“I trust the flight went well?”

Antonio looked at me with concern as I stepped out of the cab, and I assured him it had been better than I could have imagined. A beautiful young woman stood at his side, and I could only assume she was his fiancée. She had a critical, hard look about her and seemed to analyze the situation quickly.

I gave her a warm smile, though I decided to focus all my attention on Antonio. He was the one I had been speaking with the longest, so I felt most comfortable talking to him.

“Like I said, I’ve never flown privately before, so I’m sure I drove your crew crazy.” I laughed nervously, and was relieved when Antonio joined in. The woman at his side gave him a sidelong look, and I thought I could detect a wave of jealousy pass over her eyes. I did my best to ignore the thought that rose in the back of my mind, clearing my throat and changing the subject.

“You must be the future Mrs. di Maggio?” I asked with a warm smile. She gave me a smirk and extended her hand as Antonio introduced us.

“Yes, this is Miss Sophia Beckenham-Huxtable, my fiancée. Currently she lives here in London with her family, which is why she has been unable to partake in the wedding plans, but she trusts you as much as I do, so we're certain we’ll be thrilled with your vision. We do, however, need to make sure the dress will fit her, so you’ll be here helping with that.

“Of course. And can I just say how much I’m looking forward to getting to know the two of you as a couple as we work together to find the perfect dress.” I looked hopefully from one to the other, but my heart sank as Antonio raised his hand.

“I wish I could stay and help the two of you, but unfortunately, I’m needed back in Italy. Besides, I’ve heard that I's dreadfully bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her gown before the wedding, and I don’t want to do anything to jinx our marriage.” Antonio put his hand around Sophia’s waist, then kissed her on the side of the forehead.

Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought there was a cold tension between them as he made the gesture, and I couldn’t help but wonder once again if there was something going on that neither one of them wanted to mention. Then again, it was none of my business—they were free to do as they pleased, and if that meant they were going to get married for any reason besides love, so be it.

Antonio had hired me for the sole purpose of planning the wedding, not giving my advice on personal matters, and it was up to me to not ask any questions that were none of my business, and follow through with what I was told to do.

But it was tough. Every time I saw the man, I felt my heart flutter in my chest, and when I saw him press his lips to the side of her head, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealously well up from deep inside of me. I silently kicked myself at the thought, forcing it out of my mind and turning my attention to the dress prospect.

“Darling, must you go? You know I don’t believe in luck, and I would rather you were here to see me in the dress before our wedding day.” Sophia put both her hands over Antonio’s, clearly being as seductive as possible. I looked down at my phone, doing my best to appear busy.

There was a cold tone to the way Antonio answered her. “You know that I have business to tend to at home, and it’s only going to become more pressing as time goes on. Besides, you know how Mother is. If she were to find out that I saw you before the ceremony, she’d be furious.” Antonio gave her another light kiss, but once again I felt it was all for show.

He turned to me. “You’re going to have Sophia here to answer most of your questions, and, of course, you are still free to use as much funding as you need to pull this off. I don’t care what the dress costs. As long as she gets what she wants, I’m happy. If you’re stuck, feel free to give me a call.” He smiled and my cheeks flushed, and I desperately hoped Sophia hadn’t noticed.

Although I was eager to get started with the dress fitting, Sophia insisted she stand and wave at Antonio as the car pulled away. Part of me felt awkward standing on the steps waiting for her. I didn’t know if I ought to also wave my farewell to the man or simply act as though I didn’t notice. I decided to go for the latter. Once again, I stared down at the blank screen of my phone, not even bothering to unlock the screen.

No one noticed that I was pretending to look at my phone while the man I was infatuated with was sent off by the woman he was going to marry. Try as I might to not judge the situation, I couldn’t help but notice that there seemed to be a tension in the way she waved at him, as though she, too, were bluffing rather than genuinely being sad that he was leaving.

As soon as the cab had disappeared from view, she turned to me.

“Miss Greening, thank you for coming all this way. Antonio has spoken highly of you, and I knew I didn’t want anyone else to touch my dress but the best!” She gave me a cruel smile, and I was trying to determine whether she was being sarcastic or not. I feigned a smile and nodded, extending my hand.

“Miss Beckenham-Huxtable, you have no idea what an honor it is for me to be here. I have wanted nothing more than to plan a royal wedding, and here I am, doing that very thing for a prince and future princess!” I smiled, but I could see by the way she was looking at me that she was scrutinizing everything I did. It was as though she was trying to see if there was more to my involvement with Antonio than I was letting on.

She seemed to me moderately satisfied—at least satisfied enough with my response since she turned and began walking up the steps.

“Please, come in and have something to drink. You must be exhausted after your journey, and I’d hate for you to be uncomfortable on our excursion. I’m going to slip into something a little more comfortable, and we’ll be off.” She spoke over her shoulder to me as I followed her up the stairs, and I did my best to keep up with her.

The mansion was just as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside, and I was more than happy to wait in the sitting room while Sophia went upstairs to change into something she deemed to be more comfortable. I didn’t know what that would be.

Tea was brought and I smiled as I sipped it, taking care over the ornate china cup. I could hear Sophia talking to someone in her room and it seemed by her tone that she was rather agitated. I tried not to listen in on the conversation, but I had to admit, I was intrigued by this girl. There was something about her that I just couldn’t put my finger on, and I wasn’t sure that I liked it.

Not that Antonio was my friend by any means. I had only spoken to him face-to-face a couple times, and our communication over the phone had been limited to discussing the wedding itself. But I wanted him to be happy in the next stage of his life, and I wanted to make sure that this woman could do that.

I jumped slightly when she reappeared and immediately hoped she hadn’t noticed. Of course, she was too absorbed in her phone to pay me any sort of attention, and she immediately called for a driver to bring the car around the front of the house. I had dealt with my fair share of bridezillas, and I had to admit that I didn’t like the way some of them treated me, but overall, I knew how to handle them.

There was something different about Sophia, though. There was a coldness in her that made even me feel uncomfortable. I wouldn’t have used the word numb to describe her, per se, but there certainly wasn’t the excitement that I was used to seeing in brides who were going to pick up their wedding gowns.

“I have reservations at a couple of venues in town. I called ahead from the plane and managed to snag a few appointments this afternoon,” I volunteered. We were in the limo and Sophia was sitting opposite me on her phone, clearly more absorbed with whatever was going on in her online existence than she was with her real life.

“Great,” she said without looking up. I turned my attention out the window, wondering what Antonio was doing. I had no idea what kind of work a prince would have to do, though I could imagine it was pretty important. If I was perfectly honest with myself, I had to admit that I was thinking more about Antonio than I should have been.

She’d given the address to the driver, and I simply settled in to enjoy the ride. It was my first time in London, and I was quickly falling in love with the city. It had a different feel to it than Italy, although both were magical.

Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t return to the States. I would be starting over, but I was independent, capable, and knew what I wanted to do in life—I would be able to pull it off.

“Did he hire you to nap or help me?” Sophia’s voice broke into my thoughts and I quickly opened my eyes and lifted my head. I didn’t feel as though I had fallen asleep, but by the way she snapped, I wondered if I’d momentarily drifted off. We’d stopped in front of a store, and Sophia was getting ready to get out of the car.

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I slipped out onto the sidewalk next to her.

This was going to be a long afternoon.

The gowns Sophia tried were glorious, far more beautiful than anything I had seen in the States. Of course, they each had the price tag to go along with them, and I felt a lurch in my stomach each time I read the numbers. Sophia, on the other hand, didn’t seem at all daunted by the amount of money any of the garments cost, and instead spent most of her time taking photos of herself in each new gown.

I wondered who a prince’s fiancée might be texting, but it wasn’t my business, and I dared not get involved. If I were to say anything, I knew she would snap at me, and I didn’t want to get into any kind of confrontation. Although, throughout the entire fitting I noted that Sophia seemed more interested in getting support from her friends than she did excited about the wedding itself.

I couldn’t help but feel the doubts creeping up in the back of my mind, and I once again wondered if there was more to this wedding than anyone was letting on. I’d spent a lot of time around brides, and never had I met any like this. I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but I wasn’t stupid.

Sophia was clearly far from excited about anything that was going on—there was no sparkle in her eyes or enthusiasm in her steps. It was as though she was an audience to her own drama, and she was disinterested in seeing what happened next.

Though I desperately wanted to ask her about it, I kept my mouth shut. This was not my place, and I wasn’t going to get involved in anything I shouldn’t, especially when it came to my clients. Especially when it came to royalty.

Especially when it came to Antonio.