“Alexis,” my mother crosses the room that serves as my family’s private sitting room and is the place were an assortment of family meetings takes places. Ignoring me, she takes Alexis’s hands in hers and smiles warmly.

“It’s so good to see you again.”

Alexis’s face is pinched. I can feel the stress radiating off her. She breaks eye contact with my mother by looking down at her bare feet. Her toes flex as she pales.

“What do ghosts drink?” Her words slur together in her haste to spit them out.

My mother floats a brow and tilts her head to the side. “I’m afraid I have no idea. What do they drink?”

“Boos.”

“Delightful.” My mom smiles and looks genuinely amused. “I must remember that one for the next time I’m leading a group of children on a tour of the castle. It’ll help shake their perception that I’m a boring fuddy-duddy.”

The line of Alexis’s body softens as some of the tension eases. She no longer looks like she’ll snap in half in a gust of wind.

Interesting, apparently the jokes really do help her cope.

“Your majesty,” she murmurs and drops into an awkward curtsey. “Good morning. I’m so sorry for the headlines. If I’d known-”

“Nonsense. None of it’s your fault.” My mother releases Alexis’ hands and turns on me. “It’s my son, not you, who is to blame.” She steps close and slaps the back of my head.

"Ow." I jump back and reach up to protect my skull from another potential assault. She hasn't done that since I was about six years old. Then again, I think, rubbing my head ruefully, I guess I kind of deserve it.

She glares at me. "I can't believe you did something so stupid. Marrying this poor girl to win a silly dare. How could you?"

"When Roderick dared me to get married, you were in favor of the idea," I remind her. "You said it was past time I got married. That it would be good for the country."

"Yes," she confirms, "I did. But I thought you'd have the good sense to-"

"Marry someone suitable," Alexis says quietly, "instead of a nobody from the United States."

Hearing Alexis call herself a nobody both pisses me off and makes me want to take her in my arms and use my hands and mouth to assure her that she's anything but a nobody.

My mother turns back to her. "Dear, I'm not concerned with who he married. In this country, we've always asserted that the royal family is free to marry anyone they fall in love with. What my children aren’t free to do is act like idiots.”

Her gaze snaps back to me and I take a step back before she can cuff me again.

“Dropping you directly into a royal scandal before the ink has had chance to dry on the wedding license isn’t acceptable.” She says.

"Oh," Alexis’s scrapes her bare feet back and forth across the floor. "It's my fault, not his."

"Really?"

Alexis nods and turns a pretty shade of rose pink and quickly recounts the conversation she had at the bar last night. Apparently, she’s worked out she was overheard.

Clever girl.

My mother snorts. "Nonsense. The only one to blame here is Lucas. From an early age, he's been taught how to anticipate the press and what to do or say in order to avoid scandal. At least I thought we told him well."

My father, the king, pushes himself up from the couch where he's been quietly watching the exchange and walks towards us. Like my mom, he ignores me and focuses on Alexis.

She rocks back a step and looks horrified. Probably not sure how to react to the most powerful man in Moravia.

I wish I could convince her she has nothing to worry about. My father is a good man. Yes, he has a temper and he's intimidating when he yells, but age has mellowed him considerably. Plus, he's a good man, with a strong sense of right and wrong, who believes that everyone should be treated with fairness and kindness.

He chuckles as Alexis drops into yet another awkward curtesy and reaches out to pull her upright. "You don't have to keep doing that. Only the staff is expected to curtsy and bow when they meet us – and even then, only when there’s company. You're… family. Treat us the same as you would your blood relatives."

"I was a foster child," Alexis says. She closes her eyes and looks like she immediately regrets her words. "My only real family is my business partner, Tessa."

My father doesn't miss a beat. "Then treat us like you treat Tessa. Welcome to the family." He wraps a long arm around my mother's shoulders and places a kiss on the top of her head.

For the first time in my life, I feel a small stab of envy. I glance at my wife. But not my wife, and wonder how my short marriage will stack up to theirs.

"Now," my father's steel gray eyes meet and hold mine. "What do you propose to do about this mess you created?"

"Um, I guess I'll have to talk to the press."

Eileen steps forward, startling me. She's been standing so still since Alexis and I entered the room, I'd completely forgotten that she was standing beside the large bay window, the place she always stands during important family meetings.

She holds up the phone that is all but permanently attached to her hand.

"I've already arranged for a press conference to take place on the front lawn. Not only will reporters from the biggest papers be there, but I extended an invitation to the smaller blogs who ran the original story as well."

My mother turns to her. "Really?"

"My thoughts were that they'll be flattered at being deemed important enough to attend such an important press conference and that should buy us some good will. Plus, bloggers are not only able to put out stories faster than journalists, they're also better at using social media."

I stare at Eileen and for the first time I wonder at how much she's integrated herself into my family’s life, and how she now seems to manage both our personal and public affairs. I mean, I could have sworn we once had an actual person on staff who oversaw our interactions with the press. Where did he go and just how did Eileen manage to take over his position? Is she even qualified to handle the press?

"Thank you, Eileen," my mother says.

But Eileen isn't finished.

"The press conference is scheduled to start at one. Meanwhile," she directs her attention to Alexis and purses her lips. "Lucas's new bride needs to get prepared for her first official appearance." She doesn't add the words, it will take a miracle, but I feel her thinking them.

Once again, I force myself to ignore the urge to leap to Alexis' defense.

My dad cracks a smile and glances down. "I suggest starting with finding her a nice pair of shoes."