Happily Ever After Teaser

One Year After Princess Charlotte’s Birth
Early June

Sitting in my office in the apartment, I was working on finalizing the details for the Annual Gevalian Chocolate Festival. It was the second biggest Gevalian holiday after the Gevalian Independence Day. It was a weekend celebrating all things chocolate. The opening ceremony was happening in two weeks. I was waiting for Esme to come. We were deciding on the activities for the opening ceremony. After that, we were going to spend the afternoon at the Gevalian Zoo with Charlotte.

“Your Highness, Your Majesty, Queen Esme has arrived,” Heidi said.

“Thank you, Heidi,” I smiled, picking up my tablet. “Can you show her to the family room?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Heidi replied, curtseying before leaving.

I stood up, carrying my tablet out of the office. I poked my head in the nursery on my way to the family room. Charlotte was taking her morning nap. I caressed her pink cheek before plucking the baby monitor off its charger. When I walked into the family room, Esme was sipping some tea and nibbling on the appetizers that were left out for her. “Esme,” I said, gliding into the room. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Of course not, sweet girl,” Esme answered, standing up and hugging me. “Where’s Charlotte?”

“Morning nap. She’ll be up in an hour or so,” I grinned, putting the baby monitor on table. “You’ll get a chance to love up on your first grandchild.”

“Am I that transparent?” she quipped.

“No, you’re Grammy,” I snickered. “You’re entitled to snuggle your granddaughter, but we do have work we need to do, Esme. Things are almost in place for the festival. We just need to finalize the opening ceremonies.”

“Well, what are the festivities for the weekend?” Esme asked.

“We have the best chocolate makers in Gevalia that will set up in an open-air marketplace for the weekend. They’re providing samples, giving demonstrations and selling their best chocolates to the public. In addition to that, we have a competition for the best chocolate recipes, earning prizes for their businesses. We have ten different categories for the competition.”

“My favorite memories of the festival was tasting the different entries. But, ten categories?”

“Best Brownie, Best Cake, Best Candies, Best Cookies, Best Beverage, Best Use of Chocolate Not in a Dessert, Best Truffle, Best Fondue, Best Liqueur, and Best Wine Pairing,” I said, reading from my tablet.

“Ooh, I like the last one. I’m partial to dark chocolate with a pinot noir,” Esme cooed. “It’s delicious.” Her dreamy look faded and she giggled. “What else is happening?”

“We’ve set up a Chocolate Sensorium, an exhibit space devoted to hands-on sensory exploration of the cacao and chocolate-producing process,” I said. “There’s also going to be classes for culinary students for all ages during the day. After five, there will be classes for the over-eighteen set. That’s where the wine-pairing and liqueur aspect of the competition.”

“Now, I want all the chocolate,” Esme chuckled, sipping her tea with a wrinkled nose. “And coffee.”

“The doctor said …” I chided.

“The doctor said …” she grumped. “Why can’t I have decaf? I miss coffee.”

“Maybe, while we’re out, we can go out for some decaf coffee, Esme,” I bargained.

“I would love you forever,” Esme breathed.

“Back to the Chocolate Festival,” I said. “Opening ceremonies …”