Royal Date (34 page)

“Yes, even my father.”

“Your father came?” I was so touched that his father would make this journey. I knew it couldn’t have been easy on him.

“Of course he did. You’re going to be his daughter. Part of our family forever.”

I couldn’t believe how wonderful that sounded. My whole life I had wanted a happy family, with parents and brothers and sisters. In addition to already being the best possible future husband in the entire world, without even knowing it, he was making all of my deepest wishes come true.

Violetta came over next and hugged me. “I’m so sorry for how I treated you. I’m very grateful for your help. You were right. I couldn’t do it on my own. Thank you for helping me get my life and my family back.”

I hugged her in return, which was awkward with Serafina still in my arms.

Chiara was behind her with a massive notebook. She gave me a quick, one-armed hug. “I brought you a bunch of wedding dress material samples. We will have to use a Monterran designer, of course.”

I laughed. “We have plenty of time for that, I’m sure.”

Next were Dante and Rafe. “Well?” Dante asked. “What did she say?”

“Yes, obviously,” was Nico’s reply.

Dante crowed and held out his hand. “Fifty euros, please.” Grumbling, Rafe took out his wallet and handed him the money. For some reason that made me laugh again. Like I was so full of joy that my soul was looking for every opportunity to let it out.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t say no. You would have been super embarrassed.”

Nico kissed me on my cheek. “I knew you would say yes. That you loved me too.”

“You are so cocky,” I said, nudging him.

“Not cocky,” he corrected me with another kiss. “Just sure of you.”

We went over to the car where his parents were. The queen kissed me on both cheeks and told me how happy she would be to have another daughter, and the king smiled at me from his seat and said he was glad Nico had finally come to his senses. That he thought I would make an excellent addition to their family.

I then hugged a bewildered Giacomo, who wished me “much happiness in your future endeavors.” Lorenz just gave me a look, so I refrained.

Nico showed me to our car, and all of his siblings insisted on riding with us. There was no room, so I had to sit on Nico’s lap. Which neither one of us minded, at all.

“So, do you have any attractive friends you want to introduce us to?” Rafe asked. “I mean, as long as we’re here.”

I laughed again.

“Chiara was right, you know,” Nico whispered against my skin. “We need to start planning our wedding right away. I’m particularly interested in the honeymoon part. I thought we could go skiing.”

“That’s not funny,” I said, as he cracked himself up. “If you don’t take me to some tropical beach, this will not end well for you.”

“It won’t matter where we go,” he said as he kissed me. “I don’t intend to let you out of the hotel room.”

I giggled and wrapped my arms around him, holding him. I could only sit there and smile. There was no other way for me to express how happy I felt in that moment.

“What are you thinking?” Nico asked, as he rubbed his thumb across the top of my hand.

I looked at him, feeling like joy was coming out of every pore. “I was just thinking that sometimes fairy tales really do come true.”

All I had to do was remember the right order of his names. This was being televised. I couldn’t mess it up.

Even Lemon had been surprised by the media frenzy at the announcement of our engagement. Turned out everyone loved a real-life Cinderella story. The American public had been the most excited, because I was one of them. A normal girl from a poor family. And I was marrying a prince.

Tourism had already increased by 400 percent in the last six months in Monterra. Lemon told me we’d have to have a honeymoon baby to keep those tourism numbers up. I didn’t tell her that Nico and I had every intention of having a baby as soon as we could. That was between the two of us.

Lemon wore a fitted red bridesmaid dress, and she was trying not to crush my huge, puffy skirt. We were on our way in a horse-drawn carriage that was layered in gold leaf. Against the snow, it looked amazing. Serafina, Chiara, and Violetta had more age-appropriate dresses that matched Lemon’s and sat across from me on the opposite bench. They waved like true princesses to the crowds who cheered at us along our route.

I had insisted on a Christmas wedding. First, because I had always dreamed of a Christmas wedding ever since I was little, and second, because I wanted time to make sure that we were making the right decision and that we really did want to be married. It also gave me enough time to help plan this wedding. The queen had taken over most of the planning, because it was like organizing a military operation.

It had been easier to give up my job and apartment than I thought it would be. I had moved into the palace and had spent the last few months getting lessons in deportment, protocol, and Italian. I had dossiers on important world leaders so that I would never again make a mistake like I had with the ambassador in Paris. There were more lessons in style, makeup, and doing my own hair. I studied constantly. Giacomo was as demanding as any of my college professors had been. I also started working with the lawyers to set up the bylaws for my charitable foundation. I planned to provide funding to government agencies so that they could hire more social workers (as I knew from personal experience they were always stretched too thin and needed more help), provide more training for social workers and foster parents, and I wanted to guarantee that every foster child in the world had at least one toy. Lemon had been right. I was going to help a lot more people as Nico’s wife than I ever would have on my own in Colorado. But one of the best parts of being in Monterra these last few months? Every night, whether or not Nico was in town, there had been a tray with moonflowers and gelato outside my door.

Nico hadn’t wanted the wedding to be so far out because he worried about our ability to last that long without crossing any lines. It wasn’t easy to wait, but we managed. I kept my promise and had retained my unicorn status. Thankfully, we wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

We got to the church, and I waved to all the people who were cheering across the street.

The king waited outside the church for me, as he was going to escort me down the aisle. The girls climbed out first, and when I got out, the cheering increased. Lemon handed me my bouquet. I had insisted that the main flower be moonflowers. The florist apparently had a not fun time of gluing the petals to wire to make sure they stayed opened, but I couldn’t have anything else. Red roses were woven in between what had become my favorite flower.

I waved again to the crowd, while Giacomo fluttered around me, making sure my dress was perfect. He straightened my veil in the back. I had a long train, which Lemon held for me.

I had asked the Monterran designer to mimic the dress I had worn in Paris. The white satin had an overlay of lace with sparkling Swarovski crystals, so that I looked like I was wearing snow. It was long-sleeved so that I wouldn’t freeze. I had insisted on a red velvet sash at my waist, tied in a big bow in the back. I wanted it to match Nico’s pendant. The queen had taken me into her vault and invited me to help myself to her jewelry for the wedding, but I wanted to wear something that had meaning to me. This morning Nico had sent over a package with matching earrings and a tiara. He had also bought matching earrings for each of my bridesmaids. I had never felt more beautiful.

I put my hand on his father’s wheelchair, and we slowly entered the massive cathedral. A choir sang as I walked down the aisle. I saw so many people I knew and loved. Caitlin waved to me as I passed, and I smiled at her. I noticed she was pregnant again.

My mother sat near Caitlin, but closer to the front. She blew me a kiss. Things weren’t necessarily great between us yet, but we had been working on our relationship, and I knew that I couldn’t get married without her there. Lemon’s parents, Sue Ellen and Montgomery, were there as well, pointing their cell phones at us. I saw the friends I had invited from my graduate program, along with Professor Stevenson, and I got more smiles and waves.

Queen Aria sat in the very front row, and she was crying happy tears. It got me choked up and I had to look away so that I wouldn’t ruin all my eye makeup.

Then I saw Nico, and only Nico. He wore a military dress uniform, a bright red coat with black pants and a gold sash. I knew Alex was his best man, and Dante and Rafe his groomsmen. But I didn’t notice any of them.

My heart lifted at the sight of him. He was about to become my husband.

As long as I could remember the correct order of his names.

I walked up the steps to stand next to him. “You are so beautiful it hurts to look at you,” he told me.

A warm glow encased my heart. “I know the feeling,” I whispered back.

“I’m glad you showed up,” Nico said with a smile.

“Well, I already had the dress on, so I decided, why not?”

I could tell that delighted him and he wanted to kiss me, but he refrained.

The ceremony was long, and in Italian, English, and Latin. We had practiced the ceremony, so I knew when I was supposed to kneel and what I was supposed to say.

Then it was over. We had made our vows, I had said his name right, and we were married.

Married!

Nico kissed me in front of the whole crowd, and last night I had told him not to be embarrassing as I would have to see all these people again. He kept himself in check, but I knew he was tempted to lean me backward and make a scene.

The priest introduced us as Their Royal Highnesses, Prince Dominic and Princess Katerina of Monterra. I had the title of princess since he was the heir and the crown prince. Soon it would be queen. Queen Katerina. The coronation was scheduled to happen in a few months. Lemon expected there to be crowds of tourists for that as well.

When we exited the cathedral, the crowd went insane. There was a limo waiting for us, and we waved to everyone before getting in.

“Be careful not to crush her skirt,” Giacomo told Nico as we climbed in.

We sat together, holding hands, grinning.

“Hello, wife.”

“Hello, husband.”

He kissed me and I warned him not to mess up my makeup, but he didn’t care. And soon neither did I. I could always fix it later.

His kisses were full of love and promises for what would happen later that evening.

It was slow going to the palace, and I was glad the windows were tinted so that the whole world didn’t catch me making out with my new husband.

As soon as we arrived at the castle, Nico practically jumped out of the car and picked me up in his arms, surprising me. I laughed as he carried me up the steps and through the open door. He was skipping steps, practically running.

“What are you doing?”

“Hush, wife. I’m carrying you across the threshold.”

“What’s the rush?” I asked him.

“We have to go out on the main balcony and greet the public. Then we have a dinner and reception to get through. The faster we do that, the faster I will have you all to myself.”

“Hmm. What if I turn out to be really bad at it?”

He gave me a quick kiss. “
Impossibilie
. And even if it were possible, I am an excellent teacher.”

I didn’t doubt it. That made my pulse quicken and my stomach throb. A year ago I would have been terrified at the idea of being intimate with a man. But thanks to the counseling and Nico’s love and patience, I had healed. I was ready. I was more than ready. I was looking forward to it just as much as he was.

He put me down so that we could quickly climb the stairs. I could barely keep up in my stupid shoes, and I just kept laughing.

Giacomo was waiting outside the balcony doors, talking on a headset. “Not quite yet, Your Highness.”

Nico groaned and looked so frustrated that I laughed again. “I suppose I might as well make use of the time. I have a wedding gift for you.”

He pulled out an envelope from inside his pants pocket. I opened it, curious. Inside there was a check for one million euros to the Queen’s Charity for Children. “The funding for your children’s charity. You will help every child that you want to help.”

“Thank you,” I said. I kissed him hard, not knowing it was possible to love him even more with each passing minute. He put his arm around my waist, kissing me with everything he had, and we only broke apart because Giacomo cleared his throat.

“I got you a wedding present too. I don’t have it with me, but I bought you a bunch of rock climbing equipment so you could start climbing again. I know your mom doesn’t want you to take unnecessary risks, but I think we just took the biggest risk of all. What’s a little rock climbing?”

“
Grazie, cuore mio
,” he said. He smiled and looked like he was going to go in for another kiss, but I put a hand on his chest. I had just heard the crowd, and it gave me an anxious feeling.

I was really doing this. I had really married him, and I was really a princess. I had a wave of insecurity.

“This is kind of overwhelming,” I told him.