One month later …

"I think my father likes you," I say. We're at a café on Market Street, watching cars go by. Nicole sits across from me, sipping a decadent hot chocolate made from real cocoa bean and full cream milk straight from the dairy.

"Why?"

"He hasn’t lectured me about you at all. That’s a feat."

She smiles at me. She's brilliant in the European sunlight. Elanda has the feel of an old village despite sporting the latest technology, and Nicole seems to fit right into the setting. It's as if she was destined to be here, all along.

When I’d left America, I had been heartbroken. I had headed toward a future that felt dull and suffocating. I would run a country, be expected to take a wife, and produce an heir. The only woman I’d ever wanted had been left behind, and I had been shattered.

Two days had passed in Elanda where my father had lectured me day in and day out about the divine privilege that had been bestowed on me. He had seemed to understand that I had left a part of me behind.

On the third day, a commotion at the gate had drawn my attention. The guards had been fighting with a woman who demanded to see the crown prince. This was impossible, of course. For a brief second, I thought Jessica had come all this way like the psycho stalker she was.

I had gone outside. Nicole had been there, arguing with my guards. I couldn’t believe it. I felt like I was dreaming.

"Your Royal Highness," the waiter says when he brings our baguettes.

Nicole tries to hide a smile. When the waiter leaves she shakes her head.

"It’s still weird, hearing them call you that," she says.

I shrug. "You’ll get used to it."

"I don’t think I will," she says.

She stays with me in the palace. I think my father realized, shortly after her arrival, that her stay wasn’t negotiable. I would do a lot of things for king and country, but I had lost Nicole once already. I wouldn’t risk that again.

"Oh, I got an email from NYU," she says. "They approved the extension."

Nicole has managed to delay her degree for a year. Until then, she'll be here. At some point, she'll have to return to the States to finish her studies. Unless I can organize a transfer here. I'm not going to mention anything just yet, though. I'm just happy to have her back.

"Thank you, for that," I say. She leans over the table and kisses me. Her lips taste like hot chocolate.

"How do you like Elanda, so far?" I ask.

Nicole shrugs. "I think I’m getting the hang of it. It’s a big change, obviously. The languages will take me a while to figure out, too."

I smile. "It’s okay. Everyone speaks English as well. You won’t be stuck."

She nods. "I know. I want to try to fit in a bit more, though. It’s your country, you know?"

"You’re a treasure," I say. "What did I do to deserve you?"

She smiles at me.

"I miss home, though," she says. "I left so quickly."

"Do you want to go back?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "Not right now. Maybe later."

"I think you should stick around for a while. You’re already seen as nobility because you live at the palace."

Nicole chuckles. "Next thing you know, they’ll be calling me ‘Your royal Highness,’ too."

"Would you like that?" I ask.

Her breath hitches in her throat. "I don’t know," she says in a voice barely louder than a whisper. She clears her throat. "Royalty can’t marry commoners, though, anyway."

She knows what I'm getting at.

I shrug. "There’s no law about that, here."

She blinks at me, a smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

One day, perhaps not too far from now, I'd like to make her my queen. She's the world’s perfect woman. Not only does she have all the attributes that would make her a good queen and a perfect mother to the heir of a king, but she also fought for me when the easiest thing would've been to give up.

If that isn't love, I don't know what is.