Page 143 of Appointing

Ingrid nodded, her forehead still pressed to Elin’s.

“Oh, God,” Elin said, moving back a little.

“What’s wrong?”

“I told Markus to give your seat to someone in the family. I need to call him and tell him not to now.”

Ingrid moved into Elin’s lap and said, “It can wait until the morning.”

“What if he–”

“Elin, it can wait. You just got here, and I missed you,” Ingrid told her.

“I missed you, too.” Elin’s hands ran up and down Ingrid’s sides over her shirt.

“Then, let’s make the most of the time we have before you have to head back to the palace.”

CHAPTER 40

Elin had missed this. It hadn’t been all that long since she’d last touched Ingrid, but it had still beentoolong. Ingrid was removing her shirt as they sat there on her sofa, and Elin was watching, not being able to help her smile: Ingrid loved her. The thing she never thought possible had actually happened: Ingrid Olson was in love with her. And they were going to tell the world that they were together.

“What are you thinking about?” Ingrid asked, dropping her own bra to the floor.

“That I can’t believe this is happening.”

“That we’re about to–”

“No, that you love me,” Elin replied, shaking her head. “I just never thought it would happen. I never thought I’d have the courage to tell you how I felt; but that if I did, I assumed you’d tell me you were still waiting on your future husband. I didn’t know this was possible.”

“Well, it is. And it’s not just possible – it’s reality, my love.”

Ingrid cupped Elin’s cheeks, and Elin’s smile widened.

“What?” Ingrid asked.

“That’s what Elizabeth calls Palmer all the time.”

“My love?”

“Yes,” Elin replied.

“Would you prefer something else?” Ingrid asked, reaching for Elin’s shirt. “Let’s see… I’ve called you‘sweetheart.’I don’t remember; have I called you‘dear’yet?”

“I don’t think so,” Elin said, laughing a little as her shirt hit the sofa. “But that’s what my father calls my mother, so…”

“Ah, I see.” Ingrid nodded. “Well, there’s always‘babe’or‘baby.’”

“I like‘my love,’” Elin replied, unbuttoning Ingrid’s pants. “I don’t know that I’m a‘baby’or‘babe’person.”

“Well, youarea Queen.” Ingrid winked at her as she reached to unbutton Elin’s pants. “Can we go to the bedroom?”

“I thought Sarah wasn’t–”

“She’s not. But I want slow. If I only have you for a few hours, Elin, I want all of them to be spent touching each other.”

Elin nodded and said, “Yes, my love.”

Ingrid stood up and kicked off her pants, leaving her in only her panties before she took Elin’s hand and they walked the short distance to her bedroom. Then, Ingrid sat on the end of the bed and watched as Elin removed her bra, kicked off her shoes and pants, and stood there in only her gray underwear. Elin stared at the near-naked love of her life, and in that moment, she felt more confident that she was making the right decision to tell her country that not only was she gay but that she was madly in love with her former private secretary.

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