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“Five days. There are many arrangements to be made in advance.”
“It can’t be sooner?”
“Five days is warp speed given what’s required. This is a state affair.”
“Okay.” I sigh, lamenting the delay so much as the five extra days of getting close to Alex, only to have to leave. “What do we do in the meantime?”
He opens his arms and nods to the scenery. “Would you like a royal tour of the Kingdom of Solvaria?”
“Does it have to be the royal version?” I grin.
Lily looks so vicariously excited for me to go that I don’t have the heart to let her down, even if I wish I could. But of course I want to go with him. As much as it hurts to open my heart for something that can never work, I’d rather spend the day with Alex than wish I were with him.
“What will you do while we’re out, Aunt Lily?”
“Eagerly await all the amazing photos you’re going to send me.”
We get into the car, which Alex tells me is chauffeured mainly because it can cause traffic problems when he travels in one of his own cars conspicuously.
“Good to know,” I say, trying to let it sink in.
I have a better idea of what he means when we get to the center of Vanecourt Square in the coastal city of Vitasca. It makes Rodeo Drive and Madison Avenue look like Main Street Mayberry.
“I’ve never seen so many flashbulbs in my life.” I look nervously outside the limousine window.
“Well, I had Nicolai contact the media.”
“You what?”
He exits the limousine first, then looks back with a guilty smile that’s maddeningly charming.
The shutters go into a frenzy as he kisses my hand, then leads me out, and pulls me close with his arm around my waist.
“Kiss her, Prince Alex!”
“Show off your fiancée!”
“Should we humor them?” he asks, moving my hair away and putting his mouth against my ear. I giggle and close my eyes involuntarily.
“I don’t want to disappoint on my first outing.”
He spins me toward him and kisses me slowly and passionately. A cheer rises up in the crowd, but it's not nearly as loud as the one in my heart.
His two security officers, straight from central casting in sunglasses and suits, exit the car behind us and push back the crowd.
They escort us into the central plaza, filled with dozens of luxury stores. There’s a fountain spouting water following arcs of light. The cobblestone promenade is flanked by delicate palm trees.
Alex dips me in a little improvised dance. Although I feel unsteady, I feel safe in his arms, following his lead, and letting him guide my steps.
In each of the stores, he slips the staff what I assume is an obscene amount of solvars to have the space to ourselves.
Our first stop is a spare boutique with dresses that look like they came from a Vogue photo shoot. “Anything you want, Bella, it’s yours.”
“But the dresses are, like, three thousand solvars each. How many dollars is that?”
“That’s for me to know.”
“And me to find out?”
