My Best Friend's Royal Wedding

by Romy Sommer

  I’ve sealed my fate. By moving to sit in the royal pew, I’ve announced my decision.

  ***

  When the ceremony is over I stand beside my aunt and uncle on the church steps while everyone files past. Sonja is too distraught to speak, and Lajos’ responses to the well-wishers are perfunctory, so it’s left to me to shake hands and thank everyone for coming. My first duty as the new heir.

  The royal mausoleum, where Nick’s ashes are to be interred, is on the castle property. The procession of cars winds its way out of town and up to the castle, where a buffet has been laid out in the Great Hall. Mindful of the occasion, I avoid being drawn into questions of the succession, but when Yannik and Lena come to take their leave, he grasps my hand. “Thank you,” is all he says.

  It’s good to know I have an ally in the Prime Minister, because I suspect that “shit is about to get real,” as Khara would no doubt say. What the hell have I just committed myself to?

  Hard as I try, I can’t avoid Max and Phoenix forever. But I decide that offence is the best defence. “Did your bet also cover how long we’d last?”

  Max looks contrite, but Phoenix is less easy to manipulate. “You’re an idiot,” she says.

  “I think the preferred term is ‘douche’.”

  She doesn’t smile. “Do you have any idea how good you and Khara are together? She brings out the best in you.”

  “She’s the one who left.”

  “And you don’t have a passport, or the funds to travel anywhere in the world to go after her?”

  “If I cross the ocean for a booty call, I’d only be proving to her yet again how selfish and entitled I am.”

  “Firstly, it’s not a booty call if you’re trying to win back the love of your life, and secondly, what have you got to lose?”

  “Is she this mean to you too?” I ask Max.

  He smiles. “All the time. Why do you think I married her?”

  With a sigh, I answer Phoenix. “I am not such a dick that I’ll force myself on someone who has already made it abundantly clear she doesn’t want me. She has a plan for her life, and it doesn’t include me.”

  She rolls her eyes in a very non-archduchessy way. “That’s because she doesn’t yet know what she really wants. If you’d been paying any attention, you’d have noticed that you bring out the best in her too. You were supposed to show her that her grand plan sucks. She’s settling, when she deserves so much more.”

  I agree that Khara is capable of so much more than she realises. But I also think she deserves better.

  ***

  The wake seems interminable, but at last it’s only the immediate family left. We retire to the library, where the pre-dinner drinks have been set out. Mátyás is already there, and he’s already clearly a drink ahead of us. The ice in his glass rattles as he rounds on me. “How dare you? Did you seriously think you could just force yourself into the succession like that?”

  Lajos shuts the door with a snick, preventing our voices from reaching the servants cleaning up in the hall beyond. “I invited him.”

  Since Mátyás can hardly argue with that, he flings himself over to the drinks cabinet to refill his glass. His mother, dignified as always, her back ramrod-straight and her chin high, does not give up so easily. “I am the oldest. It should be my son.”

  “Our constitution enables me to choose the best successor from among my male relations, and I have done so.”

  “Mátyás speaks the language.”

  “And Adam will learn it. As he has already studied our laws and our finances.”

  “You don’t mind him bringing his slapper into this castle?” Mátyás asks.

  I’m not sure who moves quicker, Lajos or me. He’s no longer a grieving father but the Fürst of Erdély, a respected statesman. He pulls himself up to his full height, and even I check when he stops me with a hand on my arm. He speaks calmly and quietly, but his words ring around the room. Or maybe they just ring for me. “Khara Thomas was my guest in this house, and will be accorded the same respect as any other guest. She will always be welcome in my home, whether or not Adam has the sense to bring her back here.”

  “But she’s a waitress,” protests Mátyás’ mother.

  “So what? But if you really can’t get past the outdated class divide, then consider this: less than five percent of the citizens of this country have aristocratic blood. The other ninety-five percent of the electorate, the ones with the power to turn this country into a republic if they feel we are obsolete, are people just like Khara. They respect her far more than they respect this family. Right now, I think I do too.”

  The tension in the air reverberates like a plucked guitar string. Then Jemmy speaks into the fraught silence. “Remember that time when my cat died and I was so devastated, and Nick spent the whole afternoon playing dolls with me so I wouldn’t cry?”

  My mother giggles. Clearly she remembers. I do too. I remember him playing dolls and then threatening to break my arm if I told anyone at school.

  “And remember the time he dressed as Santa’s elf to sing carols to us all on Christmas Eve?”

  I laugh at the memory. Admittedly, we were both pretty drunk at the time.

  The tension dissipates.

  Just as Aunt Sonja said, we have a lot of good memories of Nick. Half an hour later, we’re still sharing “remember when” stories, and I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time. Even Mátyás is laughing, though I know it’s going to take a long time before he’ll be civil to me again.

  My father moves to sit beside me on the couch. “As usual, your mother was right,” he says quietly.

  I cock a questioning eyebrow at him.

  “She told me you were bored in your job and needed a bigger challenge. I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d want the responsibility, but I’m very proud of you for stepping up today.”

  Though we’re not a family that hugs, I put my arm around him and squeeze his shoulders. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “So when do we get to meet this paragon you’re seeing?”

  “You don’t. She broke up with me.”

  This time it’s his eyebrow that rises. “There’s a first time for everything. What happened?”

  “She thinks I’m arrogant, entitled and self-centred.”

  “Then don’t be that guy.”

  I laugh. He makes it sound so simple. But later that night, trying to fall asleep in the same bed I shared with Khara, I start to wonder what it would take to change her mind.

  Chapter 28

  Adam

  One month later …

  “Will wonders never cease?” Jemmy leans up against the frame of my office door. “It’s not even noon yet and you’re at your desk.”

  “Ha ha. I might skive off from work occasionally, but I do actually earn my pay. Speaking of which, I have to leave soon for a meeting with a potential corporate investor and I need to prepare.” I make a shooing gesture for her to leave.

  Instead, she slips inside and shuts the door. “You’ll be fine. You’ll just switch on the charm and win them over, like always.”

  “I’m hurt that you think that’s all I’m good for.” I bend forward over the printed spreadsheets and reports on my desk, hoping she’ll take the hint.

  “You look like shit.”

  “Thanks, sis. I love you too.”

  “Are you getting any sleep?”

  “Enough.”

  She knows I’m lying, but for once she doesn’t call me on it. “As much as I love your newfound dedication to your desk, when do I need to start looking for a replacement for you?”

  “And now you’re trying to get rid of me. Your sisterly love knows no bounds.” I push myself back from my desk to look at her. “As long as I can get to Erdély a couple of times a month for meetings or official events, you’re stuck with me a while longer.” Eventually, I’ll need to move to Arenberg full-time, when Lajos is older and I need to take over more of his duties, but for now he’s happy for me to carry on livi
ng and working in London. That’s already more than Nick did.

  “I’m not worried about whether Erdély needs more of your time. I’m worried about you. With everything you’ve got going on, all you do is work. You need to have a life outside of work.”

  I work because as long as I keep busy I don’t have time to think. How is it possible to miss someone so much when you only knew them a few short weeks?

  “I never thought I’d see the day you lecture me about working too hard. Since when do you have a life outside this office?”

  Jemmy looks smug. “Actually, I have a date tonight.”

  “Who’s the unlucky guy?”

  “Your new language tutor.”

  I groan. “Please don’t scare him off. I need him.”

  “I don’t try to scare guys off. It’s just so hard to find a man who isn’t intimidated by a confident, successful trust fund baby. Well, unless they’re after the trust fund, of course. Then you can’t get rid of them.”

  “Are you just trying to annoy me, or is there a reason you’re preventing me from getting any work done?”

  “Mum asked me to speak to you. She was in Westerwald yesterday for a meeting of the ballet trustees, and she had lunch with Phoenix.”

  “Oh?” I try not to sound too interested.

  “Apparently Khara is seeing someone.”

  The hum of the laptop fan is loud in the sudden silence. I loosen the tie constricting my neck and remind myself to breathe. “I’m happy for her.” My mouth is dry. I reach for the half cup of cold coffee on my desk and gulp it down. It tastes awful.

  “Liar,” Jemmy says.

  It’s possible to be happy for someone and utterly devastated for yourself at the time, I discover.

  Jemmy leans forward. “So are you going after her?”

  I assemble the papers in front of me into a neat pile. “You’ve just told me she’s dating someone else.”

  “Exactly. If you don’t hurry, you’re going to lose her forever.”

  It’s on the tip of my tongue to say that I’ve already lost her, but I don’t say the words. Is there a chance I could still win her back? And who is this guy she’s dating – is he good enough for her?

  “Was that the whole message from Mum, or was there more?”

  “She also said she wants you to come for Sunday lunch, if you can squeeze us into your hectic schedule.” Jemmy rises to leave, but pauses with her hand on the doorknob. “I’m proud of you. I think you’re finally doing something that truly challenges you, something that’s worthwhile. But you’re still living a half-life. It still feels as if you’re just going through the motions. You need to figure out what makes you feel whole and happy, and you need to go after it. And if that thing is Khara, then you need to do it soon, before it’s too late.”

  For a long while after she leaves, I sit and stare out of the floor-to-ceiling window at the constant motion on the street below.

  I can remember very clearly the first time I ever felt truly whole and happy. When I felt a sense of completion I’d never known before. It was that moment in the crowded drawing room of the palace in Neustadt, before the paediatric hospital dinner, when I wrapped my arms around Khara to make Elena go away.

  The first time I pulled her close against me, and didn’t want to let her go.

  Rubbing the back of my neck where yet another tension headache is forming, I rise and gather the papers off my desk. I’m going to be late for the meeting and I haven’t read through all the statistics, which means I’m going to have to do what I always do: switch on the charm and hope for the best.

  Chapter 29

  Khara

  I park the car and switch off the engine. Since the doctor’s Lexus is parked beside the trailer, he and Mom clearly haven’t left for their date yet. They’ll be late for their dinner reservation if they don’t leave soon, and it’s not a reservation they want to miss. Gavin let slip to me that he’s booked a table at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. There’s only one reason for a big splurge like that – their dinner proposal package.

  I pray that this time Mom doesn’t let a good thing go. Not only does Dr Gavin Chen have a solid job and a house in the suburbs, but he’s a widower who was married to his late wife for twenty-five years, which suggests he’s not her usual love-em-and-leave-em type. He also has two daughters a few years younger than me. I always wanted a sister and if I get lucky I might soon have two. Three if Calvin ever gets around to marrying his baby mama.

  But I’ve bought both Champagne and Ben & Jerry’s, so we’re covered whatever answer she gives him. Though if she turns him down she’ll probably be unemployed again too.

  Thank heavens I have a job at least. The construction company where Isaiah works had an opening, so I finally have a desk job in an office with windows and natural light. I also only see the same three people all day every day. Who knew I’d miss the hustle and variety of the casino floor?

  I can’t sit out here much longer. I need to put my game face on and go inside or Mom will come out to check on me. I know she’s worried about me, but if she asks, “Are you sure you’re okay?” one more time, I’m going to scream.

  Of course I’m okay. I’ve got everything I ever wanted. Just a few credits away from graduating, a job with a regular paycheck and benefits, a safe and steady boyfriend. What more could a girl want?

  A lot, it turns out.

  None of those things feel the way I thought they’d feel. Maybe because I’m not the person I was when I dreamed them. Maybe because, if I’m honest with myself, I’m hopelessly in love with a prince.

  I’ve been having this recurring dream where I’m standing in the church in Arenberg, the one with the frescoed walls. I’m walking down the aisle and I feel so happy it’s like I’m floating on air. But when I reach the altar and turn around, I realize the church is empty and I’m all alone. Every time I wake, I feel like I’m missing something vital.

  That’s completely stupid, isn’t it – to feel as if a person can be so vital to you that when they’re gone you feel like … like I feel in that moment after waking?

  The way I feel right now.

  Suck it up, cupcake. You need to get in there before the ice cream melts.

  I open the car door, swing my gym bag off the passenger seat and climb out. But even as I head up the steps to the front door, taking out my door key, I indulge in a moment’s fantasy.

  Imagine if Prince Charming were real. Imagine if he were waiting inside Mom’s double wide for me, drinking beer out of a can instead of Champagne out of vintage crystal. Imagine if a girl like me could get over herself long enough to actually believe in love at first sight, could believe that the tremor she feels when she meets someone’s gaze and thinks ‘This is it’, that it really could be something more than hormones.

  I slide my key into the latch and turn it. Then I push the door open and step across the threshold.

  And this is it. But it’s not a tremor. It’s a whammy that robs me of breath as our gazes meet.

  “You have a visitor,” my mother says.

  I swallow, pull myself together and step into the living room, slowly shutting the door behind me. “So I see.” Not just a mirage, but scrambling up off the polyester-fabric sofa. And there’s an honest-to-goodness can of beer on the table beside him. I pinch myself. Ouch.

  I clear my throat. “Shouldn’t the two of you be leaving for your date?”

  I glance pointedly at Gavin, who is leaning up against the kitchen counter with a big fat, all-too-knowing grin on his face.

  “I think that’s a hint for us to leave them alone,” Mom says with a laugh. She picks up her purse, and she and Gavin head to the door I just closed. As she passes, impossibly smooth and steady in her two-inch heels, she bends to kiss my cheek. “Listen to what he has to say, okay?”

  I nod.

  Then they’re gone, and we’re alone. Though he’s still across the room, Adam’s presence fills the space, making my pulse flutter in my throat. It’s a
ll I can do to stop myself from jumping him, but somehow I manage to hold myself back. Damn hormones!

  “Your mom is nice. So she and the doctor are still going strong?” He’s making small talk and looks uncomfortable, which is hardly surprising. This trailer park has to be as far from his comfort zone as a palace was for me.

  “Congratulations. I read online that your uncle has officially made you crown prince.” I move to the kitchenette, unpacking the ice cream and Champagne from among the wet swimming things in my gym bag and stowing them in the freezer. Then I face him, hands on my hips. “What are you doing here?”

  “I realized I owe you an apology.”

  “You could have called. Or texted. Or emailed.”

  “No. This is the kind of apology that needs to be done in person.”

  He gets down on his knees on the outdated carpet. “I am so sorry that I didn’t recognize you from last year, and that I treated you like you were nothing more than an object for my personal gratification. I like to think I’ve grown a bit since then. I’m also sorry that I didn’t talk to you or consider what you wanted, and that I tried to railroad you into staying with me in London just because it’s what I wanted.”

  As apologies go, that’s a pretty good one. “Apology accepted. You can get up now.”

  “There’s more.”

  I nod for him to continue. My heart is thudding, the rapid pulse making me feel light-headed. This is surreal.

  “I thought I had it all, and that I didn’t need anyone. But meeting you showed me that I’d closed my heart to what I needed. I’m trying to be a better man, and that’s all because of you. No matter what happens, you’ll be with me every minute of every day, part of everything I do.” He sucks in a breath, holding me trapped in his gaze. “But I’m begging you to please give me another chance.”

  Wow. Oh wow.

  “Um … I’m dating someone.” Raúl and I just got back together. Remember what I said about sparks starting fires? Well, things went up in flames for him and the woman he had a whole lot of chemistry with, so, like me, he’s decided that safe and steady is better than fireworks.