He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Oh, yes, I found it right away, but then I just decided that it might be fun to keep going through this box for kicks.” He gave me a withering look. “Of course, I didn’t. Not yet.” He picked up a pile of old sweaters before hesitating again. “Did you need something, or did you just come up to heckle me?”
“I wanted to tell you something.” I leaned against the doorjamb and crossed my arms over my chest. “I wanted to tell you that I’m very happy about the duchess title, but that honestly, the titles or what people call me don’t matter a bit. The only title I want to wear after Friday is that of your wife. It’s the only one that really counts.”
Nicky’s eyes soften. “Come here.”
I began to back away. “Oh, no, buddy. I see that expression on your face, and it means you want to toss me down on that bed and ... well, we both know what would happen next. But we don’t have time—we have to be at Windsor before dinner tonight—and also, we agreed we’d abstain this week, so that our wedding night is special.”
He snorted. “Our wedding night is going to be special regardless of whether you let me toss you on this bed right now ... and we didn’t so much agree as you suggested it, and I didn’t put up a fight. But youareright about the time. We need to leave in about fifteen minutes, and I still haven’t found—” His face lit up, and with a jerk, he pulled out a folded blue robe, the type usually worn by father figures on old black and white television shows. “Aha! Got it.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Oh, wow. Well, hey, baby, now that I see that robe, I’m all for having you do me right here on this bed. It’s sexy, honey.”
“You know it.” Nicky rubbed his hand over the cloth and laughed. “It’s not meant to be sexy. It’s supposed to be dignified and keep me covered while I’m staying at a royal palace where Her Majesty is also in residence.”
“Then you’re in luck, because it’s all that.” I pushed off the doorjamb. “Now that the robe crisis is averted, I’m going to make one final check and close my suitcases. I’m also going to refrain from pointing out that I was all packed by this morning.”
“You have the advantage of having your gown and shoes and so on transported by the designer,” Nicky retorted. “I have to organize everything I’m going to wear for the wedding itself, along with all the other clothes I need.” He shook his head. “Maybe I need a valet, like my father and my uncles have.”
“And that’s a conversation for another day.” I headed down the short hall toward our bedroom, where I looked around carefully to make sure I’d packed everything I would need for the next three days. We’d be at Windsor from tonight through our wedding day, though our wedding night would be spent in seclusion at a small house on the grounds of Windsor Castle. And just to make sure that there was no accidental sighting of the bride by the groom on the wedding day itself, before we met at the church, my family and I would be housed at Fort Belvedere, a large home that was also on the Windsor grounds.
Within fifteen minutes, Nicky had carried all of our bags downstairs and was helping Harold load them into the car. I lingered in the doorway, looking back into the small cottage, thinking of everything we’d said and done and experienced here.
“Why the nostalgia eyes, sweetheart?” Nicky took my hand. “We’re coming back here after the honeymoon.”
“Oh, I know that.” I reached for the doorknob to draw the door shut behind us. “Only then, we’ll be here as a married couple. The Duke and Duchess of Kendal. Not just Nicky and Ky anymore. I needed to take a moment and remember that we’ve had some pretty amazing times as just Nicky and Ky.”
“But just wait. The Duke and Duchess are going to have even more wonderful days.” Nicky pulled me to him and kissed my forehead. “I promise you that. Now, have you taken your moment? Are you ready to go?”
I smiled into the eyes that shone with love for me and only me—forever. “I’m ready. Let’s go get married.”
IOPENED MY EYES ONmy wedding day to a world of blue skies, soft air and vivid green grass. It was as though this day had been painted with my favorite colors just to honor Nicky and me.
For a few minutes, I lay in bed, savoring my last quiet, solitary moments as a single girl. I knew that shortly, my breakfast would be delivered on a tray, and not long after that, my mother, Honey and my sisters would descend upon the room to help me prepare for my wedding ceremony.
My gown was already here, on a display form in a locked bedroom just down the hall, where I’d dress and have my hair and makeup done in just a little while. Cassa was supposed to be on hand within a couple of hours to make sure everything went well with the gown. She was nearly as nervous today as I was; having a royal bride wear one of her designs was a huge coup, and her studio was braced for the onslaught of publicity once the Palace released the statement naming her as the designer and describing the dress.
“Happy wedding day!” Lisel and Bria burst through the door, jumping onto my bed the way only little sisters can. “Can you believe it? Today you’re marrying a freakin’ prince, Ky!”
“No.” I pushed to sit up, plumping my pillows behind me. “Today I’m marrying Nicky, the man I love. The prince part is just window decoration. It doesn’t really matter.”
“Everyoneknowsthat, Kyra.” Lisel sighed heavily. “But he is a prince. You can’t separate him like an egg. If he were just Nicky, his grandmother the Queen wouldn’t be sitting front and center at the ceremony and throwing you a kick-ass party afterward.”
“Her Majesty is hosting a wedding luncheon for us, and please don’t refer to it as kick-ass at any time.” I glared at my sister. “Behave yourselves today, both of you.”
“As if we’d do anything different, Ky.” Bria kicked off her shoes and slid under the covers with me. “You know you can trust us.”
“Yes, I do.” I laid my head on Bria’s shoulder and reached out to squeeze Lisel’s hand. “I’m glad you’re both here with me today.”
“Where else would we be? Breakfast is on its way. Mama and Honey will be here in a minute—we’re all going to eat with you this morning.”
“Perfect.” I stretched. “It looks like a beautiful day, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, it is. I already went for a run this morning.” Lisel nodded. “And oh, my God, Ky. You should see all the press trucks down by the church. One of my friends from school texted that their TV stations have preempted all the usual shows so they can broadcast your wedding.”
“No pressure or anything,” added Bria.
“None at all.” I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue. “It’s all right. I already knew there was going to be a lot of coverage in the US. Let’s face it—royal weddings are always a big deal in the states, and because the bride’s American ...” I shrugged.
“You’re the bride.” Lisel’s voice held a hint of surprised wonder. “Oh, my God, Ky, you’re the bride. I think it’s just hitting me now.”
