Page 45 of Once Upon a Royal Summer
“Yes. I’ve invited her and a friend to stay at the palace and attend the Flower Festival, the royal procession, and the ball. They’re scheduled to arrive later today.” Henry felt a weight lift off him as he gave his mother the details. He should’ve done this days ago—right when he’d first come home.
He hadn’t been ready yet, though. He’d needed time to figure out why he’d been so keen to invite Lacey to Bella-Moritz. The more time that passed since he’d seen her, the more he realized it hadn’t been merely a thank-you gesture. He’d been fooling himself if he’d ever thought otherwise. And in the days that had passed since they’d seen one another, he and Lacey had started texting each other. It had begun with the brief exchange of messages when he’d looked at the clock and realized she was at her tea party, waltzing around the ballroom at Ever After Castle. Henry had felt a wholly irrational stab of jealousy at the thought of her dancing with someone else, and before he’d been able to stop himself, he’d sent her a text.
That simple exchange of words had blossomed into something else—something more meaningful. Last night after he’d tucked Rose into bed, he’d lain awake in his bedroom, staring at the glow of his phone as he and Lacey exchanged intimate details about themselves, like favorite childhood memories and their hopes and dreams for the future. Henry reiterated he wanted to take a more active role in Rose’s upbringing, but he also wanted to spend less time at ceremonial functions and more time serving the people of his kingdom in a concrete, meaningful way. Lacey understood exactly what he meant. She too was trying to figure out a plan beyond her own castle walls.
The more they messaged back and forth, the more Henry longed to hear her voice. He’d finally called her, just to tell her good night.
“Henry, I don’t think you need me to tell you that a theme park princess is hardly a proper match for a royal prince.” Queen Elloise picked up her teacup again, and this time, it rattled a nervous tap-tap-tap against the china saucer. “You barely know this person, and you and Rose have been through enough.”
“I think once you meet her, you’ll like her very much,” he said simply. “And I certainly know her better than any of the names on your list.”
His mother’s gaze narrowed.
“Not that she’s my ‘match,’ as you insist on saying. We’re…” Henry swallowed, “…friends.”
When he’d asked her to the ball, Henry hadn’t even been certain Lacey would accept his invitation.
“When was the last time you invited a friend to visit the palace?” his mother countered.
Point taken. Henry usually kept to himself. He worked, he attended to his royal duties and didn’t do much else. But he wasn’t altogether sure that was all he wanted any more. And he definitely didn’t care to be on the receiving end of any more curated columns of names—not of governesses, and especially not of potential wives.
He rose from the table as his mother continued eyeing him with no small amount of astonishment. “Thank you for your concern, but I won’t be needing your list.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
X’s and Oh No’s
The journey from Fort Lauderdale to Bella-Moritz was a fifteen-hour haul, and when Lacey and Ava stepped off the plane, they weren’t even in Henry’s kingdom yet. The closest airport to his “quaint little principality,” as he’d called it in his email, was in Nice on the southeast coast of France.
A driver met them near the baggage claim area, just as Henry had indicated. He wore a finely tailored black suit and carried a placard with Miss Lacey Pope printed on it in boldfaced lettering. Ava and Lacey exchanged a glance as they walked toward him.
“Fancy.” Ava waggled her eyebrows.
Lacey somehow resisted the urge to laugh. She felt like she was in a scene in a romcom movie, especially when the driver took their luggage and escorted them to a sleek black car with tiny flags mounted on either side of the hood, like the ones she’d seen on diplomats’ vehicles. Only, instead of stars and stripes, these flags featured an elegant coat of arms overlaid with a banner that read House of Chevalier, Bella-Moritz.
Something about the sight of the royal crest gave Lacey pause. After they were buckled into the plush backseat of the car and had started cruising alongside a coastal highway overlooking the glittering Mediterranean Sea, she grabbed hold of Ava’s arm.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she said under her breath.
Ava’s eyes widened. “Are you serious right now? Look around.”
She gestured toward the passenger side window, where lavender bloomed beneath the heat of the summer sun. Wasn’t lavender supposed to be calming? Lacey wondered if the driver would notice if she unrolled the window to stuck her head outside like a dog and took a big whiff.
Probably so. And then tomorrow morning, her picture would likely be splashed on the front page of every newspaper in Bella-Moritz. She could see the headlines now: Prince’s Girlfriend Shows Canine Tendencies on Ride from Nice.
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
“I know.” Ava rolled her eyes. “You’ve said so a million times, but I’m still not sure I believe you.”
Had Lacey just uttered that denial out loud?
She really needed to get herself together before they arrived at the palace. She was excited to see Henry again. Rose too, obviously. But what would it be like spending time together away from the cobblestone utopia of Once Upon A Time? Everything was so happy and friendly at a theme park. She’d spent the past few days trying to tell herself that nothing out of the ordinary was happening between her and Henry, but who was she trying to fool? A prince had just flown her halfway across the world, and every time she thought about the triple xxx’s at the end of his text, she went a little swoony.
“I can practically see the wheels spinning round in your head,” Ava said. She reached into her carry-on bag and pulled out the slim mint-green box of French macarons she’d purchased at the Ladurée boutique at Charles de Gaulle during their layover in Paris. “Here. Relax, have a treat, and try to enjoy the fact that you aren’t about to accompany Prince Henry on an amusement park ride right now. Let him show you around for a change.”
Lacey plucked a pink macaron from the box and let the delicate meringue melt on her tongue. She closed her eyes and gave in to the decadent taste of confectioner’s sugar, culinary rose petals and just a hint of sweet almonds. They hadn’t even made it to the Flower Festival in Bella-Moritz yet, and already everything was coming up roses.
Lacey texted her parents to let them know she’d arrived safely and then tried to take Ava’s advice and enjoy the scenery instead of second-guessing whether or not she belonged here.
