Page 47 of Prince of the Palisades

I’m fine. Pacing around in the same circle for thirty minutes is fine. Repeatedly checking my phone, anticipating acancellation text—because who would want to hang out withmeon a Friday night?—is fine.

It’s only a movie night. With a boy who’s alsonot just a boy.

I pause long enough to check my reflection in the living room mirror. Slim-fit chinos rolled at the ankles. White V-neck T-shirt giving intentional glimpses of collarbone. Dewy skin from a recent face mask. Curls that still look natural despite my constant touching.

I look casual. Calm. Not the expression of someone panicking.

“You’re panicking,” Annika comments when she sweeps in wearing a Badgley Mischka wrap dress under an emerald blazer. She pauses behind me to fix her earrings. “It’s cute. Very first date vibes.”

“It’s not a date,” I correct her. “It’s a group thing. With people I go to school with.”

“Friends,” she insists. “It’s okay to use that word.”

Is it?

One, I’ve never met Lo. Two, outside of rehearsals, Karan and I haven’t had conversations. Three, Reiss and I are…I don’t know. Does what we’ve done—talk at a party, his family’s coffee shop, in a smelly locker room—count as a friendship? Is that enough?

When I’m quiet for too long, Annika raises inquisitive eyebrows. I lean into my favorite rule of being a royal:deflect, always.

“I want everything to be right,” I say.

Organizing a get-together is new for me. It’s a job usually handled by the palace chamberlains. Or Samuel, since we’vebeen here. Even ordering the food was a tremendous effort. Another reason I long for the comforts of home.

Annika smiles in mock sympathy. “Poor Jade. Do you want to google ‘how to make friends’ together?”

I stick my tongue out at her just as Luc strides into the room. He’s in an all-black suit. “Don’t worry, Your Highness,” he says. “The princess isn’t good at social activities either. She almost broke out in hives making a dinner reservation.”

“It was an allergic reaction to cheap sunscreen,” Annika argues.

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Luc smirks. Something indescribable sparks behind Annika’s eyes. “Nerves are good,” she tells me. “It means youlikeRe—”

“Aren’t you going to be late?” I cut in.

She’s attendingA Night at the Orchestra with Romeo + Juliet, a music exploration of the Baz Luhrmann film. It’s at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. My sister, the cultured one.

“He’s right,” Luc announces after confirming with the security team over the phone. “Traffic is already disgusting.”

I smile. “Everyone must’ve heard the future queen is coming.”

Annika smacks my shoulder. “Remember: no fires. Wait thirty minutes after eating before swimming. No escorting cute, pink-haired boys up to your bedroom—”

“Bye, Your Majesty!” I shout.

Annika’s loud cackling echoes through the house long after she’s gone.

When the doorbell rings, I’m too anxious to answer.

Samuel greets everyone with a polished smile. And a ready-to-sign NDA on his tablet. “For discretionary purposes,” he says smoothly.

I want to die.

Thankfully, he was open to my Friday night plans. Though, I received a subtle amount of side-eye when I avoided his question about the progress of my speech for the Sunset Ball.

By his side, Ajani collects everyone’s phones. Who starts off a movie night like this?

To their credit, no one balks or turns around to leave.

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