Page 121 of Scandal Queen

I grabbed him, pulling him close, not caring that staff could walk along. “It’s because it feels like I’ve never not been with you.”

His face smoothed, the skin around his eyes pinching. “A lot has happened in just a few months hasn’t it?”

“It has.”

“But you aren’t running away…”

“I told you. Never going to happen.”

“Oh you wait until the wedding planning starts. Do you know they are taking bets on who your dress designer will be already?”

“Well that’s stupid. We all know it will be Emilia.”

He scrunched his face. “I’m not sure it works like that.”

“Well then it’s up to us to make to make it work like that.” I grinned, squeezing his arm. “Did you see those people out there for you today? Ollie, they love you. The way you’ve been the last few weeks, you’ve made them fall in love with you, just the way you made me.”

His smile faltered and his fingers trailed along the outside edge of my jaw, along my cheekbone. “You know I’d have left it all for you. That night, on New Year’s Eve, I was ready to give up.”

I nodded. “New Year’s Eve changed everything. I wish Bella was here to see it.”

We stared at one another until he nodded. “Me too.”

“So, Your Majesty.” I grinned wickedly, trying to alleviate the heaviness. “Does my King have plans for the first night of his reign?”

He snatched me up, huffing the air out of my lungs. “Oh, I can assure you I do.” His words whispered against my lips, setting my heart to flight. “But I have one more thing I want to show you before I do any of that.” His smile made my stomach drop with anticipation.

“Do not get your long pole thingy out here!”

He laughed, loud and free; his first true laugh since the night his sister died.

“Come here.” He pulled me a bit further down the hallway until we stood once again outside the doors of St Edwin’s Chapel.

“You know I’m still not officially allowed in here, right?”

He pushed on the handle and opened the door. I gasped as we walked in. Unlike the night of his unexpected proposal, tonight the chapel was lit with not only beautiful pillar candles that illuminated the room with a golden glow, but also fairy lights that hung from the raftered ceiling.

“What’s this?”

“Now this, I’m ashamed to admit, was what I originally had planned. But then as has been the case throughout our entire relationship, my hand was forced and things didn’t quite happen the way I wanted.”

“It’s beautiful in here, Ollie, but I would have said yes regardless.”

“Oh, I know.” He flashed me a breath-taking smile. “But here is the thing I want to give you as my wedding gift.”

“Not your long pole thingy.”

“Leia, please stop talking.”

“Sorry.” I clamped my lips together.

“This is a new monarchy now. With you by my side, finally, I can show people who I am. Meeting you helped me to realise that’s what I needed, who I wanted to be.”

I nodded, too scared to speak and ruin whatever he planned to say.

“So that’s why I want us to get married in here. Not a big state wedding. Of course we will have to keep it politically correct, but I’m sure there is a way we can work around that. But I want you and I to stand in here, in front of the people of the country who have never been allowed in here before and show them how much we love one another.”

I had nothing.