Page 67 of Once Upon a Royal Summer

Could it be?

As pretty as the lilac dress she’d planned on wearing had been, Lacey couldn’t have been more grateful for the queen’s intervention. The pale blue confection she’d chosen for Lacey to wear was the most beautiful gown she’d ever seen—fit for a princess. If she’d been wearing anything else or if she’d had anyone other than Henry escorting her down the enormous marble staircase, she might’ve been intimidated by all the curious stares and whispers. Which was really saying something, considering Lacey greeted thousands of people from all over the world every day at Once Upon A Time.

When she’d arrived in Bella-Moritz and had gotten her first real glimpse at Henry and Rose’s royal life, she’d been so struck by the stark differences between her theme park castle and their palace home. Lacey had always been proud to play the part of Princess Sweet Pea, but the idea of a real-life prince and a theme park princess falling for one another seemed almost laughable. That was exactly what she’d done, though. She’d fallen in love with Henry, despite every effort not to. She wasn’t sure if he felt the same way or not, and she was trying her best just to live in the moment and soak everything up—the beautiful surroundings, the music, the way the air seemed perfumed with every kind of flower imaginable. But more than any of those things, she wanted to cherish the warmth of Henry’s touch and the light in his eyes when he looked at her. He made her feel like she was the special one. He always had.

Lacey knew all those days of pinning a plastic crown to her head, waltzing with a succession of novice Prince Charmings, and doing her best to make the park guests forget their troubles and find the magic in everyday life had uniquely prepared her for this moment. If the palace where they were standing had been on the pages of a storybook, and if the prince standing beside her had been the lonely royal from “The Princess and the Pea,” Lacey would’ve passed his family’s princess test with flying colors.

Thank goodness she hadn’t needed to sleep on top of twenty mattresses piled with twenty feather beds to get here. That seemed liked overkill.

But when she and Henry reached the bottom of the staircase and he bowed and held his hand out to her in a silent invitation to dance, she knew there’d never been a test. Henry had never treated her as inferior. And he was more than a prince—he was a father, a son, and a friend. He was a real flesh-and-blood man, not a one-dimensional character or just a royal title. Lacey had fallen in love with him for who he was, not what he was. She could only hope he felt the same way about her.

Lacey placed her fingertips gently in his waiting hand, and in a gesture that reminded her so much of their first encounter at Sweet Pea’s Royal Tea Party, Henry pulled her into a dance hold. A shiver coursed through her at the feel of his warm hand on the small of her back, and he flashed her a knowing smile.

Lacey tilted her head. She felt like he was trying to tell her something, but she wasn’t sure what. Then the music in ballroom wound down to a close before changing to a different tune.

Together, they took their first step, then another and another, until they were waltzing and twirling across the glossy black-and-white floor. The music grew louder and louder, until Lacey gasped.

“This song.” A smile rose up from the deepest part of her heart. “This is the same song we danced to at Once Upon A Time.”

Henry’s mouth curved into a smile. “It is, isn’t it? What a fitting coincidence.”

He led her in a sweeping curve as he held her closer, so close that she could’ve rested her head on his broad shoulder if she wanted to.

She couldn’t, obviously. Not here, but that was okay, because even though the Flower Festival was drawing to a close, she had a feeling the future was still up for grabs. And the way Henry was holding her left no doubt in her mind that no matter what her crown was made of, she was the princess of his heart. His noble heart beat wildly against her own, telling its own story, but she still wanted to hear him say the words. She needed it. They’d been dancing around the truth long enough.

“You’re not fooling me for a second. This song is no coincidence,” she said, pulse pounding in time with the music.

Henry’s eyes danced. “Surprised?”

Lacey laughed. “Yes, and you know how I feel about surprises.”

“Good, because I’ve got one more.”

Then he dipped her low, just as he’d done in a faraway, candy-colored castle in the land where fairy tales came true. A cheer rose up from the crowd, and just over Henry’s shoulder, Lacey saw Rose, smiling as brightly as she’d ever seen the little girl smile before. She flashed Henry’s daughter a wink, and then her gaze found Henry’s again.

His eyes were impossibly bright. Ever blue, ever true. “I love you, princess.”

Joy sparkled inside Lacey. This was it, but instead of feeling like the end of a fairy tale, it felt the beginning. The beginning of something bright and beautiful, a life she and Henry would build together.

“I love you too,” she said, marveling at how easy the words came, as if she’d been waiting a lifetime to say them to just the right person.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” She might’ve even forgotten where she was for a moment and screamed her answer as if she were trying to make herself heard over a roller coaster rattling its way up the Snow Queen’s Mountain and through Hansel and Gretel’s Haunted Forest.

Then Henry kissed her, right there in the middle of the ballroom. His lips came down on hers, soft and sweet. Somewhere in the distance, Lacey heard the striking of a clock.

Was it midnight already?

She wrapped her arms around Henry’s strong neck and kissed him back, feet firmly planted in the here and now. In real life—just as magical, just as sweet as the fairest of fairy tales. What difference did the number of chimes from the clock make?

Lacey and her prince had all the time in the world.

The End