Page 113 of How to Date a Prince

“I’m very glad you’ve recovered enough to join us. You gave us all—and the world—such a fright.” With that, they start to replay the footage of the accident. Which is… well, like watching an accident. Except in slow motion on the big screen for the studio audience. I wince, watching as my previously recorded voice-over comes on from a couple of weeks back.

“Everyone knows what happened, now. But I would do it again in a heartbeat to keep Thomas safe. I would do it again to protect anyone, but it had special meaning to me, protecting Thomas. Because I’ve never met anyone like him. And he’s been so important to me, through the show and after I was injured.”

Colin watches me as I listen. The audience is rapt, watching the footage, which shifts to Thomas crawling over. It could be my imagination, but I swear he’s leaning in towards me from his seat.

“Because Thomas has shown me what true bravery is. How to live and how to feel and how to take chances. I learned a lot about taking chances from him.” Thomas is on-screen, yelling soundlessly for the medics. “And if I’m lucky, maybe there’ll be another chance, another time to open our hearts. Because I love him.”

The video stops.

Colin focuses on me. “Auggie, would you care to elaborate?”

I give Thomas a sidelong glance. His green eyes are wide, and he glances over at me searchingly before speaking.

“I mean…” I gaze at Thomas instead of Colin. And the way Thomas looks back at me, like I’m the only one in the room with him, his expression soft, is absolutely everything. And I know for real this time he’s leaning close to me. Then, I take a breath and jump off a cliff because I can’t go back to how I have lived in the shadows. Even if he doesn’t feel the same way. He’s been public about his identity, his attraction to men. “Well, I fell in love. And things happened. The concussion and neck injury and broken wrist and ribs, obviously. And my own anxieties and my reality too. But being ill, having new limits, it gave me a lot of time to think about what really matters. Which is love.”

Thomas stares at me, brightening in an instant. It’s nothing I didn’t say the other day. It’s quite another to say it in front of an audience. I chew my lip, overcome with nerves. I cover my mic for a moment.

“I love you so much.” The words tumble out. “And I know it’s too late, but I had to say it because you’ll always be important to me, after what we’ve been through, and I want to find a way to make it work?—”

And then Thomas leans closer. And I catch his face between my hands and give him a lingering kiss. Blood rushes in my ears as he brushes his warm lips with mine again, yielding and delicious. I shudder with want. When we straighten, my heart beats so loudly everyone must hear it.

And then that’s when I realize the audience roars with their cheers. Even Colin has tears in his eyes.

“My,” Colin says finally, blinking. “The lights are very bright all of a sudden in here, aren’t they?”

And Thomas and I look at each other, grinning like fools. I interlace my fingers with his on my thigh.

“Thomas, what do you say?” Colin dares ask. I swear everyone’s holding their breath—including and especially me.

“I love you too, Auggie,” he says, his voice unsteady. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you. I wanted to tell you. I was scared to tell you. But I’m in love with you too.”

The crowd roars again. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my father dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief.

Thomas and I are transfixed by each other when Colin finally brings us back to focus on him. They play the segment they showed me several weeks ago, with Thomas and me first together in the kitchen on badger watch to our sunset walk and even a hint of what happened in the pottery bothy. But Thomas and I barely watch, gazing at each other, our hearts shown to the world. I soar beside him. He squeezes my hand.

“I’m not sure how we carry on from that, but as they say, the show goes on. Gentlemen.”

They play Thomas’ reel, ending with him crouched over me amid the medics. On the video, Thomas speaks. “It was the worst moment of my life, seeing Auggie like that. I regret everything I did that led up to him being injured. If I hadn’t fallen off my horse, Auggie wouldn’t have tried to save me, and he wouldn’t have been hurt.”

“You’re not to blame for what happened, Thomas,” Colin says. “It was an accident.”

“I still feel responsible,” says Thomas.

I squeeze his fingers. I barely hear what he says for the next while, recapping the rivalry between Thomas and Wilson as the show progresses. Then, Colin calls them over to stand with him.

“Gentlemen, we’ve come to the other thrilling finale we’ve all been waiting for: who will win the million pounds? To recap, Thomas and Wilson both won an equal number of challenges. But given gentlemanly conduct and good sportsmanship, we are thrilled to announce Thomas Golden is our winningRenaissance Man, taking home the million-pound prize.”

Thomas looks startled across the stage. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Colin chuckles. “Tell us, what will you do with the prize money?”

“I’ll… I’ll need some time to figure that out. It could go a long way to support the launch of my new app. But I also want to give back because of everything that’s happened. It’s far more than I ever bargained on when I agreed to joinRenaissance Man. I’ve had huge ups and downs throughout. It really made me question what matters. Like Auggie said, it’s about love.”

He gazes at me, unwavering.

I smile.

“What’s next, then, Thomas?” Colin asks. “In your post-Renaissance Manlife?”

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