here. I'm shocked they didn't take it,” Chey said.
“They probably knew you'd need it going through customs, even if they do it privately or whatever for the Royals.” Wynn brought a trash bag from the kitchen and began to scoop piles of tissues in.
“I can get that,” Chey said. Wynn knew her well; Chey wouldn't be able to depart with her apartment in its current state. She needed to hang the dress up and straighten the cushions on the couch as well as clean the mess from her crying jag. Wynn was already on it.
“You go do whatever else you have to. Call and get flights. Use my credit card.” Wynn paused to point toward her purse on the floor.
“No, don't worry, I've got this one. If you're coming with me, the least I can do is get the flight. Besides, the Royals can pay for it.” Technically, although Chey shouldn't be spending the money in the bank. There was only so much left after paying her rent so far in advance. Still. Right now, she didn't care.
Gathering the dress off the couch, she hauled it into her bedroom and hung it up in the closet.
Then, she took the bull by the proverbial horns and made flight arrangements to Latvala.
Chapter Six
“What am I doing? Is this even the right decision? Sander told the men to tell me that this was best, that it was over. Are we wasting a whole trip for nothing?” Chey suffered a panic attack about returning to Latvala as they settled into the seats of the Boeing 747 two days later. Stowing her overnight bag beneath her feet, she buckled in and exhaled.
“Yes, it's the right thing to do. Look, if you don't at least clear the air, and get the answers you need, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Can you imagine trying to move on after this? You'll question everything and it might ruin whatever relationship you try to get into from here.” Wynn clipped her buckle with a smart snap and laced her hands in her lap.
“You make a good point.” Chey knew Wynn was right. It was nerve wracking, however, to take matters into her own hands and chase down a Prince of all things in a foreign country she'd only visited once. Maybe what she was really afraid of was that Sander would tell her to her face that he didn't want anything to do with her. That they were finished. It would break her heart.
At least she would know.
The flight to Latvala went without mishap. It was long and arduous, with two stop overs and plane changes. Wynn was, as ever, great company. Upbeat and enthusiastic, she insisted on taking pictures with Chey in front of terminals and iconic signs as they passed from one country to another. The closer they got to Latvala, the more Chey felt like it was coming home.
Landing in Kalev that evening, Chey was both excited and nervous. After waiting an hour to get their luggage, the girls departed the terminal and took a taxi to one of the hotels near the shore. It wasn't the same one she'd walked through with Mattias once upon a time, but a smaller, quaint business a block from the waterfront.
Their rooms were on the highest floor—the fifth—overlooking the ocean. At night, the water glistened like black diamonds. Lights from other city buildings stretched off to their right, offering a pretty vista in the darkness.
“I can't wait to see this place during the day. It's almost impossible to think you're dating the man who will one day be King of all this.” Wynn widened her eyes at Chey as the reality of it hit home for her.
“Dated. I dated the man...” Chey corrected. She had the sense of the surreal just like Wynn did, and she'd lived it for two weeks.
Wynn waved her off. Like Chey, she'd chosen to travel for comfort: jeans, oversized sweater and lightweight coat in case they hit cold weather. “It's just a temporary break. All epic couples have some kind of separation, then there's a romantic get-back-together thing that makes all the old hearts swoon when you tell the story at Christmas or around a campfire.”
“And