She laughed. “If I was going to work for anyone else, I’d tell you that no one uses stationery anymore, but they definitely do.”
“You’ll have to write me a letter.” My smile weakened and fully disappeared as the sadness of it all crept up on me. “I’m happy for you. I am. I’m just going to miss you so very much.”
Tears began trickling down my face mid-sentence and continued as Joss leaned over and threw her arms around me and held me tight.
“You’re going to be just fine, Addie. You’ve built an incredible company, you have all the contacts you need, and everyone wants to hire you. Besides, Seth isn’t bad on the eyes,” she said, referring to the man we’d hired to take on Joss’s role once she fully stepped out, which was last week. I laughed through my tears as I pulled away and wiped them.
“He is handsome.” I sniffled. And gay. And married. I didn’t feel the need to tack any of those on since Joss already knew that. “He’s bringing his husband by the office next week.”
“You’ll have to keep me posted on that.” She smiled, straightening in her seat and setting her hands on the steering wheel. “Let’s go put these groceries away and make some lunch.”
As we drove, my mind stayed on all of the changes happening in my life. Joss would be moving out this weekend and heading to Paris, where Princess Pilar lived, to move in with her. I’d have to make a choice between getting another roommate or trading in the flat for a smaller one. I had a wedding on Saturday that Seth would be working as we transitioned Joss out of the company entirely, though she did promise to help with the royal wedding. The thought alone made me want to cry, but I wouldn’t. I needed to let him go.
Chapter 27
The invitation in my hand felt heavy as I read it a third time. I set it down on the counter and looked at Joss.
“Maybe it was meant for you.”
“I have my own.” She lifted the ivory envelope in front of her. “They meant to invite you, which makes sense. You are planning the wedding, after all.”
“I don’t think I can stomach going to this.” I looked at the invitation again. “Emily will be there with him.”
“She was at Sunday dinner with him.”
“They weren’t this official yet then.” I gnawed my bottom lip.
“It was their engagement announcement. They were official enough.” Joss raised an eyebrow. “You’ve agreed to plan their wedding, Addie.”
“I hate all of this.” I sighed heavily and reached for my phone and began a text. “I wonder if Etienne will be there.”
“I’m sure he’s invited.”
“How upset do you think the queen will be if I back out of planning the wedding?” I glanced up at Joss, whose eyebrows had reached a new altitude.
“Very, but not as upset as your mother will be.”
“You’re right.” I shook my head. “I need to stop letting whatever this was dictate my professional career.”
“I agree.”
“And I’m going to the coronation. I’m going to prove to myself that I can do this.”
“Good.”
“And I will no longer be charmed by him. Especially not in public.”
“Very well.” Joss stood from the barstool across from me. “Let’s go shopping. We have a coronation to attend.”
Chapter 28
Elias
“It feels stuffy in here.” I pulled at the collar of my shirt.
“That’s because you’re in the room.” Aramis smirked as he walked over to me.
“Hilarious.”
“Are you nervous?”
“What do you think?” I shot him a look.
I would love to say I’d been preparing for this my entire life, but that would be a lie. While I’d been bred for this, my father always acted as if he never expected to die. As if all of us would be under his rule forever. And so, I was truly lost in this role. I knew what my responses would be during the coronation. I knew I’d have to finally face the members of the cabinet and had a speech prepared for that, but everything this entailed and everything that would be expected of me after today? No, I was not ready for it. I hadn’t met a monarch thus far who said they’d been truly prepared for it.
“This will be the first coronation to be televised since . . . ” Aramis whistled. “Well, since Queen Elizabeth II.” He chuckled. “No pressure.”
“You’re a real jerk, you know that?” I exhaled as I continued to tug on my collar and looked at Pierre. “How many will be in attendance?”
“Several billion will be watching.” He couldn’t even hide his laughter. I wanted to kill them both. Pierre cleared his throat and added, “Inside of the palace walls, there will be two-thousand-four-hundred and thirty. Outside of the palace walls, probably all of France if I had to guess.”