Our evening together was one of my favorite nights with Luke. While we’d gone to the most expensive and luxurious restaurants and hotels in the world, I was still that Southern girl who loved to kick back with her man and spend the night with just him.

As if the servants were already aware of Luke’s plan, they’d arrived in the room quickly with all the necessary things to turn the balcony into a private dining experience. The table was small and just big enough for our food, offering comfort and intimacy that a meal in the dining room never could.

I felt bad for skipping out on dinner with Gia right after we’d started to get along, but once Luke informed her of our plan to get married that weekend, I hoped she would forgive us, knowing that we had wanted to spend one night alone with the secret. I honestly wanted her to fill that mother-shaped gap in my heart.

The next morning, my hands shook as we walked out of Luke’s bedroom for breakfast. While we hadn’t stayed up all night making love, my brain was fuzzy, and I wished I could have slept for another few hours. Though, with the wedding taking place in only a few days, we had a lot of planning to do.

I wished I had done some research on weddings during all of our traveling, but I never expected Luke to want to get married so soon and without all the bells and whistles. Luke tended to do his own thing, and I hoped that he wouldn’t piss off too many people by pushing the ceremony so soon. If Gia was right about the council and how they reacted to change, I doubted they would be happy.

But Luke was the one calling the shots. I had to allow him to be the king.

It was a strange, yet freeing feeling to let go for once, and if I was honest with myself, it felt good.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked, taking my hand in his as if he knew my nerves were firing at a rapid pace.

“Nothing is wrong, per se,” I said. “But I’m wondering how your mother will react. Up to this point, she’s been pretty traditional.”

“She altered her view on you,” Luke said. “This is the start of many more changes around here.”

“I thought you said she was hard to change?”

“She is, but I’ve found the crack in her armor. Now, I plan on breaking it open whenever I can.”

“What if she doesn’t approve?” I asked. “What will we do then?”

“Let’s see her reaction first,” Luke said. His thumb made mind-numbing circles around the top of my hand. It was enough to distract me until we reached the dining room. I suspected he knew that as well.

“Remember, we’re in this together,” Luke said. “I’m not leaving you, ever. No matter what decisions are made, we will be fine.”

“We will be fine,” I repeated like a mantra in my mind. Trusting Luke was all I could do in this foreign place. Until I got my feet completely wet, I had to believe whatever he said was for the best.

Inside the dining room, Abir and Gia were already at the table. Abir stood when we entered the room, and Gia was smiling. I couldn’t remember ever seeing her smile before and especially not when she looked at me.

Luke helped me into my chair, and we all sat down.

“Good morning,” Luke said to his family.

“How did you sleep?” Gia asked.

She was still smiling, so I knew that she hadn’t heard about our plans to get married this weekend.

“Fine, thank you,” Luke said. “What are your plans for the day, Mother?”

“I have the meals to prepare for the next week, but why do you ask?” Her smile pressed into a hard line. Her gaze shifted to me and then to her son. This woman had some serious intuition.

Abir was completely oblivious to what was happening right in front of him. I almost wished I was in his seat instead of mine. At least then, the heat moving through me wouldn’t be making my hands clammy and damp.

I cringed when Luke took my hands. If he noticed me sweating, he hid it really well.

“Sophia and I will be married this weekend,” Luke said.

Now we had Abir’s attention. “This weekend?”

Little did he know, that had been my reaction as well. I wasn’t concerned with his response as much as I was with Gia’s. We were already balancing on a fine line with her patience and understanding about our unorthodox relationship. Was this the tipping point?

“Yes, this weekend,” Luke said without skipping a beat.

“It seems rather soon,” Gia said. “Are you sure you’re both ready for such a commitment?”

“I wouldn’t have asked Sophia to marry me if I wasn’t ready for the commitment.”

Luke seemed ready to fight back against his mother, but for the first time, I could see her side of things. From what I understood, mothers loved to help plan weddings for their children, daughters especially. Since Gia had two sons, was Luke taking away the joy and pleasure she would have had in planning a wedding with a future daughter-in-law?

“I’m not being argumentative, Luke,” Gia said. “In fact, I think it’s a great idea.”

“You do?” Luke and I asked at the same time. That didn’t go the way I anticipated.

Gia placed her hands in front of her on the table, clasping them. “Over these last few months, I’ve seen you go against every wish I’ve had for your future. As I can see, you’ve chosen a woman that is your equal in many ways. While the country might not be ready for such a change in tradition, I don’t see any harm in continuing with your new traditions. If you want to marry her outside the eyes of the country, I won’t stop you.”

“You won’t?” Luke asked.

Abir reached over and touched Gia’s hand. Gia turned to him.

“I just wanted to make sure you haven’t taken ill,” Abir said.

Gia swatted at him. “The two of you. You have no faith in me. After losing Erol, I’ve concluded that I’m not willing to lose any more men in my life. Traditions are important, but you two, and you, Sophia, are much more important to me.” Her eyes met mine, and her smile had returned. “All I ask is that I can help with the arrangements. It’s the least I can do for you both.”

“Of course,” Luke said, taking my hand in his. He moved our hands to the surface of the table.

It was the first time that Luke and I were so close in front of his mother without her scowling at me. I wondered what the hell someone had put into her tea that morning because I wanted some of it. I was seeing a damn miracle unfold in front of me. I’d never seen her be so agreeable about anything in the time I’d known her. And by the slack-jawed expression on Luke’s face, it appeared that neither had he.

During the remainder of the meal, Gia talked about the different plans she had for the wedding. The two of them hashed out a lot of the details between the two of them. Since Luke and I were on the same page when it came to a lot of the details of our lives, nothing he said seemed out of line for me.

Gia wanted to use the grand ballroom, but Luke thought it was too big of a room to accommodate the few guests that we wanted.

“We want to keep this intimate, small,” Luke said. “We have the rest of our lives to be surrounded by hundreds of people at social events.”

“Do you agree, Sophia?” Gia asked.

“I do,” I said, popping another strawberry into my mouth. I was almost finished with my fruit bowl and eyed the full one in front of Luke.

“It seems you two agree with most of these details?” Gia asked.

Luke glanced at me, and I nodded.

“Yes, we do,” I said.

Gia placed her cloth napkin next to her plate. One of the servants rushed over to her and helped with her chair. “Then, Luke, you wouldn’t mind if Sophia and I handled the details of the wedding?”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Luke said with an edge to his voice. It was as if he were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Truthfully, so was I.

Gia opened her hand to me, and I quickly wiped my mouth before putting my napkin down as well.

“Sophia and I will handle the decorations. Abir, you prepare the music. And Luke, you handle the food.”

“Very well,” Luke said, unable to hide his smile.

Without a second look behind her, she started for the door. I quickly followed behind.

“What was your wedding like?” I asked her when we reached the hallway.

“It was a grand affair,” she said. “Hundreds of guests and it took place over many days.”

Did she want that for Luke? Had we disappointed her again?

“This is better,” she said as if reading my mind. “It will be easier for you to remember. All I remember is being pulled around all over the palace and grounds, many different outfits, so many people. It was a whirlwind.”

“Still sounds fun, though,” I said, not wanting to put down anyone’s idea of a perfect wedding.

“Looking back, it was.”

Gia turned down a hallway so quickly that I tripped over my foot to turn in time with her. She pushed through one of the rooms, and inside was what looked like someone’s study. It was all hardwood and very masculine.

“This was Erol’s study,” Gia noted. “Now, it’s Luke’s. Through here is the royal family’s private library. It’s much smaller than the one that you’ve seen. But I prefer it.”

Her words pulled me away from noting the small details of the room. I wondered how hard it was for Luke to work in the same place that his father had for years.

Through another door, I marveled at the intimate space. Bookshelves took up every inch of the wall while sunlight blazed through several large windows, illuminating the room.

Three couches sat in the center of the room. They looked like the newest pieces in the space. They were pristine and looked incredibly comfortable.

Gia went to one of the shelves and pulled out a leatherbound book. She sat on the biggest couch and patted the spot next to her. “Come, this is my wedding album. I don’t know if you care to see it, but I thought it might give you a little inspiration.”

“I’d love to see it,” I said, truly meaning it.

I settled next to her. Our legs pressed together as she spread the album over both our laps. The photographs had a sepia tone to them, but the pictures were gorgeous. As she flipped through the pages, pointing out the various people in her life at the time, the pictures had a more formal tone to them. They reminded me of the photographs that I sifted through after my parents died. Their wedding had the same traditional flare to it.

As Gia spoke, an idea started to form in my mind. Even though she had only been agreeable for the last two days, I wanted to show her how much we appreciated her support and somehow honor my parents as well.

When she finished with the book, she took it in her lap. “If you want to go online and research, I can give you the email address for our event planner. There’s no money to be spared in this. You will get everything you want.”

“I think I already know what I want.” I explained my plan to her, and her eyes welled up. The emotion within her burst to the surface, and I started to tear up as well.

She took my hand in hers. “Did I tell you how lucky Luke is to have you?”