CAROLINE chose Gareth to accompany her to the rehearsal dinner the night before the royal wedding. Emma of course would be otherwise occupied between royal duties, being with Adrian, and making sure her parents, who had arrived a few days earlier, were cared for. This way Caroline was assured of being amongst amusing company who could also point out any social gaffes before she really embarrassed herself.
She’d been practicing for months to know how to walk properly as she passed the gauntlet of photographers poised to capture every public moment of the weekend. She’d learned how to eat properly—that is, not make a fool of herself when everyone else knew which fork to use for which course, and whom to address and how. Royal protocol was downright exhausting. But she was getting the hang of it at least.
Caroline was able to tap into Emma’s ever-growing wardrobe of amazingness and had on a an embellished, salmon-colored, tiered chiffon halter gown with an empire waist. She practically felt like a princess in it. When they arrived at the National Museum for the fete, Gareth, handsome in his designer tuxedo, got out first and came around to help her out of the limousine, reaching a hand in for her. They made their way through the cavalcade of flashbulbs and into the dazzling two-story Artists Hall, which was a-twinkle with thousands of candles burning. Two extremely long tables, dressed in formal finest, flanked either side of the hall, leaving the center open for dancing later. Each table would hold about a hundred and fifty guests. Candelabras and enormous floral arrangements dotted the lengths of each table.
Guests found their seats as the royal family was about to be introduced. First came Queen Ariana, resplendent in an empire-waisted lavender silk-chiffon strapless gown with a multicolored crystal-beaded bodice and sweetheart neckline, accompanied by her handsome tuxedo-clad husband, Crown Prince Enrico.
The crowd stood as Emma, sublimely beautiful in a champagne-colored formfitting crystal-beaded sleeveless column dress, arrived with Adrian, who beamed at her side in his custom-made tuxedo.
When dinner was served, an army of white-jacket-clad waiters descended upon the guests. Drinks were poured and food was served and guests settled in for the celebration while a twenty-piece orchestra played in the background.
Gareth kept Caroline on track throughout the meal, glancing at her if she was about to use the wrong utensil, or when she tried to pass her dirty plate to the waiter. She had to remind herself she wasn’t at Tio Gringo’s anymore.
Once the dessert had been served, the band picked up the tempo of the music and the dance floor filled with guests. Caroline held close to Gareth like a security blanket; the event was crowded enough that it was hard to find any of the few people she knew would be in attendance.
As it grew late and Caroline caught herself yawning more than once, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Darcy, so gorgeous in his tux, much as when she first laid eyes on him nearly a year ago at the event in Washington where their friendship had first germinated.
“Would you do me the honor?” He extended his arm, hand upturned, seeking Caroline’s.
When she placed her trembling fingers on his, he gently pulled her to her feet and toward him, crooking his arm with hers to walk onto the dance floor. Caroline could barely catch her breath, so happy was she to see him despite herself. Darcy reached for her right hand with his left and pulled her toward him, resting his right hand on her hip, settling his left with hers. Caroline’s mouth had gone dry, so even if she had thought of something to say, she wouldn’t have been able speak. Instead, she settled into the rhythm of their dance, “Someone to Watch Over Me” a lovely backdrop for this unexpected moment. Darcy could only fix his warm brown eyes on her sea-glass-green ones, and for what seemed like minutes, they both just stared at one another.
“I’ve missed you, Caroline,” he said, steering her away from the crowded dance floor and off to a corner where few people were still dancing. “More than you can imagine.”
Caroline cleared her throat. “I’m not sure if I’m allowed to miss you. Am I?”
Darcy laughed and tucked his face close to hers, their noses rubbing. “Of course you are, silly. When two people love each other and then they’re not together, they miss each other.”
Caroline looked up abruptly. “What do you mean by that?”
Darcy pulled her closer, their chests pressed together, her head nestled beneath his chin protectively. “I suppose I can be a bit ham-handed in demonstrating my emotions. Or so they tell me,” he said. “These past few months, the only thing that became abundantly clear to me was that I do love you. I love you so much it makes me ache to not have you near me.
“I knew it was a risk to approach you, Caro. But I watched you all night long, and it was practically torture to not be the one escorting you here, dining near you and sharing conversations and laughter and secrets. I know Gareth is only a friend, but I want to be that friend, and I want to be your lover.
“Caroline, I’m not the man I want to be when I’m not with you,” he said, pushing them apart slightly so he could again look into her eyes. “I suppose what I really want to know is, well, I know you said you don’t want me in your life anymore, but perhaps could you reconsider that and instead agree to marry me?”
Caroline’s knees buckled and Darcy had to hold her aloft while she regained her composure. She stared hard into his eyes, searching for answers or understanding. “Darcy, do you have any idea what you’re saying right now? I mean, you can’t make jokes about things like this. You could give a girl heart failure, you know.”
“But I’m not joking,” he said, his eyes not leaving hers. “Caroline, I want to spend the rest of my life making up for breaking your heart so callously.”
He got down on one knee, in full view of the many guests and completely not in keeping with protocol at a royal rehearsal dinner. “All right, my mother will kill me that I didn’t plan this better. I haven’t even got the ring on me. Here I have this family heirloom diamond ring that I’ve kept tucked away in my nightstand in the hopes I could persuade you. But then I was so afraid I’d blown it and lost you that I nearly gave up hope. But then I saw you tonight, so breathtakingly beautiful. Look at you”—he waved his hand up and down before her—“and I could no longer honor my promise to leave you alone. I needed you. I need you. I love you. Caroline, please, will you make me happy again and agree to spend your life with me? I promise I’ll never knowingly hurt you ever again.”
Caroline could barely see Darcy through her tears, which blended with the flickering of thousands of candles to make everything take on a particularly magical aura. She tugged on Darcy’s hands, pulling him up. They stood facing each other, hand in hand.
“I didn’t want to even let myself think it,” she said, “but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I thought a thousand times how much I wanted to share this event with you. You and I, we helped Emma and Adrian get here. I tried to pretend it was fine, but when you asked me to dance—”
“It was the smartest thing I ever did. I watched you all night, and it hurt so much, having to keep my distance, until finally I couldn’t hold back any longer,” he said. “And yet here you’re holding me in suspense.”
Caroline put her finger to his lips. “Come here,” she said, pulling him close, her mouth within an inch of his. “I couldn’t be truly happy in my life without you, Darcy Weltenham. And nothing would give me greater joy than to spend the rest of my years with you. If you really want me.”
Darcy completely forgot where he was and instead pressed his mouth to hers, his hands skating up and down her back, holding on to her for dear life as their tongues met and they groaned and sighed and reached for one another, making up for lost time, oblivious that a crowd had started to form around them.
As they paused to catch their breath, Caroline blew a tuft of hair out of her eyes and said, “Gareth is going to kill me. All that protocol training, out the damned window.”
Just then they heard a set of hands clapping, followed by a few more, and a few more, and then a lot of clapping.
Still face-to-face in an embrace, Caroline glanced out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, God. Don’t look,” she said to Darcy, who turned to see Gareth, front and center, leading the applause, Emma and Adrian right behind him, followed by Zander and Clementine and Lady Charlotte and Emma’s crazy mother and father, even people Caroline had never seen in her life.
Caroline slunk down, turning red, fanning her heated face.
But Emma reached for her and pulled her to a completely upright position. “No shame here, sister.”
“To the contrary,” Adrian said, turning to Darcy. “It’s about bloody damned time you two figured out you were meant for each other.”
“Right,” Darcy said, motioning them away. “Now, could you leave us to it then?”
They all laughed, moving in for hugs all around.