“Yes, of course! Thank you, yes, thank you, talk soon. Goodbye.”

I hung up the phone and sighed with relief. I had been back in New York for a week, and it felt good seeing things come together. I had had to let three projects go by the wayside while I was planning for the Prince’s, but now that I was back in town, I knew it was time to get back to business.

I was finding it remarkably easy planning these weddings, but then, I wasn’t romantically involved with the groom. I was happy to see the way the bride and groom treated each other. Once again, I was thrilled to be doing things that I knew would make the bride smile, and I was happy to work with the groom to pull off a few surprises for their big day.

There were times when I ran into a client who asked how things went in Italy, and there were a few who asked why I had stayed so much longer than planned, but each time I was careful to pass it all off without providing many details. I didn’t want anyone to learn of the Prince or of the things that we had done together, and I certainly didn’t want to have any of their pity.

My life was my life, and I wanted to leave the mistakes that I had made in the past where they belonged. I didn’t think I would ever see Antonio again, and in my mind, that made him a mistake.

The days were passing quickly, and I busied myself with work, work, and more work. The more I could keep myself occupied, the less I had to think about the things that were taking place overseas. Sure, there were times when I wondered if Antonio missed me, and there were times when I genuinely did miss him as well, but when it came down to it, I couldn’t bring myself to actually talk about it.

Of course, there were plenty of times when I would think about the one night we had shared together. Now that I was far enough removed from the pain and embarrassment I had felt that night, I was better able to think about what happened with fondness. He had been one of the best lays I had ever had. I did my best to focus on the fun of the night only, then spend the rest of my time thinking about the tasks I needed to complete for the weddings.

I knew how to keep busy, and I was more than happy to. The busier I was, the easier it was to let the time go by, and the less I thought about what was and what could have been. Though I was good at keeping my wits about me, it was also easy to slip into a fantasy world of sorts—a world in which I could think that Antonio cared for me more than he did—and there was a different reason as to why things didn’t work out.

But my delusions could only last for so long, as I couldn’t help but keep up with the news. I shouldn’t have been reading the newspapers as I was, but ever since I had been in the country, I couldn’t help but follow what Prince Antonio and his family were doing.

And it was the news of his new engagement that nearly brought me to tears that morning. I had gotten my morning latte and settled in at my desk, ready to get started on another day of work. As usual, I checked the news in spite of myself, and that was when I saw it. Antonio was engaged once again, to another woman—this one, a European princess.

The newspaper was vague about who she was, refraining from mentioning even her name. I wanted to know her. I wanted to know everything about her. But perhaps the only thing that I really wanted to know was whether Antonio was in love with her. It had only been two months since he’d been at the altar at his last wedding, so I could only imagine what the answer must be.

I knew the truth—Antonio really wanted the throne, and that was it, but I hated to think that he had given up on the one thing that I really wanted him to care about, and that was love. I wanted more than anything for him to fall in love and be happy, to give up on the political power that he was so strongly attached to. But the newspaper in front of me told me the truth—it showed me that there really was only one thing that he was after and that was the throne.

I threw away the paper in disgust, no longer wanting to see anything Prince Antonio said or did. I no longer cared when he took the throne, and I certainly didn’t care about any of the children he was going to have with this new woman. I wanted to go back into my fantasy world and think about the things that made me happy—the life that I might have had with him.

Of course, it was nothing more than the delusions of a girl who wished for a prince’s love, and the only way I could find any real consolidation was in the fact that he really didn’t love any of the women that he wooed. It was clear by the way he was so fast to ask them to marry him, and how he had treated me.

It didn’t matter what had happened, and it certainly didn’t matter what happened now. I knew that we had a connection, and it didn’t matter who he married, got engaged to, or who he took to the Coral—none of that mattered.

All that mattered was that he and I had had a connection. We had felt for each other, and we had both acted on that. Sure, there was a part of me that knew we shouldn’t have done it, but I was glad that we did. Though I felt the pain that was only normal when finding out someone you love is engaged to someone else, I refused to believe I was only a one-night fling for Antonio.

He loved me. I didn’t know how much, and I certainly didn’t plan on ever getting to see him again, but that no longer mattered. All that mattered was that he loved me, even if it was only for that one night.