Page 42 of The Royally Broke Billionaire
Epilogue
Piper had stayed up late many nights working on her top-secret project. It had been practically impossible to think of the perfect baby shower gift for her two favorite royal ladies. After all, what could you get for people who already had everything?
She smiled down at the gauzy fabric with tiny, perfect stitches and delicate, intricate lace that she had just put the finishing touches on. Despite not having used her seamstress skills in several months, even the perfectionist in her had to admit that the matching christening gowns were gorgeous. She felt confident the queen and princess would love them.
“Almost ready to come to bed? It’s chilly and lonely without you to snuggle with.” Her husband bent down to sweetly kiss her cheek as she tilted her rocking chair back and forth, admiring her handiwork.
“Just finished,” she smiled up at him and lifted the cream-colored gowns for his inspection.
“They’re going to love them,” he said confidently.
“I hope so,” she beamed at him, still not quite able to believe that she was married to Finn or that they had created this magnificent life for themselves in their quaint cottage, surrounded by a lush forest, the vast sea, and even a splendid royal castle.
Every time she walked into their happy home, it felt like she was living in a fairytale, but no one ever closed the book on her. Her life was a dream that she didn’t wish to wake from.
Hand-in-hand, the newlywed couple crept over to bend over Liam’s crib to quietly wish him goodnight. Their son grew and changed every day, but as the tiny puffs of air escaped his bright pink, bow-like lips, Piper realized that, to her, he would always be a sweet baby boy.
Exhausted, she climbed into bed and sank into the welcoming, warm embrace of her husband. Feeling safe and loved, she drifted off immediately and was shocked to open her eyes what felt like a second later, only to discover the first slashing rays of sunlight streaming through the window.
She jumped out of bed as if the sheets were on fire, knowing she had more to accomplish today than most people could do in three days. It was going to be a super-busy weekend at the palace––with the royal babies’ official gender reveals today and the baby showers tomorrow.
Members of the press were already arriving in droves, since the entire world seemed enthralled with every detail about the first of this generation of royal babies to be born in Isle de Monsail. The public scandal surrounding Liam’s paternity had put the tiny kingdom’s rulers on people’s radars, and now their adoring public couldn’t seem to get enough of the island’s royals.
Piper was both excited and nervous about the weekend’s festivities. There were a myriad of details that she had personally seen to, so she would blame herself if things didn’t go perfectly. Besides, the queen and princess deserved to have a wonderful, stress-free weekend before their babies were born and their lives were truly turned upside down––in a good way.
Consulting her electronic tablet, Piper verified that her detailed lists within lists were organized and ready for assignment. She couldn’t personally handle every detail, but she was in charge of making sure that everything got done when it should and in a manner befitting the royals. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle, but this was her first big test as the queen’s right-hand woman, and she intended to nail it.
Finn was taking charge of Liam’s care all weekend, so she would be able to focus on her job. As she scurried from their cottage towards the castle, she heard her handsome boys chasing after her. Turning to see what they wanted, she was delighted by the beaming smile both boys greeted her with when they caught up with her.
Handing her a granola bar, Finn said, “You need to eat to be at your best this weekend.”
It was so foreign and wonderful to have someone taking care of her and looking out for her wellbeing. Piper gave her sweet men warm smiles and quick pecks on their cheeks before setting off towards the palace and tearing into her granola bar.
Either she hadn’t realized she was famished, or having it given to her as a gesture of love made the healthy snack taste delicious because she scarfed the bar down and threw away the plastic wrapper before she reached the palace entrance.
From that point on, her day was consumed with greeting guests, directing chores, finalizing details, handling snafus, and answering questions. She took the burden of all of the stress surrounding the events, so the royals could relax and enjoy the celebrations.
Sebastian and Pierce’s parents, the former king and queen, arrived in a flourish. Piper hadn’t been sure what to expect from the elegant woman and irreverent man, but when she met them, she quickly discovered that the former king’s reputation for being audacious had not been exaggerated in the slightest.
She would have recognized him anywhere by his signature bushy, white moustache. The short, rotund man had the ruddy cheeks of a heavy drinker. Even though he had stepped down as monarch to avoid being ousted for the combination of his drinking and gambling addictions, Piper had still expected him to behave in a more majestic and sophisticated manner––especially at such an elegant and important event.
The bumbling, overly-loud man made Mo seem like a graceful swan. Upon meeting Piper, the previous king announced to the gathered crowd that she didn’t look like his son’s usual type.
Piper’s cheeks heated with shame at this reminder to anyone who might have forgotten about her tryst with the king. She was certain that was the last thing the queen wanted to think about on the day of her baby’s gender reveal, but the classy woman handled it with her usual degree of grace and dignity.
After gently reminding her father-in-law that it wasn’t polite to say such things, Queen Tess tried to steer the conversation towards the safer territory of the former monarchs’ recent travels.
Proving he wasn’t one to be shut down so easily, the plump man said, “What? Look at her… She’s too thin for Sebastian’s taste. In fact, if she leaned against a wall, she’d probably resemble a crack in the plaster.”
The boorish man guffawed with laughter at his own joke, but other than a few nervous titters, no one else joined in.
Piper quickly ushered the royal matriarch and patriarch to their seats at the side of the outdoor proceedings. She now understood why the queen had requested that they not be seated on the stage with the four royals for the gender reveals.
The queen’s standoffish parents arrived and proved themselves to be superfluous as well. After skipping Tess’s royal wedding that the entire world had watched and been enthralled with, the first thing her mother said to Tess after more than a year of not seeing her daughter was that the younger woman looked ‘deathly pale.’
Piper noticed her boss gritting her teeth as she said, “I’ve been under a bit of stress, but thank you for pointing it out to me. I’ll see what I can do to fix it.”
“Find some blusher. There are cameras everywhere.” Her mother stage-whispered the words as she fluffed her own over-processed blonde hair.
