I know, I know. I was stuck. But I'm here now so…

And I know we have had lots of Bella's POV lately but that's just the way the story is going at the moment. There is still a little ways to go. Thanks for sticking with me.

The American Princess

Chapter 25

BPOV

"So what's on the agenda for today?" I ask. "Ribbon cutting, kissing babies, a day where people just bow at your feet… oh, wait, that's every day." I tease as I scroll through my emails, flagging which ones to answer later.

"None of the above."

I look up from my phone with my eyebrows raised. "Charming, I need to know what to wear."

"Your rattiest clothes, no makeup, hair up and this." He tosses a bag on the table. Inside there were two caps which both said London with the UK flag underneath.

"Why on earth would we wear these… wait. Are we going sightseeing?"

"Yes." Charming looks really proud of himself.

"How did you get Marcus to agree to this?" I ask, as I model the hat for him.

"He doesn't know so we need to get a move on. We only have thirty minutes and we need to be long gone."

"Won't this cause some sort of national crisis?"

"Probably but we won't be here so go get dressed. I'll meet you back here in ten minutes."

I start towards my room but stop and throw my arms around him, kissing him soundly on his mouth. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"I know what you mean to me. Now hurry."

I do as I'm told and throw on the most casual outfit I have with me- holey True Religion jeans, white tee shirt and gray cardigan. Hair up in messy ponytail, no makeup- just as instructed. I grab my leather backpack, blue coat and sunglasses before meeting Charming back in the dining room where he is rocking some dark button fly jeans and a white vee neck. His lightweight blue rain jacket was draped over his arm and his sunglasses were perched on his head.

"And I thought I liked you in a suit." I whistled.

"I'm versatile, what can I say?" He grins as he places the cap securely on my head. He kisses me once more before looking at the clock on the wall behind my head.

"Let's go."

His driver is waiting outside the car per usual and after we exchange the normal everyday pleasantries, Charming tells him to take us to some address he rattles off.

"Are we waiting on Marcus, Sir?"

"No."

A nod and we are on our way.

"Where exactly are we going?" I whisper.

He shakes his head and puts his finger to his lips with a pointed glance up front. I nod and then settle back in my seat.

Once we arrive to our destination, Charming indicates for me to put my sunglasses and hat on while he does the same.

"I don't know who you think you're gonna fool with that getup because you look like the crown prince with sunglasses and a hat wearing casual clothes."

I can feel his mock glare through his tinted shades. I shrug. "You haven't done this before, have you?"

"Yes." A pause. "No."

"Yeah, well I have. Put the jacket on and lose the hat. The hood will work better to hide your identity." He did as I suggested.

"Now, you just look like the Una Bomber but it will work in a pinch. Let's go."

We exit out of the car and with instructions to the driver to keep quiet, we go up to ticket booth. "Two adults please." Charming says in a rather decent American accent.

The bored attendant didn't even spare a glance at him, just popped her gum and slid the tickets to him before yelling, NEXT!

We head towards the double decker bus. "Top or bottom?" He asks. "I'm good with either." I waggle my eyebrows at him and he laughs and swats my ass as I head towards the stairs of the bus. I head towards the top as I figure people will be more preoccupied with the sights then people on the bus. Besides it's a better view.

He indicates me to go to the way back which I question when we get settled. "Won't it be harder to get off if we are spotted if we are back here."

He shrugs. "If we get caught, we get caught."

Okay then.

It's about thirty minutes before a voice comes over the loudspeaker.

"My name is Jack and I'm your tour guide today. This is what is called a hop on, hop off tour. You decide what you want to see or don't want to see. Along the way, I will tell you the history of each place along the tour and will answer any questions you may have. If I don't know the answer, Google will. I hope everyone enjoys. Let's get to touring, alright Mates?"

A resounding cheer from the passengers and we are off. I was listening to Jack at first but then realized that Charming was a much better tour guide and way hotter. He whispered little facts about each place we passed that weren't exactly part of the tour so no stops. He is telling stories about growing up and visiting some of these places in a royal capacity. I make a vow that our children will be less sheltered and have more normal lives.

Then I pause. I hope my mental freak out is not visible on my face because what the fuck was that? Our children? What children? There will be no children!

"Bella? Are you alright?" His voice breaks through my frantic internal musings.

"Yes. I'm fine. Great. What were you saying?" I babble.

"Next stop is the London Eye. Did you want to get off?"

"Yes. I do."

He looks at me oddly but just nods and we prepare to disembark.

"So, have you ever been on this before?" I ask.

"Yes, we were here for the ceremonial opening. I was six years old; I think. At that age, it was the greatest thing ever."

We wait in line to get our tickets, keeping our heads down and close together but no one seems to be paying us the least bit of attention.

"Isn't this like the highest vantage point or something?"

"Well, it was until 2013 then it was superseded by an observation deck at The Shard but this is much more fun."

I eye the capsule with some trepidation. It looks big but with twenty something people on it at a time, it seems like it will be a little claustrophobic.

But I take a deep breath and get on. There are no seats but rather an oval like wooden platform to settle on in case you get dizzy.

"Where do you throw up?" I whisper.

"Are you scared of heights?" He whispers back, more than a little worried. I don't blame him. Up to twenty-five passengers, no air flow, the possible threat of vomit stench… I'd be worried too.

"Not exactly. I mean, I fly all the time but this is a little more… open. I feel fine right now and I want to do this." I assure him.

A few minutes later we are moving and I forget about vomiting. The view is amazing, gorgeous, lovely. I'm in awe and I'm looking and pointing out things and asking questions and he quietly answers them but most of the time he is looking at me.

"What?" I ask after I catch him for the umpteenth time. "The view boring you?"

"It doesn't compare to you."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, I'm looking exceptionally lovely right now. Speaking of which, I need to get some pictures. Smile!"

He simply smiles and then points out another landmark.

***TAP***

Next, we take a stroll along the River Thames and then the Jubilee Gardens before getting back on another bus, this time with a guide named Sam. He starts talking about Buckingham Palace.

"Do you want to tour the palace? Maybe drop in on your parents and have some tea?" I joke quietly ever mindful of my surroundings.

"The tour just leads up to the palace. They don't go in. There is a tour but its set for when my parents are not in residence. I say we get off at Leicester Square near where the Burger King is and tour some areas there, have some tea and so forth. But I get to pick the restaurant this time, not that Burger King wasn't exceptional."

We get off at our stop once again. It's a very busy pedestrian area and I get jostled quite frequently but I love the hustle and bustle. Ever mindful of having memories, I make him pose for pictures in front of The Shakespeare fountain and statue, The Odeon, The Lego Store, The Hippodrome Casino, and in front of the restaurant of his choice- The Altro Monde.

I'm pleased to see it is casual and serves Italian cuisine. We each order a red wine and decide to share an appetizer. I choose Filetto Mozzarella for my main course and he chooses Lasagna. Everything is divine and I wish I had another stomach so I could keep eating. We chat a little, laugh a lot and of course, I take pictures.

I notice someone keeps glancing over at me like they are trying to place me but haven't yet. I take that as our cue to leave. We quickly settle the bill and leave, disappearing into the crowd on our way back to the bus.

This time we do head to the palace and Charming laughs at my surprised look. "It will be funny for the pictures." He winks.

And so, we take the selfies in front of Buckingham Palace. And at St. James Park and at Green Park. We take the selfies. We kiss. We laugh. We love.

Because somewhere between hitting this man in the face with my shoe and laughing with him in a picture in front of his childhood home acting as a tourist, I fell in love with this funny, sweet, serious, gorgeous and loving man.

Now that I am finally admitting this to myself, what the fuck am I supposed to do with that information?

Note: Not that this is a surprise to ANYONE, but I have never been to London so if I wrote the attractions all wrong, I apologize. I researched until my brain stopped working.

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