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The room erupted into cheers. Palmer didn’t hear them, though.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” she said, kissing Elizabeth’s lips.

“They won’t say anything. Anyone in this room is someone I can trust. And even if they do, it won’t matter; we’ll tell the world soon enough.”

“Did you mean what you said?” Palmer asked, wiping the tears off her own cheeks before doing the same to Elizabeth’s.

“Every single word,” Elizabeth whispered against her lips.

CHAPTER 43

“It’s strange. I almost don’t know what to do now,” Elizabeth said against Palmer’s chest.

“Sleep?” Palmer suggested. “It’s been a long day.”

“I know,” Elizabeth replied, sliding in closer against Palmer’s naked body. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine; you need to talk it out. Let’s talk it out,” Palmer said, kissing her temple. “What’s going through your mind?”

“I feel like I just got so much work to do, but I didn’t, really. It’s strange. After my family was killed, I was made Queen by default. It didn’t feel like my own. I still used my own office. I went through the motions of what I thought I was supposed to do. Then, I told everyone we’d put it to a vote, and everything had to just wait until that vote.”

“Now, it’s done. You’re still the Queen of a country.”

“Yes.” Elizabeth rested her head on her elbow to look down at Palmer. “It’s like now, therealwork begins. My brain is filled with all of these ideas I’ve never had before, and it’s two o’clock in the morning, and I don’t know what to do about it. I’m using my father’s old office now – which is a start, I guess – but I’m still sleeping in my room.” She sighed. “I don’t know that I can ever sleep in his old room. That wastheirroom,” she said, referring to her parents. “Changing out the furniture wouldn’t help.”

“Is someone trying to force you to sleep in there?” Palmer asked, running her hand through Elizabeth’s hair, still mussed from their recent lovemaking.

“No, it’s just the custom. It’s what you do.”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be whatyoudo. It’s just a bedroom, babe. If you don’t want to sleep there, sleep here or sleep somewhere else entirely.”

“Are you adding that to the list of rules I should change?” Elizabeth teased.

“I’m not addinganythingto your list right now. I’m only suggesting that if something doesn’t make you happy, don’t do it. I think you’ve figured out by now that being Queen is something you actually want and that it does – or it can – make you happy. That’s a good first step, right?”

“Yes, I suppose it is.”

“But it doesn’t have to be theonlything that makes you happy. And it’s definitely not all that you are,” Palmer added. “That list you have running through your mind right now – none of that has to happen overnight. Plus, it shouldn’t just be about the country. There should be other things on it for you.”

“You’re on it. Making this work between us is at the top of my list. You know that, right?”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Palmer said, smiling at her. “But I’m not even talking about me. Where do you want to live, Lizzy?”

“This room is fine enough.”

“Babe, don’t limit yourself to this room. Do you even want to live in the palace?”

“Well, I can’t go back to my little house; it’s not secure enough. And even if we could make it that way, it sort of feels like a step back into my old life, and I’m not sure I want that.”

“You guys have other properties, though, right?”

“Honestly, I love Coburn Cottage. It’s too far away from the palace, though.”

“How far is it?”

“About fifty kilometers.”

“And before I ask, you’re going to–”