I also need my ring, a dress, Comet, witnesses—
“Oof!” I run smack into Victoria.
“There you are.” She smooths her skirt. “Has Theo told you the news yet?”
“Do you want to be my maid of honor at our wedding tonight?” I blurt.
She looks gobsmacked. “You’re joking.”
“I’m really not.”
“Explain everything,” she demands as she grabs me by the arm and drags me to her bedroom.
I tell her about Henry and Graves, and she takes a lot longer to process it than Theo did. Comet and I play with a pile of dog toys on the floor of her room while she paces and Googles and occasionally swears under her breath. After nearly an hour, she walks out the door.
I bop Comet on the nose with a stuffed teddy bear he’s nearly ripped to shreds. “Do you think she’s coming back?”
He cocks his head as if he’s thinking about it.
Five minutes later the princess returns with a bottle of champagne in hand. “I’ll do it. I’ll be your chief bridesmaid.” She pops the top, takes a small sip, and disappears into her closet.
“Should I tie the ring to Comet’s collar?” I ask as she discards dress after dress. Comet is on his dog bed with his head in my lap, and I’m gripping the ring Theo gave me tightly in my palm. My stomach is a riot of butterflies.
“What if he swallows it?” She emerges with an armful of dresses.
I look at the pool of dog slobber in my lap. She has a point. “He really sleeps here every night?” I ask, even though it’s obvious from the dog bed to the toys that Comet is fully at home in Victoria’s room.
“I have trouble falling asleep unless he’s here,” she says from behind a pile of fabric. “Since Mum died.”
I glance at my rescue dog, who was only mine for a few chaotic days, and finally say what I should have said days ago. “Thanks for taking care of Comet.”
Victoria lays the dresses on the bed and cocks her hip. “I did it for him, not you.”
I’m too excited and overwhelmed to be fazed by her prickliness. Or maybe I’m just getting used to her. “He can stay here with you, as long as I can still hang out with him.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Shared custody?”
“Wearegoing to be sisters.”
She suppresses a smile as she focuses on the dresses. “I’ve never worn half of these. If you find something you like, I can get a tailor in here to make quick alterations. We’ll tell them it’s for the coronation tomorrow.”
I run my fingers across the expensive fabric, unexpected tears burning my eyes. This isn’t exactly how I would have wanted my wedding to go—no family and no Naomi—but I have Theo, and that’s more than enough.
Victoria cocks her head and surveys me seriously. “Are you sure this is what you want? Because you’re about to lose complete control of your life.”
I’m tired of getting the same warning. I know palace life is going to be different than what I’m used to, but if Theo andI can be happy together on a deserted island, we can make it work anywhere. “Theonlything I’m sure of is that I want him.”
“Is this what Theo wants?” she asks, and my stomach twists anxiously. No future in which Theo is king is a future he wants, but it’s the one he’s got, and because we live in a world where a comet could hit or a plane could fall from the sky or the earth could open up and swallow us whole, why not do what makes us happy?
“I really do love him,” I say.
“I know you do.” She looks up at the ceiling and blows out a breath. “And I guess I’m sorry that I’ve been an utter git,” she mumbles quickly. “It won’t suck having you as my big sister.”
I gasp. “What did you say?”
“Don’t make me say it again or I’m taking back the dresses,” she threatens.
“I don’t believe you,” I gloat, a smile growing on my face. “You don’t hate me. In fact, you kind of like me.”
