Page 73 of A Royal Obligation
When they got outside, Barrett gave Charlotte a brotherly hug. She whispered something in his ear that made him smile and glance over his shoulder at Jules. Charlotte walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Thank you for all your help this last year, Jules. You have been a wonderful assistant. This is for you.” She pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it to her. “It’s a small token of my thanks for everything you’ve done while working for me and a little bit of an early wedding gift.”
Jules glanced inside and her eyes turned into saucers at the amount written on the check. “This is too much. I can’t accept this.” She shook her head, trying to hand the envelope back to her.
“I insist.” Charlotte glanced at the door to the palace then turned back to Jules. “Well, if no one else is going to come out, I really should be going.”
“We’ll see you soon. I hope you have a safe journey home.” Jules gave her one final hug before walking back to stand beside Barrett. She wrapped her arm around his middle and waved goodbye as the car drove away.
“Should we head back inside, future wife?”
“Why of course, future husband.” Jules leaned her head against his shoulder. She looked up and could’ve sworn she saw Liam watching from a window on the second floor, but the curtain fell back into place before she could get a good look.
“Actually, I know it’s a bit chilly, but how about a walk in our favorite spot?”
“As long as I have you to keep me warm.”
Barrett drew her in closer and they cut through the palace to go to the gardens. They walked around, holding one another in comfortable silence, taking in the scenery and the chance to simply be with one another.
“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked.
“I was thinking about our wedding.”
“Our wedding? When will that be?”
“I was hoping as soon as humanly possible. I don’t know how long I can wait. I guess that old saying is right: when you know, you know. And I don’t want to live any longer without you.”
“Barrett, I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
He blushed. “Anything for you, my dear.” He paused for a moment. “Is there anything specific you want for our wedding? Certain colors, food, or flowers?”
“Like any girl, I’ve dreamed about my wedding for my whole life. But honestly, I don’t really care about any of the things I thought I wanted before. As long as you’re there, I have everything I want and need.” She gushed, pulling him into a hug. “But, if Chef Lorenzo could make a pumpkin dessert, that would be heavenly.”
Barrett erupted in laughter. “For you, I will have him make two pumpkin desserts.” He smirked at her before his face got more serious. “What do you think of an April wedding?”
“April? That’s only two months away! How would we ever get everything arranged in time?”
“You see, I don’t know if you know but I’m actually a prince who has this whole palace staff he can have put everything together. They would be more than thrilled, seeing as they’ve all apparently been rooting for us the past five months.”
“In that case, I would marry you tomorrow.” She ran her hands up and down his arms before pulling his head down so she could capture his lips with hers.
She pulled back after a long moment, feeling warm from the kiss despite the winter breeze that hit her.
“Then it looks like we have a wedding to plan.” He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, twirling her around. He set her back on her feet and shot her a smile that was reserved just for her.
“Let’s go start planning for the rest of forever then,” she said. Jules giggled and jogged back to the palace with Barrett on her heels. She kept glancing back at him and staring at the adorable grin he couldn’t seem to wipe from his face.
Forever with her Prince Charming truly could not start soon enough.
Epilogue
Barrett
OneWeekLater
Barrett waited for Jules in the library, ready to talk about their wedding plans and show her the surprise he had been hiding.
It had been a week since he abdicated the throne and got engaged to Jules, and he had never been happier. Each day—each moment—with her made him feel like he was living for the first time. Like his heart had finally been woken up by her and found a new rhythm that perfectly matched the beat of her own.