Chapter 52 - Is She For Real?

Samuel watched Lena walk away until he couldn't see her and used that time to compose himself before he went to head back inside. Looking up at the sky as he turned to go back inside, he realized that were few hours left before it would start to get dark. This meant that Lena would most likely not get back home until after dark. He would have to remember to text her later to make sure that she made it home safely unless she texted him first. 

As soon as he opened the door and stepped back inside to the living room and turned around after shutting the door, Samuel became very aware of all the people looking at him expectantly. He could tell by their faces that not everyone had believed him when he said that the princess was his fiancé. Only his parents, Roger, and Jenifer didn't seem that surprised as they knew the most about the situation. His cousin was probably the most surprised. 

"Is she for real?" His cousin was the first one to break the silence. His parents had done a good job of keeping the whole affair a secret from his father's side of the family because they felt that the reaction they would receive for what they decided to do wouldn't be a favorable one. 

"I did say she was my fiancé and I don't have a reason to lie about it." was the simple response that he gave as he headed back towards the kitchen. It was almost time for dinner and the cake but he knew that it would be better for him to clean up the mess that had been created when he was opening his gifts. He cousin asked him a few more questions about her seeming as though she was having a hard time believing that her younger cousin was truly engaged. Especially to a young woman who seemed like she must've come from a fairly well to do family. 

The questions ranged from asking where she lived, what her names was, how did they meet, when was he going to tell them, how long had they been dating in secret and many other similar questions that blended together. 

His father decided to step in when it became more than just his cousin asking questions and his friends wanted to know more about the mysterious girl was well. He had purposely at the time left out telling those who had played paintball with him that she was his fiancé because he wasn't yet sure what was going to end up happening between them. 

"Come now, it's Sam's birthday. there'll be plenty of time to ask him questions later, but for now lets just enjoy the rest of the night." He clapped his hands to get everyone's attention so that they would let his son be. The other smiled appreciatively at his father as he helped to clean up the wrapping paper and sort his gifts. 

Samuel didn't really have a problem with answering any of the questions that his friends had about his relationship with the princess. He just really needed to talk with her first and probably his parents so that he could come up with a fairly convincing story that didn't give away what actually was going on. In this respect, Lena had it easier because her whole family knew why they were getting married. 

He couldn't deny feeling a certain amount of relief now that she was gone. Things had gone better than he had expected and she had even managed to keep herself fairly well put together and didn't go off on anyone even though he could tell that most of the time she felt rather uncomfortable with everything was going on. He particularly hadn't missed the odd way that she had acted around his mother. 

Taking up some of the gifts to his room, he couldn't help but wonder if the little queen's reaction to his mother had anything to do with the fact that Lena's own mother never was around during the whole five days he had been with her. 

He had wanted to ask Lena about this, but there never seemed to be the right time to bring up the question and the fact that she never spoke of her mother herself and that Zane had never brought up his wife made him think that maybe it was a question better left unasked for the time being. Plus, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future to find out what was going on with her mother after they were engaged. 

Even though he knew that he would probably be leaving again in the next few days, he made sure to put everything away neatly before heading back out to get ready for dinner. He didn't want to misplace something and forget where he put it when it was time to leave. He wouldn't have a chance to pack anything tomorrow as he knew that he and his family would most likely be going up to visit his grandparents so that they could celebrate his eighteenth birthday with him since this year it wasn't safe for them to make the trip even though they only lived an hour away. His grandfather never wanted to admit it, but with each passing year as he got older, it became harder for him to drive.

Once he was back in the kitchen he saw that everything else had already been cleaned up and the table had been set for dinner. Since there were far more guests than usual and the table was a touch too small to fit everyone, chairs had been brought over so that some of the guests could sit and eat near the table with their plates on their lap. 

His uncle, aunt, and cousin decided to leave before dinner as they had a bit of a trip to travel back home and wanted to back before it got dark. Samuel gave each of them a hug and thanked them again for the gift and coming. He also had to promise his cousin before she left that he would make time to call or meet up with her in the near future to tell him about Lena and when he got engaged. 

He would deal with later, but right now he was going to enjoy the rest of the night with his family and friends. Mostly though, he was just looking forward to the cake as it was one of his favorite sweets to eat. If it survived over the next few days, he would have to remember to take a piece for Lena to try since she didn't stay late enough to have any. He was certain that she would probably love it as well.