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tensed. I did not want to mess this up. It struck me how beautiful she was. I could see where Nico had gotten his looks from. There was a regal elegance to her, but also a kindness in her bright blue eyes that made me relax.
    “Mother, may I present Miss Katerina MacTaggart? Katerina, this is my mother, Her Royal Highness, Queen Aria of Monterra.”
    The queen nodded at me. “It is very nice to meet you, Miss MacTaggart.”
    “Kat, please. Your, uh, Majesty.”
    That seemed to please her for some reason. She reached out for my hand, and I gave it to her. She squeezed it. “Then you must call me Aria.” Yeah, I couldn’t see that ever happening. She let go of me to gesture toward the table. “I hear that you are already acquainted with Chiara and Serafina.”
    “She’s my best friend, Mamma!” Serafina called from her end of the table.
    “This is my eldest daughter, Violetta.” A sullen teenage girl who also had Nico’s blue eyes glanced up at me with a withering look. I saw the earbuds attached to the phone she held under the table. “No technology at the table, please.” Violetta let out a loud sigh as she yanked the buds out and turned her phone off.
    The two men were still standing as Nico walked me over to them. “These are my brothers, Dante and Raphael.” They had the same black hair as the rest of their family, but their brown eyes were a lighter shade than the rest. The one called Raphael wore a pair of silver-rimmed glasses.
    It shouldn’t have surprised me when Dante leaned in to kiss me on my right cheek, then my left. I didn’t think that I would ever get used to that particular European greeting. “Welcome,” he said with a mischievous grin.
    “Thanks.”
    His twin leaned in to greet me in the same fashion, but added before he pulled back, “Anyone who puts that kind of smile on my oldest brother’s face can call me Rafe.”
    Lemon just smiled at me knowingly before Nico led me over to the only empty spot remaining at the table. It was situated near the end of the table with Serafina on my left, who bounced up and down with excitement, and Nico on my right, who sat at the foot of the table. The twins and Lemon sat across from me. I was glad she was in my eye line.
    Nico stood behind my chair, waiting. Another situation where I had no idea what, exactly, I was supposed to do. Everyone stared at me as I sat down and started scooting myself in, with Nico assisting behind me. Once I was settled, he walked back to his chair.
    In front of me sat several china plates, all rimmed in what I suspected was real gold, with an embroidered ivory linen napkin laid across them. There was a row of crystal glasses in front of me, and next to my plate there were more forks than the Colorado River. I found myself feeling overwhelmed again. Not to mention the fact that I was totally underdressed. The men were all in suits, the women in dresses.
    And I was in jeans.
    Please, please, don’t let me screw this up any more than I already have .

    Somehow I made it through without doing anything too embarrassing. The only time I seemed to step in it was when I asked about the king joining us. That brought a lot of exchanged glances and a physical, awkward charge in the atmosphere. The queen looked at me for a moment before she said, “He is not feeling well this evening,” and the subject was quickly changed and forgotten.
    The food was, literally, the best I had ever tasted. For our main course (yes, main course—we had several courses, including an incredible tiramisu for dessert) we had steak and some kind of roasted potato, which surprised me. The few meals we’d had at the resort before the accident had consisted of one variety or another of pasta. When I pointed that out to Nico, he gave me a boyish grin that warmed my insides. “Lemon said it was your favorite.”
    My heart sank. I should have been touched, but I was just sad. He needed to stop being so nice to me. I was not someone who was capable of