Lucio took a seat in one of the plastic chairs in the empty waiting room and tried to get a little comfortable. It didn't work, so he stood and paced toward the end of the room. Outside the window to the left he noticed that the press brightened the evening sky with all their lights pointed toward the door.

They'd be waiting for either him or one of his family members to exit the hospital, but guards kept a semblance of order. He stepped away from the glass to ensure no one saw him and dug his phone from his back pocket. He sank back in the plastic seat and called his brother.

"This is Marco."

Lucio spoke without introduction. "I need you to get a full background check on Suzie Oster. She was part of Amy's kidnapping and lived upstairs from her in London."

"Her friend?" Marco repeated.

"Yeah." None of them had seen the American as a threat but clearly they needed to implement reports on every guest that stayed at the palace, even supposed friends.

Marco returned after a pause. "On it. I'll get Babik to run her car plates."

"She would have had to rent one at the airport rather than take our car—I know I sent a limo." Lucio stared at the doors that led back to Amy's room. She looked like a half-done mummy from one of those horror movies with those casts of hers on one half of her body, when she used to look like an angel and it was still his fault. She hadn't deserved this.

The vision of Amy jumping for her freedom left his entire body cold. Her friend Suzie needed to be found. Now. "She's probably left the country. Also, Amy said she can only identify four men so we’ll have to prove the five are working in a conspiracy."

"We'll find out what happened." Marco’s tone held a note of sympathy. "And don’t worry about the case now. We’ve got this."

Lucio leaned forward in the hard plastic chair. There was much he needed to discover and fast. "Amy shared that Suzie said she was paid. The five men don't have money in their accounts and even Edvard's father paid for that report with cash above his income level. We're not seeing who is paying for all this chaos."

Marco made a noise with his throat that sounded like he agreed but he said, "Let me patch Antonio in. One second."

The phone clicked and Lucio understood he was being placed in the family three-way. Antonio joined and said, "Lucio. Sophia's parents have been petitioning for the release of their daughter."

Lucio straightened. Sophia Venko’s royal family had money but no power. "You think this has to do with Sophia?"

Antonio said, "It's a theory. She went through a lot to depose us. Maybe her family is behind it, with the cash."

Theories may or may not be true in the end. Right now, they needed facts, not opinions. Lucio redirected his brother to ensure they were all on the same page. "I want to investigate Suzie and her banking information. We'll need warrants and the use of treaties to gather all the information."

"I'm on it," Marco said. "Mother just came in."

Lucio imagined that they must be in the war room. His mother's voice was calm as she asked, "How's Amy?"

"Awake. Smiling." In love with Lucio though he kept that to himself. "Her mother said the wedding will have to be a minimum of three months to let her heal enough to walk."

His mother made the hmm sound. Then she spoke like the Queen she was. "This means we'll have to invite worldwide royalty and despite what you hoped, this will be more formal. Your wedding will be complete with the weeklong celebration, Lucio."

The whirlwind of procedure he’d intended to avoid was now becoming a reality. None of that mattered, but he brushed off his mother's comments. "I need to discuss this with Amy, but I wanted to warn you."

His mother paid him no mind. "I'll start drafting the formal invitations to show her when we bring her to the palace."

"Mom, I have to go." If he stayed on the phone with them, it would be hours until the report on Suzie arrived. Right now, he needed to see Amy again.

He hung up after goodbye and brushed any wrinkles his pant legs might show. He must always be royal and put together. Once he placed his phone in his back pocket, he reentered the hospital hall. No one looked at him while he made his way to Amy's room.

Amy's parents and Evie were all laughing with her. It was clear the family had patched up their differences. Amy turned toward him and met his gaze. She smiled at him. "How was your mother?"

"She's happy you’re awake, but she's drawing up invitations for royal dignitaries for a formal royal wedding in a few months."

A huge grin grew on Amy's mother’s face. "Wait. Does that mean we invite the Queen of England?"

He nodded and crossed his arms. Did she have something against the queen? The last thing he needed was to argue with Amy’s mother. "Is that a problem?"

"No." She smiled wider and he dropped his arms to his sides. "I'd be thrilled, though Lucio, what matters the most to me is that you and Amy are happy."

Evie rose to her feet, and took Michael’s arm. "On that note, we'll leave you two alone and head back to the palace."

"Thanks." Lucio walked all four of them toward the door.

Amy stayed silent as he said goodbye to them.

The second the door closed, she held out her hand for his. "Lucio, what's going on? You look so serious. I'm okay with planning a formal wedding as long as I can walk down the aisle to you."

"Amy, we need to talk." He repositioned the seat next to her, and then clasped her warm palm.

She pushed a button so her bed went higher and he had a clearer vision of her pretty brown eyes. "I'm here."

She’d been so brave sharing her feelings that he wanted to be frank with her. "When I couldn't find you and then when I did find you, I could hardly breathe. I need you to believe me that you're the only woman in the world I want to marry."

She gave him a small nod and continued with her beaming, beautiful smile. "I understand and I'm happy. I love you."

"I love you too."

Amy blinked with disbelief. "You can't."

He stood and leaned over her until he found a way to sit next to her on the bed. She needed to believe him. He met her gaze. "It's the truth, Amy Fields. I don't lie. I never lied. When I first met you again I was happy to see that you were the one the computer said was my match."

Her eyes stayed wide and full of questions. "Computer? I just don’t understand it. There must be a person who believes in love if their program put us together."

"I don’t know who runs the IT department." Lucio swallowed and let his heart choose his words. "I had Antonio's IT department run a report to find me the woman I was to marry. It came back as you. Whenever I even thought about Evie, you were the next image I saw. In my head, I remembered a skinny girl with glasses, but when I found you again, I realized why it was your face and not your sister's that I remembered with vivid colors. I must have loved you as a boy but I didn't recognize the feelings."

"This is impossible." She let his hand go, but her face returned to its normal color.

He traced the bridge of her slim nose. She truly was beautiful. "It's not. I need you, Amy Fields, and I love you."

"I love you too." She placed her hand on his knuckles. "And I believe you. I was just shocked because I’ve longed to hear those words from you."

He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips again. She tasted sweet and better than any candy or pastry. He carefully adjusted his weight on the mattress of the narrow hospital bed. "Good. Now that you understand how I feel, I want to tell you we're working on finding Suzie. Did you ever suspect her of being an anarchist?"

"No." She tugged on his hand. "I don't care about any of that. I just want you to kiss me."

"That I can do." His lips curved into a smile. Together they would be unstoppable. He'd ensure the threat was gone and soon they'd be man and wife. His life would be complete the day they said I do.