looked up at Alex, the confusion in my eyes obvious.
“It’s customary when a member of royalty comes to a country that the military serves as an honor guard.” Alex ducked his head so I could hear him over the wind. “I believe they are also showing their support for you. The Governor was very taken with your story and excited you are from his state.”
“Um, wow.” I smiled at the men and women who lined the carpet. They had gotten up at a God-awful hour just to stand in the cold for us. I murmured thank-yous as I passed them even though I knew they wouldn’t be able to respond since they were at attention.
At the plane, Rose entered first, taking the steps smoothly. Alex motioned for me to go ahead of him. I had to duck in the door and there wasn’t much space between my head and the ceiling of the plane in the center. Even with the height restrictions, there was a spacious feel and sense of opulence. Leather seats, all the electronic conveniences, and special lighting. Soft classical music played over the speakers and there were throw blankets on some of the chairs.
“Good morning, Duchess.” A woman smiled at me and motioned for me to move to the center of the plane. She was wearing a flight attendant uniform with a little Lilarian flag attached above her heart.
“Morning.” I looked at the seats, not sure where to sit. Finally I decided on one of the large seats next to a window, opposite of Rose. I’d always enjoyed flying. One of my favorite parts was watching the takeoff and landing.
Alex nodded to the woman at the door before taking the seat across from mine, a small table separating us. The attendant brought him a satchel and a stack of newspapers, which he flipped through quickly. Rose had a similar stack of things on her table. She was watching me and Alex, though, her shrewd eyes moving back and forth as if searching for invisible strings.
“What do you think?” Rose asked.
“It’s beautiful. Certainly puts flying coach to shame.” I ran my fingers over the buttons on a panel next to my chair. “None of these will accidently open a door or flush the toilet, will they?”
“Don’t worry about the doors, but I’m not sure about the toilet.” Rose laughed.
“You can use your new phone to control the lights and call the attendant.” Alex looked at me over the paper he was holding. “Even turn on the television, if you want. There is a large selection of movies. The little icon at the bottom.”
“Oh.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the new phone. There was a text message, so I opened it quickly. There was a picture of Bert in my bed eating cookies, with crumbs everywhere. I laughed and pointed out I wasn’t the one who was going to have to clean it up. I showed the picture to Alex, who smiled.
“Will they come to visit you sometime?”
“I think they’re going to try to come this summer. I’m betting I’ll be back for a wedding soon too.” I smiled thinking about it. “I’m kinda relieved I won’t have to go dress shopping with Jess.” I shuddered.
“Isn’t that supposed to be one of the enjoyable parts?”
“Not for me.” I shook my head. “Jess would drag me to every store in the country to go dress shopping if she could. Of course, I’ll probably end up wearing a puke-green bridesmaid dress now.”
“How long have they been together?”
“Almost four years.” I sighed, remembering how Jess had hated Bert at first. “She thought he was a pompous putz; he thought she was a spoiled shopaholic. Love at first sight. Couldn’t keep their hands off each other.”
He laughed, amused by the obvious contradiction. “Sounds like a movie.”
“A book. Classic love story.” I laughed. “Very Jane Austen.”
“Do you read often?”
“Not as much as I’d like. Lately it’s been all journals and textbooks.” I looked around for Becca. “Actually, I brought my e-reader for the flight. Thought I might actually read something fun for a change.”
“And what kind of book will it be? Romance? Science fiction? Mystery?”
“Paranormal romance.” I sighed. “The Elemental Mystery series by Elizabeth Hunter. The last book came out a while ago and I haven’t had the time to read it yet.”
“So, vampires? Ghosts?” Alex smiled like this amused him.
“Hot, sexy vampires with a good helping of historical mystery. Perfection.” I leaned back in the chair when the engine started.