Page 103 of Bride By Coronation

She stares at me. "So... Are we going through this door?"

Anxiety flares in my gut as I say, "That's up to you."

She arches her eyebrows.

I continue, "There's something I thought you might enjoy, but if you don't want to do it, we don't have to."

"Like a surprise?" She bites on her smile.

I laugh again, and it sounds strange. I scold myself and release a nervous breath, revealing, "You can choose option one or option two. If you choose the latter, we walk through door eight, get on a plane, and return to Chicago."

Her greens light up. "And option one is…?"

My stomach flops faster. "We can go through door seven and return home on the royal yacht."

Her jaw drops.

I wait, holding my breath.

"We have a yacht?"

"Yes."

"And we can go home in it?"

Amused, I affirm, "Yes. Actually, we can go on it anytime and anywhere you want."

She tilts her head. "So if I wanted to make stops at places I've always wanted to visit, could we do that?"

My anxiety disappears, and a grin explodes across my face. "Name the place, and I'll tell the captain."

She leans closer, tilting her head, teasing, "Am I going to like the perks of marrying the king?"

"I do believe so, my queen."

She reaches for the knob, taunting, "So if I turn this, we walk through this door, and the yacht is waiting for us?"

"Not quite."

"No?"

Amusement overpowers my fears. "We have to get into the elevator, go to the roof, and get on the helicopter. Then it has to take us to the Mediterranean, where the yacht is waiting."

Excitement bursts on her face. She blurts out, "You're kidding me."

"Nope."

"So I just have to choose door seven?"

"Yep."

"Great. Done!" she chirps, then turns the knob and pushes the door open. She lunges through the doorway and hits the button on the wall.

I chuckle, following.

The lift opens. We get in it, and I put my palm on the screen. The doors shut, and the elevator rises.

"This is insane," Fiona mutters.

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