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“What?” she asks with a mouthful of cake. “Jetlag. I’m carb loading.”
“Carb loading for jetlag? That’s so not a thing.”
As Chloe pushes another pastry into her mouth, Alex arrives in our enclosure. He finds me in the crowd and makes a beeline for me, only stopping briefly to greet my grandparents.
“Alex, hey,” I say, my voice breathless because Alex has gone and stolen my breath right from my lungs. He’s a total breath stealer.
“Princess Madeline.” He lifts my hand and places a gentle kiss on it like he did that day at Parliament. It’s as though he’s a character from Bridgerton, only he’s so much better because he’s real, he’s here—and he only has eyes for me.
“Oh, my,” Chloe says through her mouthful of pastry.
Still holding my hand in his, he says softly, “You look beautiful, Texas.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I reply with a shy smile.
Alex turns his attention to Chloe. “And you must be Chloe. It’s wonderful to meet you. I know Maddie’s been so looking forward to your visit.”
Chloe’s response is to giggle, her mouth still full of pastry, her face flushing as pink as her hair.
“How are you enjoying The Games so far? Did you see that huge guy who tossed the tree? He was amazing,” I say to pull the focus from my friend. She needs to swallow—and maybe even stick her head in a bucket of ice.
“Sigmund von Huffier. We only wish he represented Ledonia,” he replies. “He wins every year.”
“He’s a mountain of a man,” I reply.
We chat for a bit longer, Chloe recovering her dignity after a while, and when he excuses himself to change for the upcoming races, I give his arm a quick squeeze. “I’d say good luck rolling that cheese, but you know I’m going to beat you, right?”
“That’s fighting talk if ever I’ve heard it,” he replies with a laugh. “See you out there, Right Hook Madeline.”
“Right Hook Madeline?” Chloe asks when he’s gone. “Is that because of the you-know-what on the you-know-where?”
“You’re lucky I speak Chloe, and yes, it was. He’s going to be my manager if I ever take boxing up as a profession.”
“You two are so dang cute together, it makes me sick. I can’t even hate you for stealing my future husband.”
“Thanks, Chlo.”
“I’ve got you. And you know I approve of this one, unlike the last guy.” She makes a face. “Eric. Ew.”
“I can’t believe I had a crush on him for all that time. He treated me so badly, like a freaking doormat.”
“There was no telling you.”
“I know. I was a lost cause. It’s weird, but I feel like this whole princess thing has given me more self-confidence, you know? I can’t ever imagine allowing someone to treat me like that now.”
Chloe pulls me in for a quick hug. “It’s about time you figured out how amazing you are.”
I grin at her. “Thanks. Hey, I need to go get changed for the cheese rolling thing. Come with me?” I ask.
“I don’t spot Alexander’s younger brother, so yeah.”
We breeze past Grandmama, when she touches me on the arm.
“Madeline, may I have a private word, please?” She looks like she sucked on a lemon.
“That’s my cue to leave. Catch you at your fancy apartment, Mads,” Chloe says and quickly leaves.
“What’s up, Grandmama? Have I done something wrong? I’ve been trying so hard to act the way Alice and Vlad have been teaching me.”
