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“Are you all right with these hooligans’ tricks?” the king asked Macey.
“I can hardly tell them apart; it shouldn’t affect me at all,” Macey teased, giving Ray a flirtatious smile.
Ray sputtered a laugh at that, and T joined him.
“What?” their dad asked.
“We’d better get moving,” T said.
Ray loved his arm around Macey’s waist, but he wanted her to walk out those doors not leaning on him, but standing side by side. Macey should show the world she was confident and every inch the future princess he wished she could be. Not T’s princess, but his.
He slid his hand from her waist to her arm, then down her arm to clasp her right hand with his left. She visibly trembled and met his gaze. Holding hands was … perfect.
“Brave, bold, and beautiful,” he whispered to her. “You’ve got this.”
“With you holding my hand, I do,” she whispered back.
Ray’s pulse quickened. His dad and Tristan stepped in front of them, and each pushed one of the doors open.
Immediately cameras flashed, videos recorded, and questions flew at them. The sun was bright and the expectancy in the air swirled around them. He blinked and felt Macey stutter a step. He squeezed her hand and bent his head close to her ear.
“Brave, bold, and beautiful,” he said again.
She smiled up at him.
They descended the steps behind Tristan and his dad. Tristan played his role well, looking serious and eyeing each of the press members from their country and from around the world as if suspicious of their motives and making certain they didn’t harm his father, brother, or Macey. Ray smiled.
His brother could shoot well, so Ray’s Glock on his hip wasn’t a complete waste. Ray felt off without his sidearm in public, but his trusted guards and Cordon were stationed throughout the courtyard. They’d be safe.
His dad and Tristan stopped three-quarters of the way down; his dad stepped to Macey’s side and Tristan stood next to Ray as they descended to the same step.
His dad held up a hand and the indistinguishable clamor of questions halted.
“Thank you for gracing us with your presence on this magnificent day. I am very pleased to announce the engagement of my eldest son, Crown Prince Tristan August, to the lovely, brilliant, and accomplished Macey Clifton of the United States of America.”
Someone whooped in the back and there was some cheering and clapping, but most of the people held a camera or mic in their hands and couldn’t really clap.
“Now please,” the king continued. “Those from Augustine know the drill. Every media outlet is given one question.” He grinned and winked, looking relaxed and kingly. “So choose wisely.”
Everyone tittered a laugh.
His dad pointed at a woman on the far left and the questions began. Ray prayed Macey was feeling brave, bold, and beautiful. He’d done several press conferences for T before and a few as himself, answering military questions. He’d be fine. For most people, however, it was unnerving being put on the spot.
“Miss Clifton, how does a computer specialist from Ohio meet a crown prince?”
They’d done their research. Not surprising.
“I was at a party hosted by my well-known boss Sutton Smith, and this beautiful man with captivating blue eyes walked up to me and told me I was ‘brave, bold, and beautiful’.” She smiled radiantly up at Ray. He absolutely loved that she’d worked their line into the pre-arranged story. “I was immediately smitten.”
“I was the smitten one,” Ray said, raising their clasped hands and kissing her knuckles.
The press all seemed to love that one.
“Rumor has it Sutton Smith brought you to Augustine,” a male reporter said next. “Are you part of a protection detail?”
Ray had worried this would come up. Sutton Smith was well known around the world. Since he’d taken part in rescuing Eva Canterbury, a famous American model, and Hayden the Beast Warren, an NBA superstar, and killing a huge crime lord, he and his organization had gotten more attention than ever.
“I’m not,” Macey said smoothly. “Sutton brought me because he’s like a surrogate father to me, and I was a bit nervous to meet my prince’s family.” Her radiant smile was irresistible. “I can go anywhere in the world digitally, but actual travel and real people are a bit out of my wheelhouse. Self-proclaimed geek here.”
