Page 168 of His Juliet

“I forged that letter and Romeo sent the money.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. He wanted to send you half a million dollars and was very irritated when I told him that was way too much to be believable.”

My lips twisted as I tried not to smile. My ridiculous man. I’d yell about this later, but right now, I was going to enjoy being spoiled. It was my wedding day, after all.

I placed the tiara on Queenie’s head. “You look like absolute royalty.” I was worried she would shake it off, but she just looked around imperiously.

“Oh, you know that you’re the queen, don’t you?” Sienna scratched her chin, and Queenie purred.

I removed the tiara. “We’ll put it back on when it’s time for the wedding.” I went to place it back in the box on the counter and froze when I saw a larger box beside it.

“Yours next,” Sofiya said, grinning.

This present had my name on the tag. My fingers shook as I unwrapped the silver paper and opened the black velvet box underneath, revealing another tiara. Except this one was human-sized and even more gorgeous. It was composed of small gold branches converging to form a point at the top. Small diamonds were embedded in the tips of the branches, adding sparkle without overpowering the organic design. It was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen, besides my engagement ring.

I looked up at Sofiya and Sienna, my mouth wide. “He gave me a tiara.”

“It’s going to look amazing on you,” Sofiya said, clapping her hands.

I wanted to argue and say it was too much, too extravagant for a former foster care kid, but I was too busy staring at it to argue.

A knock at the door signaled the hair and makeup people had arrived, and the apartment was quickly filled with a blur of activity. Two women ushered me into a chair and started working on me. The entire time, I clutched the tiara, trying to stay present and grounded. This was my day, my life. I deserved to savor it.

Once my hair was set in loose waves—the pink ends freshly dyed at Romeo’s insistence—the hairdresser placed the tiara on my head. I took a deep breath as she spun me towards the mirror. The tiara worked perfectly with my hair, and my makeup was soft and natural while somehow highlighting all my best features. A seed of giddiness bloomed in my stomach. I looked like a princess. This was how I would look when I married my dream man.

Life was pretty freaking amazing.

“Wow,” I breathed. “I’ve never looked like this.”

“You look breathtaking,” Sofiya said as she bounced Clementine on her lap. Matteo had brought her up a little while ago to nurse.

Sienna gently wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I can’t believe how drop-dead gorgeous my new sister is. Romeo is going to lose it.”

I fanned my hands in front of my face. “Don’t make me cry.”

“No crying allowed!” Sofiya said.

“I would never,” I scoffed.

“Don’t worry—I’ll be here until the ceremony for touch-ups if needed,” the stylist said with a wink.

A shout at the front door had me leaving the bedroom.

“Don’t worry, everyone. The fun has arrived!” Leona blew into the apartment in a whirlwind of energy, her red hair an explosion of curls around her. “I brought the essentials for the day—a wedding night gift, champagne, and your mothers-in-law!” She stepped aside, revealing two women.

I recognized Allegra De Luca from a childhood photo Romeo had shown me of him with his parents. The lines on her face spoke to the passage of time, but she was still stunning with her olive skin and a short black bob. Holding her hand was a woman with a silver pixie cut.

“Hi, Juliet,” my mother-in-law said, sounding almost shy.

We both froze for an awkward moment, unsure of what to do, and then we were hugging. We were around the same height, and her arms were warm and strong.

“You look lovely. It’s easy to see why my son is so in love with you.”

“It’s so nice to meet you. Thanks so much for coming,” I said when we parted. Allegra wiped away a tear at the corner of her eye. I turned to the woman she was with. “Both of you.”

“I’m Francesca,” she said before pulling me into a hug. “We’re honored to be here.”

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