Broken Kingdom (Royal Hearts Academy #4)(67)

She sets the bouquet on the small table next to me. “These are for you.”

“Ooh, la, la,” Sawyer sings. “Someone’s a lucky girl.”

She’s not wrong.

“Tell me about it.” I flip open the card. “This morning it was a red rose and now it’s an entire b—”

I stop talking as I read the card.



She’s with you.

Love, your big brothers.



Tears clog my vision because my brothers are the sweetest assholes in the world.

Dylan and Sawyer’s eyes go wide and they rush to my side.

“What happened?”

“Are you okay?”

“No.” I reach for a tissue. “Blame your stupid men.”

That only confuses them.

Sawyer blanches. “What do you mean blame our stupid men?”

I show them the note.

And then I quickly hand Sawyer a tissue because she turns into a blubbering mess.

Dylan waves a hand in front of her face and looks up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe he actually listened to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Dylan starts. “I mentioned that today might be hard for you because…” Her voice trails off.

Because we’re both members of the club that no one wants to be in.

The dead mother’s club.

Emotion rises in my throat all over again. “Thank you.”

I make a mental note to do the same for her when Jace finally gets his shit together and pops the question.

She gives my hand a small squeeze. “It wasn’t me. They came up with the flowers and the note all on their own.”

Sawyer blows her nose. Loudly. “That was so sweet.”

We’re such a sight that when a saleslady approaches us with the dress we requested, she pales and says, “Is this a bad time? I can come back.”

“No,” Sawyer says. “It’s a perfect time.”

She’s right. This has to be a sign.

I haul myself out of the chair. “Fine, but if this isn’t it, I’m getting married in a paper bag.”

Sawyer and Dylan usher me into the fitting room.

“No giving up,” Sawyer chides. “And no getting married in a paper bag because I’m telling you, I saw this dress and it screamed Bianca.”

“If you say so.” After I strip down to my undies, I squeeze my eyes shut and raise my arms. “Just put the damn thing over my head and zip me up.”

After what feels like an eternity filled with random tugs and pulls of fabric, they finally spin me around.

And their mouths drop open.

“Holy shit,” Sawyer breathes. “I knew it would look beautiful on her, but…damn.”

“I know,” Dylan says. “It’s…”

“The one,” they say at the same time.

The suspense is killing me, especially since there are no mirrors in these tiny dressing rooms which means you have to walk out to the main room set up with random mini-stages.

“Move out of my way so I can see.”

They start to, but pause abruptly.

“Wait,” Sawyer says. “How do you want to wear your hair?”

I shrug because I haven’t given it much thought. I was too worried about finding the right dress.

“I don’t know. Up, maybe?”

Dylan winces. “You have such pretty hair though.”

“Fine. Half up and half down.”

“Perfect,” Sawyer exclaims. “Do you have a clip?”

I shake my head.

“Don’t worry.” Dylan takes the jaw clip out of her hair. “I got you.”

Sawyer starts sifting her fingers through my hair and Dylan snorts. “Never thought I’d see the day where you’d be doing Bianca’s hair.”

Sawyer starts laughing. “You and me both.”

Unfortunately, I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal.

They must notice my confusion because Dylan says, “Hair and makeup were always your thing, and there was a time when you made Sawyer your personal project and gave her a makeover.”

Needless to say, I don’t remember any of that. “Oh.” I look at Sawyer. “Did I do a good job?”

Sawyer and Dylan exchange a forlorn glance before Sawyer ruffles my hair. However, there’s no mistaking the sadness in her eyes. “Yeah.”

A moment later, they make me close my eyes, haul me out of the dressing room, and position me on one of the stages.

“Okay,” Sawyer declares after what feels like forever. “Open your eyes.”

When I do, I’m…speechless.

They weren’t kidding when they said the dress was perfect.

I take in the white, strapless tulle ballgown with a sweetheart neckline, full skirt, and long dramatic train. I turn a little and the sequins catch the light, making me sparkle like a ballerina in a music box.

I feel exactly like a princess.

And then I realize…

My mom’s wedding dress was a fancy sequin ball gown too.

My dad said she looked so beautiful his heart physically stopped when he saw her.

“This is the one,” I choke out.

“It fits you like a glove, you’ll hardly need any alterations,” the salesgirl says.