Page 28 of The Forever Match

Pure, unfiltered, ridiculous joy rolled through Ash like a wave breaking.

They were finally hitched, and it had gone without a hitch.

“Ready?” Victoria asked, eyes wide. Outside, she could already feel the swell of anticipation. When Desmond opened the balcony doors, the noise hit them like a physical force.

Victoria actually staggered half a step. Ash, a blur of golden hair and elegant lines, caught her elbow on instinct and grinned without looking. She was already a pro at this royalty thing.

The roar of the crowd rolled up The Mall in waves, a sound Victoria had heard a hundred times in her life, but never once like this. Union flags as far as the eye could see. Pride flags woven through them, snapping in the freshening breeze. Somewhere a brass band was playing, swallowed almost entirely by the sheer volume of half a million people losing their minds in unison.

Victoria stepped forward and lifted her hand, and the noise somehow climbed higher.

She glanced sideways at Ash, and her love for her ratcheted up another notch. Every minute, just when she thought it’d peaked, it reached levels she’d never felt before. This whole getting married thing was wild.

Months and months ago, on New Year’s Eve, she’d dragged Ash out onto this exact balcony just before midnight. They’d both been tipsy on champagne, just about to declare their fledging relationship to the world.

Then, she’d told Ash that nobody would see them if they crouched down. They’d kissed under a blanket of stars, with the whole kingdom shuffling home to sleep.

Now, the kingdom was awake. And screaming.

“Stop staring and wave,” said her brother beside her, his voice dry as gin. His hand was in the air, royal smile fixed in place. “Some of us are professionals.”

“Some of us aren’t married yet,” Victoria shot back, not breaking her wave.

To their left, the King and Queen stood with the easy practised grace of people who’d done this their whole lives, her mother’s eyes suspiciously bright. Gran gave Victoria’s back a small, firm pat as she passed, then squeezed Ash’s arm.

Two of Victoria’s Kent cousins waved gamely from the wings. Astrid had somehow inserted herself near the doors, beaming like she’d personally arranged the entire monarchy.

“Go on, then,” Michael murmured. “Give them what they came for.”

The long-held tradition of the balcony first kiss. Even though they’d already technically jumped the gun, Victoria didn’t want to disappoint. She turned to Ash.

Ash, who’d been waiting. Who raised one eyebrow, slow and devastating, in a way that was just for her.

Victoria stepped closer, then took her wife’s face in both hands, and kissed her.

The roar that went up was unlike anything she’d ever heard in her life. A sound so vast and joyful it didn’t feel like noise anymore. It was as if the whole country exhaled, then cheered as one. It seeped into her bones, her blood, her everything.

Ash laughed against her mouth.

Victoria laughed right back.

Chapter 12

“As many of you know, I never set out to marry a footballer.” Victoria smiled out at the 300 reception guests packed into the Palace’s ornate ballroom. Her main course of beef wellington lay untouched on her plate. She’d eat it after her speech, when the knot in her stomach had loosened a little. Her wine glass had a lipstick mark on the rim, but somehow, that seemed fitting.

“But then one day a few summers ago, I got a message from my mother, saying my brother wasn’t feeling well, and could I cover for him at that morning’s investiture? My plans that day had been to have a morning to myself. Relax over a coffee. Perhaps catch Alison Hammond cackling on This Morning.”

That got a raucous laugh. She had Tanya to thank for that killer line.

“However, I’m very dutiful. Hence, I covered for my brother. Receiving her MBE that morning was one Ashleigh Woods.” She smiled down at her wife, as someone in the crowd wolf whistled.

Victoria let the laughter die down before she raised the microphone to her lips again, and turned to her brother. “I don’t say this very often, but thank you, Michael, for being hungover that morning.”

The whole room hollered their approval.

She took another deep breath. “I also have to say a heartfelt thank you to my parents, for letting me marry the love of my life. It wasn’t as straightforward as they’d hoped, but their love and support has paved the way to change society. I’ll be eternally grateful.” She raised her glass of champagne. “Could I ask you to stand, and raise your glass in a toast to my parents. I don’t say it enough, but I love you both.”

The whole reception stood, and for once in her life, the Queen looked dumbstruck.