Page 33 of A Royal Promise
“My royal board and the citizens of Edgemont are very pleased about my marriage to Rosalie. My daughter is obsessed with her”—he reached over and squeezed his wife’s hand—“as am I.”
Rosalie gazed up at Colin, her eyes full of admiration. Then Colin did something Drew had never expected—he smiled. Colin wasn’t the kind of person to be open about his feelings, but Drew supposed love had a way of changing people.
“We’re working to host more events, including”—he paused, pulling at the collar of his shirt—“royal balls, on our calendar in the upcoming year. I’ll be sure you’ll all be informed of anything planned.”
The whole room seemed stunned into silence. When no one else spoke, Drew offered a quiet, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“It’s Colin, for friends.” He offered another smile, though this one looked more like a grimace, but it was the thought that counted.
“I suppose I’ll go next,” said King Liam of Wistonia.
The King of Wistonia had ascended the throne at a young age as well. It gave Drew hope for his own future. If Liam had been able to do it, surely he could too.
Liam smiled widely, placing his hand over his wife’s. “Charlotte, why don’t you share our news?”
Tears brimmed Charlotte’s eyes, though a grin graced her lips. “We’re expecting our first child later this year.”
The room erupted into another round of congratulations.
“That’s wonderful news,” Drew’s father said. “Anything else you’d like to share?”
“We celebrated Wistonia’s Founding Day recently, and we had our third annual soccer game where the palace staff and I playedagainst the children from a local orphanage. Both Charlotte and I have been incredibly moved by the joy on the children’s faces every year, so we’ve decided to facilitate an annual sports camp that will offer free training in a multitude of sports for children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.”
“It sounds like a wonderful opportunity for your community,” Drew said, knowing how impactful it was for him to get outside and be active as a child.
“Do you have any news to share for Glencrest?” Edgar asked, the question aimed at Drew’s father.
His dad turned to him and waited, as if he expected Drew to be the one to respond.
He cleared his throat. “As my father said, I’ll be ascending the throne earlier than expected, with Brielle ruling at my side. Our local schools are working to gain further funding for arts programs, and we have a charity run coming up to raise support for Glencrest’s Cancer Research Center.”
Drew looked at his father, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. He got a brief nod in response. He’d done it. Drew had successfully completed his first major meeting with the royal families of Fenimore.
With their updates finished, everyone chatted in smaller groups until the head butler returned to the conference room.
“Your Majesties, it’s time for me to escort you to dinner.”
“Do you think we can pull this off?” Drew whispered into Bri’s ear as they walked at the back of the large group headed to the formal dining room.
“Reply hazy, try again.”
His brows furrowed. “What kind of answer is that?”
“One from a magic eight ball.” She shrugged. “I thought it was fitting for tonight. There’s no predicting how this will go, especially after the questions we got from the press at the carnival.”
“I’m hoping there’s enough other news to overshadow our engagement.”
With the formalities of the meeting done, he looked forward to more casual conversation over dinner. They entered the room, and he took a deep breath.Here goes nothing.
After everyone was seated, the first course of crab cakes with a mango avocado relish was served.
Drew’s mother was sitting beside the duke, Wesley, whom Colin had brought with his family. She turned to him and asked, “Wesley, have you found someone to settle down with?”
Wes shook his head, his floppy brown curls bouncing back and forth with the motion, his cheeks tinged pink.
Liam turned his gaze to the opposite end of the table. “Annalise or Josephine, if either of you are single, you should hit this stud up.”
Wes’s eyes darted to the other end of the table, and he froze as his face lost all color. Drew looked down at the two princesses Liam had addressed. Neither of them looked embarrassed, just amused by Liam’s antics.
