She fought a smile. “I don’t even know how to answer that. Would you please tell me how you got in?”

“I texted Harrison and asked if I could come talk to you.” She smelled so good—sweet, feminine. He brushed his lips over hers, but the need was too powerful, and he swept her up into his arms. He kissed her with all the pent-up worry and heartache that’d built over the past several days. He kissed her with relief and a rush of pure love. She felt so perfectly right in his arms, and everything just felt better with her.

There’s no one else I want to go through life with than this woman.

But he still didn’t know what was going on, so he got a hold of himself. “Spell it out for me, sweetheart, before I have a heart attack—oh, damn. I’m sorry. That was a shit thing to say.”

“It’s all right.” She smiled with affection. “My father’s going to be fine. In fact, he’s going to be better than before.”

“Glad to hear it.” His heart beat so thick and hard he could hear the drumbeat in his ears. “So, what’d I walk in on?”

“That was my father firing Marcel and his father.”

“Whoa. That’s…big news.”

“It actually happened a few days ago, but they’ve been fighting it. Fortunately, as my father pointed out, the Allards don’t have any dirt on us, so there’s nothing they can do. They believe they’ve given their whole lives to the royal family, and they haven’t gotten their due.”

“What’s that even mean? What’s their due? They have jobs like anyone else. Their employer decided to fire them.”

“It’s a historical thing. The Allard family has worked as agents for the Villeneuves for generations.”

“Doesn’t mean you owe them anything.”

“Exactly.”

She looked so pretty, her dark hair glossy in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows, her lips red and wet from his mouth. His fingers flexed, because he wanted to kiss her again so damn bad. “So, what’s next? If you still have to get married, I want it to be me. Like I said, I’ll move here. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you.” That was her royal voice. She stiffened and pulled away from him. “That’s kind of you, but when I marry, it’s going to be for love. Not duty, and definitely not as a favor.”

“Favor? Rosie, I…” Would you slow the hell down? She’s in the middle of a shitstorm. It wasn’t the time to declare his feelings. “How did the vote go? It was on Tuesday, right?”