He went back inside, where the girls waited inside the massive lobby of the palace.
“Good speech, Daddy. Good speech.” Lily reached up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
He pulled her into a hug. “How would you like to go see what I’ve been working on?” he asked. The crowd outside still cheered.
“Yes,” said Seraphine. “Will Katie be there?”
“Well…I don’t know.” Their faces fell. “But maybe. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
Katie hovered at the edge of the crowd, wondering whether she should run or stay put.
Her article had gone viral. Not only that, but several outlets had run pictures of her, and people around her were noticing. She could hear them whispering her name. It would be smarter to stay away and avoid more attention…but she couldn’t bring herself to miss this.
The groundbreaking for the orphanage had been rescheduled.
It had all happened so fast. He’d been on television just this afternoon telling the world that it was all true—he had fallen in love with the nanny. And he had not looked ashamed in the slightest while he said it. And then the major bombshell: a referendum on the monarchy.
Unheard of.
Three hours later, the site of the orphanage was humming with activity…and cheering. The pro-royalists were out in a chanting, cheering crowd with signs supporting Armin. Katie had to wonder if the anti-royalists had had their agenda puffed up a bit by the press, because she didn’t see any of them in the crowd. At least, if they were there, they weren’t being very gregarious. It seemed those in favor of the monarchy were clearly ready to campaign for it, and Armin’s announcement wasn’t even six hours old. It was…honestly pretty stirring, Katie had to admit.
There was a loud cheer, and Katie turned, trying to see over everyone’s heads.
“They’re here!” called a man nearby. “The motorcade—it’s pulling up.”
The crowd got louder, and finally Katie saw them—Armin, holding the girls by the hand. He walked proudly up the steps to the little dais that had obviously been constructed for just this moment. He blinked out into the crowd and gave a little wave without letting go of Lily’s hand. It was clear from the look on his face that he hadn’t exactly expected this to turn into a rally.
Should she…approach him?
No.
Not in public, not in front of all these people. Katie steeled herself. She’d do what she came here to do. Silently support him through the groundbreaking, see if he had anything else to add to his earlier announcement, and slip away in time to catch her train to France.
The speeches began.
They blurred, one into the other, the words indistinguishable. Katie couldn’t take her eyes off Armin. He was so handsome, there in the sunlight, and so proud—nothing about him spoke of indecision at all. He looked…free.
That hurt, that he could seem so relaxed and at peace, as if losing her hadn’t mattered, but…if he was free and happy, then she could learn to be that way, too.
Armin and the girls used ceremonial scissors to cut a large red ribbon, and another cheer went up. Behind them, in the dirt, a front-end loader made a tentative dig into the earth.
The ground had been broken.
It was time to go.
Katie turned, looking for the quickest way out of the crowd. But the whispers around her swelled, and then…
“Katie!”
It wasn’t Armin’s voice. It was Seraphine’s.
She turned to see the girls barreling down on her, enormous smiles on their faces. And nothing in the world could keep her from kneeling down and taking them into her arms, both of them talking over each other.
“—did you go?”
“—so lonely, and wanted you to come back right away, but—”
“—said that there was something important you had to do and maybe you would be here, but we didn’t know—”