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“I’ve never been to see a movie at an American movie theater before.”
“Is it any different than theaters in St. Rais?”
“No, but I rarely got to go to those. We have the small theater in the palace, remember? It wasn’t until I went to university that I saw a movie in a theater, like everyone else, for the first time.”
“Really?” Palmer asked, shielding both of them from the cold rain with an umbrella.
The weather was cold but not freezing enough for snow, so as the rain began to fall, Palmer had taken an umbrella out of the car and held it over both of them. That meant they had to walk closely together as they exited the theater, but Elizabeth didn’t mind.
“When we were growing up, our father didn’t like when we socialized with other kids,” Elizabeth explained. “His father raised him in a bubble, so it was what he knew.”
“I’m not sure I would’ve liked your father very much,” Palmer admitted, taking Elizabeth’s hand and giving it a squeeze.
“Well, I’m not sure I would’ve let you meet him.” She squeezed the hand back and held on to it.
“Why not? I can dress up from time to time. You’ve seen me.” Palmer pulled her in closer. “I did the whole title-curtsy thing until you told me not to.”
Elizabeth laughed and said, “It’s not because of you, Palmer. My father wouldn’t have understood you. There’s a reason the world doesn’t know much about St. Rais. He and the monarchy worked, in part, to keep the place separated from everywhere else. I don’t know if it was the right decision, but me being friends with an American reporter wouldn’t have made sense to him. He wouldn’t have liked it.”
“In the same way he wouldn’t have liked your relationship with Teagan?” Palmer asked, opening the door for Elizabeth and helping her inside the car.
Elizabeth waited until Palmer was in the driver’s seat before she spoke next, “I don’t really know how to answer that.”
“Why not?” Palmer asked, starting the ignition. “I was thinking, we could grab dinner somewhere. Is that okay?”
“Dinner anywhere is fine. And I don’t know how to answer that question, Palmer, because I don’t know how I’d describe our relationship; yours and mine.”
Palmer turned to her and said, “I think you do. I think you have to admit it to yourself, and that’s hard, but I think you know how to describe what we’re doing; what we have orcouldhave.”
“Americans, certainly, are direct, aren’t they?” she replied, laughing more as a stall technique than anything else.
“Look in the back seat,” Palmer told her.
Elizabeth squinted in confusion before turning to look in the back seat.
“I don’t know these,” she said, picking up a small bunch of pale-colored flowers.
“They’re forget-me-nots,” Palmer explained, pulling the car out of the parking lot. “According to my dad, they mean two things.”
Elizabeth sniffed the flowers and held them out in front of her. Palmer took her free hand and moved it into her lap, entwining their fingers again.
“They mean true love,” Palmer added. “And don’t forget me.”
Elizabeth stared at Palmer as she drove.
“Which one of those applies to me?” she finally asked.
“I think that depends entirely on you,” Palmer replied.
They drove on for a while until Palmer pulled into another parking lot. Their day had been cut short due to Elizabeth sleeping in way later than she’d planned. Palmer hadn’t seemed to mind, though. She’d just picked her up at the hotel later and was fine with security following them everywhere they went. Security, for their part, had been keeping their distance, and for the first time in a very long time, Elizabeth felt free: free from her worries about her country, about her family, about herself, and even free from her guilt and anger at her losses. Before they got out of the car, Palmer, without words, brought Elizabeth’s hand to her lips and kissed the outside of her palm. They said nothing of it. When they got inside the restaurant, Palmer placed her hand again on the small of Elizabeth’s back and ushered her to their table.
After they’d eaten their dinner, Elizabeth insisting on paying this time, Palmer stood up and helped her with her coat. Elizabeth took Palmer’s hand this time, not being able to wait for Palmer to initiate the contact and also wanting Palmer to know that she loved holding her hand. And she hoped they had more chances to touch like this; she knew she wanted that. She wanted to hold Palmer’s hand, and she wanted to do more. God, she was finally able to admit to herself that she wanted more with Palmer Honeycutt, who had taken her completely by surprise in St. Rais, and was now doing it again in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; a place Elizabeth had never thought she’d see but was now so glad she had.
“So, what do you want to do now?” Palmer asked when they climbed back into the car.
“Do you have to go back to your parents’ house just yet?”
“No, they took Camilla out to dinner tonight. They’ll probably be home a little later.”
