Page 42

CHAPTER 41

DECK

REBOOT.

Leaving Murdan was a surreal experience.

Never before had I left with such assured confidence in my path forward. And never had I left my home country with my future bride at my side.

Lizzy and I were escorted by a retinue of security guards, though my wife-to-be had decided she preferred not to play an official role in my protection going forward.

"Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t be looking out for you," she reminded me when I asked—again—if she was sure she was comfortable letting others handle security.

"Of course not."

Lizzy wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do in Virginia, but we both figured she had plenty of time to explore her options. Honestly? I didn’t care if she worked at all. But given her determination and general skill at everything she attempted, I doubted she would be happy calling herself a housewife. Or a house fiancée. Or whatever one would call oneself when not employed outside the home and not yet married.

"This is all so unbelievable," Lizzy said as she held my hand, watching the crystal blue ocean drop beneath the wings of our jet.

"Which part?"

"All of it, Declan. Our engagement. The fact that you are going back to play for the Wombats. The fact that I’m coming with you?" Her smile was so wide and bright, I couldn’t stop myself from leaning in for a kiss.

"I love you, wife," I told her, loving the way the word sounded coming out of my mouth.

"Future wife," she reminded me.

I raised an eyebrow. "That’s nice too," I told her. "Not as definitive, though, you know."

I had an idea. A crazy idea. One I wasn’t sure Lizzy would be excited about. But I leaned closer and whispered it in her ear. The smile that took over my fiancée’s face told me everything I needed to know.

As soon as we were cruising, I stood and went to have a private word with the pilot. He wasn’t on board with the idea at first, but I had some skills of royal persuasion that finally convinced him.

A few moments later, we were turning and then descending once again toward the Murdan airstrip.

My family was gathered around the table in the parlor, just beginning their midday meal. Celeste and Lambert sat side by side, and my mother and father sat across from them.

All eyes turned toward us as we burst through the doors.

"What did you forget that you can’t possibly replace in America?" Lambert asked.

"Did you miss us so much already?" my mother added sweetly. She had already shed all the tears she was going to shed during our goodbyes. Now, it seemed she had switched to sarcasm.

"We did forget something," I told them. "And it’s something we need right away. Something only Lambert can provide."

Lambert raised an eyebrow and looked between us, confused.

"Is it something I’m going to want to provide?" he asked, half a sandwich raised to his mouth, about to take a bite.

"I hope so," I told him. "Lizzy and I want to arrive in America as husband and wife."

The table fell silent.

My mother was the first to react. "Oh my goodness!" She jumped out of her seat and ran to hug us both.

"But I need to call MaryAnne," she said, rushing toward the phone.

"No need," Lizzy said, just as a knock sounded at the door. Lambert’s guard moved to open it, revealing Lizzy’s mother on the other side.

"I called her as we were landing," Lizzy admitted.

MaryAnne Canfield clasped her hands together under her chin, smiling at my mother. The two women embraced and danced in a little circle.

"I can’t believe it’s all happening right this very minute," my mother said.

"Are you sure you’re not rushing things a bit?" my father asked.

Celeste stepped to Lizzy’s side, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I think it’s romantic," she said.

Her calm practicality seemed to put everyone at ease.

An hour later, we were gathered in the family garden, the sun beating down on our shoulders as Lizzy and I stood facing one another, with Lambert before us, ready to officiate.

Our parents and Celeste stood nearby, close enough to hear every word exchanged. The happiness inside me was effervescent. I feared it might bubble out of my mouth the moment I opened it to speak.

Lambert read from the traditional marriage vows of Murdan. "Do you, Declan Sinclair MacArthur, Prince Regent of Murdan, take Eliza Suzanne Canfield to be your wedded bride?"

I smiled at Lizzy, feeling the expression through my entire body. Nothing in the world would make me happier. I looked deep into her eyes, feeling our souls connect.

"I do."

"And do you, Eliza Suzanne Canfield, take Declan to be your wedded husband?"

Lizzy nodded her head, then added, "I do. Of course, I do. Yes. Definitely.” She clapped a hand over her mouth as if trying to keep herself from agreeing even more enthusiastically.

"By the power vested in me as King of Murdan," Lambert said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

As I looked at my bride, a sense of calm, unlike anything I had ever felt, descended over me. When I took her in my arms and kissed her tenderly, it felt as if the world had finally begun turning at a rhythm and a speed that made sense.

We boarded the jet once again, a mere three hours after we had originally been scheduled to leave. We took our seats, and I held Lizzy’s hand tightly in mine. As the plane took off, I leaned over and whispered, “I’m ready to go back. Now, I can properly call you wife."

There were many things to figure out once we landed—not the least of which was where we would live. Lizzy insisted, with my parents’ agreement, that the safest place for us would be the eighth floor of the condo high-rise she had rented when she was last in Virginia. It was a little bizarre, considering none of the other floors had tenants.

"Don’t you think it will be a bit lonely?" I asked her as the driver pulled up to the building, where Arnold stood grinning, waiting to open the front doors for us.

"How much time do you actually spend with your neighbors, Declan?" she asked. It was a valid question. But I still didn’t like the idea of being all alone on a floor in a tall building.

"If it really makes you uncomfortable," she teased, "we could just turn the whole building into one gigantic house."

"That would be a little excessive, don’t you think?"

Lizzy grinned at me. "Like something royalty might do." She laughed.

In the end, the security team ended up inhabiting several of the unoccupied floors, and we agreed to lease out two of the ones below us.

We’d been home only a few days when I finally managed to finish everything I’d started on that fateful trip to Murdan.

Lizzy came home after running a few errands to find me waiting on the couch, two packages on the table before me, wrapped with gold ribbon. I also had soft music playing, champagne, and some ideas what we might do after she opened her packages.

“What’s all this?” she asked, coming in and kissing me before taking a seat at my side.

I handed her a flute of champagne.

“A little overdue,” I told her, taking the larger of the two boxes and dropping it gently on her lap.

“Ohh, I love presents,” she said, taking a sip and then setting her glass on the table. “What is it?”

“I believe the purpose of the wrapping paper is to hide that very thing,” I said playfully. “If I wanted you to know, I wouldn’t have wrapped it.”

Lizzy whacked me with the back of her hand gently, and then began unwrapping the box. She pushed the paper aside and lifted the lid, and I couldn’t help bouncing just a tiny bit on the couch in my anticipation.

“You got me a jersey?” she asked, wrinkling her nose at me. “I don’t think they’ll let me join the team, Declan.”

“It’s not your jersey,” I explained. “It’s mine. Turn it over.”

She did. It had my name on the back over my number. “I think it’s a bit small for you.”

“Lizzy, I can’t think of anything that would make me happier at the games than to see you wearing my jersey, cheering me on. And then everyone else there will know you belong to me.”

“Possessive much?” She laughed at my fierce tone.

“Of you? Hell, yes. Which is why you need to open box number two now.”

She dropped the jersey to her lap and picked up the smaller box, opening it so painfully slowly I almost snatched it from her hands to help. But this moment, I knew, would be worth the wait.

Lizzy gasped when she opened the little black box, revealing my grandmother’s diamond engagement ring and matched wedding band inside. “Oh my gosh, these are beautiful.”

“I know we’re doing it a little backward,” I said. “Mom gave them to me before we left the second time. I had them sized for you.”

Tears stood in Lizzy’s eyes, and I felt pretty close to crying with joy myself. “Will you put them on? Wear them?”

She nodded and eagerly removed the rings, slipping them onto her ring finger. “They fit perfectly,” she said, her voice full of awe. “I love them so much,” she said, looking up at me. “And I love you so much.”

Lizzy climbed into my lap and proceeded to show me exactly how much while wearing my jersey and my ring and nothing else.