Tess had only seen Mo cry a handful of times during their entire friendship, so she knew what a big deal it was.

Turning to the men, Tess said, “We are exhausted from travelling. Perhaps we could be shown to our living quarters?”

All three men were standing in stunned silence. They had similar looks of fear that males often adopt when confronted with female tears. Geoffrey was the first to come to his senses. “Of course, if you’ll follow me…”

He started off down the long hallway, so Mo and Tess turned to follow. “We’ll see you at dinner at 7?” It was the prince who had called the question out after them. Mo was too upset to do anything but nod. Tess put her arm around the other woman and shuffled her away.

When they reached their room, Geoffrey swept the door open in a grand gesture. “Your bedroom quarters,” he said unnecessarily.

Both women gasped at the gilded and gorgeous room. Matching canopy beds sat on opposite walls. Long, lush pink velvet curtains were roped back to reveal a large balcony that overlooked the castle’s gardens. The thick, white carpet felt like walking on clouds as they both were drawn to look at their view.

“Your belongings have already been unpacked into the armoires,” Geoffrey informed them before making a hasty exit and closing the door behind him.

Tess marveled that they had gotten their bags here so quickly, but it made her somewhat uncomfortable that a stranger had gone through her personal things. That worry was quickly forgotten when Mo threw herself on one of the beds and began wailing.

Moving to sit beside her and rub her back, Tess asked, “What is it?”

“The queen hates me and loves you,” Mo accused.

“That’s simply not true,” Tess responded. “She has only just met both of us. Besides, how could anyone not love you?”

Refusing to be calmed, Mo said, “Lots of people don’t like me. I’m too loud and opinionated and stubborn. I’m not cut out to be royalty. What was I thinking coming here?” she moaned.

“You haven’t even given it a fair chance,” Tess accused. “The Mo I know would never let one little old bitty––royal or not––scare her away from the man she cares about.”

The ‘old bitty’ wording earned Tess a wobbly smile from Mo as she sat up and wrapped her hands around her knees. “I’ll never fit in here.”

Mo was one of the most supremely confident people Tess had ever known, so to see her so filled with self-doubt was disconcerting. “Honey, you fit in everywhere. They just have to make room for your bold, fabulous self.”

“You’re the one who has always wanted to be royalty, not me. I don’t have any idea what I’m doing, and I’m going to make a fool of myself. You should be the one with the prince.”

And there it was. Tess couldn’t deny that she had thought the same thing in the beginning. It wasn’t that she begrudged Mo a prince, if that was what she truly wanted, but it had always been Tess’s dream to have a royal wedding, not Mo’s. While Tess spent countless hours planning her ideal wedding, Mo had preferred playing in tree houses or swimming at the quarry or riding her bike with the neighborhood boys. She had only joined in Tess’s imaginary fantasy world because she liked spending time with her friend, not because she enjoyed it.

This shotgun royal wedding wasn’t something that Tess could ever imagine her friend truly wanting, but she needed to approach it delicately so that it didn’t sound like she was just jealous. “If you want the prince, and all the formality that comes with him, then you deserve him.” Tess paused to let that sink in. “It just doesn’t seem like you, Mo.”

“I know,” Mo admitted sadly. “None of this fanciness is my cup of tea, but the prince is.” She turned to look at Tess. “Something about him just feels right.”

“You’re the only one that can know if he’s right for you or not. If your gut is telling you that he is, then you need to listen,” Tess advised her friend.

“Really?” Mo’s voice held a tinge of hope for the first time since they’d entered the castle.

“Really.” Tess confirmed.

It was then that Mo noticed the dainty crystal bowl filled with green M&Ms on her bedside table. Pointing them out to Tess, she said, “I casually mentioned to Pierce once that my favorite candy is green M&Ms, and look, he made sure to have a whole bowl of them here for me.”

Tess shook her head at her friend’s characteristic boldness. “Do you think he knows about the rumor that green M&Ms put you ‘in the mood for love,’ or is that an ‘uncouth American’ thing?”

“I don’t know,” Mo answered, before waggling her brows suggestively and adding, “But I hope they work their magic.” Grabbing a handful of the candies and stuffing them into her mouth, Mo said around a mouthful of chocolate, “Only one way to find out if it really works.” Both girls burst out with laughter at the ridiculousness of it all.

After swallowing the candy, Mo turned serious and furrowed her brows together. “But what about his mother? She already hates me.”

“She doesn’t matter.” Tess asserted. “Haven’t you ever heard that men always want what they can’t have? Having her decide that you aren’t right for him will send him straight into your arms.”

“Wait, I thought men always chose to marry women who were just like their mothers.” Mo refused to allow her concerns to be assuaged. “I couldn’t possibly be more of a polar opposite from that rigid woman.”

“Don’t worry about her,” Tess said. “We’ll find a way to get you into her good graces.”

“You think so?” Mo’s eyes were filled with renewed hope.

“I know so,” Tess said confidently, silently praying that she wasn’t making promises to her friend that she would never be able to keep.