He brought his hands up to cradle my head gently and pulled me into his arms. He didn’t know why she was being so emotional, but he just felt like the right thing to do was going slow, for the time being. Hugging her close, he put his chin on her head and just held her out in the sunlit grassy field.
“Lara, Marry me?” Rupert asked her again. “Please? I want to spend my life with you. I'm not going to keep asking you forever, I can't play these games like this. I know what I want in my life and that includes you. I want to move forward.”
“I just need more time, Rupert. I promise I’ll give you an answer soon, okay?” I told him and felt panic constrict my chest. I really wanted to talk to my mom before making any promises. I wasn’t sure I could handle this. I was sure I loved Rupert, but was it enough to make a relationship work?
“Lara, I’ve given you control in this area, because you need it to feel safe. What else can I do to prove my seriousness to you?” Rupert was frustrated. He put his hands through his hair and started pacing in the field. He didn’t know how to overcome her fears of commitment. Everything else was perfect, except that. She always held back.
“I appreciate that Rupert, really I do. I’ll tell you what. Give me two days, please? I’ll have an answer for you then.” I touched his cheek and promised him an answer. I hoped I could give him the answer he wanted, but I just wasn’t sure.
“You had better, or I’ll spank your ass. This time there will be more than one swat.” He muttered and then pulled her roughly into his arms again and kissed her. This time a punishing kiss to show her how much he had been holding back. He was frustrated, but he still wanted her even when she was acting odd.
Chapter 4
I went to see the royal family doctors. They did blood tests, checked my vitals, and completed a thorough physical exam. Nothing, on the surface, appeared to be wrong with her. They told her they’d get back to her in a few days with whatever the lab work showed, but they expected her results to be normal. Feeling frustrated, I walked outside to where my mother was waiting for me.
My mother picked me up from the doctors’ office and sat in the back of the limo with me.
“Mom, how did you get over what Dad did to you and remarry?” I asked my mom bluntly as the limo moved off. We had the kind of relationship where they could talk freely and I was grateful. This was one of those times, where I needed my mother to be completely candid.
“I had to make a choice. Let one man ruin all chances of happiness with another man, or be willing to have faith and believe that some men aren’t like that.” My mother smiled at me and reached out, squeezing my hand gently. “You like Rupert, I know you do. I can see the chemistry between you two, every time you lock eyes. It’s been there from the moment you met. Don’t let what your father did to me, hold you back Lara, that’s not fair to Rupert. Or yourself.”
“But it’s so public. Every tiny thing we will ever do together, or that others try to do, or whatever else. The threat of everything being everyone’s business will always be there. If he does screw around on me, there’s no way he can hide it. I would find out about it. I don’t know if I can handle it. I got so jealous, Mom.” Confiding in my mother and then ducked my head down for a minute while I thought about things. “The way women threw themselves at him. I know now that he wasn’t interested in them, but I just lost it after the party. I totally took it out on him even though I knew I didn’t really believe it.”
“You know, the only time I was that irrational, was when I was pregnant.” Musing out loud, my mother gave me a funny look. “Did they do a pregnancy test?”
“That’s not possible,” I gasped and then considered the possibility. It had been a few weeks since they had started having sex. I couldn’t remember my last period, but still. “No, they didn’t. The doctors would be able to tell though, right?”
“Did they do a blood or urine test?” Her mother asked her shrugging.
“A blood test, I think. I don’t know if that was on the list of things they were doing or not.” I wondered and then decided I would need to call my doctor back when I got home and see if they’d tested for that. I needed to know for sure. If that was what was wrong with her, it would take everything Rupert had been asking of her to a whole new level.
“Don’t panic until you know for sure, one way or another, Lara. It’s going to be okay.” Her mother leaned closer and placed a hand on her knee. “I can see that look on your face. You need to remember to breathe. Rupert and you will be fine. I have faith the two of you are meant to be together, at this point.”