“Can I take you to dinner? Tomorrow perhaps?”
Leo chuckled. You had to admire Max’s direct approach.
“Nope,” Dani said cheerfully.
You had to admire Dani’s, too. “Dani’s post-men,” Leo offered, enjoying watching her shoot Max down.
“Well, isn’t that too bad for the men of the world,” Max said, but he actually seemed sincere. He’d dropped his signature bored-aristocrat tone and he was looking at Dani with curiosity.
“Actually,” Marie said, “here’s one more introduction to make.” She turned to Dani. “Best woman, meet man of honor.” And to Max she said, “Man of honor, meet best woman. Dani’s here for a visit but also for a dress fitting.”
“Well,” Max drawled, “isn’tthisgoing to be interesting?”
“Leo, this is amazing!” Dani turned around, taking in the interior of the cabin in the woods.
“It is, isn’t it?” Marie beamed.
Leo waved off the praise, but he was pretty proud of the place. It was why he’d wanted to bring Dani here before showing her the palace. He and Kai had reverted to the original plan for a sleeping loft, but they’d also extended the main floor so there was a cozy little den and an office alcove where Leo worked on his drawings.
“Leo and Marie basically live here,” Gabby said.
“Really? How’d you manage that?” Dani asked.
He wasn’t really sure. They’d just... started staying over more and more and so far, the king had not objected. There had been a few pointedly raised eyebrows when they showed up for breakfast in their outerwear, clearly having hiked up from the cabin, but he hadn’t actually said anything.
In fact, the only thing Emil had expressly said about the matterof Leo and Gabby moving to Eldovia was that he expected everyone at the palace for dinner each night at seven. Leo had been expecting peevish demands regarding protocol and behavior. He’d been prepared to sign the mother of all prenuptial agreements. But it seemed like the king, while still his cranky, slightly snobbish self, was trying. Their dinners were less frosty and, when the conversation turned to books—he and Gabby had formed a little book club of sorts—almost pleasant. Gabby, it seemed, was working her magic on him. Or something was. Maybe it was just more of the fairy-tale mojo that seemed to have infected Leo’s life.
Speaking of the king... A knock at the cabin door heralded the arrival of a palace worker—Leo refused to call them footmen. “His Majesty requests the honor of your presence for cocktails in the green parlor so he may welcome Dr.Martinez and the baron.”
“Well,” Max said, picking up Dani’s bag, “that is not a summons to ignore.”
“I can carry that myself.” Dani tried to tug the bag from him.
“Nonsense. You devote yourself to your doggy companion”—he looked at Canine Max, who had calmed down but took the baronial attention as his cue to start yapping again—“and I’ll carry this.”
“We are going to have thebestdrinks,” Gabby said, skipping ahead of everyone as they made their way across the clearing. “I got to help make them. They have rosehips in them. And mine has a mixture of 7Up and pomegranate juice. You guys get sparkling wine.”
Leo grabbed Marie’s hand as they brought up the rear. He let everyone else’s chatter wash over him as they strolled. Gabby was still talking about the drinks. Max was trying to impress Dani bytelling her about his master’s thesis. Leo deliberately slowed their pace—not enough that they’d fall too far behind, but enough to put some distance between them and the others.
When they reached their spot, he planted his feet and tugged on her arm, stopping her progress.
“Leo!” she protested, but she didn’t mean it. They always stopped here on the way to or from the cabin. This was the spot where they’d danced in the woods that first night. He liked to mark it. He pulled her in with a flourish, as if they were contestants on a cheesy dance TV show. She came, easily, as if everything had been choregraphed for them long ago. He paused, watching Dani and Max and Gabby recede a little farther into the distance. Summer was short in Eldovia, but it was at its peak, and soon the leafy trees swallowed them.
This was what he did now, what he was learning to do. To carve out a little time and space for them to be Leo and Marie instead of the princess and the taxi driver.
“Leo,” she whispered, and her breath against his cheek made him shiver.
“Hmm?”
“Dance with me.”
“Yes,” he said. “Yes.” And he pulled her closer and danced in the woods with his love.
