Page 55 of Royal Rebel

He’s lying in bed, waiting on me, making the best picture I’ve seen in a long time.

“Took you long enough,” he teases.

I give him a look.

“Ohhh there’s that sass.”

Climbing into bed, I face him, pulling my legs in front of me. Shifting around, I sit cross-legged, putting my hands underneath my chin. “I’ll show you sass.”

We stare at one another until he breaks into a smile.

“Okay, Lia, tell me what we can do to work on our feelings.”

“Each night before we go to bed, we reserve a few minutes for one another. We talk about our days, if something is bothering us, if something great happened. We have to communicate in order to have a successful marriage, and there’s no better way to communicate than to talk.”

“Oh I can think of a few other ways we can communicate.” He winks at me.

Giggling, I reach out, smacking his arm. “Stop, I’m being serious, Tris. I want our marriage to work. When the world looks at us, I want people to see a couple who truly loves each other. Partners in both life and work. I don’t want us to hate each other.”

He grabs my hand, pulling it up to his mouth. The simple kiss he drops there is enough to make my heart flutter. “We’re never going to hate each other.”

There’s a part of me that wants to tell him not to make promises he may not be able to keep. “How do you know?”

“I don’t hate people I love.” He pushes my hair back from my face.

“People we love can be the first we hate,” I argue softly.

“Let’s not invite trouble where we don’t have any, Lia.”

I lean in, resting my head against his shoulder, wrapping my arms around his waist. He holds me tightly, and I know I’m never going to feel safer than I do in his arms.

“As long as we stand together, no one will be able to break us.” I swallow roughly. “We have to keep a united front, if we have a disagreement, it gets handled here. At night, where we can talk about it in the comfort of our own bedroom.”

“I promise.” He kisses my neck softly. “Do you?”

“I promise.” I kiss him on his neck.

We pull apart, he lays down, and I lay next to him, snuggling up to his side. I can smell the shampoo and body wash he uses; it’s become one of my favorite scents. The way his beard scratches against my forehead as he tucks my body in beside him.

“Our lives are going to change.” I play with the hem of the shirt he’s wearing.

“But it doesn’t mean we have to.”

In reality I know it won’t be so easy, it’s going to be work. But I’m willing to put in the work as long as he is.

I make a noise in my throat, grabbing his hand. Our fingers entwine together, and tonight as I drift off to sleep, I do it with a smile on my face.

CHAPTER 33

TRISTAN

“When do you plan to officially abdicate?”

It’s an answer to a question I’ve been asking since I came here. Times in the past I called this home, but right now it doesn’t feel like it. Not after he and I had it out. Truth be told, it hasn’t felt like home in a while. I’m hoping I can change that with Amelia. The quicker I can get him out of the palace and into his own home, the better it is for me and Amelia. We can start our lives and not have to worry about him moping around.

My father has been dragging his feet when it comes to doing what he’s supposed to do. My wedding is tomorrow, and I don’t want to worry about what he’s going to do.

“Tomorrow when we come to the balcony.”

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