I also told him what I was going to do.
I was going to get down on one knee.
And I was going to ask Maggie to be my wife.
And if he had any objections to that, well then he didn’t have to give us his blessing, and he didn’t have to be here.
So far, he’s not here.
Which means what I think it does.
But I refuse to dwell on that right now. My main concern is Maggie.
Is she going to say yes?
Does she want to marry me?
Does she still love me?
I can’t assume any of those things just because she’s here. I’m going to have to see it all with my own eyes, looking into her heart and soul and seeing her truth, feeling her warmth in my hands. Just being near her will give me all the answers.
“I think we’re done, sir,” Else says, dusting off the snow from her coat.
I stare at the words. It’s impossible to read from here so I can only hope Maggie will see it from up there.
“I think it’s time,” Nick says to me with an impish smile.
Else claps her mittens together excitedly.
I go inside the palace.
“Maggie?” I call out into the foyer.
The doors to the study opens and Bodi strolls out, sweating profusely.
Am I hearing a fiddle?
“What were you doing in there?” I frown and then see Maggie coming up behind him, looking both shy at seeing me and confused by Bodi.
“I put on some music and demonstrated our traditional Swedish folk dancing,” Bodi says, breathing hard. “I’m a bit out of practice.”
I bite back a laugh. So this was Bodi’s plan to keep her away from the windows? Poor girl.
I nod at him my thank you and then look at Maggie.
“Hello.”
The sight of her is like a balm on every single wound. She soothes me, heals me, reveals me.
“Hi,” she says.
“Well I’m going to leave you alone,” Bodi says and staggers off to the kitchen. “I need some water.”
“It’s nice to see you here,” I tell her.
“It’s nice to be here,” she says.
Oh, I don’t want this to be awkward at all.
“Listen, I –“ I say at the same time she says, “Look, I’m—“
“I’m sorry,” we both blurt out at once.
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly, grabbing her, pulling her toward me until I know she’s in my hands. She’s here now, she’s solid and she’s real and I need her to be mine. “I am so sorry. I know I should have never…”
“No,” she says quickly. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You did everything right. I knew the risks coming here and bringing the kids and I did it anyway because I wanted a future with you. And somewhere along the line I got scared and I lost sight of that. I lost sight of why I came here in the first place.”
“Please, you didn’t do anything wrong,” I tell her, searching her eyes. “So don’t apologize to me either. You had to put the kids first.”
“But I did it without consulting them. I had no idea that they wanted to live here, that they would have stayed. In some ways, I made all the decisions for them.”
“Like a mother would do.”
“Yes but that’s not what I want to do or want to be. I want to talk to them, value their opinions because I do value their opinions. Treat them like adults.”
“But they aren’t adults. They aren’t your kids either. They are your brothers and sisters. You’re doing the best you can and I promise you I don’t blame you at all for leaving. Not even a little. You protected them.”
“And yet I didn’t realize how strong they were,” she says. “Stronger than I thought.” She rubs her lips together, exhaling through her nose. “I’m sorry I left, Viktor. I know better than to run. I didn’t think I was strong enough and it scared me but I am strong enough. You made me believe that, you did. You made me believe in myself, that I can do anything, and I can’t thank you enough. You mean the world to me. You are my world. Mitt liv, mitt allt.”
“God you’re sexy when you speak Swedish,” I murmur before I kiss her. Her lips to mine light off a thousand explosions inside of me and it takes a lot of energy to remember my plan.
I pull away and she’s blushing. “I almost forgot how you make me feel,” she admits breathlessly.
“How do I make you feel?”
She gives me a sweet smile. “Always more, never less.”
Well fuck me.
I thought this proposal was going to be hard enough but she’s got me all choked up and I haven’t even started.
“I have to show you something.”
I take her hand and I lead her up the stairs all the way to my bedroom – our bedroom.
“Show me something, huh,” she says slyly. “It’s been awhile.”
I laugh. “Yes, that’s later, I promise you,” I tell her pulling her across the room to the windows.
I face her, my back to the window, blocking her view.
“Are you ready?”
“Uh, for what? Please don’t tell me this is some new Swedish adrenaline sport where you jump out of windows into the snow because I’ve seen the Russian versions of that and they never end well.”
“No,” I tell her firmly.
Then I step aside and gesture with flourish to the window.
She walks over to it and peers outside.
I glance over her shoulder to see the letters written in the snow:
Will You Merry Me?
“Ah, helvete,” I swear.
Fucking Nick can’t spell.
Maggie bursts out laughing.
I shake my head, my nerves dancing up a storm in my stomach. I’m so mad at Nick, even though it’s pretty hilarious. Most of all…fuck. How is she going to say yes now?
“Can we start over?” I ask her.
I drop down on one knee and take her hand and suddenly she stops laughing. Maybe she’s realizing just how serious this is.
Because I’ve never been so serious about something in my whole life.
“I had a whole speech planned out,” I tell her. “A speech that was supposed to come before, well, that but you distracted me and I realized, if you don’t know how I already feel then no speech will convince you. All I need to ask of you is if you’ll marry me. If you’ll be my wife. My princess. My future queen. If you’ll stand by my side no matter where we are in the world, as long as we are together. If you’ll take on new family as I take on yours. If you promise to love me as I promise to –“
“Can I say yes now?” she interrupts me, nodding her head and smiling from ear to ear.
I grin at her. “You haven’t let me finish.”
“And you said there would be no speech. So can I say yes?”
“Yes,” I tell her. “Yes you can say yes.”
I don’t think I’ve ever felt happier, luckier, in all my life.
I quickly fish out the ring as if she might change her mind and then I slip it on her finger. It’s way too big and about to fall off.
“Oh,” she says looking down at it. “It’s…classic.”
“It’s Nick’s,” I explain. “I asked if I could borrow it though now I think I should keep it after that typo. Hold on.” I get to my feet and, still holding onto her hand, I shuffle over to my drawer where I fish out the original ring, the one I had bought for her. It’s expensive, with rare lavender-colored stones and a lot of diamonds – it’s the kind of ring a princess would wear.
I take it out of the box with one hand while still holding onto her hand with the other and then drop back down on one knee again.
She gasps loudly, the ring reflected in her wide eyes.
“Miss Maggie Mayhem McPherson,” I tell her, staring up at her. “Will you do me the honor of becoming Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden?” I pause. “I’m not really sure how the last names work with us, I’ll have to get back to you on that,” I add.
&nbs
p; She laughs, tears in her eyes. Happy tears. “Again, yes. Yes!”
I quickly take Nick’s ring off and slip the right ring, her ring, on.
It fits perfectly.
Meant to be.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she cries out.
I get to my feet. “It’s happening,” I tell her, pulling her toward me into a deep, long kiss. “And it was always meant to be.”
“I’m so happy I walked in on you naked,” she says and I laugh.
“I’m so happy you liked what you saw.”
“Ahem.”
A throat clears by the door and Maggie and I whirl around to see my father and mother standing there in the doorway. Judging by their faces, they either clearly just heard what we said about being naked, or they disapprove of this engagement.
Or both.
Then my mother walks in, pressing her palms together.
“Did she say yes?” she asks me, a tremor of excitement in her voice, her eyes brighter than I’ve seen in a long time.
I look at Maggie. “Did you say yes?” I joke. “I can’t remember.”
“I said yes,” Maggie says, proudly showing off her ring. “Always yes, never less.”
“That could be a new motto,” I tell her though I have to admit, having my parents suddenly here in on our moment is bringing a new wave of tension. I have no idea what they’re going to say.
Always more, never less? What if they say more bad things and less good things?
My father strolls in, hands behind his back, going into father lecture mode.
Fuck.
I just hope whatever he says doesn’t dampen the joy we’re both feeling right now. I won’t let it.
“I’ll make this as brief as I did with Miss McPherson yesterday,” my father says in his deep voice. He looks to me. “Viktor, I love you. You’re my son. You’re our son and we want what’s best for you. I know we haven’t been the best parents but we tried the best we could given the roles that we have. We have done what we can to ensure you have a secure and happy life. Sometimes I think we’ve failed you and I know that we failed Alex, on many levels. I know we’ll never forgive ourselves for it and I know that those scars don’t heal.”
He takes in a deep breath. “But the mistakes we made with him, we don’t want to make with you. Maybe it’s too late but it’s never too late to try and be better, is it? It’s never too late to start over again and we just want you to be happy. And with her, you are.” He glances at Maggie who is smiling at him with shining eyes. “I had a talk with Maggie yesterday about this very thing and it turns out your mother and I have more in common with her than we thought. We may come from different backgrounds, different countries, but our desires are all the same and that is the desire to do better and be better for those around us. Maggie is an exceptional young woman and we’re sorry we didn’t grasp that until it was almost too late. Seeing how she was at Christmas, seeing how she handled the situation with April with poise.”
He pauses and manages a small smile. “Well, an attempt at poise. I wanted to hit that man too. But in all of that, I saw a woman who wasn’t after you for your title or your money. She wasn’t after being a princess. She was after love and when she knew she had to protect the others, she left to protect another type of love. I know it was a hard choice and who knows if it was the right choice. But, regardless, the both of you are here together now and that’s all that matter. Viktor, you have our complete blessing on this engagement. You couldn’t have picked a better woman to stand by your side.”
I blink, unable to process this.
I’m so stunned I can hardly move.
The engagement, my father’s words, the way that my mother is looking at the two of us adoringly.
Maggie squeezes my hand. “The king just spoke to you, you should say something.”
My first thought is to kneel. That’s what you do in front of a king, to show your respect. But kneeling is not enough.
I walk over to him, throw my arms around him and hold on tight.
I can’t remember the last time I hugged my father but as he just said, it’s never too late to start again.
He hugs me back, a quick squeeze, but that means more to me than anything else he’s ever done.
“Thank you,” I tell him, my words broken with emotion.
He gives me a wry smile and taps the side of my cheek. “You’re welcome.”
Then he looks to my mother. “We should really leave these two lovebirds alone, Elin.” He holds out his arm to her and she takes it with all the grace of a queen.
They walk out of the room just as he turns to her and says, “We’ll let them get back to their naked talk. I have a feeling we were interrupting something.”
“Oh Arvid,” my mother chides him as the door shuts behind them.
I can’t stop smiling.
I turn to Maggie.
“Speaking of naked,” I say to her, grabbing her hand and leading her to the bed. “How about I make you feel like a queen?”
Epilogue
Maggie
Six Months Later
Gunfire erupts beside me, my ears blasted by the deafening sound. I scream but I can barely hear it, everything around me is being shaken up and my brain feels like I have rocks rolling around inside it.
I am beyond terrified.
“Get down!” someone yells and I immediately drop to my knees, covering the back of my neck with my hands. A flash bang grenade goes off and I’m blinded.
“Fuck!” I scream. “Make it stop!”
“Sorry Miss but you’re going to need to make it out of here alive,” the man dressed head-to-toe in camouflage, says to me, keeping his automatic rifle at the ready. “Are you able to run to safety?”
I shake my head. Hell no. I’ve lost a shoe somewhere along the way, maybe when I first escaped the kidnappers, and the stretch of gravel between here, where I’m hiding out by the side of an old, blasted building, and the military jeep that will take me to freedom looks like it will be murder on my feet.
I don’t think I have a choice though. This guy next to me looks like he’ll drag me through the gravel if he has to. Not a very nice way to treat a future princess but what can you do.
I quickly slip off my other heel – I hate that this happened while I was wearing heels, so impractical – and hesitate before tossing it behind me. They were nice shoes and I’m sure I can get another pair, but I’m still cringing at the idea of wasted money. Even being engaged to the Crown Prince of Sweden for six months doesn’t change the way I look at money.
I can tell we’re about to make a run for it when the man across from me lifts his gun and fires another round of ammunition in the air.
Totally unnecessary.
I plug my ears again. “He’s supposed to be on our side!” I yell.
“You need to get immune to the sound,” the guy beside me says.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sound!”
He stares at me, completely stone-faced. This is just a fun day on the job for him, isn’t it? Gets to rescue the princess from kidnappers and feel like a hero, all the while I’m screaming and yelling and acting like a loon.
Because, I mean, I’m sorry but if I were actually kidnapped, that’s what I would be doing.
I know they wanted me to try and make friends with the kidnappers and all but I think I just ended up annoying them. Which isn’t a bad strategy at all. Annoy them until they let you go. That kind of worked for Bette Midler in Ruthless People.
“Come on,” the guy says gruffly and takes me by the arm and ushers me across the gravel, the stones biting into my feet. A foot bath will be in order after this.
Then the gunfire erupts again, along with some more grenades and my ear drums are blown to smithereens. Thank god I’ve kept my sense of humor throughout this whole ordeal, otherwise I think I might be traumatized for life. In fact, that’s what they warned me of before I took part in the “terror training” and Vikt
or didn’t even want me to do it.
But his parents were very adamant that I do this. In this day and age, you just never know what’s going to happen, whether some crazy royal fan wants to kidnap the princess or queen or if a terrorist takes over the palace or attacks a royal event, like our upcoming wedding.
So for the last two days I’ve been part of this program that they promised would give me some skills and frighten the shit out of me and, honestly, it has. I’ve been fake kidnapped, I’ve been dropped alone in the wilds of the Swedish North for twenty-four hours so I know how to survive if I end up there for some reason (note: bring lots of mosquito repellent – this is more important than food), I’ve had to do drills around guns and grenades and all sorts of crazy shit.
It’s been intense but as I’m booking it across the gravel with Mr. Serious by my side, I know the moment I get in that military jeep and am driven away, that’s the end of it. They’re driving me right back to the palace.
To my home.
“Woo hoo!” I yell as I reach the jeep just before I’m pushed, rather brusquely, into the back of the vehicle. “I made it! I’m alive! Oh god, I am alive!”
Mr. Serious exchanges a look with the other two serious military men in the back. This wasn’t part of their job description.
“Hey,” I tell them. “You don’t want to know what I’d do if this were actually real. I’d probably kiss all of you, Viktor would find out, and you’d be out of a job. So let’s at least act fake happy for me being fake happy at my fake rescue.”
In unison all three men attempt to smile.
“Yaaaay,” Mr. Serious says flatly.
The moment I’m back at the palace, Viktor is waiting for me in the foyer with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a chocolate cake in the other. He knows the way to my heart.
“My god,” he says, looking me over, putting the stuff down on the cart and striding over to me with his arms out. “What did they do to you?” The shock in his eyes quickly turns to flames of anger and he’s getting that tick he gets along his jaw when he’s about to lose his shit over something.
“Calm down, I’m fine,” I tell him. “I can’t hear very well and I need a footbath,” he looks down at my bare dusty and dirty feet, “but I’m fine.”