Page 118 of Ruthless

“Come sit beside me, and let’s talk. We’ve been skirting around the issue all day.”

If he thought she’d looked tense before, it ramped up to high speed at his words. Where was her mind on this?

She settled into a chair beside his bed. “So I guess you’ve already figured out that my father wants to name me as his successor.”

“Yeah. Only makes sense with what’s happened. How do you feel about that?”

She shook her head. “So many emotions I wouldn’t be able to describe them all. It’s not something I ever wanted.”

“But?”

“It’s my legacy.”

“You could say no,” Gideon said gently. “Your father would never force you.”

“No, he wouldn’t force me, but it would hurt him greatly. And it would hurt our country. Nicolas once told me that he felt as though I’d left the family after the kidnapping. I didn’t realize anyone thought that. It’s definitely not true. And with what Alex has done to us, there’s no way I can say no.”

“I understand and totally support your decision.”

Her eyes brightened, and her shoulders loosened. “Really?”

“Absolutely, Eve. You’ll make an amazing Queen of Ile de la Lune.”

“But I won’t be an OZ operative anymore. Or your partner.”

“Just because you’re not with OZ doesn’t mean we’re over.” He narrowed his eyes in curiosity. “Or does it?”

“No. Of course not. I just don’t want to take you away from OZ. We can still be together. We might not see each other like we used to, but we’ll still be Eve and Gideon.”

She didn’t want to put any pressure on him to change his life, while hers was imploding around her. He didn’t know where her head was right now, but he wanted to give her time to come to her own decision of how they would go forward without him influencing her.

And while she did that, he had a few things to do before he gave her his thoughts. He just hoped they would be of one mind when all was said and done. They had come too far, and he would accept nothing less.

She couldn’t get a read on him. Was he okay with what she had laid out? Or did he want to avoid the hassle altogether? No, she knew he loved her, but they couldn’t be what they’d once been. This changed everything. Right?

“My father is making the announcement tomorrow afternoon.”

“I’m sure he wants to mitigate the sorrow caused by Alexandre’s death.”

“Do you think we handled that correctly by saying he was killed by the assassin’s bullet? I wasn’t sure about lying to the people like that.”

“I agree with you both. You’re giving the people the information they need without raising additional questions about how it happened and why.”

“And it keeps the traitors guessing at exactly what we know.”

“Has the king indicated when he would want you to take the crown?”

“Not really. I know he hadn’t been planning retirement for several more years, but with everything that’s happened, it’s really taken a toll on him.”

“Maybe you’ll be able to identify the traitors before you take over.”

She smiled at him hopefully. “I could use some help with that.”

“It just so happens I have a little time on my hands.”

“And I know of a roomy apartment with an excellent gym and some dedicated physical therapists.”

“Sounds like a match made in heaven.”