Affairs of State(59)

The president paused and took a sip of his white wine. “Making up for lost time is something that’s been on my mind a lot.” He put down his glass. “I loved your mother with all my heart, Ariella. I would never have let her go. She just didn’t know that at the time. I was being a typical man and bottling up my emotions, trying to act cool.”

Ariella glanced at Simon. He wouldn’t do that. He was the last person to keep anything bottled up. It was one of the things she liked best about him. There were no guessing games with him. “Have you told her how you felt?”

“You’d better believe it.” He smiled wistfully. “It was the first thing I did when we had a few moments alone. I apologized with all my heart for the fact that she felt so alone back then, and was forced into a choice she later regretted.” He frowned and looked down at his glass, then looked up at her again. “I still love her, you know.”

Ariella’s eyes widened. She was mostly astonished that he was saying all this in front of Simon, who—as far as she knew—he’d only just met. “Have you told her that?”

“I most certainly have. I think she was astonished rather than delighted.” He smiled. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together.”

“That’s wonderful.” Her heart filled with gladness at the thought that her mother and father could rekindle their love after all these years. What a shame that they’d had twenty-eight years apart. “Is she the reason you never married?”

He nodded. “I tried to talk myself into loving other women, but when it came to the crunch none of them compared to my Ellie and I could never marry a woman I didn’t feel wholeheartedly committed to.”

“That’s my opinion entirely.” Simon chimed in. “I think that choosing your mate is the most important decision you’ll make in your entire life.”

“Quite right, son. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly.” Her father looked at Ariella with a twinkle of amusement in his eye. “Which is what I told this young man when he demanded an audience with me to request your hand in marriage.”

Ariella’s jaw dropped. So they had met before. And this meeting was preplanned. Simon had been sneaking around behind her back. Indignation snapped inside her and she turned to Simon. “What were you thinking?”

“In our country, it’s traditional to ask the father of an intended bride if he objects to the marriage. Given the sensitive circumstances of your father’s position, I felt I should listen to any objections he might have.”

The president laughed. “And you’d better believe I had them.” He reached out and took Ariella’s hand across the table. “I told him he’d better direct any important questions of that nature to the lady intended, not to me. Since I’ve been in your life for less than two weeks I don’t feel I should have any say whatsoever over who you marry or don’t marry.” He squeezed her hand. “He’s got a lot of chutzpah, I’ll say that for him.”

Simon smiled. “He told me to stop beating about the bush and go ask you. Which I did. So now I’ve asked both of you.”

“Oh.” Ariella’s heart clenched as she realized the president was waiting to hear what answer she’d given Simon.

Ted Morrow looked at Simon. “Could I have a few moments alone with my daughter?”

“Certainly, sir.” Simon rose from the table. He’d already finished his meal while they were talking. He smiled at Ariella. “I’ll be on the balcony.”

The door closed behind him, and Ariella frowned. Should she tell her father she’d said no to him? Should she confess the truth about her pregnancy? It was all too much and her tired and emotional brain couldn’t handle it.

“Well, isn’t that something. I’m a guy from a small town in Montana and I just told a member of the British royal family to leave the room.”

“And I’m a girl from a small town in Montana and I’m having lunch with the president of the United States.”

He nodded and smiled, and his blue eyes sparkled. “I guess it proves we’re all just people once you look past the pomp and circumstance.” His expression grew serious. “Do you love him?”

She twisted her water glass in her hands. “I think I might.”

“You don’t sound too sure.”

“We really…click. I guess that’s the best way to put it. I have so much fun with him and I always feel relaxed in his company, which is really weird under the circumstances.” She did not feel the need to mention the intense sexual attraction. “I like him very, very much. But the fact is, we only met a few weeks ago and they’ve been some of the craziest weeks of my life and I don’t know what to think about anything anymore.”