American Royals

Sam finds Nina and tells her about kissing Teddy Eaton during the knighting ceremony. Sam is summoned to dance with a foreign dignitary, and Nina watches Jeff and Daphne dance. Nina decides to escape the party and hang out on the balcony to get some air. Jeff joins her, and although Nina is annoyed that he is “acting as if nothing between them had changed” (68), Jeff apologizes for not reaching out to talk to Nina over the last six months while he was gone. As they talk, the annual Queen’s Ball fireworks start to go off, and Nina remembers growing up and falling in love with Jeff. She was always jealous of Jeff’s relationship with Daphne, but on the night of the graduation party, Nina and Jeff wound up in his bed together. The next morning, Jeff left for his royal tour without saying goodbye. Nina discovered that Jeff and Daphne “mutually agreed to break up,” and according to the tabloids, “Whoever Jefferson decides to date next, she simply won’t measure up” (74).

As they watch the fireworks, Jeff kisses Nina, but she pushes him away and scolds him for how he has treated her over the last six months.