Victoria and Matt stick to their words. Come morning, the duo leaves. They walk through the manor in silence. They walk down the front cobbled path, holding each other's hands. They get into the taxi without a single look back at the manor house that had once been Victoria's home away from home.

 

Matt puts a hand on her knee. “Are you all right?”

 

She nods, but the tears are obvious in her eyes. She doesn't say a single word until late in the day as they get ready to board their American-bound flight. Only then, in the crowded station, does she say, “I'm going to miss them.”

 

“I know,” says Matt, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Just try to remember that they're the ones who have done this, not you.”

 

“I know that. God, I know that. They're horrible people! I don't regret anything I said to them! But…Matt, they're still my parents. Am I doing the wrong thing?”

 

“Living your life doesn't make you a bad person, Victoria. Fuck! You're one of the best damn people I've ever met. You hear that? If it weren't for you, I…I don't know. I'd still be sitting back at that bar, trying to drink away something I couldn't control.”

 

Victoria tilts her head back. “No, that's wrong. You'd have found someone else.”

 

“There is no one else,” insists Matt. “And if you hadn't shown up, that's where I would be. Or I'd be somewhere else, somewhere that's even worse.”

 

“I don't believe you,” says Victoria, but she catches the man in a passionate kiss all the same.

 

# # #

 

The plane ride goes smooth, and before long, the duo finds themselves back in Matt's apartment. It's small and dim, especially when compared to the glorious manor they only just recently left. Exhausted, both physically and emotionally, Victoria drops down onto the couch.

 

Matt chuckles and makes his way into the small kitchen. “So, you're going to keep staying here?”

 

“Unless you want me to leave,” says Victoria lightly.

 

“Not even in your wildest dreams,” answers Matt. He opens up one cabinet after the next, searching for something he deems edible. There's not much—just a few boxes of stuffing and au gratin potatoes that require way too much work and a gallon of milk that isn't completely out of date.

 

His fridge isn't much better. There's a stick of butter that's probably still good, but everything else has an expiration date on it that's almost a month too late. The few leftovers in there are from takeout and shouldn't be eaten or even touched.

 

Matt sighs and pulls away. He closes the fridge and says, “How about takeout?”

 

“That sounds lovely.” Victoria gives him a sheepish smile. “Are you sure you don't mind me staying here?”

 

“Tori, I already told you: I want to marry you!”

 

“I know. I just…We can't afford that right now, can we? And I didn't know...Try to understand, Matt, that all I know about are royal regulations and expectations. The way most people do things, those seems strange to me.”

 

Matt sighs and rakes a hand through his hair. “You realize we don't need a shit-ton of money to get hitched, right?”

 

Victoria gives him an owlish blink. “Don't we?”

 

“Not out here,” says Matt. “Tell you what, you give me a few days, and I'll get something squared away for us. My friend, she's probably going to love going dress shopping with you.”

 

Victoria looks down at her folded hands. “I don't have any money.”

 

“Not right now,” says Matt. “But you will soon. Those pictures of yours—this is your chance to turn them into something. I've got enough of an egg fund—”

 

“Egg fund?”

 

“Savings account,” explains Matt, dropping down on the couch next to Victoria. “We can last for a while. And the Horsemen, they never mind pitching in for things like this.”

 

Quietly, Victoria asks, “Do you think they'll like me?”

 

It's Matt's turn to look surprised. “Do you want to meet them?”

 

“Would that be okay?”

 

“They're kind of a rough crowd.”

 

“I know, but they're your rough crowd. I want to be part of your life! I want to meet them, and maybe, maybe I could do something with you all?”

 

Matt laughs, but it's more nervous than anything. “Let's start out slow, okay? I'm one thing and Mano's okay, but some of those guys—they aren't bad people, but they aren't what you're used to, either.”

 

“I want to meet them,” insists Victoria. She twists around on the couch, draping herself over Matt's side. “I want to know them. I want to know this life! Matt, my world is so small.”

 

“We'll fix that,” promises Matt. “And we're going to start by giving you a good dose of cheap Thai food.”

 

# # #

 

The takeout proves to be a huge success. Before long, Victoria has crept into bed, where she falls asleep wearing one of the maternity gowns they bought the week before. As soon as Matt is certain she's not going to come back out, he turns down the television just a little bit and pulls out his phone.

 

It's late, ridiculously so. He calls Meg anyway because she's always up. Last call isn't until three, and she's at the bar another hour at least and still up for another two hour once she gets home. The phone rings three times before Meg picks up, sounding far too interested for her own good. “Are you guys back already?”

 

Matt props one foot up on the coffee table, then the other. “Yep. It went about as well as you might expect.”

 

Meg gives a low whistle. “How is she taking it?”

 

“Good as you can expect.”

 

Meg huffs. “Okay, douchebag. You're the one that called me! Don't be giving me skimping details.”

 

Matt asks, “If I tell you what happened, will you do me a favor?”

 

“It depends on how big the favor is.”

 

“Pretty damn huge.”

 

“Am I going to have fun, or are you trying to rope me into something shitty?”

 

Matt grins against the receiver. “Now, why would I ever do that?”