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“About thirty-one miles.”

“You can drive that every day if you had to. People back home drive that far to get to work all the time.”

“I suppose,” Elizabeth replied. “But I just gave that to Victoria and David.” She thought to herself for a second. “But Victoria doesn’t want it. She was thinking about going to school out of the country anyway.”

“See?” Palmer asked.

“I could speak with her about it, but if she says no and wants Coburn, I’ll figure something else out.”

“That sounds good,” Palmer replied.

Elizabeth kissed her quickly and said, “The palace can be a museum, after all.”

“What? How’d we getthere?” Palmer asked.

“Well, it’s two wings, for one. This wing is the residence. The other is the office wing. If I’m not living here, the top two floors could easily be converted into a museum. They already do tours in the other wing. It could be part of the experience. Then, the palace staff can remain on, and I don’t need a staff at Coburn; I’d prefer it just be you and me.”

“You and me?” Palmer asked.

“One day,” Elizabeth said. “Security would be there, and Rebecca lives closer to Coburn than she does here. If you end up moving here one day, Palmer, we’d have a real home.”

“With maybe a cook and a maid, too?” Palmer asked. “You haven’t seen my apartment; I’m not the cleanest person in the world.”

“Whatever you want, but I don’t need much myself.” Elizabeth lay back down on Palmer’s chest. “Assuming we get there, our kids would grow up in a real home, not a palace with servants. I never wanted that for my kids anyway.”

“I never had that as an option, but I like how I grew up. I guess I’d want that for my kids, too.”

“Yeah?” Elizabeth checked.

“Yes. But none of these needs to be decided tonight, right?”

“No, you can get some sleep,” Elizabeth replied, chuckling at her.

“Not what I meant. You woke me up, and now I’m thinking about a house and kids one day with you.” Palmer quickly flipped them over. “And how much I already miss touching you; and I’m still in bed with you.”

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Palmer’s neck and pulled her down into her body.

“What are you going to do about it?” she teased.

“Tell you how proud I am of you, that I love you, and remind you that we’re going to be okay.”

“Not what I was expecting,” Elizabeth said, giving her a playful glare. “But I love it anyway.”

“Now, I’m going to kiss you. Let’s see where it goes from there, shall we?”

Palmer leaned down and captured her lips in a sweet, soft kiss.

???

“What are you so worried about?” Victoria asked.

“I’m not worried. It’s just that she’d be giving up so much to be with me.”

“Like what? She’d have to move, but people do that for their girlfriends all the time.”

Elizabeth sat across from her sister in the sitting room of her suite. Palmer was with Thomas, who was grilling the woman with questions about her background, her job, and probably, even her sexual history, if Elizabeth had to guess. He’d said he’d needed the information to help him with his plan on helping his Queen come out of the closet and that it would also prepare Palmer for whatever she might endure from other people who had questions.

Elizabeth had wanted to attend, but Palmer had assured her she’d be fine. Elizabeth had also wanted to attend because it was Palmer’s last full day in St. Rais – she’d be leaving tomorrow and wouldn’t be back until Victoria’s wedding in May. Elizabeth hated missing any of the time they had left together, but it was important for their future, so she’d opted for lunch with her sister to pass the time between meetings.