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“Yes. I was intrigued by what you and your brother were doing. Your father and I sat in his hospital room and laughed about it. Using the cell phone with the Russian was particularly ingenious. We were very proud of you both for pulling that one off.”
Graydon was trying to absorb what he was being told. “Just out of curiosity, did you have anything to do with choosing Toby’s dress?”
“Of course. Aria and I decided which one would be best. And before you ask, your grandfather J.T. knows nothing about anything. He is as upright and honorable as you are.”
“Naive and trusting, you mean.”
“What is it the Americans say? If the shoe fits, Cinderella.”
For the first time, Graydon smiled. “I think you’ve been in this country too long.”
“I am ready to go home to your father. The question is, what are you going to do now?”
“Can I take by your tone that you approve of Toby?”
“Yes,” Millie said, smiling. “Nearly any girl could be trained to do the job, but what I wanted to know is if she loved you or the office.”
“And?” Graydon had one eyebrow raised.
“She loves you so much that she will sacrifice her happiness for yours. She will make you an excellent wife and Lanconia will benefit from having her as its queen.”
For a moment Graydon couldn’t speak. It was difficult for him to truly understand that he was going to get to spend his life with the woman he loved. “Danna’s father?”
“Don’t worry about him,” Millie said in a tone that was entirely aristocratic. “He hasn’t made his fortune without stepping on some toes. He’ll be content to be the father of a princess, not a queen, or I’ll show him some Lanconian justice.”
As Graydon ran his hand over his face, his mother was watching him. “I hav
e to tell Toby that she and I … That we can …” He looked around the area. “We started here near the chapel, with dinner and champagne. Maybe I can re-create that. I’ll get a cloth and candles and—”
“Chocolate-covered strawberries,” Millie said in a dreamy way that her son had never heard before. “Too bad you don’t have a black stallion, but that costume you’re wearing will have to suffice.”
“Of course,” Graydon said, blinking. He’d never before heard anything romantic from his mother.
“Go find her,” Millie said. “Give me thirty minutes, then bring Toby to this spot. I will have everything prepared.”
Graydon couldn’t think of anything else to say. He gave a bow appropriate to his sovereign, then went back to the tent.
As soon as Toby saw Graydon, she knew something had happened. In fact, she’d never seen him as he was. He strode across the big tent, paying no attention to the many guests, his eyes only on Toby. She’d often seen him look like The Prince, but this man was The King.
“What happened?” she asked when he reached her.
“In thirty minutes I’m going to take you out of here, even if I have to ride through here on a black stallion.”
Toby laughed. “You sound like Garrett—and like Millie’s husband.”
“What does that mean?”
As Toby handed out plates of wedding cake to a gang of children, she told him Millie’s story of a moonlight picnic.
“Slipped out a window, did she?”
Toby was looking at him. “Graydon, earlier you asked me to not leave you alone and I nodded, but nothing has changed. There are still insurmountable obstacles that we can’t overcome. We—”
Bending, Graydon gave her a quick kiss and the kids around them started to giggle. “Twenty-five minutes,” he said, then turned away and left the tent.
“Told you he was more than you could handle,” Lexie said from behind her.
She’d shown up with Roger Plymouth on her arm and a fat diamond on her finger. She’d looked apologetic, as though Toby was going to be shocked.
