Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Stellan
Afew days later, I’m escorting Margot down a long hallway at Winthrop Manor, the house in which my parents have finally come home to rest. I slow my pace, stopping her for a second. She looks up at me, her face worried.
“What?” she asks. “Did you forget something?”
My brow creases. “Are you okay?”
She nods slowly, pressing her hands down over the full skirts of her light blue ballgown. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
I shrug. “You’ve been quiet ever since we went to that ball.”
She bites her lip, her face heating. “I know. Just… I’m still a little shaken by the fact that the protestors were protesting you. I’m trying to figure out how to feel about being a part of the problem and not part of the solution.”
My eyebrows rise. “I didn’t realize you felt that way.”
She bows her head and shrugs. “It’s just… stuff I need to get over, I guess. I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”
I reach out, grabbing her hand and hauling it against my chest. “Are you sure you’re still okay with meeting my parents? It’s a big step, I know.” I pause. “Is it too soon?”
There is a moment of hesitation. I see in her eyes that she’s still not a thousand percent sure. But Margot raises her chin, looking at me proudly.
“I’m ready,” she affirms. “I promise.”
I lean down and kiss her, reassuring myself as much as her. She tastes sweet and perfect, just like she did the last ten thousand times I’ve kissed her. I squeeze her hand, then lead her to the doorway of the dining room.
“Your highness,” the servant at the door says, bowing low. “Please.”
He waves us into the room. Everyone else in my family is already here, and my late joining doesn’t exactly go unnoticed. The entire table turns to me, as if they are collectively waiting for something.
I reach behind myself and find Margot’s hand. She’s gone pale as we approach the two empty seats, situated between my father and my little sister Annika.
“Speak of the devil,” my brother Lars announces.
“Yes, we were waiting for you two,” Annika says, looking amused. “Join the party.”
My father looks jovial as usual, a huge dark-haired giant with bright red cheeks. “Ah, our firstborn has finally deigned to join us.”
My mother gets to her feet, rushing over to hug me. She’s a tiny person, and when she embraces me tightly, several strands of her dark hair escape the chignon at her nape. “Ach, min son!”
I let myself be hugged for a second, then chuckle. “Okay, okay.” My mother lets go and I draw Margot closer. “Mother. Father… this is Margot. Margot, meet the king and queen.”
Margot curtsies awkwardly. “Your highnesses.”
“Oh!” my mother says, beaming at Margot. “Please, call me Thora. And that’s Goran.”
My mother then proceeds to be her charming self, embracing Margot and pulling out her chair.
Margot turns red and hurries to sit down.
I see Annika tug on her arm and whisper something into her ear.
Judging by the smile that appears on Margot’s lips, I would guess that Annika just told her something whimsical.
“Sit, sit,” my father says. “Join the rest of us.”
I take my seat next to him, looking around the table. Lars and Finn are in attendance, though Finn looks bored.
“Where’s Anders?” I wonder.
My mother clears her throat. “We should talk about that later,” she says, smiling. “We are all here to meet your new friend, Stellan.”
I reach for Margot’s hand under the table, glancing at her. “Girlfriend. She’s my girlfriend.”
My father looks surprised. “You didn’t tell my mother that, I hope? She would have a stroke.”
“Oh, quit,” my mother answers, rolling her eyes. “She’ll be just fine. Your mother gets so hysterical over everything.”
I look at my siblings to gauge their reactions to that. Annika wrinkles her nose, Finn looks at his glass of red wine, and Lars looks somber. No help there, I guess.
Not that I really expected it.
“I did tell her,” I reply. “In fact…” I grip Margot’s hand. “I was hoping that you could give me guidance about announcing the relationship to the cabinet and the parliament.”
Margot squeezes my hand. I glance at her and she gives me a wide-eyed look that says we didn’t talk about that!
I wink at her. “When the time is right, I mean.”
Annika interjects. “Isn’t that like… a step away from announcing that you’re engaged?”
Between us, Margot goes pale and shrinks down in her seat an inch. My father sizes us up, then gives his head a shake. “Your sister is right. Telling parliament is quite serious.”
My mother actually tears up. “I’m so happy for both of you! Now Margot… I learned you are from New York City. Is that correct?”
Clearing her throat, Margot nods. “Yes, ma’am. Born and raised.”
“That’s fascinating.” My mother looks at my father. “Isn’t it?”
“Very,” he says. “Tell me though, aren’t you a journalist?”
Margot goes red as a beet. “Yes, sir.”
He waves his hand. “Goran, please. And you realize that being my son’s girlfriend will probably mean you won’t get the best stories assigned to you any longer, correct?”
Margot looks at me, wetting her lower lip with her tongue. “Yes sir… I mean… yes, Goran.”
I sit forward, eager to defend her. “Margot isn’t dating me for access to the royal family.”
“Oh! Goran is not suggesting that!” my mother says, eying my father. “Is he?”
My father, ever the wise man, knows when he should stop talking. So he just smiles. “No, of course not.”
I sit back and let Margot take over the answering, making eye contact with my father once more. His lips tip upward and he gives me a nearly imperceptible head tilt.
I take that to mean that he approves of Margot. Then again, how could anyone not be pro-Margot when my mother is so obviously over the moon about her?
We get through dinner just fine. Between Annika and my mother peppering her with questions, Margot talks almost the entire time. She is bashful at first but in the end, I feel like she charmed the hell out of my parents.
Now there is just the rest of the fucking world to go, I guess.
When it’s time to go, my mother hugs both me and Margot so hard that it’s almost painful.
I shake hands with my father, who is still seated at the table. “Talk soon?”
His lips tip upward. “Yes.”
There’s something hanging between us, a moment of hesitation on my part. Should I bring up what my grandmother told me? “I’m glad you are doing well.”
He frowns but says nothing. He just nods his head.
Then I squire a talked-out Margot down to the waiting limo, where she crawls in the back seat and closes her eyes.
“Oh my god,” she moans as I climb in beside her. “I’m so tired! How do you do that all day, every day and manage not to go insane?”
I give her a look. “That was just my family. That was the easy part.”
She wrinkles her nose. “The easy part of what?”
“You have to know that being my girlfriend is…” I stop, trying to decide what I’m going to say.
My mouth turns down at the corners. “My sister wasn’t wrong.
Let’s say our next step is declaring our relationship to parliament.
That’s as good as telling everyone that they should expect a royal wedding in the next year. ”
Her eyes widen. Her throat works as she swallows. “I didn’t realize that.”
I puff out my cheeks, exhaling slowly. “Well… now you do. What do you think?”
She screws up her mouth. “I think that’s asking a lot of us.”
“So you would say no?” I ask, my brow descending.
Margot pins me with a surprised gaze. “What are you asking, exactly?”
I rake a hand through my hair, growing agitated. “I’m not asking you to marry me yet. But… are you at least open to getting married? I mean, you had to give this some thought when you agreed to date me.”
She sucks her lower lip in between her teeth, her gaze lowering. “A little. I…” She pauses, taking a deep breath. “I’m not against getting married. I just didn’t think… I mean… I thought we would have more time to get comfortable with the idea.”
“Royals are born ready to marry. It’s one of our duties to the country.
” I exhale, waiting a beat. “Historically, the royal family marries people who are wealthy and titled. People who may or may not be royals in their own right. People with the same expectations that my family has.” I reach out for her hand, holding it gently.
“I thought… I just thought that we were lucky, because we happen to be in love with each other.”
She looks at me, grasping my hand. “I do love you, Stellan. You know that. I just wasn’t prepared for all the bullshit that other people are forcing on us. But I realize that you don’t really have a choice in the matter, do you?”
My mouth lifts at that corners. “No, I don’t have a choice. In the grand scheme of things though… I can imagine much worse things than having you as my wife.”
She gives me a tiny smile. “I feel the same as you do. It’s just a lot at once. I have so many questions… Where would we live? What would happen to my job?”
I push my cheek out with my tongue. “There’s only one question that matters, in my opinion. When I ask, will you say yes? Because everything else is flexible.”
She blushes six shades of red, but she doesn’t look away. “Yes. When you ask me someday, I will say yes?”
I shrug, a smile tugging at my lips. “Then that’s settled.”
Margot slides her palm along my jaw, drawing me close for a tender kiss. I let my eyes sink closed, let my thoughts only hover on this moment.
This moment in which she said yes.