"I like the snow as much as the next guy, but give me a good beach party any day," Maxwell said, stretching his arms as we walked down the hallway of the royal palace.

It was a few days after my midnight rendezvous with Prince Liam, and the whole royal court was back in the Capitol for the Royal Regatta.

"A beach party?" I asked with a grin. "I thought we were just watching fancy boats race."

"Well, yeah," Maxwell conceded, "The Royal Regatta is a morning of boat races...followed by an afternoon beach party!" He stopped walking to do a quick impromptu break dance set until Bertrand gave him a deadly glare. Without a word, Maxwell stood back up and kept walking with us towards the limo.

"You're very quiet today, Bertrand," I said after a few moments of tense silence.

He apologized, saying that he had been preoccupied with matters for House Beaumont, but I didn't think he'd appreciate me prying further. "Your outfit is...acceptable," he said, changing the subject abruptly.

I looked down at my striped sweater and navy blue shorts. "I guess, coming from you, that's a compliment?"

He just gave a stiff nod and started explaining the meaning behind the Regatta. He gave me a few more tips for the press as we drove to the docks, then disappeared with Maxwell when we arrived, saying they needed to arrange paperwork for the boat or something like that. I saw Prince Liam standing on the docks, and no one else around, so I approached him for some one-on-one time. He smiled when he saw me, and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Nice belt," he said, tugging on one end of my rope belt.

"Thanks, I thought it was appropriately nautical. Although, I hope I won't need it today."

He nodded. "Ah, yes, you're participating in the opening race."

"Well, participating is an overstatement...at least I hope it is."

He laughed. "Yes, the ladies don't usually have to do much actual sailing. But still, it's an honor to be part of the Regatta tradition."

"So I'm told." We looked out at the ships in the dock, admiring the beautiful styles and colors. After a moment I asked Liam if he was enjoying himself.

"It's a beautiful day. The staff has been well-prepared, and we're ready to celebrate our fine seafaring tradition. My father in particular seems in high spirits. But, he always loves this event."

I smiled and shook my head, recognizing his diplomatic answer. "That's all good, but you didn't answer my question," I accused.

He shifted around, looking surprised I called him out. "Well," he said at last. "My father loves the Regatta so much, I've never had the heart to tell him that I hate sailing."

I put on a shocked face, covering my heart with my hand. "Really? I thought all Cordonians were descended from Poseidon himself!"

He laughed a little. "Maybe if that were true, I'd enjoy the water more. Actually, I did used to enjoy sailing, but one experience soured me on it."

"Is this another tale from your misspent youth?" I asked, my tongue poking out from between my teeth as I smiled.

"I suppose it is," he said, mirroring my energy as he recounted the tale. "Let's say...I once felt the call of freedom on the sea. When Drake and I were young boys, we snuck out with one of the royal sloops. The weather had been sunny, but turned gray and windy when we were a few kilometers out. We probably could have managed it if we were more experienced, but the choppy waters capsized our boat. We had to swim back. I'm not sure which was worse, the cold or the taste of seawater."

"That must have been scary!"

"Worst of all, we had to push the boat all the way back to shore so we wouldn't get in trouble!"

I threw my head back, laughing hard at that image. "I'm sorry," I said, trying to stifle my giggles. "That must have been awful."

He chuckled. "It was pretty terrible at the time, but I can laugh about it now...I've never actually told anyone that story before. No one ever found out what we did. Although, my interest in sailing did drop a bit after that."

"And your father never wondered why?"

Liam shrugged. "If he did, he never asked."

Just then, a trumpet heralded the King's arrival. Liam guided me towards the growing crowd of people. We stood in the front, to the side, and listened to the King's opening remarks.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Cordonia," the King said, his arms outstretched. "I welcome you all!" Claps and cheers rose up from the crowd. When the King dropped his arms, the noise slowly died down, letting him continue. "Today is a momentous day. As you know, I have a soft spot for the Royal Regatta, and it remains one of my favorite events of the social season. Because this event has always held historical significance and personal importance, I have chosen today to make my announcement that as of the end of this social season, I'll be stepping down as your reigning monarch, and in a few weeks' time, Prince Liam will be your new king."

A murmur arose from the crowd, and several reporters shouted questions for the King, but my focus was on Liam. He was tense, his posture stiff and his face straight. At first glance, he seemed unaffected by the news, but I realized he was too unaffected. He was hiding his real emotion, and as he glanced at me, I caught a hint of it in his eyes. Surprise.

The King quickly silenced all questions, promising he would release a more detailed statement at a later time, and calling for all to enjoy the Regatta.

After the King left the platform where he was speaking from, Liam took my hand and led me back down the pier, away from the crowd.

"Liam," I said as soon as we were isolated. "Are you okay?"

His voice was unsteady. "Yeah...I'm fine. But it's...a shock, let's say." He shook his head, looking down. "I always knew my father would retire, just not so soon. To realize that I'm going to become king in a matter of weeks. Well, that's a lot."

Our hands were still interlocked, and I rubbed my thumb over Liam's hand as if to soothe him. "Not many guys have to ascend to the throne and choose a wife all at once," I said, more to myself than anything.

Liam's face was heavy with concern. "It means that my future bride will be thrown directly into the role of queen."

So much for the idea of me having time to learn the role. I had scarcely thought about it, but at Liam's words, I realized that I had actually, subconsciously, been entertaining the idea of becoming Princess and learning how to be Queen – a thought that was ridiculous to me just weeks before. Now it seemed more ridiculous than ever, since Liam's wife would go straight from fiancee to Queen.

I dropped his hand, and looked up at Liam seriously. His mind seemed a thousand miles away from me, and I realized that now was not the time to be thinking of myself and my own future. "It seems like this caught you really off-guard," I said, and Liam nodded.

"My father usually keeps my counsel on all matters. I can't help wondering why he didn't discuss this with me." He took my hand and forced a smile. "But I'll talk to him later," he said. "For now, he's right. We should just try to enjoy today." Suddenly, he dropped my hand and stepped back. I turned to see what he was looking at, and noticed a few members of the press headed our way. I turned so I was standing beside Liam and put on a warm smile for the cameras.

"Your Highness," the first reporter to reach us held his microphone out to Liam. "A few questions, please?"

"Of course," Liam said with a smile.

"The King's announcement came as a great surprise. What are your thoughts on it? When did you find out?"

I watched as Liam skillfully side-stepped the reporters questions and guided them to a safer topic.

"You're looking awfully friendly with Cordonia's everywoman," the reporter said with a sly smile.

Liam looked at me with an arched eyebrow. "Is that what they're calling Lady Riley?"

"People feel they have a real connection with her," the reporter confirmed. "But what I want to know is, what's her connection to you? After all, the social season's more than half over, and with the King's announcement, you're basically choosing the future queen in a matter of weeks."

"I was aware my future bride would be queen. The immediacy of my becoming king doesn't change much at this time." I beamed at Liam's deft response, but decided I wanted to add my two cents as well. At least for Bertrand's sake; he had spent so long preparing me for the press, after all.

I stepped forwards so that I was shoulder-to-shoulder with Liam in front of the cameras. "If you really want to know what's going on between Liam and myself," I said, "The truth is...I really care for him. But, we're still getting to know one another. And, we still have half the social season ahead of us to continue learning about each other."

Liam smiled proudly at me. "I couldn't have said it better myself," he said.

"And do you feel the same way about Lady Riley?" another reporter asked Liam.

"I do. I care greatly about her, but as she said, we'll be using what time we have left to get to know each other better."

After that, the reporters turned to questions about the Regatta, and I answered a few as well as I could, but in my head, all I could think of was how Liam said he greatly cared for me. I definitely didn't have to fake any more smiles that day.

Eventually, we excused ourselves and I said goodbye to Liam as I headed for the Beaumont's boat to get ready for the race. My walking-on-air haze dissipated as soon as I hopped into the yacht. I saw Maxwell and Drake, but none of the crew I expected to see preparing for the race. "Uh, what's going on?" I asked.

Drake scowled at Maxwell. "Yeah, Maxwell," he said, "What's going on?"

"Well..." Maxwell hemmed and hawed before I finally made him spit it out. "Our funds being what they are...the crew we had hired for today dropped out at the last minute. But, the good news is, Drake volunteered to help us!"

"Maxwell begged me," Drake clarified.

"I thought I was rather dignified about it."

"Practically in tears."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, well as long as you two know what you're doing..." I recalled Liam's story from earlier in the day and stuck my tongue between my teeth as I smiled at Drake. "From what I hear, you have a rather stormy history with sailing." He looked at me like I was crazy, so I clarified. "You...and Liam...a capsized boat...ringing any bells?"

Drake's eyebrows shot up, but he smiled. "He told you about that, huh? Well, let's say that I learned my lesson after that day, and spent the rest of the summer learning how to handle a sailboat."

We finished readying the boat and I waited for my instructions. Drake asked me to watch the wind indicator and give them directions for how to adjust the sail, which seemed do-able even for someone like me who had never set foot on a sailboat before.

As the race started, I tried not to get distracted watching the other boats. I could see Olivia, Madeleine, and Hana in boats of their own, and I felt an odd sense of pride that none of them were doing anything but sitting and looking pretty. Which reminded me that I had an actual job to do, so I set my eyes on the wind indicator, calling out when I noticed it shifting. I wasn't even aware of where we were in the race until close to the end. Drake called out to me that he needed help with the ropes so he could "secure the jib," whatever that meant. I followed his instructions, and as I looked up, saw that we were just passing Olivia's boat. I resisted the urge to flip her the bird, but did let myself sneer at her as we crossed the finish line. Maxwell was hollering and jumping up and down, but I managed to pull him in for a hug. I thought about doing the same for Drake, but decided at the last minute to give him a high-five instead.

"You really came through for us, Harkness," he said.

"Pfft," I scoffed. "No, that was you, Drake. But, I guess I'll take the credit, if you want."

After the race, I was herded to a yacht to watch the remaining races with the other suitors. I wanted badly to sneak away like I had at the Derby, but there didn't seem to be any way I could. I did my best to enjoy myself, and soon enough the races came to an end. I met Maxwell near the limo. He was super excited for the beach party. The more he talked about it, the more excited I was, too. "White sand beaches, here we come!"