Bo might be right; I have no idea if Hettie needs to share details about Bo with her best friend, Abigail, but I can pretty much guarantee Abigail has talked her ear off about me.
“We’re back.” I slide onto the stool between Abigail and Stella. It’s always a family affair when we come to The King’s Hat, with eldest brother, Prince Kalle owning the pub, and Hettie’s sister, Mabel, taking over the management from Kalle’s fiancée, Edie.
“Were you talking about us?” Bo demands as he sits, crowding in between Hettie and Abigail, his shoulders dwarfing them. The latest country hit begins and the table beside us decides to sing along.
“Of course we were,” Abigail tells him with a grin, and Bo looks confused.
“Don’t worry.” Hettie pats his hand. “I was just explaining our little plan to them.”
The little plan being giving Tema a little brother or sister.
Bo wants to be a daddy—again. A fact that I think is pretty amazing.
A fact that makes Abigail want to step upourrelationship.
And… I’m not sure how I feel about that.
I love having Abigail back in town. The four of us were inseparable when we were younger, but that all ended after Abigail left town with Hettie. Now that they’re back, things have… developed with Abigail. Things that have me thinking of her as more than just a friend.
It’s so easy with Abigail. She’s amazing; nice, funny, smart. She’s a great friend.
She’s beautiful, too. I’m very attracted to her.
I stop reciting the reasons I want to be with Abigail and tune into the conversation.
“You haven’t even been married for six months,” Stella is saying, turning to Gunnar with an unmistakable expression of fear.
“Remarried,” I correct. Eight years ago, Abigail and I witnessed a secret ceremony between Bo and Hettie, and being one of the only people who knew Prince Bo was married weighed heavy on me. But I kept his secret, even though I didn’t agree with how he left/ended things with Hettie.
No one understood that. I’m just glad it’s all out in the open, and they are back together.
And happy.
It makes me wonder if there’s a happily ever after out there for me.
Abigail brushes my arm as she reaches for her glass and I smile down at her.
“We’ve missed a lot of time,” Hettie explains, her hand resting on Bo’s. “Speaking of which—” She glances over at him. “We should get back and check on our little princess.”
“Is Dad watching her again?” Gunnar asks with a chuckle. The thought of the king of Laandia babysitting his granddaughter is amusing for all, even more so when you think about how Tema has him wrapped around her finger. The girl could ask for anything—a pony, a crown, another country—and King Magnus would make it happen.
“It’s a group effort,” Bo says with a worried look since he’s well aware of how not only his father, but the entire castle staff, indulges his daughter.
Bo might be the worst of them all.
I know he’s trying to make up for the time he missed with Tema, so no one can blame him.
“I think they fight about who is in charge,” Bo adds. “Dad, Duncan, Mrs. Theissen…”
“Mrs. Theissen takes charge, for sure.” Abigail laughs.
“I think so too, but the king—”
“Dad,” Bo corrects Hettie with a half-smile. “He told you to call him Dad.”
“He’s my Lord and Sovereign King,” Hettie protests. “I’m not quite at theDadphase yet.”
“King Daddy,” I suggest with a grin. Tema still occasionally refers to Bo as Prince Daddy, but she’s been dropping the prince more often these days, to Bo’s delight.
