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Filled with relief, I held out my arm and she slipped hers through it, smiling up at me.
We all walked through the castle until we reached the main ballroom. I kissed Céline’s cheeks. “Congratulations, baby sister. I couldn’t have wished for a better queen than you.”
Then I gave Timothée a back slapping man hug, expressing similar sentiments.
Guards flanked the large, intricately carved wooden doors and when my sister gave him the nod, they pulled them open.
I took Dani’s arm once more and led her into the room then stopped. Every eye turned in our direction, and knowing Dani as I did, I picked up on her nervousness. But from her regal bearing and serene expression, no one else would ever guess that she wasn’t completely comfortable in the spotlight.
The herald stepped forward and announced, “Prince Tristan Renaud Adélard St. Clare and Princess Danielle.”
“Princess?” Dani whispered when the focus shifted to my brother as he entered.
“You are my princesse,” I told her.
“That’s just a nickname, Tristan. I—”
“Dani, we’re engaged and you’re having my baby. My family all agreed that you are already one of us and should be addressed as such.”
Her eyes softened, and her lips curved into a sweet smile. “They did?”
I chuckled and wrapped her up in my arms. “They love you almost as much as I do.”
The corners of her eyes crinkled adorably when her mouth spread into a grin. “I love them, too and I’m honored that they…oh, shit.”
I was almost too stunned at hearing her swear to pay attention to what she said next.
“My family. If they see this in the news before I’ve told them…my dad is going to lose his mind!”
Dropping one arm from around her, I tucked her into my side and led her over to a more isolated corner. “Calm down, princesse. As soon as we get home, we’ll go see them together. It will be okay.”
“Tristan! My dad barely tolerates my brother-in-law! He almost killed him when he showed up and announced he was marrying my sister. And they’d known him for years!”
“Dani, baby,” I said in a soothing tone as I cupped her cheeks. “Relax. All this worrying isn’t good for the baby.”
“Oh my gosh!” She blanched and put her hand on her stomach. “For the love of all that is holy, don’t tell my dad you knocked me up before marrying me!”
I laughed and brushed my mouth across hers. “Princesse, everything will work out. I promise.”
Dani stared at me blankly, and I wondered if she was listening to me. Then she blinked a few times before her forehead puckered as she thought hard about something. “Our best bet is to get my mom on board. He worships her, and she can pretty much convince my dad of anything.”
“Princesse—”
She clearly wasn’t hearing me because she kept talking, barely taking a breath. “My mom will love you because I love you. And she will adore the way you treat me as though I’m something precious.” Her eyes had seemed far away as she worked through her thought process, but after the last part, she gazed up at me lovingly.
“You are precious, princesse. You’re my everything.”
Her cheeks turned pink, and she melted into me, her arms circling my torso as she laid her head on my chest.
My intuition told me that when her father realized I loved Dani the way he loved his wife, he would back off and come to terms with our relationship sooner than later.
“You know, there is one way that would be sure to win my mom over,” she said after a few minutes.
“Oh? What would that be?”
Dani raised her head and looked up at me cautiously, indicating that I wasn’t going to be thrilled by what she said next.
“Letting her plan our wedding.”
I shrugged, then took her arm and led her toward the dance floor. “As long as it ends up being exactly what you want, that’s fine with me.”
Dani’s brow rose as she stared up at me with skepticism. “You do understand that it will probably take at least a year to plan this wedding, right?”
Again, my shoulders rose and fell before I placed one hand on her back and clasped the other in mine and began to move to the music. “Take however long you want, princesse.”
“Okay…I thought for sure you were going to fight me on this. I expected you to have me at the courthouse as soon as we got back.”
“It can wait until after we talk to your family,” I told her as I twirled her around the room. “I assume you’ll want at least your parents there, and it will be a hell of a lot easier to bring your dad around if we don’t get married before he and I have even met.”
“I’m not going to spend a year planning a wedding at the courthouse, Tristan,” Dani pointed out. “And that’s plenty of time to get to know my dad. Although, getting married after I have the baby—”
