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Falling For His Convenient Queen
Therese Beharrie
Can the Queen melt the King’s heart?King Zacchaeus’s plan to marry Princess Nalini was purely to secure the alliance between their kingdoms – but his bride has an ulterior motive! Nalini has no intention of settling for anything less than love…
Conveniently Wed, Royally Bound...
...until the queen melted the king’s heart
King Zacchaeus’s plan to marry Princess Nalini was purely to secure the alliance between their kingdoms—but his bride has ulterior motives! Nalini has no intention of settling for anything less than love, and she’ll enjoy every second of challenging the reluctant king to open his heart.
THERESE BEHARRIE has always been thrilled by romance. Her love of reading established this, and now she gets to write happy-ever-afters for a living, and about all things romance in her blog at theresebeharrie.com (http://www.theresebeharrie.com). She married a man who constantly exceeds her romantic expectations and is an infinite source of inspiration for her romantic heroes. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa, and is still amazed that her dream of being a romance author is a reality.
Also by Therese Beharrie
The Tycoon’s Reluctant CinderellaA Marriage Worth SavingThe Millionaire’s Redemption
Conveniently Wed, Royally Bound miniseries
United by Their Royal BabyFalling for His Convenient Queen
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Falling for His Convenient Queen
Therese Beharrie
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07728-6
FALLING FOR HIS CONVENIENT QUEEN
© 2018 Therese Beharrie
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For my husband, who so graciously told me I could dedicate my books to other people sometimes, too. You’re my best friend, babe. This is your life now.
And for my father. Thank you for all you’ve done to get me here.
I love you both.
Contents
Cover (#uf1e73b33-1084-541b-bab1-3b5e2977edef)
Back Cover Text (#u41d8b8a1-eb45-5074-9c46-2ec20b78a77d)
About the Author (#ub4d5595f-bf8d-5d87-bbb6-db92d1c479bc)
Booklist (#ud49ff0bc-1f71-5b3b-a632-e279da4ad5a8)
Title Page (#u89a06ce4-b1d8-5ba6-a771-c44819bbd1ab)
Copyright (#u7af6b379-6f3d-5df5-8553-f8bf59fee53f)
Dedication (#u277bdca8-3e80-55a9-8a20-59b579c3d78b)
CHAPTER ONE (#u754c5f35-80de-5478-ab20-807f7d6394ca)
CHAPTER TWO (#u38164b13-78da-5fae-93dd-edb58beba1c8)
CHAPTER THREE (#u01822fa4-19a0-573f-8a00-df8be8647cbd)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u7bcfdbea-6cbf-59bb-9d99-16798284d36b)
CHAPTER FIVE (#ufc6f08b4-12ed-5853-838c-b4ec50e9547b)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u4afddf52-0381-5439-9a87-9451587daa31)
THIS WASN’T A MISTAKE. This wasn’t a mistake.
Princess Nalini of Mattan repeated the words to herself as she watched the castle she’d called home for the last twenty-six years fade into the distance. With a sick feeling in her stomach, she forced herself to look ahead.
The place that would become her new home—the castle of Kirtida—grew clearer as the boat she was on drew nearer. It was a large ominous-looking building that had her heart jumping and her mind replaying those reassuring words again.
‘We’re almost there,’ Zacchaeus’s voice sounded in her ear, and she shivered. It was as much because of the brisk sea air as it was the proximity of the man she was engaged to.
King Zacchaeus of Kirtida.
Mattan had been in an alliance with Kirtida and a third kingdom, Aidara, for centuries. It was called the Alliance of the Three Isles, and up until Zacchaeus had overthrown his father a few months ago, the three islands along the coast of South Africa had been united and strong.
Though there’d been a general concern about Zacchaeus’s actions, it had only grown alarming when Zacchaeus had refused communication with Mattan and Aidara after the coup. And then he hadn’t attended the State Banquet meant to affirm the alliance between the isles, and that alarm had spurred Nalini’s brother, King Xavier of Mattan, and the Queen of Aidara, Leyna, into action. They’d announced their engagement and a day later Zacchaeus had made contact.
Which was the reason she was currently on her way to a new home.
She angled towards him, and felt guilt hit her almost as hard as the attraction did.
His hair was dark, complementing the caramel of his skin and the slight stubble on his jaw. The lines of his face were serious, intense, and strikingly carved. If she hadn’t been intimidated by the clothing he’d chosen to wear—all black, and a clear show of power—she definitely would have been intimidated by his looks. Or, worse still, by the pull to that power. By the pull to those looks.
But she couldn’t ignore the guilt.
She couldn’t be attracted to this man. It couldn’t matter that his shirtsleeves were rolled up muscular arms, or that his trousers were perfectly moulded to powerful legs. Not when Zacchaeus had demanded that Nalini marry him before he would sign the papers affirming Kirtida’s place in the alliance.
And until those papers were signed her kingdom would be in danger.
‘I’ve had a meal prepared for us,’ Zacchaeus said as they arrived at Kirtida. He jumped off the boat and offered her a hand. She hesitated but took it, her lungs tightening at the unease that crept up her arm at the contact.
Because it was unease. The dull throb that had started when he’d touched her. The flash of heat. It was unease, she told herself again, but couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
‘I assume you’re hungry?’
‘You wouldn’t have to assume if you’d asked,’ she replied lightly, shaking off her discomfort. She’d made the choice to come to Kirtida. She’d chosen to save her kingdom by marrying Zacchaeus. The time to choose was over and, because of that, she needed to be civil with him. ‘But I’d love to eat something, thank you.’
Zacchaeus nodded and, after instructing that Nalini’s things be taken to the room she’d be staying in while they planned their wedding, told her to follow him. Goosebumps shot out on her skin as she entered the castle, but she straightened her shoulders.
The interior was a beautiful combination of old and new, its stone pillars rich with history and its wooden floors in a modern style.
He stopped in front of a room with a large dining table and, wordlessly, stepped aside for her to pass. As she did, the staff scattered to accommodate her at the table and, before she knew it, she was seated next to Zacchaeus. She waited a moment and then asked, ‘Is anyone else joining us?’
A shadow crossed over his face. ‘No.’
She nodded and then forced herself to ask her next question. ‘Your parents...are they... Do they still live here?’
The shadow darkened, and Nalini braced for him to tell her to mind her own business. But a few seconds later his face settled into a blank expression, and his brown eyes—a combination of honey and cinnamon that contrasted with the dark features of his face—met hers.
‘They’re still here, yes. I haven’t banished them, if that’s what you’re thinking.’
‘I’m not quite sure what to think, to be honest. I’m not familiar with what happens after a coup.’
Something flickered in his eyes and her stomach dipped. She shouldn’t have said it, she thought, but if she didn’t... Well, she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life biting her tongue. Or falling in line just because she’d been told to. Coming to Kirtida had been a way to escape that life. She wasn’t simply going to settle for another version of it.
‘They live on the royal property,’ Zacchaeus said, interrupting her thoughts. ‘Not in the castle.’
‘Will I see them?’
‘I’m not sure,’ he said impassively. ‘There might not be enough time before the wedding.’
‘Planning this wedding is going to take some time.’
‘I’m sure it will.’ He paused. ‘But let’s not pretend that you only want that time to plan a wedding.’
‘What do you mean?’
He lifted an eyebrow. ‘I know that you’re also here because you—or, more specifically, your family—want to know whether I really intend on signing the papers to confirm Kirtida’s place in the alliance.’
She told herself not to gape. Forced herself not to ask how he knew. Instead, she went for honesty. ‘You’re right. Except it’s me who wants to know. I’m the one marrying you to ensure that you sign.’
‘You have my word,’ he said, and she heard the sincerity in his tone. ‘Once Xavier, Leyna and I come to an agreement about the Protection of the Alliance of the Three Isles clause, you and I will marry and I’ll sign those papers.’
‘And if I don’t believe you?’ she asked softly, compelled by the voice in her head that warned her against trusting so easily. The voice that she’d ignored when she’d been younger.
‘That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?’ he replied. ‘To figure out whether you can?’ She nodded mutely. ‘Do that, then.’
The food began to arrive as he said the words, and she was relieved that she wouldn’t have to come up with a reply she didn’t have. But the servers did their work quickly and, before she knew it, she and Zacchaeus were alone again.
‘Your family,’ he said, reaching for the glass that held his wine. ‘They didn’t have anything to say about your plan? To organise the wedding from Kirtida and figure out whether you could trust me?’
She almost told him the truth. But that would have entailed admitting the displeasure of her mother and grandmother at her decision. It would have meant telling him about how they thought that she was being reckless—a description they’d used for her for the past nine years, despite her efforts to change that perception. How even her brother had thought that, and how she’d expected more of him.
No, the truth included a myriad of things that she didn’t want to think about, let alone tell him.
‘It made sense,’ she said instead. ‘Since, as we discussed over the phone, the wedding will be here, planning it on Kirtida was the logical decision.’
‘And you always make logical decisions?’
