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As corny as it may sound, it’s as if I've been living in a black and white world, interacting with monochrome people, and then I met her and suddenly everything around me has burst into the clearest, most vivid color.
Man, I sound like some romance novel.
I blame Amelia and all those Christmas romances we watch.
Maddie’s door swings open and I’m met with her ever-present bodyguard, Vladimir.
“Good evening, Your Royal Highness,” he says with a bow.
“Hello, Vladimir. Is she ready?”
There’s a whisper of a smile on his lips. “She is, sir. Please, feel free to have a seat in the living room. I’ll tell her you’re here.”
I wait impatiently, looking through the photographs on the mantle. I pick one up of her with her father on a ride at a theme park, laughing, her eyes bright. Another one is of her with a woman with a shock of pink hair and a don’t mess with me attitude. Chloe. Then there’s one with a woman who has the same eyes as Maddie, a woman I recognize as Princess Josephine, her mother. They look so alike, from their thick hair to their blue eyes. I feel a pang of sorrow for her loss, a young girl losing her mother far too early.
“Prince Alexander,” a voice says and I turn to see Chloe. She’s wearing a striking fusion of black Victorian elegance and industrial edge, her long pink hair falling in curls down her back. “I mean, Your Royal Highness.” She dips into a curtsy. “Or Your Grace? Seriously, they told me what to say, but I think I forgot.”
“Alex will do just fine. I take it from your dress you're joining us at the ball this evening?”
“Heck, yes. Would not miss it for all the peacocks in Malveaux.”
I smile at her. “I like that.”
“No, you like Maddie.”
It's a statement, not a question, and I'm not going to deny it.
“I do like Maddie. Rather a lot, actually.”
Chloe snort laughs. “You sound so upper class. Rather a lot, actually.” She puts on what I think is meant to be my accent.
It doesn't hit the mark.
Her features drop and she adds in an undertone, “I want you to know that if you do anything to hurt my girl, I will find you, and I will hurt you.”
I press my lips together to stifle a smile. Being threatened by a woman who's a good 10 inches shorter than me is most certainly new, even if she does look uncompromisingly tough in her dress. “I'll bear that in mind,” I reply in a serious tone.
“Good. She’s special.”
“Oh, that I know.”
“Hey, Alex,” Maddie says and I turn to see her, framed by the doorway.
She is nothing short of breathtaking.
Her ball gown is a vision in Malveauxian blue, with a flowing, floor-length skirt that shimmers like the Adriatic Sea under moonlight. Its fitted bodice, adorned with delicate silver, accentuates her womanly figure. Her hair falls across her shoulders, a tiara atop her head. Although she’s only been a princess for a short while, tonight she looks like she was born for the role, a perfect princess on a perfect night.
“Maddie, you look…incredible,” I breathe.
“It’s not too much?” she asks, self-consciously smoothing down her skirts.
I make my way across the floor and collect her hands in mine. “I guarantee no one at the ball will be able to tear their eyes from the beautiful Malveauxian princess.”
Her full lips lift into a smile that tugs at my heart. “I love it, but I do feel a little bit like Princess Barbie going to the ball.”
“Princess Barbie has nothing on you, Texas,” I murmur and win a fresh smile that tugs at my heartstrings.
“Okay, you two. That’s enough sappiness,” Chloe quips.
