Harry shrugged, always at ease with his life here. “Ryder and Nicole are arranged, by you, in a way.”
My father turned his gaze toward me and my skin jumped to attention until he said, “I suppose, though I assumed he’d ignore me. I will allow for a wedding this Saturday, as long as Emily and Harry here also pitch in.”
Once again, my life involved the others.
This was another reason to retire and not live here anymore.
Emily jumped in first as she said, “Happy to help.”
“Yes, sire,” my brother said.
Without discussing more with either of us, my father tapped the table and said, “Then it’s settled.”
“Now we just need you to approve the petition I sent over.”
“I have my team reading the demands now.”
I couldn’t quite breathe, but tension left me a little as I pivoted and asked, “Did you enjoy your dinner, Nicole?”
“It was excellent.” She put her fork down, as she was done with her dessert, and patted her belly. “To be honest, I don’t eat a lot of lamb at home, and I never really eat desserts.”
The others ignored us again and my body had a pins and needles feeling. The only bright spot in the evening was sitting next to me. She gave off a sense of calm. I asked her, “What would you be eating on a typical evening?”
She pressed her lips together as she thought about her answer, and then said, “It’s Thursday, so I’d be eating sushi and then I’d be off to my yoga class.”
The air near her sparkled. My lips opened, wanting to taste her next. However, my ears buzzed as the Japanese ambassador said, “Next time I’ll send my sushi chef to the castle so the new princess might experience real Japanese sushi.”
“That sounds yummy,” she said, as I motioned for the porter to refill our wine glasses. “Truthfully, I know thecalientesauce on my favorite dish is probably not authentic.”
My father added, “So very American to mix up all the offerings.”
Then he turned to the American ambassador and asked, “How will your country’s media react when my son’s wedding to an American bride is announced?”
I drank a little of my wine and Nicole nursed hers beside me. The ambassador assured him it would all be properly restrained and dignified, but Nicole put her glass down and added, “We’re always fascinated with royal weddings, to be honest. I’m sure many will get up early to watch the day’s festivities.”
Once we muscled through this ceremony, Nicole and I would both have what we wanted. We could do this. I was sure of it. I was about to ask to be dismissed, but then my father said, “So, before my new daughter-in-law puts the announcement online, let’s ensure our media here gets the story first.”
He spoke to his aide, who stood nearby. The man disappeared, then returned a few minutes later and nodded to my father. The king stood and looked expectantly at me.
Pressure pushed against my skin still, but I slid my chair back and waited for Nicole to stand as I said, “We’re right behind you, Father.”
She joined me and linked arms like she was my wife already as she asked, “Where are we going?”
I wanted to hold her close, but I knew it was best to keep things formal, and not touch her too much, other than our arms. I said, “He’s just announced a press conference.”
Her eyes widened but we stayed in step behind my father. “Now? He hasn’t agreed yet that my blog is fine.”
“Hopefully, this means he’s planning to say yes.”
We reached the briefing room and I stopped on my usual mark as my father went over to talk to his press secretary. Journalists with microphones and cameras, summoned to the announcement, were beginning to fill up the room.
I wiped the side of Nicole’s mouth that had a bit of cream on it and then straightened my sleeves as I said, “We have a media team that will handle any questions. So we’ll smile for the cameras and get out of here.”
“Okay.” She checked her teeth in a nearby mirror and then made sure her white gloves were high.
After all of this was over, I hoped we could be alone.
I needed Nicole and the relief that only she could offer. If she wasn’t into it, then I’d find a solution, but a rush went through me. Now that she had passed the test, we could be together.
