Page 85 of Appointing

“Yes.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” Mari replied.

“What are you talking about?”

“Hey, Elin?” Lillian said, smiling at her. “I’m proud of you, big sister.” She walked up and wrapped her arms around Elin’s shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.

“You’re planning on telling everyone?”

Elin let go of Lillian when she heard her father’s voice.

“Yes, Dad. I plan on marrying one day, so I plan to tell everyone.”

“You’ll marry a woman?” he asked.

“Dad, she’s gay – of course, she’ll marry a woman,” Christian said, surprising Elin.

“I see.” He nodded.

“I think that’s enough big news for the night, don’t you?” her mother asked her father.

“What about children?”

“Dad, we’ve talked about this…” Elin warned.

“You might change your mind one day. I understand that you might not, but if you do – would you have them, or would she? It’s important, Elin. This hasn’t happened before.”

“Dad, Elizabeth and Palmer–”

“Mari, Elizabeth was Queen by blood, and she gave birth to their children,” he interrupted his youngest daughter.

“She doesn’t even have a girlfriend, Dad. I think we can talk kids later,” Christian spoke.

“Before she has a girlfriend, she’d have to actually date. Are you dating, and we just don’t know?” Mari asked.

“What? No,” Elin replied. She then looked skyward for a second and added, “But Iammadly in love with Ingrid Olson.”

“Ingrid?” Christian asked.

“Ingrid, your old secretary?” Mari asked.

“Yes, I’m in love with her. I have been since we met. And I know I need to tell her because I need to find out if there’s even a remote possibility that she could feel the same way, but it’s the scariest thing I will probably ever do.”

“You just became Queen of a country,” Lillian said, smiling at her.

“And telling Ingrid I want to be with her like that is scarier, but I have to do it. I’m preparing myself for when she says she doesn’t feel the same way, but when that happens, it’s going to take a long time for me to get over it and try to move on, so I wouldn’t expect any girlfriends anytime soon.”

She looked at her father, who seemed deep in thought.

“I like Ingrid,” he said after a while.

CHAPTER 25

Ingrid sat in the car, waiting for it to pull up to the booth. She ran her hands over her slacks, wishing she could get them to stop sweating.

“Ingrid Olson,” she said to the security officer in the booth.

He checked his computer and said, “ID?”

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