A Queen from the North by Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese

Author:Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese [McRae, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avian30
Published: 2017-05-22T22:00:00+00:00

*

Back in her room in her flat, Amelia pulled out her mobile and flopped on the bed. It was the middle of the night in Australia and Arthur was surely asleep, but she’d had been an aggravating day and wanted to reach out.

I don’t know how your sister doesn’t go mad, she texted Arthur. Or anyone forced to sit through a bloody committee meeting on saving the bees.

She was surprised when a reply came almost immediately. Bees are very important.

I know that. You know that. I don’t need a committee meeting to tell me that.

Surely it wasn’t that bad, Arthur replied.

She was eventually going to have to have a talk to him about minimizing her reactions to things. There were sandwiches shaped like bees.

After a moment, her mobile chimed again. Where are you now?

At home. Why?

May I call you?

Amelia stared at the mobile for a moment. Since his departure, they’d exchanged texts, but nothing more. Her traitorous heart leapt at the chance to hear his voice. Yes, I suppose so.

Her mobile rang almost immediately. She had to change Arthur’s ringtone to something other than God Save the King.

“I didn’t think you’d be awake,” Amelia said by way of greeting.

“Between jet lag and my schedule, it’ll be months before I’m back on a normal sleep cycle,” Arthur replied, his voice warm in her ear. “But now, let’s talk about the damned bees.”

Amelia opened her mouth, then closed it again. “Before we get this conversation underway, you should probably do me the courtesy of reminding me that this call is recorded for posterity and we shouldn’t be having phone sex,” she said. Arthur’s admonishment regarding sexting so many weeks ago still made her cheeks warm.

“Actually,” Arthur said. “No.”

“No?”

“No, these calls aren’t recorded.”

“Oh.” Amelia’s cheeks burned with mortification. She’d been joking about their distinctly non-private lives. Would Arthur now think she was coming on to him in a completely inappropriate and ill-timed manner?

But her prince went on like nothing remarkable had been said. “If you’re interested, I can help you make some of what is expected of you less shallow and more genuinely compelling. I don’t want you withering away to nothing.”

“Sometimes if feels like nothing is exactly what I’m supposed to be,” Amelia admitted with a bitterness she’d so far managed to keep out of her conversations with Violet.

“No. No, no, no, no, no,” Arthur said firmly. “You are now my partner in this ridiculous venture. I want you to be as content as you can be. Which likely includes being proficient in charity work. My life — our life together — will be more pleasant if you’re not miserable. Especially when I’ve contributed to your misery. I owe you. Let me help. I’ve more practice at this.”

Amelia slumped back in her chair. He wanted her to be happy, and he wanted to help make sure she was. That was kind — and she was grateful — but his very good points about why his concern had nothing to do with any possible feelings for her were not cheering.

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