New country - that thought reminded her that she needed to contact her parents to make sure they knew before her identity was shared with the public. As the vehicle drove through the streets, she sent a quick text to her parents asking them to come to Southern Santiero and visit her on set. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d done so, though they hadn’t come to her last two movie sets.
Her mother replied almost immediately and said they’d be there as soon as they could get a flight. She’d have talk to Frederick and ensure he could be there when she told them their daughter was a queen.
Which, by necessity, meant their son-in-law was the king of the country they’d spent so much time in when she was a child.
They’d never met him before. They’d seldom met any of the men she dated. The biggest reason they never did had more to do with how serious the relationship was - or wasn’t - as the case may be. She’d never dated anyone seriously enough for it to matter.
But now she was married, and they definitely needed to meet Frederick soon.
When she reached her suite, the event planner had already arrived. With her was one of the premiere designers from Southern Santiero. Elise knew that much even if she couldn’t remember the designer’s name.
They both curtsied, something that would take some getting used to for Elise, though she wondered if she ever would.
For the next twenty minutes, they discussed her dress. While the designer moved to another part of the room to start some sketches, Elise and the event planner moved on to other aspects of the wedding.
Elise felt like she’d been thrown into the deep end and didn’t know how to swim.
She asked the event planner for her recommendations and what her rationale was for each one. That would help when she needed to plan events on her own. She didn’t want to offend the people of Southern Santiero because she chose the wrong flower.
After another hour the designer returned.
“I have several designs I think you may like.” She flipped open the sketchpad to the first design.
Though gorgeous, Elise didn’t think it fit what she wanted and said so.
“I suspected you might feel that way, but wanted to give you several options.” She flipped to the next one, telling Elise about it as she did.
Elise felt the same way about that one. Gorgeous, but not right.
But the next one…
A gasp escaped before Elise could stop it. “I love it.”
The designer grinned. “I thought you might. The silhouette will look amazing on you. The detail around the veil will incorporate designs from Southern Santiero, but also some from Eastern Novigradia as a nod to your heritage.”
A thought crossed Elise’s mind, making her frown, but this didn’t seem like the time to bring it up. She pulled out her phone and made a note to discuss it with Frederick later in the evening.
“Is everything all right?” the event planner asked.
She nodded. “Yes, just something I need to ask Frederick about.” She returned her attention to the designer. “This is the one.”
“I do have one more to you,” the designer told her. She flipped the page to another design Elise thought someone would love, but wasn’t for her.
“The other one is perfect. I love it.”
After a few more minutes of discussion, the two women left the suite, curtsying once more as they did.
Elise texted Frederick and asked if he could call her in the next few minutes so they could talk before she went to bed. Her phone buzzed almost immediately.
“Good evening, love.” His voice over the phone made her feel warm and safe. “How did your meeting with the planner go?”
“Very well.” She settled in against her headboard with her blankets pulled up to her waist. “We picked a dress and discussed a number of other things with regard to the wedding.”
“I’m glad.” She could hear what almost sounded like relief in his voice. “I know that sort of thing can be difficult, especially when we’re on such a tight schedule.”
“There is a couple of things I want to talk to you about.” The nervousness was likely unjustified, but she felt it anyway.
“What things?” He only sounded puzzled, not annoyed. She took that as a good sign.
