Chapter 7
Paperwork was the bane of Catherine’s existence, but it was part of the job.
The most recent bit had to do with the coronation coming up in just a few weeks.
She’d also had another meeting added to her schedule for the next day.
This one was with the PR director and her team.
They likely wanted to discuss how to spin her marriage to Jacob and why it hadn’t turned into a public spectacle as would have been expected.
At least she’d managed to put it off another day.
She wasn’t certain if Jacob would be joining them for the meeting or not.
It would make sense, but she really had no idea what his schedule looked like, except for lunch together.
That would easily become her favorite part of the day.
It wouldn’t happen every day if she had meetings or other things going on, but she liked the idea of it happening most days.
Then came their dinner routine. If she didn’t have a dinner event, they decided to make something simple together in the cottage and eat at the table in the kitchen most nights - much like her parents had whenever possible. Then they’d watch a movie or binge a show or something together.
Finally, she set aside the document she was working on. She wasn’t going to finish it before dinner time anyway, so the rest could wait until morning.
She sent a quick message to her aide that she was headed out for the day. A response acknowledging it came almost immediately.
Catherine put her coat and gloves on. If the walk was just a bit closer, she wouldn’t bother, but she needed to. Why didn’t they have a tunnel or something going to the cottage? Wouldn’t that have come in handy for the Dowager Queen who’d lived there initially?
Maybe she should ask security to look into it. Could one have existed but that information been lost to the vagaries of time?
It wasn’t something she could do at the moment, so she pulled her coat more tightly around her then hurried through the gardens.
“There you are.” Jacob smiled at her as she walked through the door. “I wondered when you’d take off. I would have started dinner if I’d known what time you’d be here.”
He helped her off with her coat then hung it in the small closet near the door.
“I don’t mind helping make dinner,” she told him as she headed toward the bedroom to change. “It seems like a very normal thing to do. I like normal.”
“I wouldn’t every day,” he countered, staying near the roaring fire as she went into the closet/dressing room. “But some days, when you’ll be a little later than normal, I would be happy to.”
“Or we could order from the kitchen,” she reminded him, speaking loudly so she could be heard, though she hadn’t closed the doors. She trusted him to give her privacy to change.
“What fun is that?” He laughed as he said it. “If we make our own meals, we can screw them up ourselves and learn something.”
Catherine pulled her hair out of the collar of her shirt as she walked back into the bedroom. “I don’t screw up making dinner. My parents made certain I knew how to work in a kitchen.”
She stood next to the dancing flames and tried to finish warming back up from her dash through the gardens. “Why isn’t there a tunnel?” she complained. “It’s so cold outside.”
“You could get one of the enclosed electric vehicles to bring you.” Jacob stood behind her and rubbed his hands up and down her upper arms to help her warm up.
“I could.” She wouldn’t, but she could.
Maybe she would if it got much colder.
Or maybe she could wear warm boots to the office instead of stilettos. That would help keep her feet warm as well as make it easier for her to move quickly through the gardens.
By the time they finished preparing dinner, she had to admit Jacob’s idea of having dinner ready when she arrived had merit and told him so.
“Maybe you can give me an idea of when you plan to be done while we eat lunch. I can plan for it unless I hear from you otherwise.” He set both plates on the table while she found the cutlery in one of the drawers.
They each talked a little bit about their days while they ate.
He was able to tell her far more of the details than she was able to tell him.
Until he took his seat on the Council, there were a lot of things she couldn’t discuss with him.
Even after he did, there would be a few things he wasn’t cleared for.
Once they were done eating, they worked together to clean up the kitchen then went to the living room. She stood next to the fireplace while he lowered the television and found the next Trilunium movie.
“Are you still cold?” She found the worry in his voice endearing.
“Not nearly as cold as I was before, but not fully warm yet, either.” She should have put on something a little warmer than the lightweight flannel pajamas.
Rather than sitting on the couch like he had before, Jacob took a seat in the big chair but all the way to one side. He reached over and pulled a heavy quilt out of the basket nearby. “Come here.”
Sit with him in the chair? It would be warmer than sitting by herself. It didn’t take a conscious decision to find herself snuggled into his side with his arm around her and the quilt pulled all the way up to her chin. The ottoman was at just the right distance to rest her feet on.
“Ready?”
Catherine could hear his voice, but she could feel it as well. “I am.”
He hit the play button, starting the next Trilunium movie. In mere moments, they were transported to another world, with three moons. The second set of the sisters and brothers were in the process of falling in love while trying to get all six of them through a maze to defeat an enemy of Trilunium.
Jacob paused the movie. “Wait. So, what about the couple from the first movie?”
She nodded against him. “What about them?”
“Where are they?”
“They stayed in Trilunium. Charlotte was the queen and Aaron was her prince consort. In our world, the country is New Sargasso, a fictional version of Terralago Nuova. In that world, about a year has passed. In Odzoo, where the princes are from, it’s only been a few months.
But in Trilunium, it’s been a millennia. ”
“So they’re dead?”
“Yes.” Catherine confirmed.
“Huh.” There was a thoughtful sound to his voice.
“What?”
“It’s just that we got so invested in them and their relationship and they’re just… gone.” He tilted his head until it rested on top of hers.
“They may not be gone for good,” she told him. “No spoilers, but this is a magical land. Anything could happen.”
“You make an excellent point. I may need to find the books.” He pressed play again.
“They’re not the same,” she warned. “I think the books are better, but if you see the movies first, you might have a different opinion.”
“Duly noted.” He pulled her a little closer, and they settled in to watch the rest of the movie.
Snuggled in next to him, Catherine had an epiphany.
She could get used to this.
It was Jake's first official meeting as a member of the royal family. The PR team needed to figure out how to make the announcement about their marriage and how to spin it so the general public would understand why it was a good thing there wasn't a big royal wedding for the queen.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." The head of PR, a lady in her early-forties with salt-and-pepper hair named Jessica, gave a small curtsy toward Jake and Catherine at the same time.
He looked at Catherine. "I'm probably going to have to get used to being addressed as 'sir' all the time, aren't I?"
She smiled and nodded. "Most likely." Catherine motioned to the conference table. "Please take your seats so we can get started."
The head of PR clicked to start the presentation. "We all know we're going to have to release information about your marriage in the next few days, and ideally no later than tomorrow. We need to turn it into a way for the people in general to understand why it's a good thing."
"We can make the announcement and turn the birthday ball into a combination celebration," Catherine suggested. "I could even wear a wedding dress if that would help."
Jake wondered if that would be enough to pacify the royal watchers. "Could we do some sort of wedding-type celebrations? A drive through the city in a carriage in a wedding dress and tuxedo, a first kiss on a balcony somewhere, or other things of that nature."
Jessica nodded. "That's the conclusion we came to as well.
We can start a couple of hours before the arrivals begin for the Ball.
We can do a first look of sorts with the balcony at the cathedral then a parade of sorts through part of the city.
When you return to the palace, we can do a turn on the balcony here with a first kiss and all of that. "
"I like that idea," Catherine agreed with a nod. "Then maybe change into my actual birthday gown? My designer has worked hard on it for months, and I don't want it to go unused."
"I agree." Jessica's aide jumped in. "There's already been plenty of speculation on who the designer is and what the dress will look like. But it will be much easier to sell the public on the marriage if there's at least some wedding celebration."
"Then let's go with that." Catherine closed the folder in front of her. "Is that all?"
"Is what all?"
They all snapped their heads around at the sound of the voice behind them. Jake started to stand and noticed the others, except Catherine, did as well, but Catherine's father motioned for them to stay where they were.
"My apologies for being late. I had a phone call that couldn't wait and took longer than expected." He leaned over to kiss his daughter's cheek then took a seat next to Catherine. "Can you give me a brief rundown of the discussion to this point?"
Jessica did just that.