Page 54 of A Royal Promise
“This is why we’re friends.” He grinned at her, typing the order into his phone for two cheeseburgers and a basket of fries before sending it to his butler. Drew made sure to mention no onion and extra pickles on Bri’s burger. He sent a follow-up text, additionally asking for watermelon, peach tea, and some soft pretzels with cheese sauce. He knew soft, salty pretzels were one of Bri’s guilty pleasures. The butler texted back they would have it delivered shortly.
“All right, food will be here soon.” He set his phone aside and sat beside her on the beanbag, looking up through the large glass dome overhead.
“You’re the best.” She kept her gaze trained upward. “What constellations will be visible tonight?”
“It needs to get a little bit darker, but we should be able to see Hydra.”
“I don’t think you’ve told me the story of Hydra before.”
A small smile covered his face at her interest. “Hydra was a mythical sea serpent. It’s the largest constellation in the sky. There are two legends about it, but the one you likely know is the nine-headed monster, Hydra, killed by Hercules. If you cut off one of the heads, it would be replaced with another two.”
“Ah, just like the one from the movie?” She sat up and looked at him with wide eyes.
“Exactly.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
“We have the best view of it in Glencrest during spring.”
They talked about a few more stars in the sky, and Drew was pointing out Polaris, the North Star, when a palace servant walked in pushing a cart of food.
Drew motioned him over to the picnic blanket and got up from the beanbag. He picked up the plates of burgers and put them on the blanket while the man carried over a tray of snacks and fries. Drew went back and grabbed a pitcher of peach tea, pouring glasses for each of them. The palace server offered him a stack of napkins before excusing himself from the room.
“Thank you,” Bri called out to him.
Drew helped pull her to her feet, and they both sat down on the picnic blanket.
“I’m so excited for this. I’m starving after all that running.” She smiled as she picked the burger up off her plate and lifted the top bun to inspect it. “You even remembered I like extra pickles and no onion.” Her grin widened. “And all my favorite snacks—even soft pretzels. Thank you.”
Of course he remembered. He knew Bri like the back of his hand.
“You’re welcome.” Drew lifted his burger to his mouth, taking a giant bite. Tangy barbecue sauce and salty notes of bacon danced around in his mouth.
“I’m going to have to try some more adventurous toppings next time,” she said as she took a bite.
“What kind of toppings do you consider to beadventurous?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe a fried egg, jalapeño poppers, or onion rings.”
“So basically, anything fried?”
“What can I say? I love anything deep-fried.”
“You don’t say,” he teased. “What about peanut butter?”
“Peanut butter on a burger?” She grimaced. “That might be a little too out there for me. Would you try it?”
He shook his head adamantly. “Barbecue sauce and bacon is about as adventurous as I’m willing to get.”
“I’ll make an adventurer of you one day, Andrew Whitaker.”
If you say I’m yours, I’ll try anything you want. I’ll take you anywhere your heart desires. I’ll travel the world with you for the rest of my life.
“Maybe someday.” He shrugged nonchalantly while he grabbed a few fries and dipped them in ketchup. “Where are you headed for your next adventure?”
She ate another bite of her burger. “I really want to go to Banff. You should see the scenery there. It’s stunning.” She dipped a fry in what she referred to as fry sauce. “I wish you could come with me. You could row me around Lake Minnewanka, especially now that you’re a championship rower.” She shot him a playful smirk. “But I know it would be difficult to persuade you to leave work behind for a week.SpontaneousandDreware two words I wouldn’t ever use together.”
“Hey, I can be spontaneous. I travel to other countries all the time.”
