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“When does she leave?”

“The day after,” Elizabeth replied. “She booked her return flight yesterday. I had hoped she’d be able to stay longer, but that was selfish of me. She has a life to get back to.”

“You know how we usually take vacations for the holidays after the Christmas address?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Maybe you should take one.”

“We go as a family. I assumed you and I would go. David is welcome as well, obviously.”

“I think you should go somewhere, Lizzy. Where you pick is up to you, but I’ve heard New York City is a nice place to visit.”

She gave Elizabeth a soft smile and left the room. That idea, of course, was a ridiculous one; Elizabeth couldn’t just leave the country. She would be a newly made Queen in a nation that may or may not even want her family around anymore. She had to remain in St. Rais for stability alone. There was also the fact that security would be next to impossible in a city like New York. Of course, it would also be unlikely that an anti-monarchist would follow her all the way there just to make an attempt on her life. Then, there was the other obvious reason for her not to go. Palmer had her life to get back to. She had a family and a job and friends to meet up with. She wouldn’t want Elizabeth following her around New York City, asking her to take her to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building like some tourist. No, she’d stay at the palace for the holidays. She could take a vacation later, after they found the man responsible for murdering her family.

???

“I tried to call last night,” Palmer said.

“I know; I got your message. I was unable to get back to you until now. I’m sorry.”

Elizabeth hated lying to Palmer. The truth was that she’d watched Palmer’s number appear on her phone screen. She’d then watched it disappear and become a missed call. Then, she’d checked the short voicemail and the follow-up text message, and she hadn’t replied because she didn’t know what to say. The closer she got to Palmer Honeycutt, the closer shewantedto get to her, and Palmer was leaving soon. Her heart couldn’t stand to be broken again.

“No problem. I know how busy you are.”

“How are you?” Elizabeth asked.

“I’m good. I actually went to that massive library in the city and just looked at the thousands of books today. I had lunch at the restaurant next door; that one that serves the best klippfisk in the country, apparently.”

“Youate klippfisk? What did you think?”

“It’s salty,” the woman replied.

Elizabeth laughed and said, “Yes, it’s salted, dried, and pressed cod. I’m surprised you tried it.”

“Well, I wanted to eat traditional food while I was here.”

“There’s an American place on the next block. You should go there tomorrow and have a burger. Tell me if it’s anything like what you have back home.”

“Tomorrow is your coronation. Am I uninvited now?”

“Oh, I’m losing track of my days.” Elizabeth sighed. “The day after then, because you are still invited.”

“The day after, I’m on a plane, Elizabeth.”

“Right,” Elizabeth said. “Next time.”

“Next time,” Palmer agreed softly before adding, “And next time I’m here, maybe you can go out more, and we could go together.”

“I hope so,” Elizabeth said. “Are you excited to get back to New York?”

“Yes, but I’ll only be there for a couple of days. I’m going to visit my family for the holidays.”

“You have more time off?”

“No, I’ll be working from there. I have a new assignment that I can write from anywhere, and I’ll use any free time to find my next piece.”

“I’m glad you’ll have time with your family, Palmer.”