“I didn’t want to wear and hold all of that. Those things are all really heavy and very old andveryvaluable. I kept imagining myself dropping and breaking them and everyone laughing or my family being upset with me.”
Isla gasped. “But you didn’t! It was all fine!”
“You’re right. And I made it through without any tears. Just. Like. You.” I squeezed her tiny hand and nodded to the nurse who was cleaning up her tray of supplies.
Isla’s eyes lit up and a smile lit her face from ear to ear. “Hey, I didn’t even feel her insert the IV! Thank you, King Oliver.”
“It was absolutely my pleasure.”
“Do you think you’ll be scared when you and Ms. Adelaide get married? There will be a lot of people watching you there, too.”
I caught the sound of a chuckle from the nurse as she left the room. My eyes met Adelaide’s and I couldn’t stop the smile that took over my face at the thought of marrying her. Iknew that I wouldn’t have a care in the world when it came to our wedding day. If she would let me, marrying her would be the easiest thing I’d done in my life so far.
“No. Not at all. That woman right there”—I nodded toward Adelaide—“is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Saying ‘I do’ to her isn’t scary at all.”
I flipped my phone to airplane mode, closed my eyes, and melted back into my seat, a sigh of relief escaping my lips at the thought of a few hours without notifications. This trip for the king of Norway’s birthday celebration would be our last for a couple of months, and after travelling all over Europe for the past several weeks, I fully intended to stay off Wi-Fi and use the time on this flight to turn my brain off.
“Your Majesty, can I get you any refreshments before we take off?”
I opened my eyes and smiled at the flight attendant, shaking my head. “No, thank you.”
She bowed her head and pivoted to Adelaide in the seat across from me. “And you, ma’am?”
Adelaide shook her head, smiling tightly. The flight attendant made her way back to the service station as our security detail settled into their places on board the private jet.
I leaned forward, speaking softly so that I wouldn’t beoverheard. “Did you download any good books for the trip?” I winked and watched a blush creep over her face.
We hadn’t talked much about the night at Anton and Carmen’s house. There hadn’t been any more sex, but Adelaide had been much more open with her affection. She kissed me more in public, tended to extend her hand more often, and didn’t stiffen up when I placed my hand on her back when walking. I counted them as small victories.
Before she could answer, our family’s pilot came across the speaker.
“Welcome aboard. We are getting ready to take off. I ask that you please stay in your seats until the seatbelt signal is off. We are expecting some turbulence early in the flight, but I am going to get through it as quickly as I can. It will be a bumpy ascent and I apologize in advance.”
Adelaide hated takeoff. I had quickly learned this during our first flight together, when she left a fingernail mark on the top of my hand from holding it too tight.
“Hey,” I said gently, standing and moving into the seat next to her. I picked up her hand and laced our fingers together as the plane began moving. “Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”
“Oliver.” She worried her plump pink lip.
I’d have given anything to have that beautiful mouth on mine right then and give her something else to focus on. But instead, I lightly grabbed her chin with my other hand and forced her to look into my eyes.
“Do as I say.” My voice was soft but commanding. “Close your eyes and breathe. I’ve got you.”
The look she gave me told me she wanted to argue with me, but a bump on the runway had her doing what she was told, and I could see some of the tension melt away. Adelaidewould never admit it, but she liked when I took control and gave her small orders.
That night in Madrid had been very eye opening for both of us. I had never considered her as someone who would like to be bossed around, but I could tell that she needed someone to just take the reins sometimes. She was always making decisions for herself, her students, and everyone around her. It must be nice to not have to decide what the next move was, and I was happy to bear that burden for her where I could.
The plane lifted off, and my stomach took a little dip as we hit a pocket of air and the plane dropped a few feet.
Adelaide’s eyes jerked open and she squeezed my hand even harder. I brought our hands to my mouth and kissed the top of hers.
“Focus on me.” I pressed my lips to her index finger. “Breathe in through your nose.” I placed a kiss on her middle finger. “Now out through your mouth.” Another kiss on her ring finger. “Now close your eyes and inhale again.” This time she shook her head defiantly and I raised my eyebrow in return. “Close them.” I said more firmly as I kissed her last little finger.
She conceded, shutting her eyes and following the directions, but not before giving my hand a contrary little squeeze.
She blew out her breath. “Thank you. That really helped.”
“Of course.”
