When she looked up at John, he held her close and kissed her.
“You made me proud tonight,” he said, his lips against her ear. “Everyone loved you. The Hessenberg ambassador wanted to know where I’d been hiding you and from what aristocratic family you hailed. I said, ‘She’s from Tennessee.’ He said, ‘An American? Not another one,’ but he was smiling.” John kissed down her cheek to her lips. “Truly, love, he admired you.”
“He barely knows me.”
“Your dress reminds me of the fairy tale,The Swan’s Feather.”
“The one your mother told you?” Gemma stepped back. His kiss was awakening things in her she’d rather leave asleep. “Prince, this is not a fairy tale.”
“When Holland died, I found a swan’s feather on the abbey floor. But there were no swans in the nave. Then the other night, after we talked in the corridor, I found another feather.”
Gemma made a face. “What are you saying? This dress with feathers is a sign? John, we’re not living in a bedtime story where everything works out. Where feathers appear out of nowhere to guide us to our destiny and happily ever after.”
He reached for her and she didn’t resist. Resting her head against his chest, she let herself just be in the moment—standing with this amazing man in the Heart of God, listening to the music of the fountain…
Let this be her happily ever after. Even if it only lasted a night.
“I know we don’t live in a fairy tale, Gemma. But I also know I don’t want you to go home Sunday.” The prince began to move in a melodic sway, humming the same tune from Monday evening, and Gemma flowed with him in body, mind, and soul.
“Gemma, don’t you think—”
“Shh, Prince, let’s just enjoy the lights, the fountain, you and me, this dress of feathers—”
“Which could be a sign.” He leaned to see her face. “I find two random feathers and then you walk out of your suite bedroom wearing a million of them.”
“Remember this feathered frock belongs to your sister-in-law.”
“But now it belongs to you.”
“Tomorrow it will be Princess Daffy’s again.” Gemma pulled free of him. He was dreaming too much. Talking crazy. “Prince, we’ve had a marvelous time together. I admire you, and am so grateful to have met you, but this is the end of the line for us save a Christmas card here and there.”
“It doesn’t have to be the end, Gemma.” His low tone made her shiver. Where was he going with this? “I’ve been thinking—”
“No thinking tonight. Just pretendthisis forever. And when the clock strikes mid—”
“Marry me.”
His question startled her, and suddenly she felt the entire weight of the gown. “What?”
“Marry me. I realized this week you’re my best friend. I want to talk to you first thing in the morning and in the evening before lights out. When something interesting, or not so interesting, happens I think, ‘Wait until Gemma hears this.’ So why not marry? As you know, I need a wife—”
“John, the clock has struck midnight. The spell is broken. We go back to our real selves You cannot marry me. I live in Hearts Bend. I have Imani. She wants to graduate from Rock Mill High. And you,you, simply cannot marry me.” The very idea of what the press would unearth if she married this man made her weak where she stood. Despite Matt’s assurance the videos no longer existed, she’d taken a huge chance stepping out with a crown prince tonight. “John, I’m not royal material, trust me. I’m starting to think they put something strange in the punch at the ball tonight that’s making you actually believe in fairy tales.”
“My darling, you are perfect royal material. Smart, loving, kind. Beautiful. We can work out the details with Imani.” The light of the cathedrals illuminated the seriousness in his blue eyes. “Having my best friend with me on this journey makes my heart light.”
“John, listen to yourself. Please.” If she said yes, she’d have to tell him about Vegas and that she could not do. Ever. She turned toward the street. “We should go.”
Upon her words, the cathedral clocks pealed the hour, striking the twelve chimes of midnight. When the last bell rang out, the night was over and as far as Gemma was concerned, the magic, the spell, was broken.
“That’s it?” Prince John said. “‘We should go?’ You’re not going to even consider my proposal?”
She turned to face him. “All right, I’ve considered it and no, I won’t marry you.”
“Why not?”
“Do you even love me?” Gemma dragged herself and the heavy dress back to him.
“Do you love me?”
