She looked up at me expectantly. “Do you really mean that? You really want to be with me?”
“Absolutely!” I slid over on the couch so I could reach out and grab her hand. “Maggie, I may not be able to make them hire you back at the palace, but I can certainly let the world know that you’re my girlfriend. If you agree to be that is.”
A grin broke out on her face as she nodded furiously.
“Yes, yes, of course I’ll be your girlfriend!” she chimed.
It was music to my ears.
I leaned in and kissed her passionately. Except not too passionately because I was painfully aware that her father could walk in at any moment.
“So, I’m in the official girlfriend role, huh?” she asked.
“Sure are.”
“Does that come with a t-shirt or something? ‘I went to the palace and all I got was this lousy boyfriend?’”
I had to laugh. “I can have one made, if you want.”
“Yes, I’d like that,” she joked.
I loved that she was lightening the mood. It put me at ease once again.
“Have you two love birds patched things up?” I looked up to find Maggie’s dad standing in the hallway. So he must have heard about us in the news as well.
“Uh … yeah, actually, we have.” Maggie stood. “Dad, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Edward.”
I loved the way she said that. It was so casual. In that moment, I didn’t feel like the Prince of England. I felt like any average guy meeting his girlfriend’s father. I adored the fact that Maggie gave me a sense of normalcy that I had never had before.
“Well, lovely to meet you, Edward.”
He extended his hand for me to shake, and I shook it proudly.
Maggie looked absolutely delighted.
“I’m going to grab us some drinks. I think this calls for a celebration,” she said as she scurried off to the kitchen, leaving me and her father alone.
Just like any average guy meeting his girlfriend’s father, I was suddenly a bit intimidated.
He was nice enough. He took a seat next to me on the couch.
“Sir, I know that this is going to come off as … a little premature,” I began to say to him, “but there is something I want to ask you.” I didn’t know when I might get the opportunity to be alone with him again, and I had to capitalize on it.
“Yes?” he asked.
“I was wondering if I could get your blessing to propose to your daughter, when the time is right?”
His eyes widened. “You want to marry her?”
“I do, with all my heart. I know it’s early, but there is never going to be a woman out there for me who isn’t Maggie. She's made me feel whole from the moment she entered my life, and I can’t imagine my world without her in it.”
He looked at me seriously. “You really love her, huh?”
“With every piece of myself.”
He nodded slowly. “You have my blessing, but you have to promise me one thing.”
“What? Anything,” I responded.
“You have to take care of my girl. She’s a special one. She hasn’t let the world make her hard. Being with you means experiencing a lot of negativity from the world. You must protect her from all that.”
“I promise. I will care for her above all else. She will forevermore be my biggest priority.”
He smiled. “Then yes, you can certainly ask my daughter to marry you.”
19
Maggie
Both my father and I were glued to the television screen as we waited for Edward’s press conference to start.
Frankly, I had no idea what Edward was going to say. He hadn’t detailed it for me. He only teased me that I had to tune in to find out.
The past week with him had been absolutely amazing, a dream come true. Some mornings, I still woke up and wondered if it was all a dream. Surely, I couldn’t be the girlfriend of the Prince of England?
I was.
It was a lot to adjust to in my mind. After the initial excitement wore off, I had to deal with all the nervousness of what people were going to think. Particularly, I was worried about the opinion of the Queen. I knew that she was quite hard on Edward and had high expectations, and it didn’t seem that I would fit her standards.
According to Edward, though, she was really understanding about the situation. He explained to her that he cared for me deeply and that it was a serious relationship, and she acquiesced. She even asked to meet with me yesterday evening which was stressful, but ultimately it ended up going very well. We had tea, and she asked me about my life. I think she really liked me.
I was relieved to have Edward tell me about how Ms. Mitchell responded to learning he cared for me. Apparently, she encouraged him to seek me out. I’d always be grateful to her for that. Not that Edward wouldn’t have sought me out on his own. I believed nothing would’ve kept him from announcing his true feelings for me.
I was still upset that I lost my job, but frankly, being with Edward eased that pain considerably. Now that I was with him, I knew that I’d always be part of Drew and Abigail’s life. In fact, if we ever did get married (fingers crossed) I’d become their sister-in-law.
They say when you marry someone, you marry their whole family. Well, despite not wanting to be in the spotlight, this was one family I was really happy to marry into.
I was getting ahead of myself, though. I couldn’t be sure that Edward and I would end up marrying. We barely started dating! We were a long way off from that.
Still, it was hard for me to imagine ever ending up with anybody else. Edward was amazing. He was all I'd ever wanted. I’d be heartbroken if we ever had to end things.
Suddenly, the press conference came on the screen, and I was on the edge of my seat.
“Hello, everyone, thank you for coming. I called this press conference today to discuss the information about my love life that has been spiraling across the media. There are a few things I’d like to clear up.”
He cleared his throat.
“First of all, yes, I did have a relationship with my younger siblings' tutor. I assure everyone, this was not a relationship that developed out of coercion. On the contrary, Maggie was very serious about her attraction to me just as I am serious about her. I am excited to inform everyone that we are officially dating, she is my girlfriend.”
I swooned. I couldn’t believe that he had just claimed me as his girlfriend for all of England. It was such a beautiful thing to hear. It was another one of those ‘pinch me’ moments. I couldn’t process that this was my life.
“I understand that it is inappropriate for me to seriously date anyone on the royal staff and because of this, she is no longer employed with the royal family. I am genuinely apologetic for the way our relationship started, though I am not at all apologetic to be with her. Maggie is my one true love, and if I had to suffer all this bad press again to be with her, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
Tears were welling in my eyes, and my dad patted me gently on the back.
“That boy, he’s a keeper, my dear. He truly is.”
I nodded. He was absolutely right. Edward was incredibly special.
“At this time, I will be fielding your questions,” Edward announced.
I didn’t get a chance to listen to the first question because somebody had rung my doorbell.
“I’ll get it!” My dad jumped up.
“No, no, sit and rest… I’ve got it,” I assured him, though he had been quite active lately. He seemed to be doing much better.
“Don’t you want to watch the rest of the press conference?” he asked.
“You sit and watch,” I insisted, “you can fill me in.”
I walked to the door. I expected it was a mail delivery and was entirely shocked to find Edward standing before me.
“But … wait,” I paused, “how can you be here when you’re there?” I pointed to the TV stupidly.
He laughed, “The press conference wasn’t live, Maggie.”
“Oh, I thought it was…” I felt a little stupid.
“Can I come in?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course. Come on.”
He walked in and immediately greeted my father. “So nice to see you again.”
“And lovely to see you, Edward. What brings you here today?”
“Well, actually, I wanted to invite Maggie on a vacation.”
I raised an eyebrow. “A vacation? I thought your party days were over now.”
He laughed. “It isn’t that kind of vacation. It’ll be a very calm vacation. A relaxing tropical trip. Do you get seasick?”
“I, uh, have no idea,” I answered honestly. I’d never been on a boat.
“Well, pack a bathing suit and some cool clothing because we leave tonight if you’re willing.”
“I’m not so sure I am.” I looked over at my father and then back at Edward. “I shouldn’t leave my dad for a whole week.”
“Nonsense!” my father piped up. “You haven’t had a proper vacation since I became sick. You need this, Maggie, and I’ve been feeling very good as of late.”
“What if I have a caretaker come over for the duration of our trip? For the time that you would normally be around? Would that be okay with both of you?” Edward looked to me and then my father.
I turned to my father too.
“Of course that would be fine!” he said eagerly.
Then Edward looked expectantly toward me.
“Well…” I hesitated a bit, “if it’s really okay with my dad, I suppose I can go.”
Edward gave me a respectful kiss on the cheek. “Fantastic! Let’s go get you packed!” He put his hand on my back and walked me into my room.
I closed the door behind us for some privacy. I knew my father wouldn’t mind.
“So, did you watch the press conference?” he asked.
“I did. It was really sweet the way you talked about me.”
“Not too mushy?” he asked.
I sat next to him on the bed. “Not too mushy at all.”
We kissed for a moment, but it wasn’t a sexual kiss. It was sweet, quick, just to express that we appreciated each other’s company.
“You have no idea how happy I am that you agreed to be my girlfriend. I can’t help but shout it from the rooftops. This should technically be the most stressful time of my life, being that it’s my first scandal and all, but it’s really not with you by my side. I feel like I can take on anything with you.”
I leaned into him. “I feel the exact same way. I never imagined I’d have a chance with you.”
He laughed. “Funny, because I thought you were out of my league from the beginning.”
Me? Out of his league? He was set to be the King of England, for crying out loud!
I didn’t argue. I loved that he always made me feel special and important.
“You know, for all your fussing about it, I think you’re going to make a great Queen.”
I chuckled. “Oh, stop! Now your flattery is really going too far.”
“But it’s not at all!” he insisted.
“What reason could you possibly have to think I’d be a good queen?”
He didn’t even have to think about his answer. “The way you responded to Millie. It was very empathetic, considerate, and diplomatic. Anyone else would have probably insisted on her being fired. Not you. Because you’re different, Maggie, you’re something special.”
I smiled and leaned into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me.
“You know, a wise woman once told me that to help with my responsibilities as King, I should find a woman who would be a good guide for me. I’m pretty sure I have.”
He kissed the top of my head, and I just about melted.
I cleared my throat, unsure how to respond to such a huge compliment.
“So where exactly is it that we’re going?” I asked.
“Oh, you’ll see. I think you’re going to love it. It’s calm, luxurious … everything you need after all the stress we’ve been through recently.”
“Mmm… Sounds nice. Though, honestly, I think anywhere I’m with you is calm and luxurious.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
20
Edward
I left Maggie to pack her things for a few hours and told her I’d return with a car to take us to our flight. I was very ambiguous about the whole thing, so she likely thought we were taking a plane somewhere.
We weren’t. We were actually going to take a helicopter to fly us to a private yacht.
I hoped this vacation would be perfect for her. I’d gone to great lengths to organize every detail and had even thrown in a few surprises along the way.
It was going to be extravagant, but I felt Maggie deserved it.
In the week that had passed since I made Maggie my girlfriend officially, I had been happier than I could ever remember being. It was as if there’d been a missing puzzle piece in my life for so long, and I wasn’t even aware of it. She had filled in all the gaps of my life.
The sense of loneliness I struggled for years had dissipated. I felt less lonely sitting in an empty room with her than I did with a crowd of people. I had come to realize that despite filling my space with a people I thought I liked, I had nobody who really understood me or fulfilled me.
I knew that it was crazy to say I knew this woman was meant to be my wife, but that was true. I felt it in my soul. I knew that Maggie was the one for me. There was no doubt in my mind.
Admittedly, when I brought up the proposal to my mother, she was hesitant. She didn’t believe I’d marry anytime soon and assumed when I did, I’d have spent more than a few months with the woman.
It took a lot of convincing, but I begged her to give Maggie a fair chance. I insisted I was going to propose soon, regardless of her opinion, of course, but I really wanted her to get along fully with Maggie.
After we all spent an evening together, I realized my mother getting along with Maggie would be no issue. She adored her. She saw in her what I always had. She was intelligent, kind, eloquent—everything that a prince’s wife should be.
I didn’t care what a prince’s wife should be, however. I only cared that I loved her with my whole heart. I knew my mother did care, though, and it was nice that she was impressed.
Of course, my siblings loved Maggie as well. That much had always been clear. Though they were a bit confused at first when I announced our relationship to them, they quickly adjusted and were gloriously happy. It had been hard on them to learn that they were losing Maggie as a tutor, however it made things much easier to hear that they were gaining her as a sister-in-law.
In my mind, it was a great sign for my decision to marry her (and quickly) that she assimilated so easily into my family. Likewise, I had already come to like her father quite a bit.
I had not voiced this to neither Maggie nor her father, but secretly I was glad to have a father figure in my life. Not that anyone could ever replace my father. It felt good to know that my future children would have a grandfather in their life. They wouldn’t be missing out on anything because I lost my dad.
It seemed serendipitous that both Maggie and I were gaining the parents we had lost.
As my driver pulled up outside of Maggie’s flat, I got out of the car to fetch her. I hoped she would be packed by now. I had my own bags in the back of the car.
Normally, I’d have somebody else load up Maggie’s luggage in the car, but I wanted to do it myself. Being around Maggie, I often felt like a normal guy. I had been feeding into that as often as possible. I knew I was still a Prince, still had a great responsibility, and a lot of fame, but I’d take any little moments of normalcy that I could get.
I knocked on her door, and she answered quickly, a suitcase in hand.
“Is that all you have?” I asked as I looked at her floral mint suitcase.
“Of course. We’re only going for a week, right?”
“Right.”
I was a little embarr
assed of my three suitcases now. Perhaps I didn’t quite know how to live like the average person yet. I was sure, over the years, Maggie would teach me. Just as I’d teach her to adjust to being royal. I hoped we’d always have the best of both worlds.
“So, do I get to know where we’re going yet?” she asked.
“No, of course not,” I said as I opened the car door for her and took her suitcase to the back.
I climbed in the car next to her. She sat in the middle seat and after I buckled myself in, I put my arm around her.
“So, are we going to a public airport or is this some kind of chartered flight?” she asked. “How do the rich and famous travel?”
“I suppose you’ll find out, won’t you?”
“You’re seriously not going to give me anything?!” She groaned as she leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Trust me, it’ll be better if you’re surprised. I’d like to shock you on this vacation.”
“Probably won’t be hard to do considering I’ve gone on like, two vacations in my life… Neither of which were particularly fancy.”
“Yeah? And, where were they?”
“Well, the first was to Disneyland when I was a kid. And my mom and dad saved for a year to get me there. Then the second was on my senior trip to London. That was when I decided I wanted to study abroad. I fell in love with everything about London. I knew I didn’t want to live in America again if I could avoid it.”
“Ah, I get it now.” I looked at her skeptically.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re marrying a royal for the easy citizenship, aren’t you?”
She laughed. “Actually, it was for the great healthcare.”
We both chuckled as we approached the helipad where a helicopter was already waiting for us. Maggie didn’t even notice it at first, but when the car stopped, she looked over to her right and her jaw dropped.
“Wait… Are you kidding me?! We’re not taking a plane.”
Royally Loved: The Royal Romances Books 1-5 Page 14