Ellie and Millie gushed as their limo pulled up to the spectacular castle. It must have been exactly what Tess and Mo had sounded like when they first arrived. “Look at the ornate detail on the gold-gilded door… Those are real turrets!... Is that red carpet laid out just for us?”

The Donovan brothers remained unimpressed. Tess was not surprised about their pompous indifference. Not only were they used to staying at lavish estates and luxurious hotels, but they were also determined to dislike the royal family and Sebastian––unless they somehow proved themselves to be worthy. Even though Tess didn’t approve of their guilty-until-proven-innocent approach, she did appreciate the love behind their protective streaks.

Almost as soon as Geoffrey ushered them into the grand entrance, the queen appeared. “You’re back.” Her words were flat and not at all welcoming. “And you’ve brought others.” She didn’t bother to hide the disdain in her voice or her perusal of the group.

Tess was surprised that Sebastian hadn’t sought the queen’s approval for their visit, so she cleared her throat and tried to make the best of the awkward situation. “Your majesty, these are my brothers, Trey and Trevor Donovan… of Donovan Enterprises.”

She bit her lip as soon as those last words slipped out. There was no denying that she hoped the woman had heard of her brothers’ business empire and might be impressed by their success, but it was the first time she had ever tried to use their clout to her advantage. She immediately felt guilty about it.

The queen gave no indication that she had ever even heard the Donovan name, so Tess quickly went on. “And these are their… err…” She stumbled as she looked for the right word to refer to her brothers’ love interests.

Trey stepped in to save the awkward moment. “These lovely ladies are Ellie Thorne and Millie Parks,” he told the queen before gallantly kissing the regal woman’s white-gloved hand.

For the first time since Tess had met her, the queen seemed to be delighted. She actually tittered at Trey’s, and subsequently Trevor’s, charm as the brothers fawned over her.

Ellie and Millie gawked wide-eyed at the queen and the impressive castle as if they felt as out of their element as Tess and Mo did. Tess wondered quietly why her brothers seemed to have sapped all of the supreme confidence from their family tree.

Whatever the men were doing worked, because the monarch actually gave them all a warm smile as she instructed Geoffrey to see them to their rooms.

Tess wanted nothing more than to go find Sebastian, but it was late, and she saw no further signs of life at the castle as the group was led to their sleeping quarters. She was pleased to see that she and Mo were sharing the same room they had occupied on their previous visit.

Even though they felt pumped up, Tess and Mo knew they needed to rest, so they could face the challenges of tomorrow with their brains firing at full capacity. After changing, they both fell into their beds, assuming that they wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.

Their extensive travelling must have taken a toll on their bodies because both women fell asleep within minutes. By the time they began stirring, the full rays of daylight were angling across the room’s plush, snow-white carpet.

Mo stretched and yawned loudly, which awoke Tess with a start. As soon as Tess lifted her pink silk eye mask, which proclaimed her to be “Sleeping Beauty,” her eyes slammed back shut. It felt like she had just climbed into her tall bed, so the blinding sunshine was a shock to her system.

Replacing the mask over her eyes and flopping back down on her bed, she muttered, “It can’t possibly be morning.”

“I think it is,” Mo told her with more pep in her voice than she’d had since the breakup. Getting up and walking to their door, she retrieved their agenda card. “And we are already late for breakfast.”

“Crap!” Tess grouched, removing the eye mask for real this time and climbing out of bed. She hated the idea of already backpedaling on the progress her brothers had made with the queen’s opinion of them.

The women got ready in record time and headed down to the elegant dining room together. They were surprised to find Tess’s brothers and their love interests eating alone at the massive table.

“Look who finally rolled out of bed,” Trevor teased them before taking a huge bite of a fresh croissant coated with blackberry jam.

Tess glared at her brother before taking a seat at the table. “We’ve had a hard couple of days,” she reminded him. “Where is everyone else?” She was anxious to talk to Sebastian and felt disappointed that neither he, nor the royals, had bothered to join them for breakfast.

“No idea,” Trey answered before weighing in with his opinion, “But it’s pretty rude of them not to greet us properly. We got in late last night, so I was going to let that slide, but this is an inexcusable way to treat guests.”

Tess didn’t bother to point out to her brother that he was technically an uninvited guest, since she wasn’t sure if Ellie and Millie were aware of that tidbit of information.

Geoffrey stepped forward at that moment. It was the first Tess had even noticed that he was in the room, so she deduced he must have gone through extensive training to hone his skills at being completely unobtrusive.

He cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention before saying, “The royal family and Sebastian apologize that they are unable to be proper hosts to you today. They would like to extend an invitation to each of you to this evening’s ball, and they look forward to seeing you there.”

Tess felt stunned that Sebastian and the others were avoiding them. It also irked her that the royal family apparently thought they could simply tell everyone where to be and when. They must be used to others falling over each other to comply with their demands. It was tempting to decline their presumptuous invitation, but they had too much unfinished business that needed to be settled.

Her irritation was nothing when compared to Trey’s. “So, Tess and Mo were summoned here, and now they are being told to sit around all day waiting to see the very people who demanded they come?!?” It was obvious by his pursed lips and slashing brows that he was displeased. Tess wondered if this was how intimidating it would be to sit across from her powerful brother in a boardroom.

Ellie’s dreamy look and excited voice transformed his face almost immediately. She grabbed his hand and said, “A real royal ball… how exciting!”

With that, Trey turned to gaze at his love. “You want to go?” The question was almost rhetorical, since it was glaringly obvious that she did.

“Oh, yes!” she gushed, “But I didn’t bring anything fancy to wear.”

“It does sound like fun,” Millie weighed in. “It would almost be like being in a real-life version of a magical fairy tale.” She was normally the more grounded of the two women, but her eyes had taken on a glassy, faraway stare.

“Being in a real castle seems to make everyone loopy,” Trevor decided. When he saw Millie look down, he quickly amended his opinion. Rubbing his thumb lightly on her cheek, he said, “It’s contagious, though, and I can’t wait to spend the evening dancing with my beautiful princess.”

Millie’s face brightened. “I know it’s silly,” she admitted. “I’m normally such a strong, opinionated woman, but being here makes me want to put on a fancy dress and get a true love’s kiss from my prince.”

When Trevor leaned close to her and said, “That can be arranged,” Trey announced, “It’s settled then… Tonight, we will all attend the royal ball.”

Ellie looked at the other women at the table. “This means one thing, ladies.” Her eyes sparkled with barely-concealed excitement as she spoke. “We need to go shopping!”

Millie whooped her agreement with this plan and Tess smiled at the fun-loving ladies. Even Mo tried to drum up a grin.

When Tess and Mo locked eyes, they shared a long, meaningful look. They could both sense the pressure of unanswered questions adding to the monumental importance of the coming evening. For better or worse, both of their fates would be sealed with the events that transpired at tonight’s royal ball.