I’m not ready to be a queen…

“Do you think you could tighten my corset a bit more, Sola?” I move in front of the floor-length mirror.

“If I pull the strings any tighter, you’ll pass out and miss the ceremony.”

“Does that mean you won’t do it?”

She laughs and moves behind me, adjusting the diamonds around my neck. “You look stunning, Belle. It’s like you were always meant to be right where you are.”

“Do you think Gabriel will be upset that I chose not to wear a white dress?” I ask. “I can still change into another one if you think red is inappropriate.”

“Red suits you very well.” She smooths my curls with her hands. “I think he’d be surprised if you wore white.”

“I would be.” His deep voice is suddenly behind me.

“See?” Sola presses a quick kiss against my cheek before walking away.

Gabriel’s eyes meet mine in the mirror, and he strolls over to me, placing his hands on my waist.

“You’re not supposed to see the bride before the wedding,” I say. “I heard that somewhere.”

“You didn’t mention that this morning when we were in bed.” He smiles. “And you’ve never followed the rules a day in your life.”

Unsure of what to say to that, I stare into his eyes.

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t attempting to get out of this,” he says, kissing my shoulder. “I’m sure you’re tempted to run away.”

“I would never.”

“You would.” He trails his finger along the back of my corset. “Are you reconsidering marrying me?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“In all the books I’ve read about weddings, it’s the beginning of the end.”

He shoots me a confused look.

“Everyone roots for the queen to fail, while hoping a princess will come and take her place,” I say. “We’ve read twenty books just like that, remember?”

“I think you should start writing your own books,” he says, amused. “I’d rather read those anyway.”

“Do you mean that?”

“I do.” He reaches for my hand. “And I also mean that it’s time for you to forget all the other stories you’ve read. I’ve told you time and time again, that it’s just you and me for the rest of my life. Besides, the quicker I introduce my queen to the kingdom, the quicker we can return to the library.”

“You’ve already bought new books?”

“I bought a new chair.” He smirks, leading me toward the crowd. “And I have a huge stack of other books with pages I’d like you to read aloud to me.”

“For just tonight?”

“No, Belle,” he says, kissing me one last time. “Forever.”

Happily Ever After

Epilogue

^BELLE

One Year Later

Gabriel is sitting in his favorite chair in our library, holding our son in one hand and the pages of my first book in the other.

He swore to be finished reading it by this morning, but it’s nearly sun fall and he hasn’t said a word to me about it.