Once the ladies had clarified the truce between Tess’s brothers and Selena Chase––as well as that illogical turn of events could possibly be explained––the conversation quickly turned to Tess and Mo’s romantic relationships.

Under normal circumstances, Tess wouldn’t discuss anything so personal with anyone other than Mo; but Ellie and Millie were already beginning to feel like sisters to her. She sensed that Mo wouldn’t mind including the other ladies in their heart-to-heart.

“How could you forgive Pierce so easily for his part in deceiving us?” Tess squared off at Mo and jumped right to the heart of the matter.

“They had been deceiving the entire world since they were children––at the request of their parents. We were strangers to them when we met at the gala. It wouldn’t have made sense for them to share their deepest, darkest secrets with us on that first night.” Mo defended both men.

“Of course not,” Tess responded, but she felt like Mo was missing the bigger issue. “They sought us out, though, intending to use me to get to my brothers.”

Mo nodded. “They did,” she agreed, before adding, “But they really didn’t go through with it––even for a moment. Did they? If they had followed their plan, Pierce would have asked you to dance, rather than me. He was the one who was slated to become king.”

Tess couldn’t deny the accuracy of Mo’s statements, but she wasn’t yet willing to give up her anger. “I suppose that’s true,” she decided, before adding, “But perhaps they intended for Sebastian to take the crown all along. In that case, it would make sense for him to go after me.”

Ever-rational Millie nodded her head, seeming to agree with Tess’s assessment. “If so, he must have been asking you all kinds of questions about Trey and Trevor, then, right?” When Tess didn’t agree right away, Millie knew she was on to something. “Did he ask you to bring them here or hint around for an introduction?”

“No,” Tess admitted quietly, knowing that she was getting backed into a corner, but stubbornly refusing to let go of her anger.

Quickly catching on to Millie’s tactic, Ellie jumped in. “Did he ask you to mention the kingdom’s financial problems to your brothers?”

Tess knew exactly what the ladies were doing, but she responded with the truth by shaking her head.

“Hmm…” Millie tapped her lip with her index finger as if she were just thinking about this for the first time. “That doesn’t sound to me like someone who was trying to manipulate you or the situation.”

“In fact,” Ellie inserted, “That sounds like someone who could have used the situation to his benefit, but he chose not to take advantage of you.”

Mille and Mo both nodded their agreement with that assertion. Adding her opinion, Mo said, “It is obvious to anyone who has spent five seconds in the same room with you two that you are crazy about each other. He looks at you like you are a tender and juicy pan-seared filet mignon.”

Tess chuckle-snorted at her goofy friend’s description before scrunching up her face to say, “That sounds like he wants to eat me!”

Mo went on as if Tess hadn’t said a word. Giving her friend a serious look, she added, “I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you look at Sebastian. Have you considered the facts that he needs a wife, and you might very well have fallen in love with him?”

“Love?!?” Tess spluttered. “We haven’t known each other long enough for that.”

“How long does it take?” Ellie asked her, without a trace of snarkiness in her voice.

“Longer than this,” was Tess’s vague response. She couldn’t believe these seemingly-rational women were bringing up the L-word so flippantly. Meeting a king-to-be, following him to his castle, and marrying him within a matter of weeks was not approved on her mental timeline of how things should go. As much as she had wanted to be in her youth, she wasn’t a real-life version of Cinderella.

“Marriage is a huge deal,” Tess gaped at the other women, unable to believe she was being forced to convince them of this. “I can’t just jump in with both feet. I would need to date someone for months before I would be ready to even discuss such a thing.”

“Sebastian doesn’t have that long,” Mo revealed sadly, making Tess wonder what her friend knew that she didn’t.

Giving Mo a perplexed look, she said, “Sebastian is going to be coronated as the king. He can do that without being married.”

Mo was shaking her head. “When Pierce was in line for the crown, he was told to choose his wife at the gala,” Mo reminded her. “There are very strict rules and guidelines in place. A prince cannot be crowned king, unless he is married, and they want it all to happen right away because the sitting king is such a hot mess.”

Tess was surprised to find that Mo knew more about the local customs than she did, but she balked at their rigidity. “Sebastian is going to be the new monarch of this island. He can change the rules,” she tried, but Mo shook her head.

“That’s not the way it works,” Mo informed her. “He’s probably scrambling to find a wife right now, unless he plans to marry the spoiled, wealthy princess his mother has chosen for him.”

Bile rose in Tess’s throat at the thought of Sebastian being stuck marrying such a person. She tried to tell herself that he wouldn’t actually go through with a wedding to someone he didn’t care for, but she knew that he would feel that it was his duty to abide by the obligation in his new post as the heir to the throne.

“He can’t,” Tess croaked out the words.

As if the universe heard her objection and wanted to prove her wrong, Geoffrey stepped out onto the verandah. He cleared his throat to gain the ladies’ attention. His official tone made it sound like he was making a formal announcement to fifty people, rather than four. “Her Highness, the Queen, has called a press conference in the media room, which will be held in five minutes, where she will officially announce the royal engagement of Prince Sebastian Savoy Astor to Princess Adeline Beatrice Camden of the Edrapis Empire.”