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“Hey, it’s going to be fine.” Palmer kissed her forehead. “We know what this is now, right?”

“Real,” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah, it is,” she confirmed.

She and Elizabeth were standing alone on the small plane that would take her back to St. Rais.

“I know you have work, but you did say once you could write from anywhere. Is there a chance you could maybe come back to St. Rais sooner than the summer?”

“I can see,” Palmer replied. “And you can maybe come back here after the vote, depending on how that goes.”

“God, I wish you could be there for that.”

“Me too. I’ll try, okay?” Palmer promised. “Until then, we’ll just take it day by day, babe. Call me when you’re safe in the palace.”

“I will.” Elizabeth pulled Palmer into her. “Palmer, I…”

“I got you these for the road,” Palmer interrupted her. She handed Elizabeth a bunch of flowers. “They’re salvias. Blue means that I’m thinking of you.”

“And the red ones?” Elizabeth asked.

“Forever mine.”

Elizabeth smiled at her and nodded.

“I’ll see you as soon as I can,” Palmer added.

“Okay.”

Palmer leaned in and kissed her slowly. Elizabeth held on tightly to the flowers. The other ones Palmer had given her before were already stowed and pressed between the pages of Palmer’s piece. Elizabeth had agreed that she’d wait to read it until the plane ride back, even though she’d told Palmer she’d wanted to read it straight away.

“There are words I want to say, but I don’t want to say them with goodbye,” Palmer said as she pulled out of the kiss.

“I’d say there’s always later, but you and I both know that’s not true.” She cupped Palmer’s cheeks and added, “I love you.”

Palmer hadn’t been expecting that, but the moment Elizabeth said the words, Palmer smiled.

“I love you, too,” she replied.

Elizabeth kissed her quickly and suggested, “Don’t say goodbye right now. Let’s just say we’ll talk later.”

“We’ll talk later,” Palmer replied, kissing her once more. “I love you,” she added, trying out just how good it felt to admit that to the woman she’d been in love with for a while now.

“I love you, too,” Elizabeth said, nodding. “I have to go.”

“I know. Call me later. I don’t care what time it is.”

“I will.”

“Okay. I love you.”

Elizabeth laughed and said, “I love you, too. Now that we’ve said it, are we going to say it a million times?”

“Yes,” Palmer said, kissing her quickly and then backing up a few steps. “I love you, Your Majesty,” she teased.

“I love you, too, Miss Honeycutt. Now, get off my plane,” Elizabeth said playfully.

“You say ‘I love you’ to a Queenonetime, and she kicks you off her plane.” Palmer winked at her.