I stepped over to him, opening my arms and giving him a big hug.
“Of course, I do. Hailey was just what I needed.”
“Good. I’ll give you both some time to relax and catch up. Order whatever you’d like for dinner—I already informed the king
that you’d be busy tonight. And if either of you need anything, just let me know.”
I stepped over to Luc one more time, taking his hands into mine.
“Thank you. Seriously, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
“It’s my pleasure, Princess.”
With that, he stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Hailey and me alone.
The two of us let out another pair of screams once he was gone, throwing our arms around each other in one more giant hug.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “Seriously, this is totally insane.”
“Insane in the best kind of way, though. I know you’ve been having a rough go of it. At least you’ve got Mr. Hottie to help distract you.”
Reality was beginning to creep back in. I let out a sigh, falling onto the bed.
“God, I have no idea what I’m going to do about any of that.”
“Well, I want to hear everything but I just got off a ten-hour flight, and something about being in a plane makes me want the junkiest food that I can get my hands on. What do you say about calling up that royal kitchen of yours and having them whip us up some deep-dish pizzas?”
“Sounds perfect.”
I made the call, and a little over an hour later one of the members of the staff dropped off our pizzas, along with some root beer to wash it all down. Hailey passed the time while we waited by filling me in on everything that had been going on with the crab truck.
“And this other guy, Sean, he’s… I don’t even know what to say about this kid.”
I laughed as I carried the pizzas over and set them on the table in the bedroom.
I pulled a big slice of extra cheese onto my plate, the slice thick as my arm and dripping with beautiful, melty cheese. I took a bite, the pizza as delicious as it looked.
Hailey leaned forward over her piece, the look in her eyes letting me know that she was right on the verge of bringing up the one thing I had no idea how to talk about.
“So, Luc…”
I pursed my lips, my heart beating faster at just the mention of him.
“I know.”
“Have you thought about it? I mean, really thought about what you’re going to do?”
“Of course I’ve thought about it! I think about it pretty much every minute of the day.”
“I get it. And you have to know that I’m not trying to grill you or anything. All the same, this is a huge deal! Not to mention that you haven’t told Luc yet. I know you’ve got a million things to worry about here at the palace, but at the same time, this baby situation isn’t going anywhere.”
“I have a plan, believe it or not.”
“You do?” she asked the question with a mouthful of pizza, a confused expression on her face.
“I do. And it’s really simple. I’m going to get through this week, make it through the ball, and then leave and come back to Seattle.”
Her mouth opened wide in shock, showing off a mouthful of pizza.