Tess fidgeted with the pearl buttons on the shoulder of her elegant, form-fitting wedding gown. The hand-sewn crystals captured the light and reflected it in a myriad of directions. As she swished her hips from side to side, the beads caught rays of sunlight and refracted them giving off the dazzling effect of a prism lighting up the room.

She reached up, for the thousandth time, to adjust the diamond-encrusted tiara that was perched over her sleek chignon. The woman gazing back at her from the mirror looked like someone sent over by a Hollywood casting director to play a royal bride.

She smiled at her glowing reflection. For the first time in her life, she felt like all of her childhood dreams were actually coming true. Even though she had always held firm to her idea of the perfect wedding, she had never quite fully believed that it would truly become a reality.

It was hard to comprehend that this day was actually finally here. The wedding planning had taken on a life of its own. Tess had kept a close watch on the major decisions, but had been forced to let go of the smaller details as the whirlwind reality of a true royal wedding had pressed down upon them. The world was waiting with bated breath for every moment of this magical day, and she fully intended to give them a show worth watching.

Mo broke into her thoughts. “The big day you’ve been dreaming of for so long is finally here. Are you ready to become a real-life queen?”

Feeling confident, Tess smiled. “I am,” she confirmed, before adding, “You know, it’s strange, but I’m almost anxious to get this day over with.”

At the concerned look that Mo gave her, she clarified what she meant. “Don’t get me wrong. Everything about this wedding is perfect, but it feels so public… almost like it’s for everyone else. Our marriage will just be for the two of us, and I’m looking forward to that part of our union.”

“You sound like a woman who is ready for the life-long commitment of marriage.” Mo gave her a reassuring smile.

Tess’s brothers chose that moment to knock on the door of her dressing suite. Even she had to admit that they both looked dashing and handsome in their custom-tailored tuxedos. The loving looks of pride on their faces when they saw Tess in all her bridal glory made her eyes water.

“You are a beautiful bride,” Trey told her, giving her a sweet peck on the cheek.

Not to be outdone, Trevor kissed her other cheek and said, “You look absolutely radiant.”

She beamed at her brothers, truly feeling lovely, but from the inside out, rather than vice versa, like she would have expected.

Turning solemn, Trey asked, “Are you terribly disappointed that Mother and Father aren’t coming to the ceremony?”

Tess knew that both of her brothers had practically disowned their parents over the older Donovans’ decision not to leave their luxurious world-wide cruise in order to attend their only daughter’s wedding. The fact that her wedding would be streamed live to hordes of riveted looky-loos on every continent, apparently meant nothing to them.

When her parents had informed Tess that their cruise was a ‘once in a lifetime experience,’ she just shook her head at the phone, not bothering to explain to them what they were missing out on. If they didn’t see the flaw with their logic, she wasn’t going to point it out. It had caused her a brief amount of sadness at the time, but now she was almost relieved that they weren’t here to find some way to mar her ideal day.

Shaking her head, to ease the concerned looks on their faces, she answered Trey’s question. “No, I was a little hurt at first,” she admitted, before continuing, “But now I see that it is for the best. Everyone who truly matters is here,” she reassured her brothers. “This day is more perfect than I could have ever imagined. It’s better than a fairy tale.”

By unspoken agreement, the foursome went down to take their places to wait for the official walk down the aisle. The massive orchestra began a lovely rendition of the classic song At Last, which was Mo’s queue to begin her slow and steady stroll to the altar. They had worked for several hours at the rehearsal to control what Priscilla referred to as Mo’s ‘aggressive and awkward gait.’

Turning for one last look at the bride, Mo said, “Here we go!” Right as the last word came out, she tripped over the long hem of her classy rose-pink maid of honor’s gown.

Geoffrey, who was standing by to meet any last minute needs, stepped forward, caught her by the arm, and seemingly effortlessly kept her from falling. It almost looked like he had been expecting to jump in at that moment to save the day.

“Thanks, Geoff!” Mo said, unfazed by her almost-disaster. “Some people just aren’t meant to wear heels, I guess.”

The formal butler cringed at her use of the casual nickname, but he nodded stiffly to acknowledge her appreciation. As the giant double doors were swept open to reveal Mo to the anxious crowd, Tess noticed that Geoffrey’s lips were curved up ever-so-slightly into a hint of a smile. She wondered if the stuffy royal staff might actually be starting to like her inappropriate, loud, and amazing friend.

With her clumsy trip out of the way, Mo’s walk down the aisle was graceful and uneventful. Pierce was standing right beside the groom, looking at Mo like he might burst with pride and love as he watched her slowly make her way towards him at the altar.

Tess knew that the two of them had delayed their nuptials in order to keep from stealing attention from the king’s wedding. She had the feeling now, though, that they would quickly officially announce their engagement and tie the knot.

She didn’t have long to ponder her friend’s imminent marriage because the orchestra seamlessly transitioned into a flawless rendition of the wedding march. The kingdom’s invited guests stood and turned to look at Tess, the video cameras rolled, flashes popped, and the room let out a collective gasp at their first sight of the luminous royal bride.

Tess felt the beautiful bouquet of pale pink peonies, her favorite flowers, shaking in her hands. Suddenly, the overwhelming emotions of this historic day crashed down on her. She had no doubts that what she was about to do was right, but there was no denying the flare of nerves that suddenly erupted from all of the formal pomp and circumstance.

As if sensing the tension emanating from her, Tess’s brothers eased up on both sides of her, each crooking an arm to hook with hers. The warmth and love she felt from them supported her as she worked through her momentary jitters.

Geoffrey frantically tried to usher them out to the aisle, but Tess hesitated.

“Not until she’s ready,” Trey hissed at the agitated butler. She knew that her brothers would have her back no matter what happened.

Tess felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest as she tried to gulp in air. Everyone was staring at her. As many times as she had dreamed of this moment, now that it was here, she felt crushing anxiety.

Her feet refused to move. Her brothers remained steadfastly by her side, like two hulking bodyguards. Tess blinked and tried to make sense of the blurring, massive room before her. She thought for a moment that she might faint when the blinding pinpoints of flashing light invaded her vision. She tried to focus on the warm, reassuring presence of her brothers by her sides, but the room was beginning to swirl. She gripped their arms, trying to center herself and remind herself that this was real.

Just as she swallowed, in an attempt to control the bile that was threatening to upheave, she caught sight of him. Her eyes locked in on him like a magnet, seeking its mate.

Sebastian’s love-filled, steady gaze filled her up and focused her attention. He was looking at his bride like she was the most beautiful, amazing woman he had ever encountered. It was the look of a man who was head-over-heels in love, and it directly reflected how Tess felt about him. It was the kind of look that she had always dreamed of receiving from her waiting groom––royalty or not.

The proud, happy stare from the love of her life gave Tess the burst of confidence she needed to swing into action. Her brothers never missed a step as she walked a touch too quickly down the aisle to join her groom.

When the priest pronounced them to be husband and wife, Sebastian’s kiss lingered far longer than would be considered tasteful by the stuffy royal entourage, but Tess didn’t care. Her thoughts were consumed by love for her brand-new husband.

The newly-married couple ran upstairs to make their first public appearance. Geoffrey was waiting to sweep the balcony doors open for them. When the newlyweds’ kissing went over the line into excessive, Geoffrey cleared his throat before telling them that their subjects were waiting. He tried to sound irritated by their inappropriate and decidedly un-royal behavior, but Tess saw the amusement in his eyes.

At Sebastian’s curt nod, a trumpet sounded. Right on cue, Geoffrey opened the doors with a flourish. A deep, booming voice sounded, but Tess couldn’t tell where it was coming from. “I now present His Royal Highness, King Sebastian, and Her Royal Highness, Queen Tess.”

The impressive title rolled around in Tess’s mind. Although she had known the royal moniker was what she would be called after the wedding, hearing it spoken out loud made reality suddenly crash in on her. She held back, savoring the moment.

“Shall we go properly greet our kingdom?” Sebastian encouraged her, holding her hand.

At her nod, they walked out on the balcony together. The roaring cheer that arose from their subjects, who had all gathered to catch the first glimpse of their new queen, was almost deafening.

Tess beamed from ear to ear as Sebastian leaned in to whisper, “They already love you.” She knew she would never forget the fabulous feeling of this marvelous moment.

The rest of the day flew by in a rushed flurry of official pictures, more hugs than she could count, and so many smiles of true happiness that Tess’s face hurt. The best part of it all was having Sebastian right by her side as a true partner. She knew that he viewed her as an equal. He valued her opinion, and she felt confident that she would have a real say in the laws that were enacted and how they were enforced on their island.

Sebastian’s mother and father made a point of speaking privately with their son and new daughter-in-law. Tess had been nervous that they might be envious of the younger couple taking their place on the thrones. They immediately alleviated her fears by saying they were relieved to finally have some free time to rekindle their romance.

The former king suggested that they might like to enjoy their retirement on a luxurious cruise ship. He jokingly asked Tess if her parents might like some company on their trip. At least, Tess hoped he was joking. Her hoity-toity parents would not approve of this irreverent, rather inappropriate man.

She did have to give the goofball credit for wearing a suit and behaving himself today––with the notable exception of when he sneezed loud enough to raise the roof during the wedding ceremony and immediately shouted, “Bust my buttons!” Everyone chuckled, but the queen’s sharp look made him snap his mouth shut. He’d been on his very best behavior since.

Quick as a wink, it was time for the current king and queen’s first official dance as a newly-wedded couple. Butterflies danced in Tess’s belly as she wondered if they should actually go through with this crazy idea that balked tradition. They had secretly been preparing for this moment for weeks, but Tess was still incredibly nervous. It could either become an instant classic moment that would be remembered fondly for years to come, or it could turn out to be a gigantic fiasco that would be an embarrassment to their children’s children.

Tess took a deep breath and looked to her groom. As she had hoped, his warm brown eyes were exuding confidence and love. At her brisk nod, he gave the cue for the music to start. As the first few bars of “Time of my Life” played, everyone in the ballroom turned to look at Tess.

The newlywed king and queen performed the final dance from Dirty Dancing flawlessly. Tess felt like they had turned into Baby and Johnny, the characters from the classic movie, as they danced in perfect tandem.

When it came time for the big move at the finale of the song, Tess caught sight of her brothers at the edge of the dance floor. They both gave her enthusiastic thumbs-up signs to encourage her and give her confidence. Summoning her nerve she locked eyes with Sebastian and nodded, just before running directly at him.

They had practiced the difficult move numerous times––usually with at least a moderate level of success. Tess tried not to think about the less-successful times, when they had tumbled to the floor, as she barreled into his waiting arms.

Sebastian caught her and sailed her up over his head as if she were light as a feather. He spun her around as she arched her body and beamed at the crowd. They made the tricky move look easy as they performed it perfectly.

The crowd cheered and clapped as Sebastian lowered Tess to the ground before kissing her hungrily. They only came up for air when they heard Mo announce loudly that she thought that she and Pierce could do that too.

Tess started to tell Mo that she and Sebastian had been practicing and perfecting the move on the sly for weeks. It wasn’t something that could be done on the spur of the moment. She was too late, though. Mo was already barreling full-tilt across the dance floor towards a stunned Pierce.

Pierce’s eyes bugged out in fright as he watched the woman of his dreams charge in his direction. Tess had to give the man props because he did his best to catch her, but Mo was never one to do anything half-heartedly, and she wasn’t a small woman.

Luckily, Geoffrey and another member of the royal staff ran forward to help break their fall as Mo slammed into Pierce and they both tumbled over. The crowd cringed and gasped in unison as they watched the train wreck happen right before their eyes.

The former queen fanned herself dramatically as if she might faint from the scandalous, failed maneuver. Tess heard the woman say, “That girl is going to be the death of me.”

Sensing that he needed to alleviate the crowd’s concerns, Pierce called out from underneath Mo, “We’re okay!”

“We’re better than okay,” Mo weighed in before adding. “We’re getting married too.” They sealed their big announcement with a kiss, without bothering to get up from the ground.

One of the Donovan brothers gave off a high-pitched whistle, which set off a string of whoops and hollers of excitement from the crowd that could be heard all over the island’s village.

Tess looked around at the happy faces in the crowd, not quite able to believe how perfectly imperfect their lives were. It was more than she could have asked for and better than she had ever dreamed.

She had found her prince, he had turned her into a queen, and now they could officially enjoy their real-life happily ever after.