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But wait, this is just Toad getting into my head again. He thinks he’s trying to warn me, but I know what this is. He’s salty.
I point at him. “You never could stand me having something nice. You were always getting after me about being too big for my britches. Well, guess what? Maybe I am too big for my britches, after all! Maybe I’m supposed to marry this man and move away because you and other small-minded people like you are so dang suffocating.”
My brother’s surly expression changes to resignation, and he lowers his shoulders. He gives a wry smile, shaking his head. “Fine. Go.”
“We’ll talk about this again when you’re sober,” I say.
“Sure, sis. Sure.”
22
Torben
I regret leaving a sibling spat unresolved.
But I empathize when it comes to family drama.
Hailey is quiet on the drive back to the Thistle Rock.
I’ve promised to slow down, and Hailey finally handed over the keys to the car.
“Did I say something wrong? Was I okay with your family?”
She smiles bravely, “You were more than okay. They loved you. Well, except for Toad, but he’ll come around.”
“I’m sorry he’s giving you trouble,” I say.
She shoots me a perfunctory smile and then studies her cuticles.
I have the feeling there’s more she’s not sharing.
“What else is bothering you, love?”
She sighs. “There are a lot of moving parts, and it’s all hitting me now how complicated this engagement will be until… maybe for a long time.”
Relief washes over me. This is an easy problem to solve.
“You don’t have to worry about any wedding details you don’t want to. Whatever you want to be in charge of, you can be in charge of. And afterward, we can live in the palace, or we can live in one of the royal cottages. I’ll need time to arrange the celebration for when you arrive and prepare you for what it will be like when we’re out in public. All you need to do while I’m gone is give notice to your job and pack your things.”
She nods, thinking. “There should be plenty of time to give notice and tie up loose ends. I’ll also have to get a new wardrobe, learn to curtsy, and remember who to call what.”
Hailey looks down at her denim pedal-pushers and tee shirt. “What even do I wear on the plane when I move?”
“Whatever you would prefer to wear,” I say.
I feel her stare. “Torben. Be real. I’ve seen how you all dress for royal engagements. I can’t step off the plane looking like a hillbilly.”
I sigh. “I don’t know anything about women’s clothes. You could wear a house dress for all I care.”
And now, I’m starting to feel her annoyance. “I want you to care, though. That’s the point. I don’t want to look silly.”
“You could never look silly. You are objectively an ethereal beauty, and everyone will see that.”
Hailey huffs loudly, exasperatedly. What did I say wrong? “I want to look appropriate for when I meet your parents. What clothes would your mother and sister wear for a public event? Do they have their own designers? Do they shop off the rack?”
I nod slowly, eyes on the road. “As it’s an island country, they have their own dressmakers, but often renowned designers send clothes as gifts to the palace for all of us. So it’s about half and half. Off the rack, no, I don’t think so.”
“Well, that explains why your sister always looks fabulous in pictures,” she says.
