After the conversation with Maddox, I was more than excited to tell Sophia the big news. I hoped it wouldn’t scare her, but if she felt the same way I did, there was no reason we had to wait any longer to be man and wife. It would take a lot of planning and money, but I had enough staff and money at my fingertips to give Sophia all she wanted and needed when it came to her wedding day.

I didn’t care much about the day, other than spending every second of it with her.

I thought about how the council would handle it when we returned to the palace as man and wife. They would probably flip out and threaten my seat on the throne again. While I wanted nothing more than to marry Sophia, I had to be smart about all of this. I couldn’t get a wedding arranged any sooner than Saturday, so there was time between now and then to settle things with the council. In a perfect world, I would want them to accept Sophia and me. Then we could have our wedding without any baggage on our shoulders.

Was this the right choice for us? Was it time for me to confide in Sophia about what the council said?

Though if she went to a wedding shop and tried on a dress, I didn’t want to ruin this moment in her life. She wasn’t going to marry anyone else, so I couldn’t put this mark on her memory of planning her wedding.

No, this was my decision and mine alone.

While I waited for Sophia to come back to the room, I went back and forth about my options. When working at the company, I always made lists of pros and cons when faced with a tough choice. If I told the council what I planned to do with my life, they were going to attempt to dethrone me. If I came back to the palace with a wife, they were going to try to oust me. Either way, they didn’t want me on the throne unless I got rid of Sophia. But I didn’t want the throne without her. I’d gotten used to the idea of ruling with her alongside me.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Since the outcome was the same, I thought about my situation from another angle. If I told them ahead of time about the wedding, they would know that I respected them enough to do so. I didn’t appreciate where they were coming from, but I recognized their positions. If I did this behind their backs, they might never trust me again, and their thoughts about me not being the best candidate for the throne would be realized.

The door to my chambers opened, and I snapped my head in that direction. I wondered if the council got wind of my idea somehow and had sent someone to fetch me.

Instead, Sophia stood in the doorway. I tried to read her expression. I hoped Mother wasn’t too rough on my fiancée.

“How did it go?” I asked.

“It went better than I anticipated,” she said, closing the door behind her.

I wondered if Mother was nearby and listening. Was Sophia about to tell me that Mother was rude to her again? I couldn’t imagine Mother changing overnight, but miracles did happen.

“Really?” I asked.

“Really,” she said. “We went for a walk. She opened up to me like I never thought she would.”

“About what?” I asked.

Sophia lifted and dropped one shoulder, her gaze moving away from mine. “Private stuff.”

“You two have ‘private stuff’ now?”

She smirked. “Maybe. We got along well. She wanted to know about my past, and she sort of gave us her blessing.”

“She did?”

“She did. She said she just wanted the best for you and that’s why she gave me such a hard time.”

“She mostly gave me a hard time.”

“Don’t make this about you,” Sophia said, grinning.

“What else happened?”

Sophia gave me a play by play of the conversation between her and Mother. When she came to the part about the fountain being a monument for Father, I asked her to repeat herself.

“He commissioned it before he died,” she said, her gaze moving to her hands. “I think he wanted to do it for you.”

“What makes you think that?”

She licked her lips as if she were nervous to tell me something. Or maybe it was because she knew the topic of Father was hard for me to stomach, even more than a month after his death. “He knew you always went out to the gardens. He had all of the palace grounds to place the fountain, but he chose there.”

“Wow,” I said, running my fingers through my hair.

We were silent for a minute as I thought of Father.

She took my hands in hers and squeezed them lightly. Her hands were cool, and their softness moved over my palms. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” I said, needing to process all of this first. “I do want to tell you something else.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“We’re getting married this weekend,” I said, putting it out there.

“What?” she choked out. “Are you sure? What about—”

“What about what?” I interrupted. “Unless you want to wait, I don’t see a need to.”

“Me neither,” she admitted. “Last night when you mentioned it, I didn’t think you were serious. Has something changed? You can tell me anything, you know?”

I sighed. “A lot is going on with the council. I think if we get married, that will solve a lot of problems.”

“Problems?” she asked, stepping away from me. “So this is a political move?”

“Not at all,” I said. “I want to marry you. If it were possible, I would have done it when we were in America. You’re not the problem. What I meant is that there’s no reason for us to wait, or for the kingdom to wait. They’re expecting a new queen, and I want to exchange vows with you and spend every waking moment of the rest of my life with you.”

“Can you arrange it so quickly?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I have connections, remember?”

She rolled her eyes. “How could I forget?”

“I already contacted Maddox, and he will be here Friday. Is there anyone you want to invite?”

“Matt is the only other person I want here.”

“Okay, then we can arrange that.”

“I don’t have a dress, though,” she said, glancing at the armoire.

I almost wanted to tell her about the conversation with Marie, but I kept my mouth shut.

“But I can make something work. Now that your mother doesn’t hate me, she might be able to help.” She lifted her chin proudly. At that moment, I saw a glimpse of the regal woman I was about to wed in only a few days. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have such a woman in my life. I wasn’t sure if I would have been able to survive with anyone different. Someone who might add more drama to my life instead of lessening it as Sophia did.

“She never hated you,” I said, cupping her face in my hands.

She pulled a face. “Seriously, Luke?”

I laughed and kissed her. “Despise is different than hatred.”

“Tomato, tomato,” she said, accentuating the “ah” sound on the second one.

I tilted my head to the side.

“Never mind,” she said, waving me off. “Speaking of your mother, should we tell her about all of this? You are inviting her, right?”

“If I wanted her to hate me, I wouldn’t invite her. No, she’s coming.”

“Should we tell her now?”

“No, let’s wait until tomorrow.”

“What about dinner?” she asked. “Are we going to pretend like nothing is happening? That might tip the delicate balance out of our favor if she finds out we’ve been planning this without her.”

“I thought we could do a private dinner tonight on the terrace.” Keeping away from the servants or anyone else in the palace might help in keeping a low profile and the council off my back. For now.

Sophia glanced at the two balconies that jutted out from our chambers, and then she turned to me, smiling. “That would be nice.”

“I’m glad you agree,” I said and took her in my arms. “I’ll tell Mother tomorrow, but for tonight, it’s all about you and me.”

“I like the sound of that,” she said, and I took her in my arms and kissed her, pouring every ounce of love into that kiss. Even if she didn’t know it now, she would someday understand how much I loved her.