Page 118 of Royally Rivalled

“I know. You and Briggs… you cared enough to encourage me. I love you for that. It’s… the job… I sent an email on a whim. And… they said their original candidate turned it down. They want me to come up and do a job talk and guest lecture. Fancy going north?”

“North?” I asked. “Are you saying you’re taking a job?”

“If they offer it, I will. It’s at St Andrews.”

“Well, I’m in Edinburgh.”

“That’s a ninety-minute drive, love,” Parker insisted. “Much better than from London. Moreover, we could find a house in between and make a proper home—just us.”

I brimmed. “You’d want to?”

“If you don’t, that’s fine, too. But… I want to build a life with you. Only you. And I’m not willing to wait to be happy—not any longer.”

I kissed him, feeling everything at once. I was happy, loved, and excited. I was also frightened about this new journey and my unexpected choice. I thought momentarily about telling him no, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach told me to throw caution to the wind. This was my happiness at stake! I was happy with Parker and wanted to build a life with him.

“It’s crazy and too fast,” I said.

“It’s wild just like we are, Astrid, but Iknowit is worth it.”

“Your Mum is going to lose her shit.”

“I will suggest Fred and Carolyn take over this place for a bit. I will tell Mum I will reassess in a few years but that I want to chase younorth. She’ll hate it, but Carolyn will turn the screws. She wants a grand house, and this will make them feel important. I can go to and from London as need be for anything official. And I will bring you with me, Astrid.”

I smiled. “It will be difficult. She’ll fight you like hell.”

“Yeah, but anything good is worth the fight.”

Parker kissed my forehead. I longed to be here with him forever. It would be challenging, but I hoped we’d make it work.

“And you don’t mind?” I asked.

“Astrid, I would move to Mars for you,” Parker chuckled. “I am so proud of you. I want you to have all the happiness on Earth, okay? That is all I want.”

I smiled. “Even Mars? Happiness on Mars?”

“You know what, why the fuck not?” Parker chuckled. “Wherever you go, I will go. Together, we are a team—a slightly-volatile, pedantic team, but a formidable one, no doubt. I will get this job, we will move to Edinburgh, and we will get our fairytale life. The one neither of us ever saw coming.”

sixty-five

PARKER

“Are we ready then?”Briggs asked.

He looked down the table at the other committee members. I watched their poker faces nervously. I defended for forty-five minutes, ten of which were spent watching a statistician tangle with Briggs over a methodological issue. The committee was an odd bedfellows situation, and the best approach was to let people argue to buy time to breathe.

I looked at Astrid. She smiled back encouragingly. All I wanted was to pass, give her a great big kiss, and sweep her off to our next adventure. Up north, I had a job. I’d signed my contract. We’d move in a couple of months. Briggs would, too. Today, after my defence was finished, we would catch a charter north to look at houses. Astrid booked everything to sweep me off.

My mother and sisters and the rest of the gang were in attendance. Niall was bored to tears but attended in solidarity. Amara came, too. It felt good to see so many supportive people. Because Dad wasn’t there, it was bittersweet. I wished somehow he knew I’d finally finished what I started. And, now? It was time for Astrid to finish what she started.

Heads nodded. It was time to debate my fate.

Astrid took my hand. Since we were about to escape this place, we no longer had to hide it. I’d given up fighting it. She flustered me. And, anyway, Briggs was still her advisor, and I’d be around him if I were around her.

“You did great,” Astrid assured. “Beautifully.”

“I have no idea what that was,” Mother sighed. “What now?”

“They come to a conclusion and say he passed,” Astrid said.

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