I gave my reflection a once-over and reminded myself that he was trying to win me over, not the other way around.
I jumped at the knock on the door. I still had five minutes! And I was supposed to go to him! He was throwing off my entire preparation strategy, and so help me, I’d send him away and start all over again if I had to.
Without waiting for an answer, Aunt May poked her head in, Mom smiling right behind her.
“Aunt May!” I ran over and crushed her in a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“I figured you could use some extra support, so I came back.”
“And I’m here to make this whole thing more awkward than it has to be,” Mom promised with a smile.
I laughed nervously. “I’m not used to this. I don’t know what to do.”
Aunt May cocked an eyebrow. “According to the papers, you’re doing very well.”
I blushed. “That was different. It wasn’t an actual date. It didn’t mean anything.”
“But this does?” she asked, her voice gentle.
I shrugged. “It’s not the same.”
“I know everyone says this,” Mom began, pushing back my hair, “but it’s the best advice I can give you: be yourself.”
That was easier said than done. Because, who was I really? One half of a set of twins. The heir to a throne. One of the most powerful people in the world. The biggest distraction in the country.
Never just daughter. Never just girl.
“Don’t take any of this too seriously.” Aunt May fixed her own hair in the mirror before turning back to me. “You should just enjoy yourself.”
I nodded.
“She makes a good point,” Mom agreed. “It’s not as if we want you to choose someone today. You have time here, so have fun meeting some new people. Goodness knows, that’s a rarity for you.”
“True. It just feels awkward. I’m going to be alone with him, and then he’ll tell all the other guys about it, and then we’ll have to talk about it on TV.”
“It sounds harder than it is. Most of the time it’s funny,” Mom insisted.
I tried to imagine teenage her, blushing and talking about her dates with Dad. “So you didn’t mind it?”
She pursed her lips together, studying the ceiling as she thought. “Well, it was harder in the beginning. I was very hesitant to be the center of attention. But you’re brilliant at that, so treat this like any other party or event you’d give an interview about.”
May looked at her. “It’s not exactly like a post–Grateful Feast recap,” she pointed out before focusing on me, “but your mother is right about you being better in the spotlight. She was embarrassing at your age.”
“Thanks, May.” Mom rolled her eyes.
“Any time.”
I chuckled, wishing briefly that I had just one sister. Mom’s other sister, Aunt Kenna, died years ago of a heart condition. Uncle James was a simple man, so he didn’t want to raise Astra and Leo in the palace even though we offered several times. We kept in touch, of course, but Astra and I were very different girls. Still, I remembered all too clearly the way Mom had spent a week in bed holding May and Grandma Singer after Kenna passed away. More and more I wondered if losing a sister was like Mom losing part of herself. I knew it would feel like that for me if anything happened to Ahren.
Aunt May elbowed Mom, and they shared a smile. They never really fought, not over anything that truly mattered, and the two of them soothed my worries.
They were right. This was nothing.
“You’re going to do great,” Mom said. “You don’t know how to fail.” She gave me a wink, and I felt myself stand taller.
I checked the clock. “I should go. Thanks for coming,” I said, taking Aunt May’s hand.
“No problem.” I hugged her at the door, and then headed downstairs.
When I got to Hale’s room, I paused and drew in a deep breath before I knocked. He answered, not his butler, and he seemed thrilled to see me.
“You look fantastic,” he said.
“Thank you,” I answered, smiling in spite of myself. “So do you.”
He’d changed, too, which made me feel much more comfortable, and I liked what he’d done with himself. His tie was gone, and he had his top button undone. Between that and the vest, he looked . . . well, he looked cute.
Hale tucked his hands into his pockets. “So where are we going?”
I pointed down the hall. “This way, up to the fourth floor.”
He rocked on his feet a few times then hesitantly held out his arm for me. “Lead the way.”
“All right,” I began as we walked toward the stairs. “I know the basic facts. Hale Garner, nineteen years old, Belcourt. But those entry forms are a little cut and dried, so what’s your story?”
He chuckled. “Well, I too am the oldest in my family.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Three boys.”
“Ugh, I feel bad for your mother.”
He smiled. “Eh, she doesn’t mind. We remind her of Dad, so when one of us is a little too loud or laughs at something he would have, she’ll sigh and say we’re just like him.”
I was afraid to ask, but I wanted to be clear. “Are your parents divorced?” I asked, doubting that was the case.
“No. He passed away.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling mortified that I’d indirectly insulted his memory.
“It’s okay. Not one of those things you know without being told.”
“Can I ask when he died?”
“About seven years ago. I know this will sound weird, but sometimes I’m jealous of my youngest brother. Beau was about six when it happened, and he remembers Dad, but not the way I do, you know? Sometimes I wish I didn’t have so much to miss.”
“I’d be willing to bet he’s jealous of you for the opposite reason.”
He gave me a sad smile. “I never thought about that.”
We turned up the main stairs, focusing on our steps. When we got to the landing on the fourth floor, I started again.
“What does your mother do?”
Hale swallowed. “Right now she’s working as a secretary at the local university. She . . . well, it’s been hard for her to hold down a good job, but she likes this one, and she’s had it for a long time. I just realized I began that sentence with ‘right now’ because I was used to her switching a lot, but she hasn’t done that for a while.