Page 40 of Expecting Royal Twins!
Izzy stiffened. She didn’t need him, but she had no desire to back out of his embrace. The loneliness in her heart made her relax and lean toward him so he could pull her closer.
Pressing her cheek against his hard chest, she felt the beat of his heart, steady and strong. Invisible warmth enveloped her. For the first time in years, she felt safe. All the emotion she’d been holding in poured out.
Niko didn’t try to soothe her with platitudes. He simply held her, rubbing her back. It was more than she had expected from him. It was all she needed at the moment.
She didn’t know how long Niko kept his arms around her, but slowly her breathing settled. Her tears stopped. Izzy found the strength she needed in his arms. “I know what I have to do. It’s just…I can’t imagine having to spend the rest of my life married to someone who was forced to be my husband. It seems so wrong to me.”
He brushed his hand through her hair. “You are not used to the concept. But arranged marriages aren’t all bad. There’s friendship, companionship, having a common purpose.”
His closeness comforted her. Izzy could almost believe things would be better. “I only wish…”
“Tell me.”
Izzy hesitated, but Niko had been so caring, so kind she had to tell him. “I wish instead of marrying some random royal with a fancy title I could marry for love. But at this point I’d settle for being able to choose who I married.”
Niko continued to comb his fingers through her hair. “Whom would you choose?”
The thought of him popped into her mind then quickly vanished. The emotion of the situation, his compassion, was making her feel closer to him.
“Tell me who,” he pressed.
None of her dates liked cars or racing the way she did. The guy she spent the most time with was Boyd. Building go-carts together, working at dirt tracks on pit crews, watching races. They shared the same interests and the same dreams. They just weren’t…romantic. “Boyd,” she decided.
“Your coworker?” Niko drew back to stare into her eyes. “You said he wasn’t your boyfriend.”
“He’s not, but he’s one of my closest friends. He wouldn’t expect us to have, um, a real marriage.”
“You mean sex.”
Her cheeks burned. She shouldn’t have said anything. “Yes.”
“You would be satisfied with a marriage in name only?”
“It isn’t about being, um, satisfied,” she said. “We wouldn’t have to be married for decades. Only a few years. Long enough for things to stabilize in Vernonia and for you and Jules to have a couple of heirs. Then we could divorce.”
Izzy heard something that sounded like a gasp. She peered over Niko’s shoulder. “What was that noise?”
“I didn’t hear anything,” he said.
She looked back again, but didn’t see anyone. Must have been the refrigerator or something. “Do you think your father would allow me to marry Boyd?”
“We can ask him,” Niko said. “Would Boyd go along with the idea?”
“Probably. A lot of people have assumed we’re a couple. We know each other pretty well.” She pictured her coworker and friend. Boyd was an all-American, beef-fed Southerner. Down home and down to earth. Strong and rugged, but kindhearted like Niko. Not model handsome, but a lot of women found Boyd easy enough on the eyes. “I think he’d say yes because of our friendship, but if I told him I wanted to start a race team together that would most likely seal the deal. He’s more car crazy than I am.”
Niko’s mouth twisted. “Would you be happy married to Boyd?”
“Marriage has never been on my radar screen, but…” She thought about her parents and Uncle Frank. Marrying a man she loved like a brother was nothing compared to the sacrifices they had made. She would do this for them. “If Vernonia remains at peace, then yes. I would be happy married to Boyd.”
Niko let go of her. “We shall take this alternative to my father in the morning.”
“That’s only a few hours away.” Izzy felt cold without his arms around her. She fought the urge to wrap her arms around herself to warm up. “Fingers crossed he says yes.”
