wave to the masses, who wanted to share their affection.
We got to a long line of cars. The Alda in front had the flags flying from it and the family crest emblazoned on the sides. Ahead of us were two guards on horseback, beautiful white horses with black saddles and purple trappings.
Audra and Edwinna joined us in the first car.
Edwinna turned to me. “I am to understand this is your first trip to our fair island?”
“Yes,” I acknowledged. “It is lovely.”
She chuckled. “You are kind. In all candor, the airfield is unimpressive compared to the rest of the island. It is the capital city, Lucia del Sol, that is our pride and joy.” She turned to Auggie. “You must take her to Belvedere Falls.”
“Belvedere Falls?” I repeated.
“The waterfall nearest Mount Belvedere,” Auggie explained.
“It’s one of the most famous parts of the island,” she beamed, naming off several movies that had used the falls as a romantic locale. “There’s a hundred-year-old chapel. Very popular spot for our destination weddings.”
She wasn’t even trying to be subtle as she winked at Auggie. It was clear that the relationship they shared was easy, affectionate and familiar.
He chuckled. “It is on the list, Auntie Edwinna,” he promised, proving my point. “If not this trip, then soon.”
She smiled. “I like the sound of that, Auggie,” she said, breaking with tradition as well. “You stay away too long from the people that love you.”
Auggie took my hand in his. “Not anymore,” he told her, without tearing his eyes from me.
Her smile widened. “Then we shall make sure that your first trip to Ademar is one you will remember.”
“I’m counting on it,” he told her with that smirk.
Both Jack and I got all fluttery about it.
I glanced outside the window, where people lined the street to welcome us as we led a parade of cars towards the city. People threw flowers along our path, so that they lined the road. Auggie reached across me to roll the window down. The crowd roared their approval as he waved to folks as we drove by. It grew damn near deafening when I waved as well.
“They love you already,” he murmured. He then lowered his head for a kiss that made the people along our parade route go apeshit.
We drew closer into the picturesque coastal town of Lucia del Sol. Established in the 1600s, it had a quaint old world feel to it. There were cottage buildings and a roundabout in the middle of the town that circled a tall statue made of stone.
As we took our turn on the roundabout, we circled the statue until the details came into focus. I gasped as I made the revelation. I didn’t need to be told who the statue was supposed to represent. I recognized them immediately.
“It’s your mom and dad,” I said softly.
“Prince Roan and Princess Sofia meant the world to Ademar,” Edwinna told me. “In the early 80s, we had hit a slump economically, struggling to keep many businesses afloat. We were just some forgotten island in the middle of the South Pacific, five hours away in any direction from the more traditional tourist spots. That was what appealed to Prince Roan, ever since he was a little boy. ‘Life moves at a different pace here,’ he’d say. ‘Away from the noise of the world.’” She took my hand into hers, the weight of her extravagant jewelry, including a one-carat unity stone, heavy on my hand. “When he fell in love with a beautiful American, he wanted to bring her here, to show her his private paradise. After that, everyone wanted to come here. They wanted to walk the same cobblestone paths. They wanted to scale Mount Belvedere just to see if they could and say that they did. They wanted to marry in the same chapel, with the view of the falls. It was picturesque. It was romantic. It was regal. It was a secret no more.”
I glanced at Auggie, who watched me under those hooded eyes.
Edwinna leaned close. “You are the first woman Auggie has ever brought to Ademar.”
Auggie chuckled. “Don’t give away all my secrets, Auntie Edwinna.”
I glanced between them. “How exactly are you related?” I asked. Had an Aldaynean royal fled to the tropics to become president over a small nation? I couldn’t quite make the pieces fit.
“I was a very close childhood friend to Roan. My family has always had roles within the government and the Ademar government and the House of Quinn have always been