A Tangled Web of Truth | Complete (ONC 2021 Shortlister)

17. A Date to Remember

To say the queen wasn't pleased by Alica's 'little stunt' would be an understatement. But in the end it had paid off. The media had picked up the stories from the journalism students and, in the process, had interviewed the students of the university about Alicia. 

The news cycle was still working with the information when they'd made their next public appearances, asking Alicia to elaborate on certain topics she had discussed with the students and wanting follow up responses to things they felt weren't quite covered by the student reporters.

It was for that reason that Alicia had escaped with merely a stern warning from Queen Sofia about keeping her in the loop, and was now allowed to take the reins on some of her own wedding planning, as long as Queen Sofia had the chance to approve it before it was finalized or revealed to the public.

To celebrate her newfound responsibility, Alicia had invited Alejandro to spend the day with her planning certain details about their wedding and deciding on a date.

In the minutes before Alejandro arrived, Alicia had smoothed the skirt on her medium purple dress with a lace overlay. She had agonized over the dress choice for far too long, and was still second-guessing herself, but she really liked the way the lace overlay covered her shoulders and arms while not being excessively warm.

In the middle of their discussions about dinner, Alicia turned to face Alejandro, who seemed completely incapable of allowing his eyes to wander to her dress while she tried to discuss china patterns and cake designs and invitation styles.

"Alejandro!" Alicia waved her hands in front of his face. "I really need more than non-committal shrugs here. We're supposed to be planning our wedding, not my wedding."

Alejandro groaned and moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her and making her acutely aware how disinterested he was in china patterns. "I'm sorry. I just don't care about china. It could be purple for all I care."

"But there are so many things to decide!" Alicia let her head fall into her palms as her elbows supported her weight on the table. "I just need someone else to decide something, anything."

Alejandro relaxed his hold on her slightly and began massaging her shoulders, bending his head to kiss the side of her neck. "Then I pick purple plates."

"Purple?" Alicia arched a brow and turned to face him. "Why on earth would we put food on something that colour?"

The way Alejandro's eyes drifted up to meet hers made it obvious why the colour was on his mind. "Oh take your mind off my dress for a moment and decide between these three place settings please."

"The third one," he said, nuzzling his face into her shoulder and peppering it with kisses.

"You didn't even look!"

"Don't need to."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you are hopeless!" But I have to admit I'm also starting to forget what I'm supposed to be working on here. "Fine, the third one it is. I'll send all three to your mother and let her make the final decision."

"Perfect," Alejandro said, resting his chin on her shoulder and sliding his hands back around her stomach. "Now can we go for a walk or something? I'm starving."

"We have to decide on a date and invitations before we're done today and... Wait, what do a walk and starving have to do with each other?" She turned around to see him holding up a picnic basket that was so haphazardly packed he had obviously done it himself. Let's just hope he let the kitchen staff help with the food.

"Ugh, can we at least pick one of your mother's proposed dates? Can we agree to that and then go eat whatever you've got in that basket?"

"Can I pick whichever date is the soonest."

Alicia turned around to face him. "What has gotten into you today? Complete disinterest isn't what I was hoping for from my fian—"

She never did get to finish her thought as his lips captured hers, gently guiding her head closer to him and pulling her onto his lap. "I'm not disinterested," he whispered between kisses. "I just want to stop working and go on a date with the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Alicia leaned down to kiss him once more. "Laying it on thick, are we? What have you done now?"

"What? Nothing!" He pushed her away slightly to look into her eyes and determine what she was thinking, probably. Alicia couldn't help but giggle at how quickly his eyes turned serious.

"You really can't take a joke, can you?" she tapped her nose with her finger. "Now, let's decide on a date, and pick some invitations. You can do it!"

Alejandro groaned and reluctantly released his hands from her hips, allowing her to stand.

"I think these, for the invitations," Alicia held up a cream coloured sample page with silver and gold embossed lettering and a deep blue accent colour. "What do you think?"

He just raised an eyebrow in her direction, causing her to laugh out loud. "Would you believe me if I said I actually like them?"

"At this point I'm not sure," Alicia answered. "But I like them enough that I'm going to take your tacit compliance as emphatic agreement and send it as our final choice. Now, a date!"

"I told you! The earliest one."

"Not a real answer. That one is a Tuesday."

Alejandro stood and took the few steps to stand beside her at the table. "Okay, Tuesday is a no go. Friday? Your friends could do that right?"

"Saturday might be better for my parents but I don't know, really. Either one is probably fine."

"So, we have May 14th or June 26th, then, if we want Friday or Saturday."

"May fourteenth?" Alicia and Alejandro spoke together.

"I guess it's settled then," Alicia smiled and highlighted the date on the sheet.

"Okay, now can we please go eat? I want a date with my fiancée. I feel like I haven't seen you in a year." Alejandro held up the basket in front of his chest and pouted, widening his eyes and blinking rapidly to convey how very upset it was making him.

"Fine," Alicia relented, feeling her own resolve to continue working fade with each moment. Maybe the first date would be best.

With a quick call down the hall, Alicia and Alejandro had everything sent to Queen Sofia's parlour for her eventual approval.

"Now, my dear Alicia, would you please accompany me to the gardens for lunch?"

Alicia slid her arm through his and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "I'd be delighted, Your Highness."