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Amy put the trinket back down on the table. She wasn’t ready to give that up. Wasn’t ready to give him up.
18
This press conference was going to be different. Amy had made sure of it.
For one thing, instead of holding it outside in the front courtyard, she’d scheduled it in the palace press room. It was going to be an official announcement in front of the Stolvenian flag, and she wanted it to have...weight. It didn’t matter that the conference had been planned in less than a day. The press room had once been the audience room for the king and queen, and she wanted that callback to history.
She’d put out a release explaining exactly what would happen. They would not be taking questions. The focus would be on Artur and Tatyana. They had been working together since the previous day, a fact that made Amy’s heart hurt.
No one needed to know that.
She took a Tylenol and looked at herself one more time in the mirror. The black dress with the red accent was professional and comfortable and her, all at once. The cut proudly showed off her belly. Amy hadn’t been hiding it during her time in Stolvenia, but tonight she really wasn’t going to hide it.
She patted that belly, with the kicking baby girl inside, and checked again to make sure her makeup was perfect. Amy had done her hair in a neat twist and sent Sasha out to find the perfect necklace and earrings. She’d chosen very well.
Still, Amy’s pulse pounded. Public speaking was the least of her worries, honestly. She could never have worked for Petra if she was afraid of appearing before a crowd.
It was Artur she worried about.
She wanted so badly for him to see her doing this, but it just wasn’t a guarantee that he would pay attention. He might still be angry. He might have given up on her once and for all. He might prefer Tatyana. Tatyana had never said all those horrible things to him.
Then again, Tatyana had never been pregnant with his child. Hormones and emotions were heightened.
She blew herself a kiss in the mirror and turned away. It was time to go.
The press room was humming with conversation from the reporters, and even as she went down a side hallway to a hidden entrance, Amy could feel the anticipation in the air. Since Artur was involved, people would expect a surprise. They’d expect entertainment.
Well, they’d get some...but probably not when they were expecting it.
Amy stole to the wings of the big stage at the back of the room. Artur and Tatyana stood across from her. He stood ramrod straight while she leaned in to say something to him. He didn’t look down at her. Good, she thought, then shoved that kind of attitude to the back of her mind. So what if Tatyana had shown up unbidden at the palace? That was what friends did. And girlfriends, if that’s what Artur wanted now.
Artur and Tatyana walked out together, and a hush came over the room.
He stopped at the podium, leaned down to the microphone, and gave that audience the same smile that made her stomach flip every time. “Good evening.” The applause was sustained enough that, after a few long moments, Artur waved it down. Amy could see the bags under his eyes, though she doubted anyone else was paying attention. She’d sent a message to the entire team at the palace notifying them of what she planned to do last night, and to her shock, not a single person had objected. Artur had sent back a terse note saying that Tatyana had come to head the formation of several committees, and they’d be working on the structure of the committee
s themselves for as long as it took. Clearly, it had taken most of the night.
Artur launched right into the planned agenda. “I’m here to announce the formation of a number of committees, focused on various areas of concern, to streamline communication between the public and the royal family. The necessary information from these committees will be routed to the appropriate departments so that timely action can be taken. The transition to this system, including the structure and formation of the committees, will be headed by Tatyana Morozov, whose experience and skill will be an asset to all of Stolvenia.”
“We are also pleased to announce that beginning early next week, the palace will be hiring a corps of staff members to personally read each communication sent to our new public email addresses. No one’s concerns will be overlooked,” added Tatyana. “Look for further updates throughout the week to come.”
A few determined members of the press tried to ask questions, but Tatyana leaned in to speak. “No questions,” she said with the same kind of charming smile that Artur found so easy. “I’d like to now introduce Amy Branch, the public relations liaison for the royal family, who has an announcement of her own to make.”
Amy held her head high as she walked out. Artur and Tatyana smiled at her, lips closed, professional as ever, and she took a deep breath in. No nerves. Not now.
She had not told them what she planned to say.
The two of them stepped back, and Amy reached up to adjust the microphone’s height before she took a small folded paper out of the palm of her hand and spread it out on the podium in case she forgot what she had to say. Her shoulders relaxed and she stood up straight. This was her element. It was only the words that were hard.
“My name is Amy Brant. I came here to today to confirm that I am indeed pregnant, and that Prince Artur is the father of the baby.” Of course, it had already been confirmed at the earlier press conference, but she could hear Artur’s quick intake of breath at her willingness to say this out loud in front of the whole country. In front of the world. “I am so happy to have met him one night in New York City. I didn’t know that I’d be meeting the love of my life.”
She kept speaking over the gasp that came up from the audience.
“I didn’t know then that meeting Prince Artur would be the beginning of the greatest adventure I’ve ever taken. It’s brought me through the very earliest stages of motherhood and all the way across the world. I’ve seen more of this beautiful country than I ever could have dreamed of, and met so many incredible people along the way.”
Her voice trembled, but Amy pressed on.
“I wanted to tell you all that I am in good health, that the baby is well, and that I am committed to raising our child to love this country, to honor its traditions, and to embrace its future. I’ve learned to love this country myself, and I’ve learned to love its prince, but our baby won’t have to learn that. She will be born knowing it.”
