The Unlikely Heir (Unlikely Dilemmas, #1)

by Jax Calder

“Women want to date you based on what you look like, but after getting to know you, they decide your looks aren’t enough to compensate for your oddities.”

This is an unfortunate personality trait of mine. I will discover a random thing I find interesting, learn everything I can, and then want to share my newfound knowledge with everyone around me.

“You don’t have to change; you just need to find someone who loves you exactly how you are.”

In his particular case, Henry Cavill and Chris Evans would combine to produce his dark, brooding handsomeness.

Oliver reaches out and takes my hand in his. And my world tilts off its axis.

Now I’ve met him, I know the photo doesn’t do Callum Prescott justice. It doesn’t show how his hair flops perfectly over his forehead, how his eyes are such an unusual shade of green, reminding me of a peridot gemstone of perfect clarity.

If you’re afraid of public speaking, just imagine everyone in the audience is on their phone and paying no attention to you whatsoever.

A weird bolt of electricity shoots through me as we gaze at each other. Does Oliver’s gaze contain some special energy that scientists haven’t yet discovered?

“Look me in the eye when you’re telling me. Not looking me in the eye makes me think you’re ashamed. And you should never be ashamed of who you are.”

‘To catch a glimpse of the beauty and magic of this world, you simply need to look at everything through the lens of wonder.’”

You never know when the magic will reveal itself.”

“There’s beauty and magic in lots of small things we overlook every day. You just need to watch out for it.”

Someone as handsome as him shouldn’t be allowed to mix with mere mortals. It’s not fair.

I’m not prepared to let this kiss end. Because it turns out Oliver’s lips contain the answer to every question I’ve ever had about myself. And that overrides the fact that of all the people in this world I shouldn’t be kissing, Oliver is top of the list.

I know what it feels like to kiss someone and for it to be so fundamentally…right, like it was meant to happen, an event written in the stars since the beginning of time. I never knew a kiss could feel like the truth.

I want to know all the Oliver facts. I want to collect them like you collect baseball cards, pore over them like they’re treasures to be savored.

“Magic is everywhere when you look for it,” he replies softly.

He smiles at me, one lip quirking up. My breath leaves my body. How can a smile be a weapon? How can it be a knife straight through me?

“I love you.” I’m certain no truer words have been said in the history of humanity.

Oliver has given me a name for this emotion inside me, the fluttery feeling I get whenever I’m near him, the craving I have to know everything about him, this absolute obsession with anything Oliver. It’s love.

“My grand point is we don’t know what the future holds. But I do know I can’t be without you now.”

“I was so determined to resist you,” he murmurs into my hair. I turn slightly, craning my neck so I can see him. “I’m incredibly glad you failed in that mission.” Oliver’s dark eyes are steady on mine. “I’m glad too.”

“I need you, Oliver. I don’t care if I have to crawl over broken glass or through blazing fire to get to you. I don’t care. I need to touch you. I need to kiss you.”

“I can’t take your dog tags, Oliver.” “I want you to.” I swallow hard. “I can’t do anything else to show you’re mine. I can’t publicly claim you. But I can give you these to wear. I want to know something I’ve worn for years is now next to your skin.”

Love isn’t always beautiful. It’s not always caviar and champagne and beautiful sunsets. Sometimes it is simply a familiar voice when your world is darkened by pain.

Callum…something about him disarmed my defenses from the outset. And now we’ve ended up here. Where I’m completely in love with this man with no clear way forward.

“Your magic thrives in the daylight, Callum.” He places a gentle kiss on my shoulder. “The more I know of you, the more I revere you.”

I’ve never been a possessive person, but I have this crazy urge to claim Callum now. To howl it to the heavens that he’s mine. Make sure the whole world knows he belongs to me, that if they mess with him, they become my mortal enemy. If they hurt a single hair on his beautiful head, I shall hunt them to the corners of the earth and through the afterlife to get my vengeance.

“The universe never quite made sense to me until I got to touch you,” he whispers.

We’re in soulmate territory right now. When it feels like every beat of my heart is for him. I never knew it was possible to feel this way about someone.

There’s absolutely no way Oliver could have faked this between us. And okay, while I’ve sometimes questioned how the most amazing man on the planet loves me, all I have to do is think of the way he touches me, the way he’s so vulnerable with me, the way he looks at me when we’re alone together.

One thing I do know is that I will never stop loving him.

“It’s impossible for me to be in this world and not love you. I’ve spent so long fighting that reality. But it turns out my love for you trumps everything else.”

“You don’t think falling in love with me is falling on your feet?” I ask. Oliver’s dark eyes find mine. “It’s more like being swept off my feet.” “Because I’m like the tide, salty and unpredictable?” “Because you are like a force of nature, unspeakably beautiful and impossible to resist.”

My mother’s words echo in my head. You don’t have to change; you just need to find someone who loves you exactly how you are.

I’m the future king, and I’m married to the most amazing man in the UK, potentially the world.

“Are you ready for our first kiss as husbands?” “I’m always ready to kiss you,”