Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
He looked scared. “I have to make a speech.”
“You always act like it’s going to be awful, and then your speeches are perfect,” I said.
He leaned in and pressed a small kiss to my lips as the band quieted down, and Genoveve took to the small platform and announced Sebastian’s upcoming speech. Sebastian ascended onto the stage a few minutes later and Genoveve stepped away. The crowd applauded at first, then watched him, rapt, waiting for their king to talk.
“Thank you, thank you all,” Sebastian said. He held the microphone awkwardly, like he wasn’t really sure what to do. Even for someone who’d been in the public eye for his whole life, he still wasn’t quite used to it, and it was one of the things I loved most about him.
“I’m not really too big on speeches, as some of you know,” he said. “But I knew that tonight, it was important. Firstly, I need to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for supporting me. Without you—the people of Frostmonte Kingdom—I wouldn’t be standing here today.”
The room erupted into applause and cheers. Sebastian held up his glass to the crowd before continuing.
“The transition to a new style of royal rule might not always be smooth. There will be some other kingdoms who will cut ties with us. But that is a sacrifice I’m willing to make, with all of you by my side. It is worth it. Frostmonte can be a symbol of something new. Something different.”
“And that’s the way we like it!” a young man in the middle of the crowd shouted. He was met with dozens of cheers in agreement.
“I am so humbled and so grateful to be standing here with you all tonight. And I’m making a promise to you that as king, I will always have your best interests at heart. Frostmonte Castle can be the hub of a community, not something closed-off and separate. So tonight, we celebrate. And there’s nowhere else I’d rather do it than here.”
He raised his glass another time, and everyone in the crowd followed suit, toasting to Frostmonte before cheering again. The band started back up and people resumed dancing as Sebastian made his way through the crowd, greeting people as he walked toward me.
“I love you,” I told him as he approached. “You did great.”
“Oh my God, I’m still so nervous every time I do public speaking,” he said, letting out a sigh. “Thank you.”
I grabbed his hand, pushing him into a dancing position and dipping him. He laughed, his eyes going wide.
“Henry,” he said. “I didn’t know you had moves like that.”
“Oh, I’ve got moves. I’ve got moves you don’t even know about.”
“I like the sound of that.”
I nodded. “You’ve still got a lot to learn about me, Sebastian,” I said. “It’s only going to get better from here.”
He surprised me by leaning forward, squeezing me tight in a hug. “I don’t know how it could possibly get any better.”
“Because we’re together, it will,” I said softly, close to his ear. I breathed in the scent of his hair, which still smelled like the shampoo from when we’d showered together earlier today.
We danced for hours. It turned out that the villages of Frostmonte Kingdom really knew how to party when you got them all in one castle for a night. They didn’t stop for anything.
I was leaning against the far wall of the ballroom when Sebastian found his way back to my side again. It was nearly midnight, but the party may as well have just been getting started.
“There you are,” he said, grabbing my lapels and pulling me forward into a kiss. “Are you all alone?”
“No. Tracy was just here. Bugging me again about when a proposal was going to happen. She’s as impatient for it as we are, I think.”
Sebastian got a mischievous, twinkling look in his eye. “You’re impatient for it too, huh?”
“I’m not supposed to admit that, am I?” I asked.
“Maybe not, but I’m glad that you did,” he said.
Just outside the windows, a light snow had just begun to fall. It felt like we were in a giant, beautiful snowglobe, warm and happy in here with everyone nearby.
“Well, whenever we do that, I’ll be happy,” I said, smoothing Sebastian’s hair with my palm.
“Whenever we get engaged?”
“Yes,” I said softly. “I know I want you. And I know that’s never going to change. So… a proposal will happen when it happens.”
He bit his lower lip. “What if I’m doing it right now?”
I froze in place. “Huh?”
He reached into his pocket as he slowly bent down on one knee. The band quickly changed into playing a different song. One I recognized immediately as a song we’d both loved so much as kids, even if it was cheesy. It was Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.