Page 53 of A Royal Arrangement
She nodded, pushing through the feelings. She wouldn’t let them get the best of her. Rosalie searched through her mind and focused on the happy memory of the water fight. As she pictured Colin’s smile and Addie’s contagious laughter in her mind, her anxiety washed away.
They walked around separately, looking at every sandcastle before coming back together to decide on the winner.
“What did you think?” he asked.
“I think my favorites were the sea turtle and the Edgemont Palace replica.”
His lips pressed together as he looked around again thoughtfully. “Agreed. I also liked the octopus.”
“That one was good too. Honestly, everyone did a great job.”
“I told you, the Edgemont people go all out.”
They took a few more minutes going back and forth until they finally agreed on the winner. Colin walked over and took a microphone from the DJ.
“Everyone did such a wonderful job. You made our decision extremely difficult. After much deliberation, the winner is...number seventeen. The heart with the replica of Edgemont Palace on top.”
Everyone applauded as the winning family walked up and accepted a small trophy as their prize. Rosalie and Colin posed with them for a picture before heading over to a tent where they sat and watched the game of sand volleyball going on.
“This is a day Isabella would be proud of. Thank you for bringing it back. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.” Colin reached over and squeezed her hand.
A smile lit her face as she intertwined her fingers with his. Sitting there, watching their people filled with joy during an event she had put together, while holding the hand of the man she was starting to develop real feelings for, was the absolute best feeling in the world. She was finally starting to feel like she belonged, and that was all she had ever wanted.
Chapter Seventeen
Colin
In the fourteen days since Colin had taken Rosalie berry picking, he’d felt the shift in their relationship. He had finally stopped avoiding the attraction and feelings he had for her. Their relationship now had a flirtatious element to it. And he liked it.
He’d never truly acted on his feelings—he wasn’t ready to crossthatline yet. But ever since she’d eaten the blackberry right from his fingers and he’d held her in his arms when she was sick, it seemed there was no going back.
Every time Rosalie walked into a room where he was, she would come and greet him with either a small touch to the arm or a squeeze of the hand. Her presence used to annoy him, a reminder of everything he’d lost. But now her being there was a symbol of hope for everything he could have in the future—if he wanted it and was willing to take that jump and risk everything.
Rosalie had also started doing small things for him, like bringing him a cup of his favorite tea before he had a meeting or when he had a late night just as Isabella once had. She had even gone out of her way to take on more duties as the queen of Edgemont. Rosalie had done a wonderful job arranging for the Edgemont Palace to open the beach to the public for this year’s Freedom Day celebration. That alonehad brought so much joy and life back to the palace—liveliness it had been lacking in the years since Isabella hadn’t been there to make it happen.
Now, he stood outside the door to the palace’s auxiliary library, not wanting to arrive too early and appear overly eager for his chess date with Rosalie. He rolled his shoulders back and shook his head.
I’m thinking too much into this. It’s a game of chess, not a love declaration.
Colin opened the door and entered the room, taking long strides over to the corner where they played their weekly chess game. He was the undefeated champion in their competition so far. But Rosalie had been growing craftier in her moves, so he knew it was only a matter of time before she would beat him.
Rosalie immediately stood upon seeing him. “Colin.” She shot him a bright smile and gave him a hug when he reached her.
He loved the sound of his name on her lips and the way she fit perfectly under his chin when they hugged.
“Ready to get crushed again?” Colin sat, withholding a smirk.
She sat down across from him with a huff and an exaggerated eye roll. “I was close to beating you last time, and you know it.”
“I know no such thing.” The corners of his lips lifted just slightly.
“Are you preparing your sore-loser speech already?” she quipped.
“Yeah, for you to read to me whenyoulose.” He winked at her, surprising even himself. He wasnotthe kind of man who winked. Come to think of it, he didn’t think he hadever winked in his life. Rosalie brought out a side of him he didn’t recognize, but it was a lighter, freer side that he was starting to like.
“Why don’t we just let the game speak for itself?” She raised an eyebrow, staring him down as she made her first move. It was a different opening move than she had made in any of their previous games.
“Switching up your strategy?”
