“Weddings?!?” she spluttered, feeling outraged by the presumptiveness of this woman––queen, or not.

It was Sebastian that spoke up in Tess’s defense as the others sat in stunned silence. Looking the queen directly in the eye, he spoke firmly and plainly. “We will not force Tess or Mo to abide by our customs and traditions, Mother. Tess wishes to leave, and she may do so when she chooses.”

The queen’s already rigid posture became even more erect. It was obvious that she wasn’t used to having her authority challenged––especially not by Sebastian.

Tess couldn’t help but feel touched that he had stood up to the regal woman for her. She stubbornly grasped onto her anger, though––unwilling and unable to easily let it go. “Thank you,” she said quietly, in acknowledgment of his rebellious chivalry.

“Stay for just a bit?” Ellie turned her hopeful gaze up at Tess. “I think if we brainstorm, we can come up with a solution to the kingdom’s financial woes.”

Tess wanted to turn her down, but each person around the table was now looking at her like she held the key to their happiness. When she hesitated, Ellie went on, “It’s such a lovely island, and the locals are completely innocent of any wrongdoing.”

She was tugging at Tess’s heartstrings, and she knew it. Maybe sweet Ellie was a little more ruthless than she first appeared. Bringing her plea home, she finished with, “Once we’ve had a chance to talk things through, we’ll leave, if you still wish to. I promise.”

Seeing no way to turn that down without seeming like a complete heel, Tess nodded her acceptance and sat back down at the table.

Millie took that as her cue to jump in with some ideas. Morphing into her all-business persona, she suggested, “Are there any natural commodities on the island that we could sell? Or have you looked at short-term borrowing in order to shore up a sustainable income for the island?”

She turned to the royals for answers. Sebastian was the first to regain his wits from the shocking transformation of the fun-loving version of Millie into this serious businessperson.

After clearing his throat, he said, “The greatest commodity this kingdom has is it’s natural, untouched beauty. Our pristine beaches, the natural hot springs, and stunning waterfalls all combine to make this island a precious, hidden gem. Maybe we could play on that to drum up some tourism?”

Trey shot that down with, “But where are these tourists going to stay when they get here? The island doesn’t have facilities and infrastructure in place for an influx of people. You’d have to secure the funds to build a massive, all-inclusive resort that would impress your guests enough that they went home and told all their friends about Isle de Monsail.”

The queen looked displeased. “In the meantime, all of those tourists traipsing around our island, as well as an enormous eyesore of a resort, would ruin the natural beauty that people were drawn to come see in the first place.” Nods all around the table proved that the queen was not alone in her opinion.

“Maybe some of those thatch-roofed huts out over the water would work?” Trevor suggested, but it didn’t sound like he was very enthusiastic about that idea.

“That’s overdone already. Besides, they need something that will bring in consistent, high-dollar clients.” Trevor didn’t look overly surprised that Trey had quickly eliminated his tiki hut idea.

After hearing them brainstorm, Tess was even more confident that her idea was the answer to the kingdom’s financial struggles. Even though she wasn’t going to be with Sebastian, she wanted the best for him, his beautiful island kingdom, and its residents.

When she spoke, she looked directly at Sebastian. “You need to create a bed and breakfast inside the palace.”

The queen sucked in a breath as if Tess had just slapped her. “Rent out rooms in the castle, like a common hotel? Never––We are not a Motel 6!” she hissed.

Sebastian’s deep brown eyes never wavered from Tess when he said, “Let’s hear her out, Mother.”

The queen’s sour lemon-sucking face was back, but she didn’t interrupt Tess again.

“This needs to be the ‘it’ place to be and be seen. The selling point will be living like a king or queen for the day. The guests can have their own wing of the castle, and even their own staff. While they are here, they will be able to live out the fantasy of being an actual royal.”

All eyes were focused on Tess. She couldn’t help but notice how proud both of her brothers looked. Since Trey had insisted on sending her to an outrageously expensive business college, she was thrilled to prove to him that his investment hadn’t been wasted on her.

Only one set of eyes was narrowed with hostility. “How will opening our home to a different set of strangers every day bring in enough money to help with anything? The queen asked, without bothering to hide her high degree of skepticism.

“Oh, it will cost a fortune to stay here,” Tess smiled. “We will promote it to the richest of the rich. Once those people catch wind of it, they will be competing to get reservations here.”

Anticipating the queen’s next objection, Tess alleviated the concern before the other woman could even raise it. “You and the other royals will never have to even see the guests. They can be kept in a side wing of the castle, without access to your private residence.”

Unable to devise another problem with Tess’s plan, the queen sat back in silence. Tess almost couldn’t believe it had been that easy to convince her.

The air of excitement built in the room as Tess’s idea began to take hold in the minds of the others. Several murmured comments circled the table… Pierce weighed in with, “I think that might actually work.” Mo leaned over to Tess and said, “Fantastic idea!” Millie asked the room at large, “Why didn’t I think of this?” But it was Sebastian’s enthusiastic, “Brilliant!” that made Tess’s heart swell.

Ellie waited until things quieted down to make her suggestion. “Once the guest quarters are ready, we will come back and be your very first guests!”

Tess thought it was a rather odd offer, until Ellie expanded. “When my bakery was struggling to get by, one Tweet from Trey to his millions of Twitter followers was all it took to make Snickerdoodle the hottest cupcake shop around. If he sends out a few snapshots with captions about how much he loves this island, every billionaire in the world will be clamoring to come stay here!”

Ellie beamed around the room, obviously extremely proud of her idea, which made Sebastian’s resounding and firm, “NO,” seem even more daunting.