Page 3 of A Royal Promise
No matter how they answered his question, Drew wouldneverstop spending time with Bri. Because she wasn’t only his friend…she was his everything. There was no way he could ever seriously date or marry someone else when he was completely gone for his best friend.
“That’s not what your father meant, dear. Bri is like family to us. We’re only saying we want you to think of your own future. We want you to find someone who makes your heart sing. We want you to have what we have,” his mother said, wrapping her arm through his father’s and looking at him with such tenderness it almost made Drew tear up. “As you know, we’re not getting any younger. We’ve been reflecting and thinking about what we want the rest of our lives to look like.”
Drew bit the inside of his lip, looking back and forth between them.
His father wiped his face with a white linen napkin and then folded it before setting it on the table and looking at him. “I want to spend time with your mother, exploring the world together.”
That’s all they wanted to share with me? I was worried over nothing.
“That’s great news. I think you deserve a few vacations.”
His mother looked at her husband before turning back to him with her lips turned down at the corners. “We’re not talking about a few vacations. We’re talking about retiring early.”
Drew’s eyes widened. “Retiring?” He looked at his father. “You mean you want me to ascend the throne before you’re even gone?”
His father nodded. “I had to rule so young—before I even met your mother. Our focus for the first ten years of marriage was trying to have you. We’re so blessed that we got to raise you, but now we’d love to have some time to spend traveling to all the places we’ve always wanted to go and creating new memories together.”
Drew rested his head in his hand, letting out a long breath. “You are the best parents I could’ve asked for, and you deserve that time together. When are you expecting me to take over for you?”
“We’re not going to force the throne on you. We want you to feel prepared to rule, but with those preparations comes the other thing we wanted to discuss.” His father looked at his mom like they were having a silent conversation. She finally nodded and faced Drew again.
“We would love for you to have a wife by your side when you ascend the throne. It’s an honor to lead your country, but it can also be a burden. We want you to be able to share that with someone else.”
He already knew who he wanted that person to be. He would give anything to be with her. There was just one problem…Drew had never told her how he felt. He wasn’t sure he ever would. How does one tell their best friend of sixteen years they’re in love with them?
If Bri had ever given him the smallest indication she might feel the same way, he would’ve worked up the courage to share how he felt with her. But since she had only ever acted like he was a brother to her, Drew had kept his feelings hidden. He would much rather still have Bri in his life as his best friend than loseher altogether if he shared his feelings and she didn’t reciprocate them.
“We believe the best option for you is Clarissa.”
Drew sputtered. “Clarissa? Seriously?”
He respected his parents and their opinions deeply. There must have been something he wasn’t seeing—some put-together, elegant side of Clarissa he’d yet to meet.
“Her parents were very agreeable to the idea of a marriage between you two.” His mother shrugged.
His eyes went wide. “You talked to Felicity and Anthony about this before you talked to me? And you seriously want me to marry Clarissa? Marriages of convenience—arrangedmarriages—are outdated.”
“Are you forgetting what happened to Rosalie?” his father said. “This is a better situation than that because youknowClarissa. Rosalie didn’t even know Colin before their wedding day, and look at how happy they turned out.”
Drew shook his head. “The fact that they fell in love was a long shot, and you know it. I can’t believe you’re serious.” He rubbed his forehead, trying to soothe the headache forming there from this conversation. “Why would you suggest her rather than Bri…or literally anyone else?”
His mother wore an innocent expression. “Oh, I didn’t think of Bri as an option since she’s your best friend. You’ve known Clarissa practically as long as you’ve known her, so I thought it might be a decent match.”
He bit the inside of his lip, trying to maintain his composure. Drew knew his parents meant well, but this wasn’t something he was willing to give them.
“I can’t marry her.”
“Give me one good reason why you can’t marry Clarissa.” His mother met his gaze with a challenge in her eye.
He had to do it. Drew needed to reveal the one thing he had planned to keep hidden forever—the secret he planned on taking to the grave.
“I’m already in love with someone else.”
Chapter Two
Bri
Some people said home was wherever they were with the person they loved, but Bri felt the most at home whenever she was exploring the world.
