by Ann Omasta
Not trusting her voice, Tess nodded.
Closing the last bit of distance between them, Sebastian swept her into his arms, tipped her back, and gave her the royal kiss of a lifetime.
48
The last few months had been extremely busy, as the castle workers prepared the palace both for lodging guests and for Sebastian’s coronation. Tess and Mo had stayed on the island to help, and to continue with their etiquette and other royal training classes.
Mo liked to refer to their grueling daily schedule as the queen’s attempt to turn her into a lady. Whenever she said that, Pierce would remind her in a gravelly voice that she was already more lady than he could handle. They would inevitably end up giggling and kissing as if they were the only two people in the entire world.
The whole gang had gathered for the official grand opening of the castle’s lodging suites, with the notable addition of billionairess, Selena Chase, and her love interest, Hunter. They were all going to attend the royal coronation ceremony to watch Sebastian be crowned the king of the land.
A professional photographer had been hired to capture candid snapshots of the three billionaires and their significant others enjoying their long weekend at the castle. Right after the coronation, Tess would personally oversee a massive social media campaign that would seal the Isle de Monsail castle as the hot, new place for the wealthiest one percent to vacation.
Despite her confidence in the group’s business savvy, Tess openly questioned Ellie’s decision about the royal engagement cake. When the other woman said, “Trust me, he’s an excellent baker,” Tess saw no choice but to go along with the odd choice.
When Tess saw the lopsided concoction Trey designed, she scrunched her face in distaste. She almost couldn’t believe her eyes. “Does it say We’re enraged?” She was stunned that Ellie had allowed Trey to make such a mockery of her official engagement announcement cake.
“It will taste delicious, I promise,” Ellie sounded peppy as she put some finishing touches on the botched cake. Once she was pleased with the results, she turned the cake around in a grand presentation gesture to Tess and Mo. Tess had to admit that the little bride and groom falling off the side of the leaning tower of cake was pretty cute. She also loved that the tiny replicas of her and Sebastian were wearing little crowns.
Sensing that Tess was still leery about having this monstrosity of a cake at her official engagement party, Millie jumped in to defend her friend’s choice. “Take a picture of this cake, post it on every social media site with the hashtag ‘Nailed It,’ tag your brother in the posts, and I can guarantee you it will go viral.”
“Even I have to admit that it always works,” Selena shook her head, seeming perplexed.
Suddenly, the cake fiasco made perfect sense to Tess and Mo. Ellie’s face was starting to show the first edges of concern, though. “We still have time, though. If you want me to make a more traditional cake, I’ll make the most beautiful cake you’ve ever seen,” she promised, wringing her hands and wondering if they had angered Tess.
“No, this is perfect,” Tess smiled before giving the other woman a reassuring hug. She remembered now that Ellie had a thriving business based on intentionally-flubbed baked goods.
Deciding that they had done enough work and preparations for one day, the five women agreed to grab their men and meet at the hot spring for a much-needed, relaxing soak.
Tess’s head snapped up. “Hold. The. Phone. That really was you dancing on the steps of the museum the night of the Emerald Ball Gala?!?” Her mouth hung open as she tried to picture her sophisticated, powerful, and arrogant brothers performing a number from Grease outside in the open for the whole world to see.
“It was,” Trey confirmed, not seeming the least bit embarrassed about their wildly out-of-character behavior.
“Actually, it’s kind of a family tradition now,” Trevor informed the group. At the questioning looks he received, he elaborated. “Our father surprised our mother at the diner where she worked and swept her into his arms to recreate the famous scene between Richard Gere and Debra Winger in An Officer and a Gentleman.”
Now that he mentioned it, Tess remembered hearing something about her father’s grand romantic gesture to win over her mother’s heart. Her parents remained madly in love with each other to this day. Too bad they didn’t make more room in their hearts for their children. They were too enamored with each other to focus on anyone else. She silently vowed never to repeat their mistakes in that department.
Tess’s self-pity party about her standoffish parents was curbed when Trey said, “The recreation of a pivotal movie clip really is the best way to seal the deal on a lasting romance. What scene will you two perform?” He looked back and forth between Tess and Sebastian, obviously expecting an answer.
Tess’s mind went blank. Despite her lifelong love of watching sappy chick flicks, she couldn’t think of any on the spot that she and Sebastian could recreate.
Sebastian saved her from having to answer by responding elusively, “Nothing from Grease, I can promise you that.” His mock disdain for the somewhat cheesy, yet thoroughly delightful movie, made the group chuckle.
Selena piped up to defend their selection to Tess, “Believe me, I was shocked to discover that your brothers had the kinds of moves and singing chops to pull off that particular number. I would have assumed that they were untalented apes, whose skills didn’t extend beyond the boardroom.” Her deep laugh bellowed over the hot spring pool where the group was basking in relaxation, momentarily escaping the hubbub of the weekend.
Tess was still in awe that her brothers had apparently buried the hatchet on their long-term rivalry with Selena. The good-natured teasing that was so prevalent in their current conversations reminded Tess more of a sibling type of relationship than their former business-related antagonism. It seemed that they had somehow formed a professional alliance that extended beyond business into true friendship. Tess assumed that Ellie and Millie had been instrumental in making that happen.
Effectively changing the subject before the teasing could get out of hand, Ellie turned wide eyes to Sebastian. “Are you nervous about becoming king?”
He paused a moment to ponder his answer. “I would be… if Tess weren’t by my side.” Leaning over, he kissed Tess sweetly on the cheek, before going on. “It is quite a bit of pressure to be one of the youngest kings in the history of the monarchy, especially since I petitioned our parliament for special permission to take the crown before our wedding.”
Trevor decided to address something that had been bothering him. “You already asked my sister to marry you, so why did you go to all that trouble to have the rules changed to wait for the wedding until after you are crowned king?”
Sebastian didn’t seem in the slightest bit perturbed by Trevor’s accusatory tone, and he proved himself to be a gentleman by not blaming Tess for the delay. “We were facing some extraordinary circumstances because the legislators were on the verge of ousting my father as king. An impeachment of a ruling royal would have created an unprecedented scandal from which the kingdom likely never could have recovered.”
All eyes around the hot spring were glued to Sebastian. It wasn’t lost on Tess that this was the quietest this rowdy group had been since gathering together. Sebastian already had the enthralling speaking skills and charismatic charm of a true leader.
Not seeming to feel any nerves from their scrutiny, Sebastian forged on. “We had to move quickly, while still being sensitive to my father’s feelings. I have been the acting leader since the announcement was made, but the official transfer of power happens at the coronation. The reigning king is the first monarch in the history of the island to be relieved of his duties, while he is still of sound mind and body. We have worked hard to make him feel like it was his choice. No matter what crazy antics he has pulled during the last few years, he was a great leader in his heyday. The legislators are all in agreement that we need to remove him from the throne before he completely ta
rnishes his legacy, but we wanted to do it delicately to keep from embarrassing him.”
Tess beamed with pride. Sebastian was a caring, thoughtful, and brilliant man. The more she got to know him, the more she grew to love him. Even though she had boldly interrupted his engagement announcement to Princess Adeline, when Sebastian had officially proposed to Tess, she had asked him for time, and he had found a way to get it for her.
Deep inside, she had the feeling that he was the one for her, but their courtship had seemed rushed. Although she loved the idea of a fairy tale romance, she didn’t truly believe in insta-love. She needed more time to verify that her love for him was true and not just a result of their whirlwind romance and her long-standing desire to marry a prince.
Rather than getting upset when she requested to delay their wedding until they both felt ready, Sebastian kissed her nose before saying, “I’ll get the rules changed as long as you don’t mind adjusting your dream of marrying a prince to allow for a king as the groom instead?”
He had honestly seemed concerned, so she laughed it off and teased him, “I think that will work just fine.”
Since that day, he had been adamant that he would accept the crown, but only if he could do it as an engaged––rather than married––man. The legislators and his mother had balked at his request, but he had held firm and eventually succeeded in getting them to bend to his desire.
Sebastian’s voice pulled Tess back into the present moment. “We decided to plan a proper royal wedding, rather than trying to rush to get it done before the coronation.” His answer about the delay seemed to appease Tess’s brothers because both of their expressions perceptibly relaxed. “Besides,” he added, “I wanted to take the time to properly woo her.” Accentuating his point, he lifted their locked hands up out of the water and pressed his lips to the back of hers.
“Good answer,” Trey weighed in, obviously approving of his future brother-in-law. Changing the subject, he went on. “Now, there’s just one final detail to take care of before this wedding can take place.”
Tess furrowed her brows together. She knew that Sebastian had sought both of her brothers’ permission to marry their sister. They had grudgingly given it, but now that they knew Sebastian better, she knew they truly approved.
A small part of her wished that her mother and father would take a more active role in their lives, but her parents had always been aloof. Their detached demeanor meant that Tess’s brothers had stepped in as father figures for her. It worked for their family, so she hoped that Trey wasn’t suddenly going to insist that Sebastian ask her father for her hand in marriage. That wouldn’t make any sense for their situation.
Proving that he understood her dilemma almost as well as Tess did, Trey said, “Tess needs to decide if she is going to have her oldest, handsomest, and sweetest brother walk her down the aisle, or this guy.” He thumbed his brother.
“Obviously it’s going to be me,” Trevor decided. “I’ve always been her favorite. She just didn’t want to upset you by admitting it.”
Tess shook her head at them. They had always been like this… competing over everything, including her love.
“You think you’re her favorite?” Trey scoffed, before bugging his eyes out, shaking his head, and muttering, “Wow.”
“I know I’m her favorite.” Trevor weighed in. Tess knew it was coming, so she wasn’t surprised when he turned to her, “Right, Tess?”
All eyes bored into her. There was no way she was going to choose one of her brothers over the other. “I love you both equally,” she tried to calm them. She did, in fact, have a favorite brother, but she would never reveal which one it was to another living soul. She loved them too much to hurt them like that and risk creating a permanent rift between them.
Exasperated, they both sounded like children when they said, “No, you have to pick,” and “That’s a cop-out.” When they got like this, Tess was immediately transported back to their youth, and it was hard to believe that her brothers were now business magnates who were feared the world over for their cutthroat business techniques and vocational acumen.
She knew from experience that they would relentlessly badger her for a definitive answer, so she decided to announce the news that she knew would appease them both. “Since you’re both my favorite sibling, I was hoping that you would both walk me down the aisle at the wedding.”
The transformation in their faces was immediate. Tess’s brothers both beamed with pride at her request.
“Nice compromise,” Sebastian whispered near her ear before adding, “You’re going to make a marvelous queen.”
The emotional high didn’t last long. Trey ruined it when he said, “Okay, but I get to be on her right side as we walk down the aisle.”
Tess groaned and playfully splashed water in his direction. His enormous smile let her know that he had been teasing her.
Selena had evidently had enough of their sibling rivalry. She said, “I don’t know how you two ever had time to hate me, with all of that constant one-upmanship.”
“Oh, we made time for that,” Trevor quipped, which made all three of them laugh like it was the funniest thing ever.
Tess shook her head at them. It was incomprehensible that the three long-term rivals had somehow managed to forge a real friendship.
Mo had been uncharacteristically quiet. When she spoke, it was obvious what she had been thinking about. Turning to look first at Pierce and then at Tess, she said excitedly, “We need to plan our big movie finish.”
Tess had a feeling that she knew what Mo was insinuating, but Pierce looked lost. “What?” he asked her.
“We are happy couples now.” She used her finger to encompass herself, Pierce, Tess, and Sebastian. “When the six of them,” she pointed to the other couples, “finalized their coupledom, they performed a song from Grease on the museum steps.”
“What do you have in mind?” Pierce sounded leery of what his outrageous girlfriend might be scheming.
“I don’t know…” She looked at Tess for inspiration.
The two women’s eyes lit up in unison. “Dirty Dancing!” They both shouted before giggling hysterically.
Pierce and Sebastian looked concerned and confused, so Tess clarified once her laughter subsided. “You guys are going to hold us up out of the water, just like the famous scene from the movie, Dirty Dancing.”
When Mo moved away from the edge of the spring like she wanted to give it a try, Pierce said, “Shouldn’t we practice in the pool, alone, before showing anyone else?” He sounded nervous.
“I suppose so,” Mo sounded disappointed, until her face lit up with another idea. “All four of us can practice, and that can be the big finale dance at Tess and Sebastian’s wedding!”
“You want Tess to get wet and look like a drowned rat at her high-profile, hugely-publicized, royal wedding?” Trevor scoffed. “Good luck with that,” he deadpanned.
Tess didn’t want to dampen Mo’s enthusiasm, so she smiled at her friend with a vague, “We’ll see.”
Sensing the need for a change in subject, Millie leaned her head back and groaned. “I don’t know if I could live here.” Turning from side to side and taking note of the odd looks she was receiving, she explained further. “I would want to relax in this hot spring every evening.”
“We do.” Tess murmured. “Sebastian and I sneak down here for a relaxing soak nearly every night,” she revealed. Her mouth turned up in an ornery grin before she teased, “And we almost always wear bathing suits.”
The look of pure revulsion that arose on both of her brothers’ faces was priceless. Trey held his hands up out of the immense pool of water, like it had suddenly burned him. Trevor let out a disgusted, “Eww!” Both men stood and hightailed it out of the swirling spring as quickly as if someone had announced that the water was contaminated with biohazard.
Trey wrapped an enormous towel around his shoulders as if warding off the shiver of disgust that overcame his entire body. Trevor dram
atically covered his eyes as though he could somehow prevent the unwanted mental image of his sister getting naked in the massive hot spring with her fiancé.
The group’s happy laughter caused by the brothers’ ridiculous antics could be heard wafting out over the deep blue sea. Tess and Mo took a moment to beam at each other, both of them perfectly confident that they had been lucky enough to stumble upon their destinies.
They had the distinct feeling that they were all precisely where they were meant to be, with the exact people that would make this perfect moment last into the future. It was as if they had each discovered their very own magical fairy tale romance. Now, the only thing left to do was to move forward together into their happily-ever-after endings.
Epilogue - 6 months later
Tess fidgeted with the pearl buttons on the shoulder of her elegant, form-fitting wedding gown. The hand-sewn crystals captured the light and reflected it in a myriad of directions. As she swished her hips from side to side, the beads caught rays of sunlight and refracted them giving off the dazzling effect of a prism lighting up the room.
She reached up, for the thousandth time, to adjust the diamond-encrusted tiara that was perched over her sleek chignon. The woman gazing back at her from the mirror looked like someone sent over by a Hollywood casting director to play a royal bride.
She smiled at her glowing reflection. For the first time in her life, she felt like all of her childhood dreams were actually coming true. Even though she had always held firm to her idea of the perfect wedding, she had never quite fully believed that it would truly become a reality.
It was hard to comprehend that this day was actually finally here. The wedding planning had taken on a life of its own. Tess had kept a close watch on the major decisions, but had been forced to let go of the smaller details as the whirlwind reality of a true royal wedding had pressed down upon them. The world was waiting with bated breath for every moment of this magical day, and she fully intended to give them a show worth watching.