Princess Peaches. Can you believe it?
If, on the previous New Year’s Eve, you had given me a million guesses that this was how my year would have gone, I would have never landed on any of this.
I honestly didn’t know whether to be grateful or terrified.
Then, I thought of the man who would be waiting for me at the end of that aisle. If there was anyone to make this crazy ride worthwhile, it was Auggie.
My heart had skipped gaily out of my possession the first time he said, “Hello.” He was beautiful. He was sexy. He was kind. He was self-assured. He was generous. He had been my hero on more than one occasion. He was a man who had a lot of love to give and nowhere to give it, until he met an awkward girl with a funny name, who just happened to find out she was pregnant.
After that, he was determined to make all our dreams come true.
I cradled my full tummy, where my son Jack slept soundly. It had been a fairy tale for both of us, and he wasn’t even born yet. I didn’t know how much our world was going to change. But if there was one thing that I had learned from our journey thus far, that was probably for the best.
I balled a fist in my back. As we were approaching the finish line, Jack had started to move lower and it was really playing hell on my lower back. I was still having Braxton Hicks contractions, which often played hell with any romantic time with my husband-to-be. This had been the frustrating pattern from the jump. Jack had pretty much made all the rules since we first met. It wasn’t anything we weren’t already used to.
Auggie and I had just sort of decided to roll with it, saving it all for our wedding night.
Still, I had many reservations. Though I no longer shared my life on my socials, I still got alerts whenever someone went through my old posts, liking or commenting as John Q. Public was known to do. Christopher had made his presence known, even though he was legally barred from entering the country. He made damn sure I knew he was watching me like a hawk regardless.
It wasn’t that he wanted me or Jack, he wanted an exclusive to the scandal, or a lot of money, or both. I knew I couldn’t risk an early birth. At least, any earlier than the “early” date of Halloween when I was scheduled for a C-section.
Still, my Auggie was a hard man to resist. When he pulled me closer, there was no pulling away.
That was why I had spent the last few weeks at Greystone Castle, preparing for the wedding of the century. The world watched and waited for the next royal wedding, and I wasn’t about to let them down even if I had to continually pinch myself that the blushing bride that they were talking about was me.
By the end of the next day, I would no longer be known as Peaches McPhee. I would be Peaches, Duchess of Iver, an official member of the House of Quinn.
All I wanted was to be Auggie’s wife. These last two weeks were the longest we’d been apart since we met. I could tell by his texts that it was killing him every bit as much as me, though Queen Maeve made damn sure he stayed busy in the interim.
He had returned to Shimmering Falls, where he began his official grooming to become king. Fortunately, he had finished his education during his Duke of Mayhem days, which he had agreed to in exchange for his freedom to tour. Still, as the King of Aldayne he would be the leader of their armed forces. He required standard military training before he could take the throne. This would put off his coronation for another couple of years, after his 35th birthday.
Both of us were fine with this.
My job was public outreach. After our two-week honeymoon in a location Auggie had decided to keep secret, I would then begin making public appearances to represent the royal family.
Of course, all that would grind to a halt after Halloween when Jack made his “early” appearance, but we had to plan events into November to keep up the ruse.
A quick knock preceded Kelly poking her head around the slightly open door. “They’re almost ready for you, Mum.”
I smiled. The McPhee family had taken over Greystone to prepare for the big day. They had insisted on a bachelorette party the night before the wedding. I expected barbecue, disco, and karaoke in true McPhee fashion. I hoped the ghosts of Greystone would be able to keep up with us, because it promised to be a party unlike anything they’d ever seen. “I’m almost ready,” I told her.
“I’ll let them know,” she said, walking further into the room. “You had another delivery,” she grinned as she held up a small package.
I chuckled. I barely even expected to get married, much less have hundreds of gifts pouring in every day. They came from all over the world, but the Aldayneans would not be outdone. They wanted me to know that they approved of Auggie’s choice.
I think they just loved the idea of a wedding. Who didn’t?
“Put it on the pile with the rest,” I decided.
She shook her head as she handed it to me. “It says it’s to the bride.”
My brow furrowed. I had gotten tons of gifts, some to Peaches, some to Miss McPhee, some to Mrs. Auggie Agassi, but this one was just as cold as she said. I took it and examined the writing. It was bold black lettering. “There’s no return address,” I mentioned.
“It was hand delivered, mum.”
I walked to the window. Down in the circular drive below was a black Alda luxury sedan. I could see Cillian Byrne’s silhouette from where I stood. I shivered from that icy blue stare even from hundreds of feet away.
Only family could get this close to the castle. Regrettably, the House of Byrne was exactly that, so he had been allowed passage.
I gulped. “I’ve got it,” I said, dismissing her with a small nod. I waited until she disappeared before I opened the package with trembling fingers. There was a note on top of a black velvet jewelry box. I pulled open the note written on delicate stationary with CB embossed in gold in the corner.
I underestimated you, it read. I won’t be doing that again. If you are as smart as I think you are, then you won’t underestimate me, either. Especially come Halloween.
I gulped again as I withdrew the box and opened it. A gold locket was nestled on the black velvet. My fingers shook as I opened it, my belly filled with such dread it made Jack jump in the womb. I gasped as I focused on the picture placed inside the locket.
It was a picture of Christopher.
With a sharp cry, I tossed the box across the room with a clatter. When I turned back to the window, the black Alda was gone.
But he didn’t need to stick around, did he? He had thrown that stick of dynamite right in the middle of my fairy tale wedding, the damage was done.
He knew my secret.
Now I just had to wait to see how it all blew apart.
Chapter Two
I was still standing in my bedroom, processing the shock, when Fern came to fetch me to start the evening’s festivities. “Hey, what’s keeping you? Did your water break?” She chuckled at her own joke. Then, she processed the look on my face. “Oh, my God. I was kidding. What’s wrong?”
I sighed and held up the letter I still held in my hand. She walked over to read it. “Well, shit,” she mumbled.
“That sums it up nicely,” I muttered in response.
“Are you going to tell Auggie?”
I shook my head. “No. No sense in ruining his wedding day like Cillian ruined mine.”
Fernie balled up the expensive stationary and tossed it over her shoulder. “He can only ruin it if you let him.” She walked over to take my hands in hers. “And we’re not going to let him ruin anything. We’re McPhees, for fuck’s sake.”