Page 38 of Claimed By the Crown Prince
They ate in companionable silence, and after a few minutes Laia put her fork down and wiped her mouth. She took a sip of the crisp white wine, gestured to the half-decimated platter of seafood.
‘This is seriously impressive. You could probably get work as a chef if you lost everything tomorrow.’
Dax wiped his own mouth. ‘Good to know.’
‘My half-sister loves food. She’s a good cook too—she’s the one who has been teaching me.’
Dax sat back, wine glass stem between his fingers. ‘What’s she like?’
‘Well...’ Laia hesitated.
She was wary, considering both how Dax had reacted to learning about her and what was potentially happening right now between her sister and King Aristedes. She didn’t know how Dax would feel about that.
But he said, ‘Genuine question.’
Laia relaxed marginally. ‘She’s physically very like me...as you saw. Except her eyes are more hazel. And she’s curvier. And she has a gap between her front teeth.’ Laia couldn’t help smiling. ‘She’s sweet and open. There’s no agenda with Maddi. She’s quite shy. She’s a little terrified of becoming a princess. The plan is to let people know around the time of the coronation, so that’s when she’ll be officially acknowledged...’
‘Yet she jumped into the frying pan with Ari...? A ballsy move.’
‘She’s brave.’
‘And she isn’t resentful that she didn’t grow up with great privilege?’
Laia shook her head. ‘No—amazingly. But she did admit she missed not knowing our father. She’s pretty special. She’s much more open and affectionate than me. She’s quite unorthodox... Not a hippy, exactly, but she goes with the flow...’
Dax let out a little huff of laughter. ‘It sounds like Ari won’t know what’s hit him.’
Laia shifted uncomfortably, thinking of those pictures again.
Dax said, ‘She does sound like a special person. She’d have to be to not grow up with a huge chip on her shoulder after being ostracised from a life of royalty.’
Laia said, ‘The ironic thing is that I always wished for a sibling when I was growing up. I was lonely. But, as you’ve said, you were separated from Aristedes, so even if Maddi had been there, maybe I wouldn’t have seen her all that much.’ Before she could stop herself, Laia asked, ‘Do you see yourself having children?’
She noticed that Dax kept his expression carefully schooled before answering.
‘Like marriage, it’s not something I’ve ever envisaged. After my experience with my parents, who didn’t really parent at all, I can’t say it’s something I’d want to risk inflicting on my children.’
‘But Aristedes has no choice.’
‘Just like you have no choice.’
‘I had a good experience with my father. He was loving and kind and supportive. But not having had a mother... I think I’m afraid that I won’t know what to do. How to mother.’
Laia was shocked. She’d never admitted that out loud to anyone. Not even Maddi.
Dax said, ‘I don’t know much about these things, but for what it’s worth I don’t doubt that it’s an entirely instinctive process and you’d be a great mother.’
Laia blinked. Startled at the sudden welling of moisture in her eyes. She’d never in a million years have imagined this conversation with this man. She’d never expected to feel such emotion.
Her voice was husky. ‘I... Thank you. You didn’t have to say that.’
‘I don’t say things I don’t mean.’
No, he didn’t. Just as he didn’t lead women on.
He would be a good father. Laia felt it in her bones. She could almost see him with a small, sturdy toddler with dark hair, lifting him high in the air.
She stood up quickly, before any more disturbing images could pop into her head or she blurted out something else incredibly exposing. She couldn’t even blame the wine this time. She’d had hardly any.