Royally Yours

Chapter 8

"I wish you'd stop staring at that damn snapchat." Emma said with a bottle of wine in hand. She plopped down next to me and filled up my glass. "I can't believe you screenshotted it."

"She's acting like she won't see him tomorrow." Sydney added, "You know, I wasn't the biggest fan of his at first but after we met on Monday, he's definitely a cool fellow."

Archie invited me to the Buckingham Palace summer closing at a guest but David promised to double my pay if I went to style the royal family.

And I never turn down a bag.

Emma, Sydney, and I were having a girls' night. We were catching up on Love Island which became one of my favorite shows.

"He's coming with me to California." I announced as I put my phone away, "Well he just said he was going to be there the same time as me."

Sydney looked at me, "Alena, I didn't realize how into you he is. Are you going to introduce him to your parents?"

I shrugged, "I'm not too sure. I guess it just depends."

I took a sip of my wine, "Introducing your parents to a guy is one thing but introducing them to a guy who is the prince of England is another."

"That's very true." Emma agreed, "Have you guys ever kissed?"

I shook my head, "We've only known each other for what? A month?"

"Almost two." Emma corrected me, "You should kiss him."

I sighed, "I don't want to mess anything up or rush into anything too fast."

"Please. He invited you to the palace and I don't think you kissing him would be much." Sydney but her two cents in

I guess they were right, but I just wanted to keep things movinig at the pace they were going. It was very comfortable for both of us.

My favorite part about having my hair straightened is that when I woke up all I had to do was brush it. However, it was back in its curly state.

I woke up earlier than usual to make sure my hair looked perfect. I did my makeup, quickly painted my nails, and put on a yellow satin midi wrap dress.

I put on black heels, grabbed a coat, and took a cab to the headquarters.

"You look lovely." David complimented as I walked into the office

I glanced at all of the outfits we picked out yesterday, "Thank you. Are we ready to go?"

David nodded, "We just have to put all of these in the car and go. We need to hurry because we only have about two hours until the event starts."

"Alright, let's get moving then," I responded. David and I packed up his car and started the drive over to the Palace. Traffic was terrible because I guess this was a big event that everyone wanted to attend.

We had to go through an intense security check as always before we could even be in the same room as them.

I was sent to style Princess Victoria.

I thought it would be awkward to be alone with her and the hairdresser/makeup artist because I'd been with her brother but it wasn't at all.

"What do you think?" She asked as she walked out of the pop-up fitting room. She was wearing a forest green ruffled-sleeve bodycon midi dress. It was perfect.

"It looks amazing on you!" I complimented her, "It's the perfect mix of modest yet still young and fun."

Victoria nodded, "I completely agree. You know, my brother told me you worked in human resources, not styling."

Your brother, what?

I nervously laughed, "I do. I guess styling is sort of my side hustle."

I handed her black heels from out of the bag.

Victoria sat down in the styling chair and put on the heels, "Archie is very fond of you."

I dug through all of the accessories I had, "I didn't know he talked about me."

"We had a long conversation the night that you asked him out for dinner. Do you like him?" Victoria asked me. I handed her the jewelry as the hairstylist touched up her hair.

I smiled, "I do. They say the best things come when you least expect it."

The door of Victoria's room opened and in walked Archie wearing a navy suit. When he walked in, it felt like everything just stopped. He looked absolutely handsome and my heart began to speed up.

His eyes met mine, "Just the person I was looking for."

"Hi." I smiled, "I haven't seen you in forever."

It'd only been four days since we'd seen each other but it really did feel like forever. Archie wrapped his arms around my waist and I wrapped my arms around him.

"You look gorgeous." Archie whispered into my ear. We moved away from each other and Victoria had a smug smile on her face.

"I see you've meet Victoria." Archie pointed to his sister

I nodded my head, "We've had a nice conversation."

I looked down at my watch, "We should get going, almost time."

Archie nodded and we began to walk towards the grand staircase.

"So what kind of activities do they have planned for today?" I asked Archie while walked

"We're giving away school supplies, there is going to be inflatables, games, face painting, the event was actually started by my Mother." he informed me, "You should stick around."

Archie put his arm around me, "It will be fun."

What a bold move.

"I guess I'll stick around." I spoke as if I didn't want to stay but I totally did

He dropped his arm when we walked in. The majority of his family was here: his dad's brothers and sisters, their children, his grandfather, and more.

An assistant lead us out to the garden where there were many chairs in front of the platform of the stage. David and I got to sit in the second row and based on the signs in front of us, those chairs were reserved for other members of the royal family.

"I think it's pretty clear how much the prince fancies you." David whispered to me, "He cannot take his eyes off of you. Everywhere you went, his eyes followed."

I had a small smile on my face, "Seriously?"

"I know love when I see it." David lightly hit my arm, "He is completely into you. Do you like him?"

"I do but I'm scared of the deal that comes with him." I confessed

David frowned, "What package?"

I looked around and pointed to the palace, "All of this."

David shrugged, "It's probably not that bad."

I gave him a look, in what world?

The royal family came on stage. King Winston (Archie's Dad) gave a good opening and then Archie began to speak. He talked about his mother started this whole event aand how he intended to keep it going strong. He encouraged everyone to have fun and remember to be kind.

David and I were hanging near the food tables as I scanned the crowd to find Archie. He was talking to his Dad and some woman with long blonde hair who had on a pink dress that was wearing her.

Archie's eyes met mine and then he looked away.