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“Taking a nap with my mother. I’m hoping if she sleeps now, she’ll be awake for our photos today,” she replied, reaching up and fixing my tie.
I tilted my head to the side. “Photos? What are we taking photos for? Is today special in some way?”
She yanked my tie, ruining what she’d just adjusted to bring my face closer to her. “Oh, nothing major, it’s only my birthday and our anniversary. Of which I’ve gotten no present. You were even gone before I woke up this morning. What are you up to, Your Majesty?”
“Me? Nothing at all.” I grinned, placing my hand on her hips, bringing her closer to me, “I’m just the careless husband who completely forgot.”
“Apparently, you don’t plan on making it to the second anniversary.”
“Isn’t this already our second anniversary?” It had been one year since we publicly had gotten married in front of the world, but I still counted the marriage we had in secret the year before that in Seattle.
“So, you do remember, as I thought. So where is my gift?”
“Do you not see me? Aren’t you blessed enough?”
She scoffed and then laughed in my face.
“Wow. I am hurt,” I replied, hugging her tightly. “And here I am, never in need of anything as I have you.”
“Cheesy.” She glared.
I kissed her lips quickly. “I know. You love it, though. Now, come on, my queen. Let’s go to your gifts.”
“Gifts?” she exclaimed as I took her hand and led her out of the room. “What is it?”
“You still refuse to accept surprises and insist on them. We will never compromise on this,” I said, pulling her with me faster.
“Gale, we aren’t supposed to be running.”
“We are the king and queen. We run if we want to…and we can even do this,” I said right before picking her up and spinning her in my arms.
“Gale!” she squealed, trying to hold her dress down, though I did not mind it turning up. Sadly, we got to our destination: the east wing of the palace. “What’s going on?” Odette asked when I put her down. “I thought this side of the palace has been closed for renovations you ordered.”
“It has, but I never said what the renovations were of.” I smirked, walking up to the door. “Are you ready?”
She nodded eagerly.
Raising my hand, I knocked once against the doors behind me so I could see her face when they opened. The idea had hit me weeks ago, but I wasn’t sure we could pull it off. I mean, keeping something like this a secret from her took the whole palace. I was sure someone would tell her, but they all managed to allow me this moment.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, taking a step, her eyes wide as she looked at everyone inside.
“Joyeux anniversaire Reine Odette!” they called out to her.
She spun around with a grin so wide on her face. “You made Paris for me?”
“Team effort but my idea, and not just any Paris. Spring in winter Paris.” I turned her to the side so she could look out the window to the garden where all the spring flowers were strung up and hanging and in the distance was an Eiffel Tower. It wasn’t as big as the real one, of course, but it did the job.
Inside were all the macarons, croissants, and crepes she could eat, along with as much French art as I could borrow. I even tried to get the Mona Lisa, but they refused as it was far too fragile to travel. Which brought on a new idea. Leading her through the room, I brought her to a series of paintings, which hadn’t been uncovered yet.
They had arrived the previous night. I nodded for them to lift it for her.
“I want this palace to be filled with portraits of not just my family, but yours,” I said.
And the very first one was of her father, at this palace, casually in a study, behind a desk of computer things I did not understand as if he had lived here all his life, dressed in a dark suit with a medal on his chest. He looked up from his paperwork as if someone had just spoken to him, and he was glad they had come.
Silently she moved to the next painting, that of her mother, dressed in a white fur coat, sitting upon a chaise lounge with a tiara on her head, an amused smirk on her face as she surveys the room.
“My maternal grandmother and grandfather?” she whispered when she moved to the next portrait. “How did you get this?”
