Page 83 of Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra)

I nodded, and the mention of jewelry made me remember the last time I was at the palace, when the show had sent me to meet Rafe’s family. He had taken me shopping in town among the little gingerbread shops, which were edged in white lattice. It was like walking into a fairy tale.

I had admired a diamond necklace in a jewelry store, and he was ready to go in and buy it for me. I told him not to, because it cost too much money. “But you would look beautiful with it on!”

I cringed, and he hadn’t missed it. “Why do you do that whenever I say you’re beautiful?”

Making sure we were far enough away, I turned off my mike pack and he did the same. “John-Paul always told me I was pretty. That’s why he wanted me. So for a long time I stayed away from anything that might make anyone think I was pretty and just focused on other stuff. When I got older I wanted to be thought of that way, but it was too late. I didn’t know how to do my hair or makeup, and it made me feel too stupid to ask. Then you stop believing it’s even possible and you think that no one will ever want you.”

I had turned my head away from him during my confession. He put his fingers on my chin, making me look at him. “I don’t think you’re pretty.”

That made little stabbing knives tear at my heart at his confirmation.

“You’re unbelievably beautiful. And I want you.”

Then he had kissed me in the middle of the city’s main square, not caring who saw or if the show filmed it, proving to me that his words were true.

It was one of my favorite memories with Rafe.

He thought I was unbelievably beautiful. I had to remember that. I smiled at Giacomo. “Let’s go grab something stunning.”

Giacomo did not disappoint. He found me a royal-blue cocktail dress for the rehearsal dinner and a beautiful full-length emerald gown for the wedding. He even sent up a makeup artist to get me ready for the dinner, which I did not have a problem with considering the kind of people who would be in the dining room. Actual royalty from all over the world. Heads of state.

Rafe.

He came and knocked on my door, looking amazing in a custom-tailored tuxedo. Seeing Rafe in a tux was a little like looking directly into the sun. Painfully, blindingly bright, and now I had little spots at the periphery of my vision.

“I’m trying to think of how to tell you just how beautiful you are,” he admitted. “I don’t think I know enough English for that.”

A million butterflies burst to life inside my stomach, making my whole body feel lighter. Like I could float away. I grinned at him.

He held out his hand. “It would be my great privilege to escort you down to dinner.”

“And it would be my great privilege to go with you.”

“Would you two just get a room already? We literally have hundreds of them,” Dante said as he breezed past us to knock on Lemon’s door.

“Ignore him,” Rafe whispered. “He’s just jealous that I look so much better in a tuxedo than he does.”

“I heard that! And you do not!”

I giggled as we went downstairs. Two servants pulled open the large double doors to the dining room. I had been in this room before, but it had seemed much smaller then. Now there were several long dining tables set up to accommodate all the guests who had been invited. I didn’t know how they had determined who made the cut and who didn’t, but I was dazzled by the elegant gowns and sparkling jewelry.

We were seated at the main table with Rafe’s family. His two other sisters, Chiara and Violetta, nodded to me as Rafe held out my chair. I smiled at them as I sat down and he helped me scoot the chair back in. He sat across from me. Lemon was seated next to me, with Dante next to Rafe. Everyone stood as Nico and Kat entered the room. They were a stunning couple, both tall and dark-haired. And they looked at each other with such love, such adoration, that I wanted to sigh. They sat in the center of the table, next to King Dominic and Queen Aria.

Everyone sat when they did. The servants began bringing out the first course. Rafe elbowed his brother and said, “Those are my feet.”

Dante shoved him back, laughing. “Get them out of my way! I’m trying to flirt with my fiancée!”

“Just so you know,” Lemon said as she leaned to one side, allowing the server to put a bowl of soup in front of her, “this does not get better. They’re always like this. Like two pigs set loose in a cornfield.”

I liked it. It made me happy to see Rafe this way. At ease. Surrounded by his family. And she was right. They bantered away the rest of the evening, keeping Lemon and me laughing.

During the second course, the woman on my right, who had a thick Italian accent, introduced herself as the queen’s sister. After I told her my name, she said, “You’ll have to forgive me, but you have the most beautiful red hair.”

Lemon leaned past me to say, “And it’s natural, if you can believe that.”

“I remember reading an article that said looking at the color red increases your heart rate and respiration,” Rafe’s aunt said.

“I can attest to that,” Rafe butted in, making me blush. She said something to him in Italian, and he responded. I couldn’t exactly ask them what they said. Not if I wanted to stay one color.

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