“Well,” he said. “I tried to eat it but it hurt my teeth. So I thought maybe it was a rock, not popcorn. I sniffed it to see if it smelled like a rock, but it went up my nose!” He pointed at his face. “Then the harder I tried to get it the worse it got! Now I’m going to die from not being able to breathe. Maybe Chadwick should carry the rings.” He looked at Sam’s assistant with hope.

“Leo, please tell me you didn’t put that in your nose just so you could get out of being the ring bearer.” I shook my head.

“No.” He crossed his arms. “I thought it was a rock. But maybe I shouldn’t have to carry that silly pillow now.”

“Anyone have a pair of tweezers?” I shook my head and looked around hopefully.

“I can get some.” Chadwick ran from the room.

“Leo, no more sticking things in your nose, okay?” I frowned at him. “Not even your finger.”

“Why?” He pursed his lips angrily.

“Because you could put something in there that could hurt you.”

“Nothing can hurt me. I’m Superman.” He winked at me and I had to fight not to laugh.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that the man of steel never tried to cook popcorn in his nose.”

“Oh! Could he cook it in his nose?” Violet bopped happily next to me. “That would be cool.”

“No, but it could hurt him.” Chadwick burst into the room and handed me a small set of silver tweezers.

Gritting my teeth I reached into his nostril with the tool. It didn’t take long, but I was relieved to have the little kernel out of danger’s way. Tossing the kernel and the tweezers into the trash, I gratefully took the hand sanitizer Chadwick proffered. Jess handed me my bouquet and I smiled at our group.

The wedding party wasn’t large, which was perfect. Sam wouldn’t have a ton of people who didn’t mean something to her surrounding her on her wedding day. I admired her sense of self and the way she stood up for what she wanted. This would be the first royal wedding that had not taken place in the palace chapel in hundreds of years. When Mother had started talking about plans, Sam had cleared her throat and very quietly said no. There had been only two things Sam had insisted on for her wedding day: getting married outside and having a piece of her mother’s veil incorporated into her dress.

The rest she let us handle. I’d done my best to make sure she was involved, but when it boiled down to it, she just wanted to get married, have her family present, and have a good time. That had meant I’d had a lot of fun with the details, which she would probably never notice—and I was really okay with that.

As we moved into formation, we heard the opening music and I rocked on my feet a little. We would be entering the church in a somewhat different formation than Sam was used to seeing at weddings. Accompanied by Patricia, Sam would walk behind the person officiating and the two children, while Jess and I would follow behind.

“You’ve got this.” I winked at Sam as she took a deep breath.

“As long as Alex is at the end of the aisle, nothing else matters.” She smiled.

“He’ll be the one bouncing on his heels and craning his neck to see you.” I laughed. Despite my smile, my heart clenched a little as I wondered if I would ever have that kind of love.

As the doors opened, Samantha laughed at my joke. It hadn’t really been my intention, but I knew instantly that the pictures of her happiness would make the cover of every magazine. She practically vibrated with eagerness, and there was no way of faking that anticipation.

The voices of the children’s chorus, accompanied by a string ensemble, filled the air, and the show had begun. There were cameras and professional photographers hidden around the setting in ways that I hoped would keep them from being too obvious.

I couldn’t see Sam as she moved down the stairs and across the lawn, but I could see the expressions on the guests’ faces. And they were in awe. Sam would never see the effect she had on people or the way she filled her new role so perfectly, but it was obvious to those of us on the sidelines. She was meant for Alex in a way that no one else would ever be able to match. And while I would never be able to explain how happy that made me, it also reminded me of my own loneliness.

Garlands of flowers hung from the trees and the aisle was lined with flowered plants that gave the entire area a fairy-tale feel—with my brother playing the part of Prince Charming. I watched as he broke protocol and peeked over his shoulder to see Sam. The look in his eyes and the smile that broke across his face made me giggle. You would never have known there were a thousand people packed into the palace lawn by the look in his eyes.

The formal exchange of the daughter to the waiting groom had been modified for Patricia. Just a few words in Lilarian had been swapped so that it honored Sam’s late parents and her relationship with Patricia. There had been a lot of debate in the tabloids and gossip websites about how they were going to handle the situation, but I doubted that anyone would be able to find fault in the way it was presented.

When Alex took Sam’s hand, tears formed in my eyes and I couldn’t help it. For the world, today wasn’t just about their wedding—it was about Sam, America’s Duchess becoming a princess. But for Sam and Alex, nothing mattered today except for their marriage. And that was exactly how it should be.

I took my spot next to Jess, keeping careful attention on Violet, and watched as my brother promised to cherish and protect my best friend. The entire ceremony went smoothly except for Sam’s soft giggle when she said a word wrong. It wasn’t until they were pronounced man and wife that the script changed.