Page 8 of Royal Rebel

The trust she gives me is enough to put a warmth in parts of my chest where warmth hasn’t been in a long time. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it until this moment, when I’m reminded again of what it feels like. I’ve not gotten to this age, though, without knowing that some women have as much of a silver tongue as men do. My walls aren’t completely down just yet, and I’m not sure when they ever fully will be, but I’ll be nice to her. What I’ve seen so far, I genuinely like. She deserves it, and I’ll at least allow her to be my friend. If it moves beyond that—damn if her kisses aren’t the best I’ve had in ages, I’ll deal with the consequences then.

The side of my mouth tilts in a smirk as I put my finger under her chin, lifting so that I can look fully at her. “What is it you told me? We got this?”

She smiles brightly. “We do. Together we do.”

“Then let’s get the introductions out of the way. The quicker we do that, the quicker we can leave here, and go to my home in the country.”

“The country?” she asks.

Ahhh, so no one must have told her about the other residence I keep. I tend to not mention it in the press, although everyone knows about it, I’m mostly left alone when I’m there. “I have a home at King’s Pass,” I mention a sea town on the coast. “It’s where I’ve primarily lived for the past fiveyears. We’ll stay there for a couple of months, getting to know each other, preparing to take on our roles.”

“You love that place.” She inclines her head to the side, searching my face with her gaze. She can see through me, and that makes her one of the most dangerous people I’ve met.

“I do,” I admit, which is more than I’ve ever done to anyone else. “It’s where my soul is, it’s where I feel the most comfortable.” I grip her hand in mine. “And I hope that you love it, I hope it’s something we can share together.”

She breathes deeper. “I hope it’s something we can share together, too.”

I hear my father asking where we are, and know I’ve got to get us moving. “Come on, Amelia. Let’s get this done and head out to the country.”

The look on her face tells me she’s happy about the unexpected change in plans for her. “I’m excited, and I can’t wait to see the place that has your heart.”

Holding my elbow out for her, I escort her up the next set of stairs. He’s there, looking solid as a stone. He’s a statue of the man he used to be.

“Hello, Father,” I greet our king as I pull Amelia to my side.

“Tristan, are you going to introduce me to your fiancée?”

“Amelia, this is my father. Most people know him as king, but to those of us inside these walls, he’s Phillip.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She curtsies to him, holding out her hand to him.

He takes it with the practiced grace he can affect in his sleep. “Pleased to meet you, Amelia. I look forward to what you bring to the family. I understand you’ll be departing with Tristan after the introduction to the people,but we will all be back and forth throughout the next few months.”

“I look forward to it as well.”

Parker enters the room like the head of security he is. “We’re ready for you all on the balcony if you’re ready to make your appearance.”

“We’re only going to wave and smile, right?” Amelia asks, her hand beginning to get cold in mine. I don’t remember a time when the people scared me. They’ve just always been there, holding me up in the saddest of times, pressuring me when I didn’t pressure myself enough, and smiling when I do something to make them proud. The people have never intimidated me. What’s intimidated me is what’s inside this building.

My father. The responsibility. The memories I’ll never be able to forget.

“Correct, just smile, wave, and look beautiful. I have no doubt you’ll have any problem doing either of those three things.”

She blushes and it looks so good on her cheeks that I vow to myself to make her do it more often.

All too soon, the doors are opened and we’re escorted out onto the balcony. As a trio, we wave, smile, and acknowledge the crowd. There are people as far as the eye can see, signs proclaiming their support of my engagement. Signs proclaiming to support Amelia. The noise of the crowd is almost enough to knock me backward, so I hold on to Amelia’s hand tighter. She’s smaller than me, and she’s not used to this at all. She closes her hand more fully around mine, probably hoping my flesh can make hers warmer.

“Should we kiss again?” I turn to her, speaking loud enough so that she can hear me over the roar of the crowd.

She nods, leading me to lean into her. Like before, I take the moment to cup her cheeks, but this time I look into her eyes. I look for something to tell me she’s not what she seems to be, but I see nothing there. There’s no sabotage in her eyes, and I do my best to take her at face value. Amelia stands on tiptoe, meeting me more than halfway, causing the crowd to scream and whistle their approval.

As we break apart, we turn, waving to them one more time before we take our leave off the balcony.

Just like that, our official duties are done, and I feel as if I can finally breathe again.

Parker comes in behind us. “Are we heading to King’s Pass?” he questions, looking at me.

“We are. Amelia will need to pack her things, and then we’ll head out. There are a few things I need to get, a few plans I need to make, but I’d like to leave within the hour.”

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