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Ava

I couldn’t believe it was her.

“Oh my God !” I shouted, throwing my arms around my sister, squeezing her as hard as I could.

Hailey hugged me back, letting out a grunt as I came close to squishing her with the sheer power of my grip.

“OK, OK, happy to see you too, but you’re right on the verge of breaking some ribs, sis.”

I laughed, letting go of Hailey and stepping back, trying to wrap my head around the fact that she was actually in front of me. I turned to Luc, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a knowing smile on his face that made it clear he was most pleased with his work.

“What did you do?”

He chuckled. “I brought your sister here.”

“I mean, I know that. What I’m trying to say is… how ?”

“Luc got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago,” Hailey said. “Told me that you were having a little trouble getting settled in here in Edoria, asked if I might be able to swing in and hang out with you for a little while so you didn’t feel so lonely.”

“I had her number back from when I was doing recon on you in preparation for the trip to Seattle,” Luc said. “Just a matter of getting in touch.”

My head was spinning. “Wait, what about the truck?”

“I’d been meaning to take a vacation for a little while,” she said. “Not to mention that the newbies were starting to burn out from me riding them so hard. What can I say, I demand success.”

“I dipped into the palace’s discretionary fund to cover the money that the truck would’ve been making while Hailey was here,” Luc said. “So there’s no reason to worry about your business losing money or anything like that.”

I was so happy that I wanted to cry. I threw my arms around Hailey one more time, my heart feeling like it was about to burst.

“Plus, your boy Luc here sprang for a first-class ticket,” Hailey said, hugging me back. “I made the flight here in style.”

“Least I could do,” Luc said.

I turned to him, shaking my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you did this.”

He smirked. “I hope you mean that it in a good way.”

I stepped over to him, opening my arms and giving him a big hug.

“Of course, I do. Hailey was just what I needed.”

“Good. I’ll give you both some time to relax and catch up. Order whatever you’d like for dinner—I already informed the king

that you’d be busy tonight. And if either of you need anything, just let me know.”

I stepped over to Luc one more time, taking his hands into mine.

“Thank you. Seriously, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

“It’s my pleasure, Princess.”

With that, he stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Hailey and me alone.

The two of us let out another pair of screams once he was gone, throwing our arms around each other in one more giant hug.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “Seriously, this is totally insane.”

“Insane in the best kind of way, though. I know you’ve been having a rough go of it. At least you’ve got Mr. Hottie to help distract you.”

Reality was beginning to creep back in. I let out a sigh, falling onto the bed.

“God, I have no idea what I’m going to do about any of that.”

“Well, I want to hear everything but I just got off a ten-hour flight, and something about being in a plane makes me want the junkiest food that I can get my hands on. What do you say about calling up that royal kitchen of yours and having them whip us up some deep-dish pizzas?”

“Sounds perfect.”

I made the call, and a little over an hour later one of the members of the staff dropped off our pizzas, along with some root beer to wash it all down. Hailey passed the time while we waited by filling me in on everything that had been going on with the crab truck.

“And this other guy, Sean, he’s… I don’t even know what to say about this kid.”

I laughed as I carried the pizzas over and set them on the table in the bedroom.

I pulled a big slice of extra cheese onto my plate, the slice thick as my arm and dripping with beautiful, melty cheese. I took a bite, the pizza as delicious as it looked.

Hailey leaned forward over her piece, the look in her eyes letting me know that she was right on the verge of bringing up the one thing I had no idea how to talk about.

“So, Luc…”

I pursed my lips, my heart beating faster at just the mention of him.

“I know.”

“Have you thought about it? I mean, really thought about what you’re going to do?”

“Of course I’ve thought about it! I think about it pretty much every minute of the day.”

“I get it. And you have to know that I’m not trying to grill you or anything. All the same, this is a huge deal! Not to mention that you haven’t told Luc yet. I know you’ve got a million things to worry about here at the palace, but at the same time, this baby situation isn’t going anywhere.”

“I have a plan, believe it or not.”

“You do?” she asked the question with a mouthful of pizza, a confused expression on her face.

“I do. And it’s really simple. I’m going to get through this week, make it through the ball, and then leave and come back to Seattle.”

Her mouth opened wide in shock, showing off a mouthful of pizza.

“This is how I figure it,” I said, going on. “There’s the ball, and then there’s the naming ceremony. The ceremony’s when they officially name me as the princess and the heir to the kingdom. The ball sounds like hell, but I can manage. As long as I leave before the ceremony, though, I’ll be fine! I won’t be the official heir, and they’ll have to figure out someone else to step in after my father dies. There’s got to be a million second cousins or third aunts or whatever who’d be up to the task. Or you .”

Hailey busted up, laughing her head off at the idea of being the next Queen of Edoria.

“Not a chance. I mean, even if your father did decide to legitimize me as Mom’s daughter, there’s no way I’d go for something like that. I’ve got two goals in life right now—to run the food truck and to see as much of the world as I can. Being the queen isn’t going to allow either of those things to happen.”

She leaned in. “But you’re serious? You’re really going to just walk out and leave all of this? Plenty of people would kill to live in a palace and be a freaking princess.”

“Leave all of this behind?” I asked. “You mean a big, lonely palace? A father who’s as cold as the stones that this place is made of? Yeah, I’ll be able to leave all of this behind. And I won’t feel too bad about doing it, either.”

Hailey shook her head. “The king is only part of it. I’m talking about Luc, you know, the father of your child .”

“I’ll leave without telling him that I’m pregnant. I mean, can you imagine what would happen if my father learned that not only am I pregnant, but I’m carrying the kid of his best friend? He’d blow the top off this freaking place and probably dismantle Luc’s life. No, I leave without telling him, go back to Seattle and raise the baby the same way Mom raised me when she left Edoria. Following in the family footsteps, you know?”

Hailey took another bite of her pizza, regarding me with an incredulous expression.

“I’m going to leave it alone for now,” she said, swallowing her bite. “But this conversation isn’t over.”

I nodded and looked away. She was right—not a chance in hell it would be that easy. Nothing ever was.