Chapter 1
Amelia stared at the letter in her hand. They had summoned her to an audience with Crown Prince Daniel Hertz of the West Woods Kingdom. What had she done as a lowly pastry chef to catch the attention of the crown prince? She hadn’t a clue. She reread the letter leaning against the counter in her kitchen.
She made mail-order designer cookies in her apartment kitchen. Her best friend Kylie had encouraged her to branch away from her job as a pastry chef for a local bakery to build her own business. She now owned and operated Amelia’s Sweet Treats. For the last two years, she had been filling mail orders and only recently was getting enough orders to quit her job.
Ms. Amelia Byrne,
His Royal Highness, Daniel Hertz, has summoned you to the royal family residence. Please present yourself at the main gate on Thursday, April 25th at nine am. Have your identification ready to prove your identity to the guards at the gate.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Watson (Beta)
Setting the letter down, she turned back to her current order. She was making a set of gender reveal cookies for a family in the capital of Agnew. Smiling, she piped out the shape of a baby on each stork-shaped cookie. When the icing hardened she would place a fondant blanket overtop, the blanket would be white until the mom-to-be added a drop of water. Then the blanket changes color to reveal what gender the baby would be.
“Amelia!” Kylie yelled, throwing open the door to their apartment with a bang.
“Kitchen!” she yelled back, staying bent over as she continued to pipe out babies. Kylie marched in wearing her normal attire of a stylish sheath dress, today’s being baby blue, a pair of nude pumps, and her straight strawberry blond hair up in a high ponytail. Kylie was a fashion designer with her own brand. She worked odd hours because of contacting vendors in other countries.
“Cute,” Kylie commented, poking her head into the kitchen to see the cookies. Amelia gave her a half-smile. She knew Kylie hadn’t taken the time to look at the cookies or she would have laughed at their nakedness.
“Where are you off to tonight?” she asked. Kylie rarely ate at home these days, she had joined a shifter dating app and each night had a new date. She desperately wanted to find her mate, Amelia, on the other hand, couldn’t care less. She knew finding your mate was what all wolf shifters dreamed of. She didn’t want a family. Her own had left her to the foster care system and at eighteen tossed her out without a penny to her name. She picked up a job as a waitress and quickly showed her skill in the kitchen when their chef bailed one night. It took four years, but she was able to put herself through culinary school to become a pastry chef. Now at twenty-eight she was a business owner and had her own place. Children were never going to be a part of her plan, she didn’t want a mate or a family. She was happy on her own.
“I have a date with a guy named Nick Watson,” Kylie gave a muffled reply. She could tell her friend was neck-deep in her closet trying to figure out what to wear. The name sounded familiar, and she paused to look at the discarded letter.
“Do you know what he does for a living?” she asked, rolling her neck back and forth. She always stiffened up when she worked on the tiny details of her cookies.
“It just said government on the app,” Kylie answered, she walked out to the kitchen wearing only a bra and panties. This sight was nothing new to Amelia, Kylie felt very comfortable in her skin and it didn’t bother her to run around their apartment practically naked.
“Why?” Kylie tilted her head to the side and Amelia could feel her blue eyes boring into her own green ones.
“His name sounds familiar. I received a letter today supposedly from the Beta of our country, Nicholas Watson,” she explained pointing with her elbow at the letter on the table. Kylie rushed over and scanned the letter. She squealed and hugged Amelia tightly. The frosting bag she’d been holding spurted peach frosting.
“This is so exciting! I have to help you pick out an outfit. You cannot go to the palace in your normal clothing.” Kylie ran out of the kitchen, and into Amelia’s room. She followed, knowing Kylie would pull her closet apart if she didn’t stop her.
“Please don’t make a mess. All my dresses are on the left side of my closet,” Amelia begged, sitting on her bed.
“Don’t worry, I am going to take your navy blue lace dress and tweak it a little. I want to make it fit your body like a glove,” Kylie assured her. She took out a lacy dress Amelia had worn to a friend’s wedding three years prior.
“I don’t think it still fits,” she argued.
“Nonsense, go put this on,” Kylie ordered, handing her the dress.
“What about your date?”
“I’ll cancel or reschedule.” She waved off her question and pushed Amelia toward the bathroom for her to change. Changing into the dress, she was surprised to see it felt loose on her body. She stepped out of the bathroom, and Kylie smirked.
“I knew it, you have lost almost a dress size and a half in the years since you wore it last.”
“How is that possible?”
“Starting your own business is stressful, plus you don’t have a boyfriend which means you are not going out to eat as often,” Kylie answered with a smile. Amelia walked over to take a look at herself in the dress. She was a larger girl, something she’d come to appreciate. The dress accented her smaller waist and round hips. It had three-quarter length navy blue lace sleeves, a deep v neckline, and a solid navy blue sheath dress under the layer of lace.
“Navy is a beautiful color on you. It brings out the green in your eyes and makes your brunette hair shine. Your creamy skin looks delectable. If this doesn’t make the crown prince fall for you then he is an idiot,” Kylie announced, Amelia gaped at her friend.
“You are nuts. I bet the letter was a joke and they turn me away at the gate,” she replied.
“Why else would Prince Daniel request you to drive an hour into the capital to speak with him?” Kylie argued.
“I have no clue, I haven’t met Prince Daniel except for when he came to the orphanage before I was placed with our foster family at eight.” She remembered the time when the prince and his family came to visit the orphanage. She’d been outside with the other boys playing a quick game of soccer. The prince had joined in. It was the only time she’d seen a royal act like a normal citizen.
“What if he found your website and wants to order cookies?” Kylie asked she’d begun to tug and pull on the dress.
“I doubt that. If it was that, he would send someone here or email me through my website,” she replied, watching in awe as her friend pinned the dress, making it fit her rounded figure perfectly. Amelia wasn’t thin by any means, she had hips and a butt that narrowed into a defined waist. Growing up, people always complimented her eyes, saying how exotic they were since they were emerald green. Sometimes the man she dated would tell her she looked cute, but she knew she wasn’t ever going to be sexy or stunning like Kylie. It had taken years, but she was happy with the body she had. She took care of herself, went for walks, and monitored the number of sweets she put in her body.
“Either way, you are going to stun in this dress, I promise. Now take it off being careful of all the pins.” Amelia did as she was told and changed out of her dress. Handing it to Kylie, she went back into the kitchen to check on the cookies. The frosting babies were dry and ready for their blankets. Once the blankets were put in place, they would be ready to ship tomorrow morning.
First chapter, what are your thoughts?
