Instead he answered, “We do not let go.”
He kept his finger under her chin, moving his thumb to hold her there when that chin started trembling.
Suddenly, fire flashed in her eyes. One emotion fled and another took its place, and his thumb was unnecessary.
She nodded her head resolutely once.
“We will not let go.”
He grinned at her, removed his hand and said, “Thank you, M.”
Her head tipped to the side, and her gaze grew shrewd. “You’re very much in love with her.”
“In the story of her life, I’m her happily ever after,” Stellan replied simply.
Brightness immediately hit her eyes again as they got wet in a way she could not fight.
“Shh,” he shushed, rounding her with his arms and pulling her against his body. “We’ve a fight on our hands, but that part is the good part. Not something to cry about.”
Her voice hitched through her, “I know. And it makes me very happy because the world never seemed right to me, the handsome prince going so long without meeting his fair maiden.”
It never occurred to Stellan that the story went both ways.
But it fucking did.
He’d lived a long time just living. Not searching for a woman to share his life with, more than likely, he realized in that moment, because he held fear that in the end, he would be like his father, and he’d lay a path of devastation in his wake.
But he’d never do that to Simone.
Never.
Apparently, the “handsome prince” had some healing to do as well … and Simone was his healer.
For her part, Simone would probably laugh herself sick at being thought of as a fair maiden. She was the scarred heroine who sacrificed everything to keep the people she loved safe.
But her story was about to change.
And so was his.
Stellan gave M a squeeze and another smile, and it was M who pulled out of his arms.
And then M did what M did when it came to Stellan or anyone she held close to her heart.
She bossed him.
Going right to a little dish filled with a number of pills in a variety of colors and shapes, she tapped it on the counter once before she nudged a tall, slim glass of cranberry juice toward it … and him.
“Vitamins, mijo,” she murmured and moved away.
Stellan went to his vitamins and began to take them with the juice.
As M got busy doing something, she asked, “Is Simone coming down for breakfast?”
“She was doing her hair when I left her, but yes. Though I’ll warn you, M, I did not tell her that you were resuming your normal schedule. She has no idea you come in the mornings to cook breakfast for me.”
“Good,” she muttered, “the element of surprise. Keep her on her toes.”
He knew he’d just recruited an excellent ally.
He simply had to hope like fuck they could pull this off.
Stellan took all his vitamins and drank his juice before M got on his ass about doing either.
He’d made himself a cup of coffee, refreshed M’s, taken his cup to his office to load his attaché, and was returning when he saw Simone wandering to the kitchen, her gaze locked on M.
When she saw him out of the corner of her eyes, she glanced at him only briefly before M, who from his position in the hall Stellan could not see, called, “Good morning, Simone! Did you have a nice weekend?”
“Yes, M, hey,” Simone replied as Stellan moved out of the hall and into the kitchen. “Did you?”
“Excellent,” M replied, headed toward Simone, and Stellan almost barked with laughter as he saw she had a little dish in one hand, a tall, thin glass of cranberry juice in the other.
She placed the dish in front of Simone with a sharp crack.
“Vitamins,” she declared firmly and another crack, less sharp, but still a crack, sounded and the glass was down. “Cranberry juice.” She immediately started poking the pills. “That’s Stellan’s multi. I’ll get one for women for you. But you’ll take that today. Vitamin C, no explanation. B-12, energy. Fish oil for your joints—”
“I—” Simone tried to get in.
M spoke over her, and Stellan had to swallow a chuckle with his sip of coffee.
“Green tea, there are two of those. You should take two more during the day, at least. Unless you drink some of the actual tea. Those are antioxidants. And L-lysine. In case you don’t know, it’s an enzyme your body naturally has to strengthen the immune system. But as you age, it depletes. You need to keep that strong. You take those, and you’ll have my breakfast burrito with fruit this morning. Vitamins are good, but always the best source of getting them is in healthy, fresh, plant-based food. So be certain to have some fruit and vegetables for lunch, and I know that Stellan makes sure you have your veggies in the evening. If you do all this, it will make me happy.”
Simone stared at M, moved her stare to Stellan, who gave her a slight smile and a one-armed shrug, but somewhere deeper he was feeling a good deal more, witnessing Simone processing a woman showing she gave a damn for the first time in her life, before she moved her gaze back to M.
“Listen, M, I—” she tried.
Another crack of the dish on the marble countertop. “Take these, Simone. Now, querida. I’ll finish with breakfast.” When Simone didn’t move, M prompted, “I can’t make you breakfast if you don’t take them, and if I don’t make you breakfast, both of you will be late for work.”
Simone slowly reached out to the dish.
M didn’t move until Simone had taken half the pills.
She then went back to the stove.
Stellan made his way to Simone, bent, and kissed her cheek as she finished with the vitamins.
Her eyes turned to his, and there was query in them.
He did not have to ask after that query.
“Did I not tell you?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“I’m so sorry, my darling,” he murmured. “I texted M to tell her to resume her regular schedule. When you first moved in, I asked her not to come in the mornings while we got settled in together. Now that we are, she’s back.”
Her eyes said a thousand words that with M there her mouth could not say.
He just wasn’t listening.
“Coffee?” he asked.
“Yes,” she pushed out.
He moved to the coffeemaker, trying not to smirk smugly.
“All the juice, Simone,” M ordered.
“I—” Simone started again, and Stellan didn’t turn to watch as M cut her off.
To that, he listened.
“If you don’t like cranberry, I’ll get you something you like. As you know, we have orange and grapefruit right now. But if you prefer apple or grape or pineapple, I’ll get it at the grocery today. Or pomegranate. That’s very good for you.”
“Cranberry’s fine, M,” Simone mumbled.
“I’ll get some pomegranate anyway.”
Stellan walked Simone’s coffee to her, seeing her gulp down cranberry juice.
At the sight, he couldn’t stop his smile.
She gave him big, annoyed eyes.
He ignored that too.
And set about enjoying breakfast with two of his favorite girls in the world.
*
Forty-five minutes later, having left Simone being coaxed into taking cooking lessons from M, Stellan was halfway to work when his phone rang.
He took the call and spoke into the car.
“Yes, darling?”
“Do you want to tell me what that was?” Simone demanded.
“What what was?”
“This morning.”
“Breakfast,” he explained easily.
“Stellan—”
It was Stellan who interrupted her this time.
“You don’t have to learn to cook, honey. I like cooking for us.”
“I—”
“And speaking of that, we’ll have dinner at home tonight, but tomorrow, we’ll go out. After dinner, we’ll enjoy drinks at the club.”
“The club?”
“The Honey,” he clarified.
“I’m not sure—”
“I’ll call Leigh. Ask her and Olly to meet us there.”
She made no response.
“Have a good day, darling. I’ll see you tonight.”
Her whisper filled his car.
“It’s not going to work.”
His steady voice vibrated through the car.
“Oh yes it is.”
“I shouldn’t have started this with you,” she stated, like she wasn’t talking to him.