She smiled."Don't tempt me."
We stayed in the stable a while longer, watching Azzurra with her twins, making plans that were probably too ambitious and definitely too fast.The foals had both managed to stand, wobbling but determined, learning how to exist in a world that was bigger and stranger than anything they'd expected.
I knew the feeling.
"Your mother is going to have opinions about an American wedding," Betty said eventually.
"My mother can keep her opinions to herself.This is our wedding, our choice."
"That's very romantic, but she's still the Queen of Solmarina.We probably need to at least inform her."
"Fine.But after I've had a chance to process the fact that you just proposed to me in a horse stable while my mare recovers from giving birth to twins."
"Is that not traditional royal courtship?"
"Shockingly, no."
She laughed, and I closed my eyes in relief.This was real.She was choosing to stay, choosing me, choosing this impossible life we were building together.
"I love you," I said, because it needed to be said without qualifications or excuses."I know I've been terrible at showing it, and I know I've made mistakes that hurt you, but I love you.I have from the moment you told me you were secretly good at Italian and just liked annoying Professore Benedetti."
"I love you too.Even though you're an arrogant prince who thinks he knows better than everyone else."
"I'm working on that."
"I know you are.That's why I'm marrying you."She kissed me again, softer this time."Now come on.We have a wedding to plan and a villain to defeat and a congressional committee to convince that we're doing this for real."
"When you put it that way, it sounds almost easy."
"It's going to be a disaster."
"Probably."
"But it's our disaster."
"Definitely."
We left Azzurra resting with her foals and headed back to the palace to start making phone calls and generally upending everyone's day with a rushed American wedding to put on.
But first, I stopped Betty in the corridor, pulling her close.We kissed one more time in the empty corridor, and I thought about Viktor's smug satisfaction when he'd declared the marriage invalid.He'd thought he was destroying us.Instead, he'd given Betty the chance to choose me freely, without coercion or lies.
