Page 36 of Her Royal Cowboy Billionaire

“I think your fiancée has an excellent idea.” Reina spoke up. “Who can keep her safer than you?”

He sighed; his shoulders slumped. “You are both correct. Forgive me for my fit of pique.” He stood.

Michele also stood and put an arm around his at the elbow. “Shall we?”

Outside the door to Reina’s suite, Sergei joined them but followed at a discreet distance to give them privacy.

“Tell me about your father while we walk.”

He placed his other hand over hers. He took a deep breath. “You, my darling, are a smart woman. I am so angry I see red, and not just at Nicolai for what he has done, but with my father for going hunting with him. He knew Nicolai was evil and wanted his throne…yet he went with him without enough guards. Did he want to die?”

“Perhaps you should talk to your father’s doctor. Maybe your father had reason to want to end his life now, as difficult as that is for us to understand.”

She walked at an easy pace. Giving him plenty of time to talk, to work out some answers in his mind, devoid of the anger, but logical.

“Is it possible he was sick and my mother did not know it?”

“It’s possible. My grandfather walked out of the house in his underwear in the middle of a blizzard and froze to death. It devastated my grandmother, of course, then we found out he had cancer and would have died within the year. He didn’t want to waste away and have my grandmother become his caregiver, so he ended his life while he still could.”

“I must talk to Doctor Samirov. He is the palace physician. He would know.” Alex stopped and wrapped her in his arms. “Thank you for making me calm down and think about things rationally.”

“I knew I needed to do something.”

“And you did so perfectly. Thank you, my darling.” He brought her free hand to his lips and kissed the top. “Already, I find myself unable to do without you.”

Michele’s cheeks heated, even though she knew he was just flattering her and could do very well without her.

“Come, I will show you your rooms. They are near mine.”

They walked for quite a long way. Michele wasn’t sure she could find her way back without Alex. And she was too far from Erin. “You’ll have to give me crumbs so I can find my way back to your mother’s sitting room. I don’t like being so far away from Erin.”

He patted her hand. “She is safe, I assure you. Safer than any place in the palace. Not only does my mother have her guards, but she can be formidable in her own right. As to needing crumbs, you will figure it out soon enough. As the wall color changes, so does the occupier of the suites. My color is blue. Mother’s, if you noticed, is cream. We also passed yellow; those are Catherine’s suites. In the other direction, are Tivia’s dark-pink suites and Gina’s, which are green. Gregory is still in mother’s suites.”

“I’ll try to remember.”

“You will. Later, I have a surprise for you, but for now, I want you to see your set of rooms.” He stopped at a set of double doors and opened one side. He held the door open.

Michele walked into an enormous sitting room with sofas and chairs similar to Reina’s. Low coffee tables with a glass tops sat in front of the comfy-looking sofas. Two overstuffed chairs sat facing each sofa at an angle to make a conversation area. A buffet with a silver tea service on top was against one wall.

“Come look at the bedroom.”

Alex let go of her arm but clasped her hand instead. He walked to one end of the room and opened the door. Inside the light blue room was a king-sized four-poster bed. The bedspread was dark blue and opulent, made with velvet in a delicate shell pattern with satin trim on the top and bottom. She would bet the sheets and pillowcases were silk.

“Oh, my gosh.”

Alex reached over and, with a knuckle, lifted her chin to close her mouth. “You are going to catch flies with this open.”

She chuckled. “This is just so much more than I expected, though I didn’t really have any idea about what to expect.”

“You will get used to it.”

She frowned. “Will I? I’d hoped, when I saw the palace, that you had a smaller house somewhere on the grounds. Where we could live and not in such grand style, but more normally.”

He pulled her in close.

Michele let him; afraid she knew what he would say.

“I have a house on the property, but until this problem with my uncle is resolved, I need you and Erin to stay here and be safe. Don’t wander to any other floor. The third floor, where we are, holds only living areas and is very well guarded. It is the safest place for you and Erin. After all this has passed, we’ll move to my private residence.”