“Let’s get down to business,” Marina said across the round table in the family dining room at the palace the next morning. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, since this wedding is only ten days away, and since Viktoria insists on a tiny, private affair—” She sent a flat stare at the queen sitting next to her. “—we need everyone in the family to take something on.”

“I’ve been dealing with the press,” Alek said, still eating his omelet, a couple paper files strewn around his place. He glanced to Toni, who was seated at his side. “They’re not happy that only a handful of journalists will be allowed on the yacht for the wedding, but the press event next Monday seems to be going a long way to appease them.”

“Yes, the press party.” Marina nodded. “That’s the other thing I wanted to talk about. Kristoff, I’m putting you in charge of overseeing the catering staff.”

“Me?” Kristoff blinked in surprise, sharing a baffled look with Cassandra, who had inched her chair close to his and was refilling his coffee mug. “I don’t know anything about arranging catering or planning for parties.”

“I’ll help you,” Cassandra said with a bright smile.

Mack’s mouth twitched into a grin. He liked that Kristoff and Cassandra were together now. But those warm feelings weren’t enough to fill the hollow in his chest from feeling like he didn’t belong in his own family.

“So that brings us to decorations,” Marina went on. “Viggo, Johannes, I’m putting the two of you in charge of flowers, bunting, artwork, whatever you want to decorate the hall for the event.”

Viggo shrugged, which Johan mirrored. “Okay,” Johan said. “Do you have any preferences for colors, styles?”

“A sea theme would be nice,” William said, smiling at Viktoria. “Blues and greens, fish, coral.”

“That sounds lovely, darling,” Viktoria grinned, leaning over to kiss him.

Marina coughed, frowning and, if Mack wasn’t mistaken, rolling her eyes. “This is a royal wedding, not a grammar school dance. It’s bad enough that you’re insisting on it being small.”

“Intimate,” Viktoria corrected. “Which is entirely appropriate for a second wedding. And a sea theme fits with our national color scheme and the importance of marine life to Aegiria,” she smiled at Dr. Hayes. “I think it would be lovely.”

“I think you’re lovely,” William sighed, his eyes hazy with affection.

“This has to be a sophisticated event,” Marina argued. “We must put our best foot forward.”

She went on, but Mack’s attention drifted. He sipped his coffee and stared out the window opposite his place at the table. The sky was a clear, crystal blue that morning, and the sea reflected sunlight on each dazzling wave. But for a change, it was the sky that held his attention, not the water.

Gloria had come out of the sky and into his life. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her for more than a few minutes on end after leaving the hospital the evening before. He’d texted her several times after Ivan let him know the cell phone had been delivered, and even called before going to bed to make sure she was comfortable and receiving the best care possible. She assured him that she was fine, just a little sore. After all she’d been through, Mack was certain she was either putting a good face on a bad situation or that she was so hopped up on painkillers she really thought she was fine.

He’d texted her a few more times that morning to see if things were still good. She’d taken a while to respond at first, saying she’d been asleep. That message had conjured images of her nestled in a cloud of white sheets, a sleeping princess waiting for a prince to come along and wake her with a kiss. He’d almost texted her as much before reminding himself that he was nearly thirty, not thirteen, and that women didn’t like it when guys came on too strong.

But he couldn’t deny the fact that he was intrigued, or that he wanted a chance to find out if his initial attraction could go anywhere.

“So that leaves the official photo shoot,” Marina said with a note of finality in her voice, shaking Mack out of his thoughts. “I’ve scheduled that for Saturday, which means that everyone will have to be sure they’ve visited the royal tailor to have their new dress uniforms fitted before then. Arne, you’re in charge of coordinating with the photographer.”

“Sure.” Arne nodded.

“If any of you are planning to get a haircut,” Marina went on. “I want to approve it first.”

Mack sat straighter, a bite of resentment in his gut. Maybe he was just thirteen after all if he had to have his aunt approve of his appearance. Not that he’d been planning to change anything. Although part of him was suddenly curious about whether Gloria preferred clean-shaven men or ones with a little scruff.

“That’s it,” Marina finished with a relieved sigh. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a million things to do before the end of the day.”

Brunch was officially over. Viggo and Johan had already leapt up from the table and marched away, talking. Alek and Toni had their heads together, grins on their faces. Arne was texting, probably with his new flame, Emma, who had flown back to Aegiria a few days before, and was still settling into her new life here. His mother and William had turned to each other, Viktoria dabbing something from the corner of William’s mouth with her napkin. Mack was the only one who had no one to talk to and nothing to do.

“Hold on.” He pushed back from the table and jumped up in time to stop Marina as she walked past on the way to the door.

“Yes?” She paused and turned to him with an impatient look.

Mack instantly second-guessed getting up, stopping her, or saying anything at all. He hated sounding like his feelings were hurt, even if they were, but that didn’t stop him from saying, “You didn’t give me a job.”

“Didn’t I?” Marina blinked at him, her lips pursing. “I suppose you could….” She tilted her head to the side, her gaze losing focus. “Or….” Still nothing. At last, she let out a breath and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Everything is taken care of at this point, really. But if I think of anything that could use your particular…skills, I’ll let you know.”

She walked on without a backward glance. Mack forced himself to take a slow breath. Marina never had cared much for him. Arne was her baby. She approved of Alek too. But him? He was the royal who had begged to work on a fishing boat, and she would never forget that.

Well, he wasn’t going to stand around, waiting to be insulted by his own family. Not when a beautiful pilot was lying in a hospital bed nearby, waiting for him. He started toward the door.

“Oh, Mack, hold on a second.”

Mack turned just as he reached the doorway to find William pushing aside his chair and standing. If it had been anyone else, Mack would have pretended not to hear them, but he admired his future father-in-law.

“Have you read the latest study on fishing yields in Aegirian waters?” William asked, concern etched on his face.

Few topics could have kicked Mack out of the funk that the family brunch had left him with, but that was one of them. “I did,” he said, matching William’s concern as the two of them stepped into the hall. “It was disconcerting.”

“That’s a mild word for it,” William said, shaking his head. “Fish stocks have been going down around the world for years now, but something about these latest numbers isn’t right.”

“It’s almost as though there’s an additional factor contributing to their decline that we haven’t explored yet.”

William nodded. He paused, and Mack stopped with him. “You wouldn’t, by any chance….”

Mack swayed closer. “Wouldn’t what?”

“You wouldn’t consider helping me investigate,” William went on. “After the wedding, of course. There’s too much to do now.”

A burst of relief swelled in Mack’s chest. “I’d love to help with that.” Finally, someone was asking him to do something important that aligned with his interests. “I’d get started right away, but….” He glanced down the hall, indicating he had somewhere else to be. Or rather, that he had someone else he wanted to be with right then.

“Understood.” William sent him a lopsided grin. “We’ve all got so much going on with this wedding.”

Mack started making a face but stopped himself. Chances were that William hadn’t noticed he was the only prince not directly mired in wedding planning. “Right,” he said instead.

“I’ll let you get on with it, then.” William nodded, glancing back to the dining room. “I’ve got plans with your mother this afternoon.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Mack laughed, but the last thing he wanted to know was what those plans are. He waved to William, then continued down the hall. When his mother had first made the announcement that she would be marrying Dr. William Hayes, he’d been the only one to immediately throw his support behind the match. His enthusiasm had been proved right too. The last few weeks had proven that his mother was smarter than the rest of them. And in an odd way, William had done more to make him feel like part of his own family than anyone related by blood ever had.

That thought put a smile on his face as he continued through the labyrinthine halls of the palace and down to the garage, where the family cars were lined up and ready to go. It seemed as though all the things that made him happy these days had come as unexpected surprises and bolts from the blue. He just hoped he could keep all of those surprises in his life.

“What was the first indication you had that your plane was in danger?” the energetic, American reporter, Tracy Minhall, asked from her chair beside Gloria’s bed.

Gloria narrowed her eyes, searching back through her admittedly patchy memory of the crash. She wasn’t sure she wanted to remember it in too much detail, but Tracy had been interested in writing a story about the event for Aegirian news sites, and she figured the insurance company would need to know all the details of the crash eventually. Besides, there was something about the American woman that Gloria liked.

“I suppose it was the thump I heard right before the engine failed,” she said.

Tracy blinked. “A thump? Like a bird or something inside of the engine?”

Gloria shrugged. The gesture brought a twinge of pain with it from her injured shoulder, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. Or rather, it was nothing the painkillers she was on couldn’t dull. “I thought it was a bird at first, but now I’m not sure. It could have been something breaking or coming loose. I don’t know if they’ll be able to tell what it is unless they raise the wreck from the sea.”

“Is that something you’re going to pursue?”

Gloria sighed, resting back against her raised bed. She rubbed her eyes with her good hand, ignoring the sting of the cuts that littered her brow. “I don’t have the money to do it on my own. It’ll all depend on whether the insurance company demands it.”

Admitting out loud that her beloved plane was lost was a whole different kind of pain from the bruises and lacerations across her body. Without a plane, what was she? She was an unemployed former soldier with only her family’s money to her name. And while they would give her whatever she wanted gladly, even buying her a new, fancier plane, that wasn’t the point. She didn’t fit.

As if thoughts of her family had summoned him, her brother Antoine appeared in the open doorway of her hospital room. “There’s my brilliant, little sister,” he said. His smile was as wide as always, standing out against his dark skin and impeccably trimmed goatee. True to form, he wore business casual, including a tie, instead of dressing down to visit her. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ll just leave the two of you alone,” Tracy whispered, standing, her notebook in hand.

“That’s okay,” Gloria assured her. “Tracy, this is my brother, Antoine Swann. Antoine, this is Tracy Minhall, a reporter here in Aegiria.”

Antoine turned to shake her hand. “An American reporter in this beautiful little country?”

“It’s a long story,” Tracy laughed. “I’m following some interesting leads and writing…. I won’t bore you with those details. Enjoy your time with your sister.” She smiled and turned to Gloria. “I’ll call you if I have any other questions.”

“You have my number.” Gloria waved to her.

As soon as Tracy was gone, Antoine marched up to Gloria’s bedside and raked her with a scrutinizing glance. “How are you really?”

“Really, I’m fine,” she said, meeting his eyes with all the strength she’d gained through her military training. “You didn’t need to come.”

“Of course I needed to come. That’s what family is for.” He leaned over and kissed her bruised forehead.

Gloria grinned in spite of herself. As inadequate as they made her feel sometimes, she did love her family. She and Antoine had always had a special bond.

“Tell me what happened,” he said, standing straight.

With a sigh, Gloria recounted everything she’d just told Tracy, everything she’d told her doctors and even a representative from Aegiria’s aviation authority that morning. Antoine listened patiently, but his eyes grew wide several times, hinting at how worried he was.

“But I’m fine,” she finished at last. “I managed to control the crash so that it wasn’t worse, and the plane’s safety features did everything they were supposed to do.”

“Your shoulder.” Antoine nodded to her bandaged arm. “And your knee. How did you swim away from your plane in that condition?”

The truth shuddered through her, throwing her back to the fright she’d felt immediately after the crash. “Mack was there. He pulled me to safety before the plane went under, and brought me to his boat.”

“Mack?” Antoine wore a combination of gratitude and brotherly suspicion on his face. “You said you were rescued by a prince. Who is this Mack?”

“Prince Mikael Magnusson,” Mack’s voice sounded from the doorway.

Gloria glanced to him, her heart leaping in her chest, then settling into a cloud of butterflies in her stomach. She smiled and pushed herself to sit straighter.

Antoine smiled as well, extending a hand. “You have my undying gratitude, sir.”

“I think you’re supposed to call him ‘Your Highness’,” Gloria said with a smirk.

Antoine’s brow quirked up. “Am I?”

“You don’t have to,” Mack laughed, shaking Antoine’s hand, then stepping farther into the room. He seemed to be in a good mood, which felt like being approached by a beam of sunlight. “I came to see how you’re doing today.”

Gloria rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Like I told you three times already this morning, I’m fine. Just a little sore is all.”

She caught Antoine’s eyebrow tweak as he glanced between her and Mack, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.

“I needed to see for myself,” Mack went on. He stood by the head of the bed, smiling, and gave her a quick nod. “Yep, you look fine.”

There was a twinkle of something flirtatious in his eyes, which sent heat to her face. As much as she loved him, she suddenly wished her brother were in London and not witnessing…whatever it was between her and Mack.

“Gloria was just telling me what happened,” Antoine said, his posture and tone of voice indicating he was aware of something going on. “She informs me she would have drown if you hadn’t been there to rescue her.”

“I don’t know about that,” Mack said. “From what I’ve seen so far, your sister is a fighter with more strength than the average person.”

“True, but she doesn’t know when to quit.”

All the warm, fuzzy feelings Gloria had flattened. She narrowed her eyes at her brother. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Antoine looked briefly to Mack before addressing her. “It means you’ve been restless and distracted lately. It means you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. Are you certain that the fault with your plane was not the result of something you overlooked in this obsession of yours with flying around Northern Europe?”

Gloria’s cheeks burned, but not with the same snuggly feelings she’d had for Mack. “We’re not having this argument again,” she told Antoine, facing forward and staring at the turned-off television across the room.

“What argument?” Mack had the audacity to ask.

Antoine jumped on the chance to share her business. “My darling sister has a chip on her shoulder,” he said. “Ever since leaving the military last winter, she’s been like a bee that can’t find its hive, buzzing all around, staying busy, but irritating the rest of us.”

“Sounds like she’s been through a lot,” Mack said. He was so fair and willing to give her the benefit of the doubt that she could have kissed him. Of course, she could have kissed him for other reasons, too.

“I’ve been telling her that she needs to lighten up and go easy on herself for months now,” Antoine went on.

“I’m not interested in lightening up,” Gloria sighed. “I want to fly.”

“Even the most glorious bird needs to spend some time in their nest,” Antoine argued.

Gloria let out a frustrated breath, turning to Mack. “Do you see what I have to deal with?”

Mack chuckled. “Our family members are always our harshest critics.”

Something about the way he said it plucked at Gloria’s heartstrings. Clearly, he had some sort of family burden as well. Probably more than most, considering his was a royal family. In fact, in the short time she’d been in Aegiria, most of the news stories on the telly had been about the royal family and the upcoming wedding. That had to weigh on a guy after a while.

“This crash of yours was a wake-up call,” Antoine said, dragging her back down to earth. “You need to ease up, sis. Take a vacation.”

“I can’t take a vacation when I don’t have a job,” she argued.

“Oh? Really? Then what’s all this flying you’ve been doing recently?”

She clenched her jaw. “Flying is training. I can’t be grounded, I’ll lose my edge.”

“Take a break,” Antoine said, shaking his head. “Relax for a while. The perfect job will come to you when the time is right.” He paused, but before she could get a word in, went on with, “Besides, what are you going to fly? Your plane is under the sea.”

The truth was so depressing that she sagged back against her pillows. She would have crossed her arms in protest if the gesture wouldn’t have pulled at her shoulder.

“You could stay here for a while,” Mack chimed in.

It was as if someone had pulled open the curtains, flooding her insides with sunlight. She turned to him with a questioning smile.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Antoine said, a little too fast. “Take a vacation in Aegiria until you’ve healed.”

“You could stay in the palace,” Mack offered, sweetening the temptation even more.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t,” she protested, even as part of her screamed to say yes. “Isn’t there a royal wedding in the works? I’d be in the way.”

Mack smirked. “Have you seen the size of our palace? It’s practically a hotel resort.” His expression grew more serious as he went on to say, “Really. There are so many wings to the palace that are used to house all sorts of visiting dignitaries and the like. I can think of just the right suite for you. You wouldn’t be in anyone’s way, it has a gorgeous view of the harbor, and it’s close enough that I could pop over to check on you often.” He added a sly grin to his last point.

Gloria’s heart turned a somersault. She wasn’t sure she could resist an offer like that. All the same, she sent her brother one more firm look. “I need to find a job. I can’t live off of other people’s charity forever.”

“But job hunting is not something you need to do immediately,” Antoine argued. “Take some time here. Heal. Enjoy the royal wedding. Then come home refreshed and ready to take on the world again.”

Gloria winced. She hated when Antoine was right. But more than that, she couldn’t resist the intrigue that an invitation to stay in a palace as the guest of a prince brought with it. And what a prince! Mack was sweet and generous, and he had saved her life, even if she didn’t want to think about it. If she were honest with herself, she didn’t want to leave him quite yet. There was something there, something she wanted to explore.

“All right,” she sighed, secretly thrilled. “You win. If you’re sure it’s all right,” she glanced to Mack, “I’ll stay for a while.”

“Perfect,” Mack smiled. “I promise, you won’t regret it.”

A shiver passed through Gloria. She had the distinct feeling she was going to enjoy her vacation far more than she should.