hand and lightly kissed the tips of her fingers. “Such a thing would not occur to him.”

“What are your thoughts on the concept?”

His blue eyes darkened with emotion. “I have turned down three acceptable arranged marriages and I have been unable to tell my father why. Each of the women was exactly what I said I wanted, and yet when the time came, I was not willing to marry for duty.”

“What did you say you wanted?” she asked.

He smiled. “You know that is not important.”

“I want to know how close a match I would be.”

“You are Mia,” he told her. “That is enough.”

Great response, she thought. He was good at saying exactly the right thing. She really was going to have to go online and become more familiar with his past. Was he serious about the three potential princesses?

“You worry for nothing,” he said as he stood and came around to her side of the table. He pulled her to her feet. “Remember what it was like between us. Think of how it could be again.”

Dangerous territory. She knew she could easily get lost in the past, and that wasn’t a smart place to hang out. She had a pretty big present to worry about, including an almost four-year-old son who would-amazingly enough-one day rule Calandria.

“Rafael, I’ve been thinking, and it’s the reason I’m up so early this morning. What you proposed…” Bad choice of words. “Your suggestion is really flattering, but I can’t see how we could ever make it work.”

“I will show you.” He moved in close and wrapped his arms around her.

She already had a good idea of where this was going. Not her favorite thing before she finished her first cup of coffee, but based on how great his kiss had been last night, she just might make an exception.

But before his mouth could claim hers, she heard footsteps in the hallway.

“Okay, that would be a chaperone on demand,” she murmured as she stepped back and did her best not to look flustered.

David walked into the kitchen, took one look at them, and started back out. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Just came down for coffee. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t. Really.” Mia lunged toward him and grabbed his arm. “Rafael and I were finished.”

Rafael smiled. “I would not say ‘finished,’ but we can certainly pick this up again later. Go ahead, David. Have your coffee. I will go and wake my son.”

“Danny will like that,” Mia said, more grateful for the interruption than she could say. Things were messed up enough without her getting lost in a sensual fog with Rafael. Sexual chemistry had never been their issue.

David crossed to the coffeepot and poured himself a mug. When Rafael had left, he looked at Mia.

“You always did do things in a big way.”

She sighed. “This time, I didn’t mean to. It was just one of those things.”

He grinned. “Having a baby with the crown prince of a European nation doesn’t just happen.”

“It did to me. A week ago my life was perfectly normal. I had my plan. Finish law school, get a good job, get Danny into a nice private school in L.A., buy a condo. Suddenly I’m worried about co-parenting with a future monarch. It’s unnerving.”

“If anyone can handle it, you’re the one.”

She didn’t feel like the one. She felt inadequate to the task and uneasy about Rafael. He was too charming, too everything. How was she supposed to resist him?

“It’s good to see you,” she said.

“I always like coming up here. The fact that we’re planning a wedding here only gives me more excuses.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Dinner turned into a disaster.”

“What’s up with Kelly? She was wasted.”

“I don’t know. I thought Francesca was going to pop a blood vessel. And Etienne. Yuck. Why is it some men think avoiding regular hygiene makes them sexy?”

The timer on the oven dinged. She grabbed a hot pad and pulled out the cinnamon rolls.

“You were always a frequent bather,” she said. “I appreciated that. I just want you to know.”

“Not a very high standard.”

“I have others.”

David was good-looking, in an easy all-American kind of way. While he and Mia were exactly the same age, their lives were so different. He’d graduated from college, gotten a great job at an investment firm, and had the perfect life. He was engaged to someone Mia liked a lot, owned his own home, and knew exactly where he wanted to be in twenty years.

She was a single mother, still living at home, with another year left in law school. Okay, yes, she had a master’s and had been a spy, but she still felt as if she were waiting for her grown-up life to start.

David leaned against the counter. “I need your help.”

She perked up. “Is this a shopping thing, because I am in the mood to spend some serious cash and it’s always better if it isn’t mine.”

“It’s not a shopping thing.”

Damn. David had taken her with him to pick out Amber’s engagement ring. They’d found the perfect set, with a 1.6 carat cushion-cut center stone. Mia considered it one of her crowning achievements in spending other people’s money.

“It’s Amber.”

“What about Amber? She’s fabulous.” Mia grabbed the ingredients for frosting and set them on the counter. “Don’t you dare tell me you’re having second thoughts.”

“I’m not,” he said quickly. “How could I? Amber is incredible. Pretty and gentle and kind, and she thinks I’m funny.”

“It’s a miracle,” Mia told him.

“Gee, thanks. She adores me, and I can’t imagine ever loving anyone as much as I love her. I want to have kids with her. I want to grow old with her. I want to buy an RV with her.”

“RV buying means it is serious.” She measured out powdered sugar and butter. “So what’s the problem?”

“You.”

Mia paused in the act of pouring milk. “Excuse me?”

“She doesn’t understand how I could have been in love with you once and not still be in love with you.”

“Oh, please. You had me and realized you didn’t want me.”

He winced.

“I don’t mean that in a bad way,” she added quickly. “We were young and thought we were in love. We weren’t. End of story.”

“She doesn’t see it that way. Every time we come here, she can’t stop talking about you.” He held up his free hand. “Before you say anything, I already thought about staying away, but we’re supposed to get married here. It was Amber’s idea. There are family holidays and gatherings. There’s no way to avoid you.”

“Kind of like flu season germs.”

“You know what I mean.”