AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know you do,” Victoria said, her expression turning serious again. “But you have to be careful.”
“Careful of what?” I asked.
“I don’t want you to get hurt. If you put your heart out there and she rejects you, I will have to kick her ass.”
I laughed and pushed her out of the room. “Go. I’ll see you at dinner.”
34
EMILIE
With the bustling days of Wed season temporarily behind me, I reveled in the simple joys of home life. My parents were distracted with a visit from important people—I couldn’t remember where they were from. I was just happy to have them doing their thing so I could do my own. It was almost like it used to be. I could go about my day and be ignored in peace.
“Are you ready?” Astrid asked and handed me my sunglasses.
“I am.”
I was wearing jeans and sneakers and feeling like I was on top of the world. “Where are they?” I asked as we walked down the long hallway.
“They are having tea with their guests,” she answered. “We’re all good.”
It was like we were breaking out of prison. In a way, we were. We busted through the back door and into the beautiful garden. I was thrilled to be home and getting out of the confines of the palace.
“Damn, this feels good,” I said.
I slid on my sunglasses and turned my face to the sun. The crisp air and the fragrance of blooming flowers filled my senses, grounding me in the beauty of the present moment.
“I have to say I missed this,” Astrid said. “It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve done this.”
“Have you talked to Jack?” I asked casually.
“No. We agreed not to talk until we see each other again. What about Theo? Have you talked to him?”
Theo was never far from my thoughts, and with each passing day, the ache of missing him grew stronger. “No.”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?” she asked with a laugh.
“I don’t know about that.”
“Are you still afraid to fall in love with him?” she asked.
“It’s not that I’m afraid, but I do think I need to be cautious.”
“Why?”
“Because even now, I’m thinking about him,” I confessed. “I miss him. If I’m in love with him, I think I’m going to have a hard time focusing on the duties I’ll have.”
“You’re not going to be queen tomorrow,” she said. “Your father is relatively young and healthy. He’s not going anywhere. You’ll have time to get to that stage in marriage when he doesn’t dominate your every waking thought. You’ll progress to the point where you’ll kiss each other goodbye in the morning and then go to work. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to have lunch together. Then you’ll have dinner and spend a few hours sitting by the fire talking about your day. Then, you’ll go to bed together and what you do there is your business.”
I laughed. “Astrid, are you describing your dream future?”
She grinned. “Maybe I am.”
“Is that marital bliss?” I joked.
“It could be. I think you have to give yourself the chance to have that bliss.”
“I do miss him,” I said. “Isn’t that a start?”
