“What about kids? Do you want to add to our family some day?”
“I love kids, but I’m not sure I’d make a good mother,” Brynna admitted.
“What? Bryn, you’ll make a wonderful mother. You’re great with Amelia and Connor.”
“Yeah, but I can give them back. I’m not making decisions that affect their lives.” Brynna ate some of her chicken before continuing. “Uri and I had this same conversation earlier. If I have kids, I know I don’t want to raise them how I was brought up. Other than my handmaid and tutors, I had no one to talk to. No one to play with. I wasn’t allowed to go to school with the other kids, therefore I didn’t have friends. Just because I’m a Princess doesn’t mean I want my kids to be sheltered. It’s not as though the world knows who or what I am. Other than here in the Goyle community, I’m just Brynna Holgersen. Oh, that reminds me. I want to change my name, if you don’t mind. I’d at least like to be able to hyphenate it if you don’t want me taking McKenzie.”
“You want my last name?”
“Of course. Unless you wanted to take my name. It would be the cosmopolitan thing to do.”
“Yep, that’s me. Mr. Cosmopolitan.” Travis polished off his food and drank down the last of his cider while he thought about it. He wiped his mouth on the cloth napkin and said, “Trevor took Jasper’s name, and even though I love him more than anything, I wouldn’t want to hurt our father by removing the McKenzie name from my life. He screwed up where Trevor was concerned, but he’s trying to make amends. Since you are royalty, I don’t expect you to want to let go of your name either, but I’ll leave that decision up to you.”
Brynna laughed. “We need to work on making decisions. How’s this? We get married, and I take your last name.”
“You want to get married?”
“I do.” Brynna laughed again. “Guess I’m practicing for the big day already. But only if you want to. I mean, we are going to be together the rest of our lives, so why not? We don’t have to do it too soon, though, if you aren’t ready.”
Travis reached out and took a strand of Brynna’s hair, twirling it around his finger. “We also need to work on saying what we want instead of saying something, then backtracking in case the other isn’t onboard. Yes, let’s get married, and yes, I would love for you to become a McKenzie. I would like to get married back in the States so my family can be there. Maybe once we get this house remodeled and I get Banyan and Uri’s house designed, we go back to New Atlanta for a while.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Brynna took the tray from the bed and set it by the door. “Tell me about the process of building a house. Once you get the drawings done, what happens?” She sat back down on the bed and leaned against the headboard, patting the space beside her. Travis didn’t hesitate to take her up on the invitation. He slid his arm around her shoulders, and Brynna leaned against him.
“After I finish my part, builders are chosen. There are permits that have to be pulled, and once they’re approved, the builders get started. Sometimes the owner decides they want something changed, but by the time the foundation is poured, it’s usually a done deal. Then I move on to the next one.”
“Do you think Rafael is going to be okay with you being here in Norway part of your time?”
“I don’t see why not. I’m pretty sure he gave me a job to get me away from Athens. He has plenty of other architects on the payroll. Maybe he’ll start an international branch of Stone, Incorporated and let me head it up. Besides all that, he will understand my need to be with you all the time now that we’re mates.” Travis tipped her chin up. “I’d like to make a suggestion.”
“Tell me,” Brynna said, wrapping her arm around Travis’s waist.
“Let’s take Banyan up on his offer to build a house on his property. I’d like to have something that is ours. Something we design together. Turning the manor into a hotel won’t be a major undertaking. The hardest part will be making sure the land is zoned properly, getting the necessary permits, those types of things, but I have no doubt you can make it work. Now that we’re talking about a future together, I can’t see us living here. I definitely want kids someday, and I would love to build a house both of us love where we’re close to your brother and his mate. Somewhere our kids will get to grow up together.”
Brynna tipped her face up, smiling, and Travis kissed her lush lips. “I think that’s a great idea. You know what else I think?”
“No, what?”
“I think it’s time to get naked again.”
Travis agreed. Several times.
Chapter Six
At breakfast the next morning, Brynna told the others what she and Travis had decided, including their plans to marry once the new house was built. Marcie made mimosas to celebrate both their mating as well as their engagement. Uri and Banyan gloated, thinking they had something to do with Brynna finally telling Travis he was her mate.
“I get it,” Brynna told Uri. “You didn’t really want to go shopping with me. You just wanted to get me alone so you could talk to me.”
Uri sucked in a breath, placing a palm over his chest. “I absolutely did want to go shopping. But I wasn’t the only one having a chat.” He pointed to Banyan who scowled at his mate.
“You’re not supposed to tell our secrets,” Banyan chastised, but they were grinning at one another.
After they ate, Travis got busy working on the new house plans, and Brynna moved Travis’s things into her – their – bedroom. After that, she went from room to room and wrote down all the things she wanted to change. The list was extensive, but she had the money to make it into a cute, yet modern boutique hotel. She had been ready to remodel the manor and live there, but now that Travis had made his wishes known, she loved the idea of building a house closer to Banyan and Uri. In between rounds of lovemaking the night before, they talked more about having kids. Travis assured her she’d make a good mother and promised he’d be there with her every step of the way, showing their offspring nothing but unconditional love.
As she walked through her childhood home, Brynna paused at the door to the room where she’d spent all her time with her tutors. It was one she usually avoided because it reminded her of how much she’d missed out on. It amazed her that it still looked exactly as it had all those years ago. What also amazed her was the shape her house was in. Who knew a building could last so long? Either it had been well built, or her father had spent lots of money upgrading and maintaining it. In that moment, it dawned on her she should be paying for utilities and such.
Brynna went in search of her brother. Not finding him in the kitchen or living room, she stuck her head in the small office where Travis was working. “Hey, Babe. Have you seen Banyan?”
Travis looked up from his computer, his eyes lighting up the way they did every time she walked into a room. “Yeah. He and Uri went to the armory. Is everything okay?” Travis stretched his arms over his head, and Brynna stared at the patch of skin showing when his shirt rode up. “Bryn?”
“Oops, sorry. Just admiring the view.” She flopped down in the chair opposite the desk. “I just realized I should be paying bills around here. It’s not that I don’t know how to do those things because I lived on my own a long time. It didn’t dawn on me to ask how the utilities were being paid. I’m sure B has it set up, but I don’t like the thought of him taking care of everything.”