The Crown(59)

She nodded. “Well, neither can I. And I couldn’t leave you like that.”

I took her hand, grateful, as always, for her presence in my life.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” I insisted. “If you need to leave, I could—”

I was stunned into silence by the sight of Josie coming into the office balancing a tray in her hands. She set a cup of coffee in front of Neena and one in front of me before she spoke.

“Everyone said you took your coffee with two sugars, but if it’s wrong I can go back.”

“No, no,” I said, still slightly confused. “That’s right.”

“Okay. And I was walking by the mailroom and they had these, so I figured I could get them to you.” She placed a handful of letters in the wooden in-box on my desk.

“Thank you.”

She nodded. “Also, I saw your mother this morning. She’s doing very well. I haven’t seen any of the boys.”

“Good luck hunting them down,” I said with a smile. “Thank you, Josie.”

“It’s the least I could do.” She shrugged. “I’m not busy, if you need another set of hands.”

“Neena?”

I turned, and saw she was still taking in this change. “How’s your penmanship?” she finally asked.

“Excellent,” Josie replied, beaming.

“All right, then.” And just like that, I got an unexpected addition to the office.

Fox was quiet as we walked the palace halls. It wasn’t the most exciting of dates, but the constant cloud of worry hanging over my head had sapped any creativity I had. Still, as the photographer checked the images on the back of his camera, he seemed pleased.

“It’s kind of sad that we can’t go out to a restaurant or do something fun like . . . Do you bowl?” Fox asked.

“No,” I answered with a laugh. “Putting on shoes that a thousand other people have worn and putting my fingers into holes with goodness knows how many germs in there?” I stuck out my tongue. “Not my thing.”

He smiled. “But it’s so fun! How can you even think about germs?”

“Osten once asked to go bowling for his birthday. We rented an entire bowling alley for the afternoon. After I realized you were supposed to wear used shoes, I couldn’t get over it. No matter how much disinfectant they sprayed in there, I wasn’t up for that. Everyone played, even Mom, but I watched.”

“That’s sad. Are you afraid of germs?” His tone was almost mocking.

I let the snub go. “No. It’s just incredibly unappealing.”

“Well, that settles it,” he said.

“Settles what?”

“If you marry me, the first order of business is putting in our own personal bowling alley.”

I laughed.

“I’m not kidding. Maybe we could do away with the studio and put it there.”

“No more Reports?” I asked joyfully. “Okay, that might be a tipping point for me. I’m on board.”

“You could design your own shoes!”

“Oooooh!” I could already imagine taking those weird shoes and making them worthy of royalty. That would be a fun project. “That’s one thing I really like about you, Fox. You’re good at lightening the mood.”

“I think we’re good, Your Majesty,” the photographer said, retreating. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” I called. “Sorry about that. With things getting to the end, people really want a peek into the final four.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” he said. “I feel lucky, getting this far, getting to be with you.”

I rubbed my thumb across his hand. “Thanks, Fox. I know I’ve been busy.”

“Do I look upset? I’m on the first date with you as queen. How incredible is that?”

I hadn’t even considered how that might be taken. I’d been hoping to hint that he might be leaving soon. Now I felt trapped.

“I’ve been so rude. How are you doing? How’s your family?”

“Dad’s all right. He’s been bragging to everyone who’ll stop and listen. ‘You saw Fox was in the final four, right? That’s my boy.’” He shook his head. “I guess he hasn’t had much to celebrate for a while, so even though I kind of want to tell him to calm down, I can’t. At least I don’t have to watch it firsthand.”

I giggled. “I know what you mean. My dad’s into photography, and he likes to document every little thing. For some reason it can be way more embarrassing when he’s there than a journalist, even when they’re doing the exact same thing.”

“It’s your dad. It’s personal.”