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“Please tell me everyone wears nametags.” Bekah sighed. “I’ll never remember all of that.”

Josiah chuckled. “I can get you a list, or you can find us all on the family website, I’m sure. Gen is the outgoing twin. Evie is more reserved. Zach and Zay are more difficult to tell apart. Zay tends to be more happy-go-lucky while Zach is more serious, but the difference is much less pronounced than Gen and Evie.”

“Good to know. You’re older than Zach and Zay, though, right?” She tore off a piece of bread and popped it in her mouth.

“Yep. Ben, Gen, Evie, Darius, me, Zach, Zay, Angie, Gabi, Alfred.”

“Ten kids. That’s a lot.” She gave a slight shake of her head. “Wow. I bet y’all were a handful.”

“We didn’t try to be. Mostly we’ve all been pretty well-behaved. My parents had help, of course, but my father passed when I was seven. Ben was thirteen when he became king thanks to a heart attack.”

He reached over and found a bottle of water, loosened the lid, and took a swig. He didn’t like talking about his father and all the things he’d missed out on by not having one. Thor had done what he could, even while working as a member of the security teams and not even an unofficial member of the family, but the biggest male role model any of them had until recently was Uncle Isaiah.

The man allegedly eaten by sharks.

And who deserved every bite.

* * *

Something appearedto be bothering Joe, but Bekah wasn’t going to press him to tell her what it was. Missing his dad seemed like a logical option, but she didn’t know how to approach that topic. She’d never experienced the loss of a parent. A spouse was different.

Instead, she continued the previous line of discussion. “So if your brother is busy, we’ll go to your apartment and meet with him later?”

That seemed to snap him out of it. “That seems most reasonable, though I haven’t heard for certain. It’s possible my mum and Thor will be by to see us.”

Her brows knit together as she tried to remember. “Thor is your step-dad who used to be security? I’ve met him I think.”

He nodded. “He’s a great guy and makes Mum so incredibly happy. I remember her and my father together, not much but some. They were a love story for the ages. I’m so glad she found that again. He has three boys younger than Alfred so they have their hands full. He was in Øyanord with your sister.”

“Even more names to learn?” She groaned. “I’m awful with remembering what name goes with what face. I remember names. I remember faces. But putting the two together? That’s a different story.”

He chuckled, which made Bekah happy. Maybe the funk would be short-lived.

At least until Steve’s death truly sunk in. She knew it hadn’t for her, and doubted it had for Joe either.

“You’ll figure it out. I have faith in you.”

She gave him the best smile she could muster. “I’m glad one of us does.”

He stood up and leaned over, kissing the top of her head. “You should believe in yourself more, Beks. You’re amazing.”

Before she could react, he headed back to the galley. Bekah tried to process what had just happened, but she didn’t know how.

A kiss to the top of the head didn’t necessarily mean anything. Her father kissed her like that all the time. Ian didn’t, but he hadn’t been much taller than her. He also hadn’t been an overly affectionate person to start with. She suspected Joe was.

She slowly ate the bread and sipped her soda. It seemed to do the trick. Though she hadn’t had morning sickness, she seemed to get a bit more motion sick on planes at the moment. Cars didn’t affect her, but she’d noticed it a few weeks earlier on the flight to Øyanord to see her parents and Ginny once the truth about Ginny’s parentage came out, then again on the way to Athmetis.

Joe sat back down with something to munch on. She couldn’t see what it was, but they ate in silence.

As she was about to ask him another question - anything to break the silence - the captain came over the speaker to let them know they would be landing shortly. The pressure in her ears had been building, making her wonder if their descent had begun. Now she had her answer.

“Is there anything else I should know?” she asked as she made certain her chair was upright and double checked her seatbelt.

“About what?”

“Your family? The palace? This marriage?”

“I don’t know how many of my family we’ll actually see in the next couple of days. Katrín will be around. She’s married to Benjamin. They have two girls, ages two and four. I’m sure we’ll see Mum and Thor, but beyond that, I have no idea. I’ll give you a tour of where you need to go in the palace. If we’re there long, you’ll pick up on it. As for the marriage, we don’t make a public announcement unless we have to. Then it’ll be easier to... dissolve quietly later.”