Geoffrey and I were hanging out in the pool again late that evening when Queen Elizabeth arrived, accompanied by Prince Jack Brooksbank, Princess Beatrice, and Prince Edoardo. They all arrived in a private jet, just as the rest of the British family and I did.

"Guys?! They're here!" Princess Kate called out as I floated lazily in the pool that overlooked the vast blue ocean. I'd been so caught up with God's beauty that he'd bestowed on the sunsets that I didn't even realize the time. And I nearly forgot that there were other royal family members joining us later this evening.

Geoffrey reached the stairs leading to the pool first, and grabbed a towel from one of the spa chairs. I glanced over at the vast ocean and saw that the sunset's colors shimmered, rippling onto the Caribbean sea. When I finally ripped my gaze from the beautiful sunset, I turned around to go up the pool's stairs, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. I watched as Geoffrey began to dry his hair out with a beach towel. When he was done with the towel, he sighed and draped it over his neck and shoulders. When he glanced over and finally noticed me staring, he smirked.

"Like what you see?" he teased, puffing his bare chest out.

I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the heat rising to my cheeks.

"In your dreams," I scoffed playfully as I continued to walk up the pool's stairs, keeping my head down to avoid staring at his bare chest.

"Sure," he returned sarcastically, though he grinned at me.

He held a hand out for me to take so that I could meet the rest of his family. A lot of excited chattering reached our ears as we approached the kitchen. A couple of people laughed enthusiastically with each other. Others spoke loudly and excitedly, as they had probably not seen each other in a long time.

"I was wondering if the two of you were ever going to show up," said Princess Kate as she noticed us coming in.

"You know that we would have — eventually," Geoffrey answered with a goofy grin.

"Hello, Miss Anastasia," said the familiar voice of Queen Elizabeth.

I wheeled around to face her. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw her standing in front of me. After getting over my shocked moment, I smiled at her in return.

"Hello, Queen Elizabeth. It's nice to see you again."

Queen Elizabeth nodded, letting me know that she had heard me. She then glanced around the beach house with a wistful look on her face, as if she was recalling a memory of her times here at the house when she was younger.

"What do you think about this house on Mustique Island, Anastasia?" she asked quietly.

"Oh! I think that it's a lovely place, especially with the view outside the rooms."

"This house once belonged to my sister, Margaret Rose. It was a wedding gift when she got married, given to her by Lord Glenconnor. She loved the place dearly and ended up giving it to her son in 1996. The house went up for sale back in 2011, I managed to buy the property in honor of my sister."

The Queen looked wistful, as though she was thinking back on the good times she spent with her sister on this island.

"I can see that this island is very special to you, Your Majesty," I said politely.

"Yes, indeed," the Queen whispered, her eyes full of wonder. "Very special. And it still is"

"Grandma," said Prince William unexpectedly.

He approached his grandmother with a slight smile on his face. He opened his arms for a hug, which the Queen returned.

"When did you get here?" said Queen Elizabeth jokingly as she let go of her grandson.

"Earlier today. I told George, Charlotte, and Louis that they had to go to bed early. They didn't want to because they wanted you to kiss them goodnight."

"Is that so?" said the Queen. She had a teasing smile on her face.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Hmm. I guess that I better do that, then, so that they won't get angry with me in the morning."

"They could never be mad at you, Grandmother," Prince William reassured her, laughing.

"Well, you never know. Charlotte can have a bit of a bad temper."

"Really?" I asked, bewildered. "I know that she's sassy. But having a bad temper? Of all the months that I've known Charlotte, she's never lost her temper before."

"Well, you never know, dear," said the Queen nonchalantly. "You don't want to mess with her bad side. She'll give you Hell, that's for sure."

"I didn't think about putting it that way, but okay," laughed Prince William.

"Alright, Will. I suppose that I better go and tell those children good night before they get mad at me," the Queen laughed.

"Hey, Stace. I hope you don't mind, but would you like to meet the rest of the family?" Prince William asked once his grandmother was out of sight.

"Might as well introduce myself to everyone before the weekend is over," I returned, laughing lightly.

"You go do that, and I'll go and take a quick shower. I'll be back out here shortly."

"Promise?" I asked anxiously.

Geoffrey smiled gently.

"You know that I'd never leave you by yourself, Stace."

"That's reassuring to know. Alright, then. I'll probably still be hanging out with your cousins by the time you get out of the shower."

"Okay."

He swiftly bent down and gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving to go to take a shower. I could have sworn that I could feel my heart melt as he gave me that kiss. I stared wistfully after him before Prince William's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Are you ready, Stace?" Prince William interrupted once Geoffrey was out of my sight.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I reassured him.

Prince William offered me a hand and led me to the open kitchen. I could see Princess Eugenie, Prince Euduardo, Princess Beatrice, and Prince Jack gathered around in the kitchen, drinking wine, whiskey, bourbon, and whatnot. All of them were chatting with Princess Kate, laughing and talking quietly, so as to not disturb the children that were sleeping somewhere within the house. Finally, Prince William cleared his throat. Almost at once, everyone went silent before turning their attention to us.

"Guys? May I please introduce you to Princess Anastasia Alexandra Eudoxia Nikolaevna Romanova II?"

The lady who had honey-blonde, wavy hair gasped and shot out of the high stool chair she had been sitting in.

"Princess Anastasia? Is that really you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Trying hard to not feel embarrassed by her reaction towards me, I managed to keep my voice calm and cool.

"Yes, Your Highness. That's me."

"Oh, my God! It's so nice to finally meet you!"

She got to her feet and quickly made her way towards me. She stuck out her hand and offered it to me so that I could shake it.

"You already know about me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I shook her hand.

"Well, yes. But not by myself. It's all Geoffrey could talk about when we have our family meals once a week. And that's all little Charlotte could talk about, too." She eyed me up and down before finally smiling brightly at me. "I like you already, Stace. I have a feeling that we're going to get along great together."

"Hey, love," said Prince Jack.

This must be Princess Eugenie, I thought to myself as I examined the couple that stood in front of me.

"Hey, love. Have you met our lovely Anastasia Romanova II yet?"

"I haven't, but I've already heard a lot about her, thanks to Geoffrey, George, Charlotte, and Louis," he answered, grinning. He stuck his hand out for me to shake, just as Princess Eugenie had done just moments before. "Hi, Anastasia. My name is Jack Brooksbank, Eugenie's husband. You have a lovely name, by the way."

"Thanks, Sir. My mother actually named me after —"

"Grand Duchess Anastasia, and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia."

"You know?"

I raised an eyebrow at him in surprise.

"It's not easy to miss in the History books, Miss Romanova," he answered wisely, shrugging.

I realized that he wasn't wrong about this. The Romanov legacy and story has gotten so popular over the years, it's hard to not miss it.

"Hey, Bea!" said Princess Eugenie loudly over the chattering that had started up again once Prince William had introduced me to everybody. "Get over here!"

"I'm on an important phone call, sis," Princess Beatrice hissed to her sister as she approached her sibling.

"Yeah? About what?" Princess Eugenie teased.

"About Edoardo's house designing company. He's the head CEO and manager of Banda Property. When I married him, I'd agreed to step in as assistant manager," she added to me once she noticed the confused look on my face. She turned to her sister again and smiled. "I promise I'll introduce myself to her after my phone call. It shouldn't be much longer." She put her ear to the phone again and said, "I'm sorry about that, my sister was bugging me, as usual. But I'm free to chat now."

Her voice trailed off as she walked away from us, talking distinctly to the company she and her husband owned.

Princess Eugenie and I continued to chatter until her husband, Jack Brooksbank, came back, looking exhausted.

"Jack? You alright?" Princess Eugenie asked in concern when she noticed how tired he looked.

"Yes, I'm alright. Just a lot of royal duties on my plate the past few days. Plus, Ernest was fussing a bit. Didn't want to go to bed. But after I read to him for a little bit, he started to calm down some."

"What about August? Did he have a problem at all?"

"Just a little bit. Sure, he was stubborn about going to bed at first. But I managed to convince him to sleep. He was whiny because he couldn't visit with the rest of the family like we are. I promised him that he'd see them tomorrow."

"I've already told my sons about you, Stacey," said Princess Eugenie.

"Y-You did? But, not to be rude, you barely even know me, Eugenie."

"I know. But Geoffrey talks about you a lot. When I mean a lot, I mean, he can never shut up about you. He likes to talk to other people about you during our once-a-week family gathering after our Wednesday night services at Saint Mary Magdalene's Anglican Church. Auggie and Ernest are very curious about you. He can never shut up about you!"

So many people are curious about me? I couldn't help but ask myself.

"In, like, a good or bad way?" I asked nervously.

"In a good way," the familiar voice of Geoffrey answered from behind me.

His calm voice startled me so much that I nearly had a heart attack. There he stood in front of me, his hair shaggy after he'd just gotten out of the shower. Another towel was wrapped around his shoulders. But this time, instead of having his chest bare, he wore a gingham nightshirt with matching gingham pajama bottoms.

"Geoffrey, don't do that to me! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I accused, playfully shoving him in the shoulder.

"Admit it. You like it when I scare you."

"Yes, just not when I'm in a deep, serious conversation with someone," I huffed in return, glowering.

"Er . . . . I'll let you guys talk it out," said Eugenie nervously and she quickly walked away from us.

"Geoff!" I whined.

"Stacey!" Geoffrey mocked me in return. Though I knew he was being playful, I shot him a menacing glare.

"Why did you scare me?! I was having a conversation with one of your cousins! You didn't need to do that!"

"Admit it, Stace. You like it when I scare you."

He had his arms crossed over his chest now, and he smirked broadly at me, giving me a cheeky grin, showing cute dimples that I couldn't take my eyes off of. I ignored the heat rising to my cheeks. Geoffrey's eyebrightened when he saw the heat on my face.

"Ha! I knew it! You like it when I scare the living daylights out of you!"

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Just . . . please know that I'm sensitive, Geoff."

The triumphant smile on his face faded a bit before he looked guilty. He raised both of his hands up in the air.

"I'm sorry, Stace. I didn't realize that you were so sensitive."

"It's alright. Now you know."

"What can I do to make up for scaring you earlier?"

I shrugged, frowning, as I tried to think of what could help me calm down more.

"Maybe some cuddles?" I asked innocently.

Geoffrey's grin returned.

"Alright. Cuddles are fine."

I jumped up and down excitedly and Geoffrey laughed at my excitement. We haven't had a moment like this in a while. And I realized that I was beginning to miss the times we spent together, cuddling on the couch or on a bed. Geoffrey grabbed my hand and led me to the large couch in the family living room.

Once he got himself settled, he motioned for me to lay on top. I tried hard to not get too excited as I sat on the couch before hugging his waist tightly, resting my head on his chest. He wound one arm around my waist, the other one in my hair.

There was hardly any sound in the living room, except for the ticking of an old clock that sat on the mantelpiece, and the moderately loud chatting in the kitchen where everyone still gathered around at.

The talking, the gentle clinking of drinking glasses hitting the marble island, and the rhythmic ticking of the old clock began to make me feel drowsy. Even Geoffrey's slow breathing and steady heart beat began to lull me to sleep.

Little moments like these make me happy.

Finally, on the last day of our vacation, we had the best time. While I spent a lot of time with the extended royal family, I also made sure to take my time with the children as well. As Princess Eugenie had said, her two sons: Auggie and Ernest were very curious, asking me a ton of questions about my life before I found out I belonged to an ancient dynasty. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie shared their life stories to me about their childhood, and I returned the same favor about telling them about mine, though I was pretty sure that mine was not as interesting as theirs. My life didn't get interesting until a few months ago. Now, it's completely changed.

"Ugh, I'm gonna miss Mustique," said Eugenie as she adjusted the sunglasses on the ridge of her nose.

We all sat out on the patio, watching the kids play in the pool. Us grownups sat in lounge chairs outside around the firepit, roasting marshmallows for s'mores. A classic fireplace treat.

"It really is breathtaking," I agreed as I turned my marshmallow around on the stick, trying to make it a nice, golden-brown color. Geoffrey had his strong, muscular arm around my waist, his thumb going up and down the bare skin on my side, sending pleasant shivers down my spine.

"I hope that you'll be able to come with us again, Stacey," said Princess Bea as she took a sip of her wine. "We really enjoy having you here."

"Well, thank you guys for allowing me to come," I said sincerely. "Really. It was a pleasure to meet all of you."

"A pleasure to meet you, too, Stacey," said Prince Jack with a grin.

We talked for a while before one-by-one, we all began to head to the bedroom to sleep in the luxurious bedrooms one last time before we left for England again. Finally, it was me and Geoffrey left outside. It had taken Princess Kate's and Prince William's children lots of convincing to get them ready for bed, but the couple had succeeded in the end.

"So you enjoyed Mustique?" Geoffrey asked nervously.

I smiled sincerely at him, slowly entwining my hand with his.

"I'd tell you if I didn't, Geoff. And I promise that I did enjoy meeting the rest of your family."

"Even though we are a bit crazy?" Geoffrey asked, shifting around on the spa chair.

"Geoff, you don't need to worry. Your family is wonderful. Not the least bit crazy."

Geoffrey's shoulders seemed to relax and he smiled somewhat dreamily out into space.

"Well, I've saved something for you for the last day of the family retreat," said Geoffrey nervously.

He let go of my hand and took something from his back pocket. It looked like some sort of velvety red box. He opened it with shaking hands. Inside revealed a golden ring that had a tiny pink quartz heart. Geoffrey watched me with anxiety-filled eyes.

"Stace? Will you wear this promise ring forever to symbolize our future eternity together? So that you can be by my side, no matter how far away we are from each other?"

Unable to help myself, I squealed with excitement.

"I promise to wear this ring until the engagement comes, Geoffrey."

Geoffrey gave me a toothy grin before getting to his feet.

"I know it's not much. But it's something to remind you that promises are meant to be kept forever."