Duncan was typing away when he saw Alix’s name pop up on his phone. He had been working so hard, he hadn’t realized that the day was almost over.

“Hey,” he said, not even trying to keep the happiness out of his voice. “How did it go today?”

“Great!” Her excitement was obvious, even over the sound of crowds and traffic. “That was the best interview yet, I think. If it’s not NYU, it’ll definitely be Harvard.”

“So East Coast, for sure?”

“Definitely.”

“We should go out to celebrate,” he suggested, finishing up the email that he was writing and hitting send before closing his laptop. “I’ll meet you at the bar in Kenmore Square that we tried last week?”

“Sure,” she said. He could hear the smile in her voice. “See you in about fifteen minutes.”

He hurried to change, and made his way down to the lobby of the hotel where they’d been staying while Alix went to all of her interviews for medical schools. Over the past month, they’d been to California, Philadelphia, North Carolina, and now, Boston.

He hoped that she’d pick New York, though. He knew she loved it, and he had been excited to have her show him around all of her favorite spots. He had already been checking out property online and had his eye on a great place on Park Avenue that wasn’t far from the RMA headquarters. He’d been working for them since shortly after Leo had made his announcement at dinner, nearly a year and a half ago

He had never imagined that life could be this great. He used to see his future as endless parties, the same people over and over. Now, in his role as a fundraiser for the organization, he was putting all of his social skills and connections to use. He still attended parties, but he was in charge of them. The sense of accomplishment that he gained from reaching, and often exceeding, the goals they set for him was unlike anything that he had thought possible. He never would have gotten here if it hadn’t been for Alix’s refusal to dance with him that night, almost two years ago.

He had it set up so that he could go anywhere in the world. His parents had initially been wary, but he was so determined to take on more than the traditional role of royal patron and be actively involved, they could hardly refuse him. Helena was right; he was able to get pretty much whatever he wanted from them.

After his initial visit to Alix on site in Jordan, he had only managed to go back once during the year that she was there. If missing her when he thought he’d lost her forever had been difficult, it was nothing compared to missing her now that he had her. The days it would take her to answer emails felt like weeks, but the wait had been worth it.

Now, whenever she went, he could follow her. After finishing her year as an intern, she had done a one-year program in Washington, D.C., and they had rented an apartment near campus. The press in D.C. was much too focused on the political drama to care much about the comings and goings of the nobility from a tiny European country. It had been a relief to be out of the spotlight.

Life outside the palace had also been an adjustment in other, less pleasant ways. The first time that he had to do his laundry on his own had been a little embarrassing, and the grocery story was an ongoing mystery. He still preferred hotels to renting apartments, and coming back to everything neat and tidied away. Alix had spent two weeks tripping over his shoes before finally hiring a housekeeper, justifying it with her need to study in a clean space and lack of free time.

His parents had made it clear that they expected them to marry before they moved in together, but he had made it just as clear that he would be the one to choose the right time. He had already scared her off once with a sudden and unplanned proposal, and he didn’t want to add the stress of wedding planning when she had been so focused on her schoolwork in D.C., but that was all winding down as their future together was falling into place.

Tonight, he thought, smiling to himself as he fingered the ring in his pocket. He’d been carrying it around for weeks. Definitely tonight.

As Alix spotted him across the bar, she felt the now familiar, warm glow of happiness spread through her entire body. She still had a hard time believing that he was here, even after nearly a year of living together. The year in Jordan had passed quickly, and had opened her eyes to all of the different specialties of medicine that were out there. She had needed more time to decide, and the yearlong program in DC had been the perfect chance to explore them all... and to test out what life with Duncan would be like.

In a word, it was surprising. Sometimes it was good surprises, sometimes bad. It had been more good than bad, though, she had been happy to discover. The support he gave her had been amazing. She still didn’t think she needed it, but having it made all the difference. The knowledge that she wasn’t alone, that she didn’t have to do it on her own, made even the worst days seem a little brighter.

He still thought that he needed her, and she enjoyed the feeling more than she’d like to admit. It was the future doctor in her, always looking for a patient to help. However, Duncan had learned so much already, and was managing just fine. His work for the RMA seemed to give him the confidence he needed to try more new things, to test his abilities. Life away from Prynesse had been good for him.

Maybe they’d go back one day. She’d had to miss Leo and Annabelle’s wedding. It had been spectacular, despite being a bit rushed to hide her pregnancy. The coronation was soon, though, and she was looking forward to a visit with her parents before the madness of medical school began in the fall. If Stella and Anton could finally get their act together after all of the on-and-off drama of the past year, maybe there’d be another wedding for her to go to soon.

She’d briefly considered schools in England, in order to be closer to them, but she was just too connected with her American roots. And life outside the palace was so good for them both; she didn’t want to be close enough to get wrapped up in any of the drama. It had been nice to hear about it secondhand from Stella over the past two years, rather than be involved firsthand.

Once she was done with school and her residency, though, living in Prynesse might be nice. Duncan had made it clear that it was her choice. He would follow her anywhere.

As she joined Duncan at the bar, he greeted her with a kiss and handed her a glass of sparkling wine from their country. She imagined what a life back in Prynesse would look like. She couldn’t help but smile as she pictured a little, dark-haired boy with Duncan’s eyes coming to visit her at her doctor’s office in the city. She shook her head and laughed. She was getting ahead of herself. He hadn’t even mentioned the word marriage since that night, it felt like forever ago, when he’d proposed in a panic.

“What are you thinking?” Duncan asked her, noticing her secret laugh.

“Just thinking about the future,” she said honestly.

“To our future then,” he said, raising his glass in a toast, his eyes full of his own secret smile.

“To our future.”

She didn’t know what it would look like, exactly, but it would be theirs to discover together.