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paper. Whatever she expected, this wasn’t it.
    “A tablet?” She looked up at Prince Malachi. “I’ve never had a tablet before.” Her father wasn’t in the digital age. There was an aging desktop in the office where she had done her schoolwork, but only because her father had no choice. He’d likely already canceled the internet access. She picked up the sleek rectangle and saw something underneath. “A phone?” Did the prince know she’d never had a cell phone? She knew enough about how they worked from television and seeing others use them or talk about them, but she’d never even held one, only a dedicated e-reader she’d bought on the sly.
    “Like I said, it’s not the most wedding-y gift, but I hope you’ll get some use out of them. Both meet with the palace’s security team’s approval for safety. If you already have a phone number you’d like transferred, the tech gurus can do that.”
    Jessabelle shook her head. Prince Malachi came to stand right next to her, invading her personal space. Did he know how uncomfortable it made her? She struggled to take a deep breath with the corset still confining her.
    “I’ll tell you about them later and show you some of the handier features. I thought you might want to make notes about furniture and stuff while we walk around the apartment.”
    Right. Time to pick out bedroom furniture with a man she barely knew. Fabulous.
    * * *
    Malachi wondered if his wife would ever be comfortable around him. The tour of the apartment had been accomplished in near-silence. Jessabelle spoke only when he asked her a question. There hadn’t been much debating, but she agreed to whatever he suggested. He was about to throw out the idea of painting purple alien ships on the ceiling of their bedroom just to see what she’d say.
    She perched on the edge of the couch in the living area while he made himself comfortable in one of the chairs he’d uncovered. “Now, we have a choice to make. We’re supposed to stay here at the palace. There are three honeymoon suites. One each in the two largest apartments. One is for the monarch and one for the Crown Prince. William is moving into the vacant apartment soon. There’s another suite for everyone else. We could stay there tonight or we could go for a drive so I can show you around the rest of the property and forget to come back here.”
    “Where would we go?”
    “The mountain residence a day early. No breakfast with my parents tomorrow. No awkward conversations. What do you think?”
    She nodded. “I think I’d like that.”
    “I thought you might. I talked to my security team earlier to let them know it was a possibility. They know how difficult my parents can be.”
    Should he tell her about the security teams? How they worked? How she’d always have at least one and usually two or more people with her when she left the palace? Or should he give her a few more days of oblivion?
    No need to tell her now, he supposed. “Why don’t we get a few things together that we need for tonight? We won’t want to take a suitcase with us but do you have a big purse that could double? You could put some pajamas in it. There are toothbrushes and all that at the residence, so unless you have something specific or medications that you need, that’s all we want to take. They’ll bring the rest tomorrow.”
    “I have a bag.” He had to strain to hear her.
    “All right, then. If you want to go get your things together, I’ll talk to security, and we can get going.” He already had clothes at the residence, left there so he wouldn’t have to take things when he went on a spur of the moment trip.
    Five minutes later, he showed her the way to the small elevator that took them down to the motor pool level. He grinned at the guard manning the area. “I’m going to take my bride for a drive around the property.”
    The guard, one Malachi knew by sight but not by name, smiled back. “Of course, sir. Your car?”
    “You know it.” He