She said yes. She said yes.

I pull her into my arms and kiss her. One of my hands weaves through her hair, the other slides around her waist, holding her as close to me as possible. We’re still on the ground, but I don’t care. She’s going to be my wife. My wife.

She kisses me back just as enthusiastically, her lips moving against mine with a hungry joy. Now that her walls have come down, now that she’s embraced what we have between us, it seems as if the full force of her desire has come out.

I pull back just enough to speak.

“I love you,” I murmur to her. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” she whispers back.

I kiss her again, pulling her tight against my chest. I hardly dare believe any of this is real—perhaps I blacked out after my disastrous speech and this is all some sort of fever dream.

But Victoria is warm and soft and real in my arms. Her kisses are sweetness and fire. Everything is too vivid for this to be a dream.

Victoria is going to be my wife. We’ll be together forever. I get to spend the rest of my life showing her how much she means to me. No matter how many times I think it, it still seems surreal.

I don’t know how long we sit there on the ground in each other’s arms. My mind is on nothing but her. After a time, though, I become aware of a prickling on the back of my neck, and the sensation draws me sharply back into the present—we’re being watched.

I pull back abruptly. I’m almost drunk on my happiness, dizzy and lightheaded and reckless, but I force myself to turn my head, to look away from Victoria and toward the narrow path behind us.

There are people there. And not just a handful, no—a small crowd. Perhaps a couple dozen. All gathered close, watching Victoria and me celebrate our engagement.

And they aren’t the only ones. There’s a restaurant nearby overlooking the river. Many of the patrons have gathered at the edge of the terrace to gape at our little scene. Some have even pulled out their mobile phones to snap photos of us.

Quickly, I scramble to my feet, then reach down and help Victoria to hers. My first instinct is to deny everything, to protect Victoria from the attention this scene is bound to bring—but it’s far too late for that. The only other option is to tell the truth. I like the truth.

“Good citizens,” I say. “Forgive the informality, but I would like to introduce Ms. Victoria Simpson. She has just consented to be my wife.”

Though I’m sure many of the onlookers have pieced together the situation already, my announcement still draws a collective gasp from the group. Some of them start whispering excitedly amongst themselves, while others boldly call questions out to me.

“Who is she?”

“How did you meet?”

“Is she American?”

“Does this mean she’s going to be queen?”

Victoria’s fingers tighten on mine, and I glance down at her. She’s wearing a smile, but I can see the anxiety in her eyes—our happy little moment has turned into an overwhelming one very quickly.

I raise my hand, quieting the crowd.

“There will be an official announcement soon during which all of your questions will be answered,” I say. “In the meantime, Victoria and I must return to my father’s bedside.” With that, I step forward, pulling Victoria along with me. A couple of people still try to ask questions, but I ignore them. They must see the determination in my face, because the crowd parts to let us through, stepping back so that Victoria and I may pass.

We go quickly down the path, back in the direction from which we came. If I weren’t such a fool, I would have waited to propose until we were somewhere private—but there’s no use in chastising myself about that now. What’s done is done, and the important thing is that Victoria has consented to be my wife.

I look over at her again as we head down the street toward the hospital. She still looks a little stunned, and she glances around as we walk, no doubt noticing how many people are looking at us.

I squeeze her fingers. “Ignore them. They’re just curious about you.”

She gives a little laugh. “That’s easier said than done.”

No doubt these next few weeks—even months—are going to be difficult for her. Victoria isn’t used to being on this side of the celebrity story.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I shouldn’t have been so impulsive. I should have done all of this in private and given you time to adjust—”

“No,” she says. “No, I’m glad you did it.” She looks up at me, her eyes bright and her lips curling into a smile. “I want to marry you, Andrew. I do. I’m just… This is just going to take some getting used to.”

“Just remember that you aren’t alone. That we’re in this together. Whatever challenges you face in the coming months, I will face by your side.”

Her cheeks redden slightly, and she drops her gaze. “I…I don’t even know what to think. I know there’s a lot to consider now, but…I don’t want to deal with any of that at the moment. Is that stupid?”

“No,” I tell her. “I know exactly how you feel.” I haven’t allowed myself to stop and think fully about the consequences of marrying Victoria…but I’ll face them as they come. Right now, I just want to enjoy this. To live in the moment and allow myself this moment of happiness. Victoria is going to be my wife.

The hospital is still around the corner, but I can’t wait that long. I pull Victoria into an empty doorway and yank her fully into my arms, kissing her deeply.

Her surprise fades quickly, and her arms go around my neck, pulling me closer. My hands slide up her back and tangle in her hair. I press my hips against her, and she lets out a gasp against my lips. We’re like two teenagers, helpless against the desire coursing through us. Blissfully ignorant of propriety and responsibility. Right now, in this moment, there’s only us—us and our love.

My tongue slips into her mouth, tasting and searching. Her fingers grip my hair. I’ve half a mind to take her right here, to lift her up against the door and bury myself in her, any onlookers be damned. I can only imagine what stories they’d print about us then. Victoria makes me feel wild, reckless, unafraid of anything.

One of my hands falls to the bottom of her shirt. My fingers slip beneath the fabric and slide across her bare skin. She gasps again, but she doesn’t pull away.

My hand creeps higher, moving toward her breast. I’ve got her pressed against the door, so my body is effectively blocking her from the view of the street. I can explore her all I want while still giving us some privacy.

My fingers move higher and higher up her body, finally skimming across the bottom edge of her bra. She moans softly against my mouth, and my hand moves higher still, up over the curve of her breast. Her nipple is a hard bud beneath the fabric, and I run my thumb over it, making her whimper.

I’ve started to slide my fingers beneath her bra when I hear a click. And then suddenly the door behind us opens, sending both of us tumbling into the room beyond.

It takes me a moment to come back to my senses. I sit partway up, stunned, and beneath me Victoria rushes to pull her shirt back down. When I look up, I see a woman staring down at us, her eyes wide. As I glance around, I realize that the doorway we chose led into a small bookstore, and several shocked faces now stare down at us.

Once again, there’s no lying my way out of this. I climb to my feet, straightening my clothes with one hand and helping up Victoria with the other. I clear my throat.

“Forgive the intrusion,” I say, trying to sound as calm and regal as possible. “Victoria and I have just become engaged, you see.”

It’s not nearly as elegant as my response by the river, but fortunately, the people here are still too stunned to react. I grab Victoria’s hand again and we run back out into the street.

By the time we round the corner, we’ve both erupted into laughter.

“The things you do to me…” I say through my grin.

“Me?” she says, still laughing. “You were the one who pulled me into that doorway. You started it.”

“Because I couldn’t help myself.”

“Then you should learn some restraint, Your Highness.”

“Never.”

She laughs again, and the sound fills me with such joy that I almost pull her against me again, right here in the middle of the street—until I realize that we’re once again standing in front of the hospital.

My smile drops as I suddenly remember why we’re here.

“We should return to my father,” I say softly. “My mother needs me right now.”

She nods soberly. “I… Maybe I should stay out here in the waiting room. I don’t want to intrude.”

“No,” I say. “You won’t be intruding. We’re engaged now, after all. Besides, there might still be some reporters lurking around. I want to make sure you’re safe.”

She nods, but she’s still frowning. I raise a hand to her cheek.

“If it makes you uncomfortable to be in the room with us, I understand,” I tell her. “We can find somewhere else for you to sit. I know that the memories of your parents must—”

“No, I’m all right,” she says. “I want to be there. For you.” One side of her mouth curls up. “It’s just that I don’t want to cause any problems—”

“You won’t. My mother and siblings love you.” We won’t speak of my father’s feelings, not now. I understand her hesitation—it feels almost heartless to bring Victoria to his bedside when my relationship with her might be the very thing that nearly killed him—but I refuse to push her away as if I’m ashamed of her. And I want and need her by my side.

“All right,” she says finally.

“I love you,” I murmur, leaning forward and pressing my lips lightly against hers.

We head back into the hospital together. We make it to the corridor outside Father’s room when I hear William’s voice behind me.

“Andrew! I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Why didn’t you answer your bloody phone?”

I turn, a knot of shame twisting in my belly as I remember our last encounter.

One look in William’s eyes, however, tells me that something has happened—something far greater than a scuffle between brothers.

“What is it?” I say. “Is Father—”

“He’s fine,” William says quickly. “As least as fine as can be expected. But I just got urgent word from the palace.”

My entire body stiffens. “What happened?”

“Nothing yet,” William says. “But apparently King Maximilian was rather displeased with your little speech. We’ve received word that he’ll be arriving at the palace as early as this afternoon.”