Page 41 of A Royal Promise
After a few more updates from Rosalie, they said their goodbyes. When Bri hung up, she sighed, lying down on the couch.
It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders after finally being able to talk about everything she’d been feeling. Yet, even with the burden gone, Bri still didn’t know what to think about her feelings for Drew. There were still questions she didn’t have answers to, but she didn’t have time to dwell on that. She had a photoshoot to get ready for.
Once Bri changed into the pale-blue midi dress Drew’s mother had given her, she slid on a pair of nude pumps. She ran her fingers through her curled hair and touched up her lip gloss before walking outside to the driver waiting with a golf cart to escort her to Glencrest Palace.
There was no reason for her to be worried. They’d already gotten through the most difficult parts: telling their parents, announcing their engagement to the world at the ball, their first official appearance on the palace lawn, enduring questions from the press at the interview with Isla and at the carnival, and practice-kissing so their charade would look real.
If they’d gotten throughallthat together and come out on the other side alive and well, then they should easily be able to take a few measly pictures. Yet, Bri had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She tugged at her three-quarter-length sleeves after the driver dropped her off in the palace’s garden.
Her palace didn’t have much of a garden since it was nestled in the mountains, so she always loved visiting Glencrest in the spring when the flowers were the most beautiful. She closed hereyes for a moment, breathing in the wonderful floral aroma. Bri followed a stone path until she spotted Drew in front of a rose bush.
She felt relieved they were in this together. There wasn’t another soul on the planet she could be fake engaged to.
Bri knew the exact moment Drew saw her. His whole face lit up, and his mouth pulled up at one corner into a goofy grin. He glanced down at his feet, looking nervous as she approached him. But when he glanced back up at her, his eyes were full of admiration.
“You look stunning, Bri.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks. You don’t look too shabby yourself.” His classic black suit and tie were doing him all sorts of favors. She didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed how muscular he was before the regatta, but now that she’d seen it, she couldn’t unsee it.
Bri shook her head, attempting to focus on the task at hand.
“The photographer is just over there.” He pointed to a wooden bench in the middle of a row of flowers, where a photographer readied her equipment.
When he extended his arm to her, she accepted it, and they walked together into the middle of the garden. The photographer introduced herself and began directing their locations and poses. She took a few photos of them sitting on the bench before having them stand in front of a wall of climbing blush-pink roses for the more formal pictures that would be shared with the press.
Bri, ever the adventurous spirit, always felt awkward in posed photos like this. There was practically no one else, aside from royalty, who would barely touch or merely wrap their arm through their significant others for an engagement photo. But she would do what was necessary to meet the royal expectations into which she had been born.
“I’m glad those are over. I always feel stiff taking posed formal pictures.” Drew stretched his back. “I know you can’t be a fan either, with your bold spirit. You’d probably rather be taking a picture in activewear and sneakers, your arms spread wide in front of a mountain landscape.”
He knew her well. “You’re not wrong.”
“Hopefully, the next ones will feel a little more natural.”
They followed the photographer over to a weeping willow tree. “All right, Prince Andrew, would you please hold Princess Brielle in a way that feels comfortable for you?”
His hand settled on the dip of her waist, and she inhaled a sharp breath. His thumb gently grazed her hip and left a trail of heat, even through the fabric of her dress. It felt intimate, romantic, and not at all fake. She looked up to find Drew looking at the photographer, but the satisfied smile on his face told her he knew what his touch had done to her.
It was almost as if he was being touchy and over-the-top on purpose, trying to get a reaction out of her. She didn’t know what to make of that. Bri was having a difficult time gauging her reaction to everything between them lately. She steeled herself, locking all her emotions in a box in her heart and throwing away the key.
This is all fake. Drew and I will go back to being just friends in less than a year. We’re not actually engaged. This isn’t real.
“You okay?” he whispered, his lips grazing her ear.
Bri used every bit of willpower she had to not shiver at his touch. “Of course,” she fibbed.
They followed the photographer’s instructions, posing in a variety of positions: his hand on her waist, his arms wrapped around her from behind, and her hands clasped behind his neck as they looked at each other lovingly.
When it seemed they were nearing the end of the photoshoot, the photographer had them press their foreheads together. Shewas close enough to Drew that their whole bodies were touching, and her fingers grazed the hair at the nape of his neck. Bri moved her face slightly, and her nose brushed his. She heard him suck in a breath, sending her heart racing.
This is about to happen. We’re about to kiss again.
As she finished internally preparing herself for their lips to meet again, the photographer nodded and looked at her camera. “I think I’ve got everything I need. Thank you for letting me take these for you, Your Highnesses.” She curtsied to them before she packed up all her equipment.
“I can’t wait to see all the pictures,” Drew replied kindly.
Bri pressed her lips together in frustration. They’d made it through the entire photo session without being asked to kiss, which meant they’d practiced for nothing. It had been completely unnecessary.
If only she had Hermione Granger’s Time-Turner to go back to last night for a do-over. She wouldn’t have kissed him, and then they wouldn’t have a giant, confusing moment hanging over them.
