Chapter 48
Centerpieces
After lunch, Evelyn had hoped to join the Fontaine siblings and Nicolas on the beach, but other plans had been made for her.
“We’re needed for wedding preparations,” Leo explained.
“I thought the staff was taking care of everything,” she whined.
“They thought the bride might have an opinion.”
“I didn’t even get to pick the day, but now I’m supposed to have a preference for napkins and centerpieces?”
Leo frowned. “It’s your wedding. I want you to like it.”
A stab of guilt cut through her. She hadn’t meant to complain. “Of course I will. Just no roses.”
“I already gave that order. Now, come on.” Leo guided her to the front door. “You haven’t even seen the venue yet.”
“I thought the wedding would be in the ballroom?”
“No, we have a much better spot.”
He led her along the western road, past the docks.
“Are we going to talk about Lord Stuart?” Evelyn asked as they walked. “All he does is cause problems.”
“I can limit his access to the palace,” Leo said. “But I can’t justify removing him from his position.”
“He shouldn’t be a lord. He shouldn’t have that much power!”
“I agree. But there’s only so much I can do without inciting a rebellion from the Auditory Court’s army. And, really, I think it should be up to Damien. He’s the one who will inherit the court.”
But Damien doesn’t want it. He told me he wants to be a general, not a lord.
“You are my priority, Evelyn.” Leo closed the gap between them, circling his arms around her waist. “I can’t wait to marry you.”
“You really aren’t scared?” she asked.
Hurt flashed across his eyes. “I’m scared of you changing your mind. I’m not afraid of getting married. As long as we’re together, everything else can be figured out. We love each other.”
Is that enough? Is love enough for me to be a queen at his side forever?
“We love each other,” Evelyn repeated.
Leo kissed her sweetly, hearing confirmation instead of apprehension. She focused on the rhythmic sounds of their steps on the cobblestones.
“There it is,” Leo said a few minutes later.
A domed building sat in the middle of a grassy clearing. The whole exterior was made of a single, giant, rounded piece of glass. Rose vines were etched and painted into the sides, intricately twisting up and around the structure.
“I can’t do anything about those roses,” Leo said apologetically.
“It’s beautiful!” Evelyn breathed. “That’s where we’re getting married?”
“Yes. It’s called the Rosebud Chapel. Normally, we do coronations there as well, but mine was a bit rushed.”
Evelyn squeezed his hand before they walked inside through an open archway.
She’d expected that the glass would concentrate the sun’s heat like a greenhouse, but magic kept the space cool.
The view of the ocean through the glass wall was breathtaking.
The floor was made of the same shimmering white marble as the palace.
A circular dais about three meters wide stood in the very center of the room, surrounded by three hundred gold chairs. Two maids were winding through the rows to place a sprig of lavender on each seat. The cavernous building managed to feel open and cozy at the same time.
Leo tugged Evelyn down an aisle and onto the dais. The maids continued their work with the flowers, but Evelyn caught them exchanging pointed looks.
They will absolutely gossip about us later.
“We’ll be right here tomorrow,” Leo said.
“Really? I thought maybe we could sit in the back row and—”
He cut off her sass with a kiss. Evelyn’s anxiety melted away in the sunlight.
Now that I’m here… I can actually picture us getting married.
And I want to marry Leo! I’ve wanted this since before I knew who he really was.
But isn’t that the point? I’m not getting married for a crown.
I want Leo. I want the man I met on the beach, the man who waited in my hospital room and kissed me good night.
“I love you!” Evelyn spoke the words as if saying them for the first time.
Leo’s mismatched blue eyes were bright. “I love you too, Princess.”
Please, gods, I will do anything to keep him looking at me like that.
“Will you marry me?” Evelyn asked her fiancé.
Joyous laughter spilled out of Leo, the tension releasing from him. He cupped her face to kiss her again. “I thought you would never ask.”
It’s really going to be okay. We are going to be okay.