Page 58 of A Royal Promise
She placed her hand on his arm. “First of all, if they don’t take you seriously, that’s on them. I believe you’re going to be the best monarch Glencrest has ever seen. You take your work seriously, and you dedicate so much of yourself to ensuring the well-being of your citizens. Secondly, look at King Liam of Wistonia. He was only twenty-six when he ascended the throne, and he wasn’tvery well-liked or respected by his people until after his dating competition aired.”
He let out a long sigh, and his shoulders visibly lowered. “You have this way of talking me off the ledge when no one else can.”
“You also rarely share how you’re feeling with anyone. Even I don’t know everything going on in that brain of yours.” She took another bite of watermelon before wiping her hands on a napkin. “I know you like to take care of everyone around you—sometimes to your own detriment. But when you’re so focused on everyone else, you tend to close up and not let anyone in.” Bri leaned over and took his hand, intertwining their fingers. “It’s okay to not always be the strong one. You can always tell someone else—me—what you’re going through.”
Drew pulled her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of it. He’d kissed her there in formal settings plenty of times over the years, but it hit differently now, knowing how his lips had felt pressed against hers. His lips gently grazing her knuckles sent a tingling sensation up her arm and had her feeling flushed. As if everything between them wasn’t already perplexing enough, now her body had to add more confusing reactions to the mix.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” He dipped his pretzel into the sauce and took another large bite out of it.
She ate another slice of watermelon, trying to appear unaffected. When she looked back over at him, she stifled a laugh. “You have a little cheese…” She motioned to the corner of her mouth, mirroring where a glob of cheese sauce remained on his face.
He swiped at his cheek. “Did I get it?”
“Not quite.” She started reaching her free hand out. “May I?”
He nodded, so Bri leaned over and wiped the rogue cheese sauce from the corner of his mouth. His pupils dilated, and his lips parted, making him appear both surprised at her touch…andeager. He seemed to be as affected by her touching his face as she had been by his kiss on her knuckles. She debated licking it off her finger but refrained, wiping it on her napkin instead.
It made her think of the bookIf You Give a Mouse a Cookie. If she licked the cheese sauce off her finger, Drew would likely look at her lips. If he looked at her lips, she would look at his. If she looked at his lips, Bri would wonder what a real kiss from him would feel like.
And she couldn’t think about sharing a genuine kiss with him. When they’d had their practice kiss, she knew he had held back—for all the same reasons she had.We’re best friends. This is fake. We don’t want to ruin our friendship. We can’t break our rules.But the more time they spent together, the more attracted to him she was becoming. And if he kissed her for real, she wasn’t sure their relationship would ever be the same again.
However, the idea of settling down with a serious relationship was only now starting to not feel stifling. She would never forgive herself if she risked their lifelong friendship to see if it could become something more, only to realize she wasn’t willing to say goodbye to her adventurous lifestyle or she didn’t have feelings for him beyond friendship after all.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Drew
Drew sat beside Bri on Glencrest’s private jet as they flew to Paris. He was a little ashamed to admit he’d pretended to be scared during takeoff so Bri would hold his hand. After the Ferris wheel incident, she hadn’t let go of his hand during the flight. Then, halfway to their destination, she’d fallen asleep on his shoulder.
He pulled up his phone camera on selfie mode again, looking at the beautiful, mirrored image of Bri sleeping, tucked up against him, her blonde curls splayed across his chest. It felt natural. It felt like they were a couple. It feltright.
They were attending the last day of the French Open to watch the men’s singles final. Bri had told him she’d hardly slept a wink last night because she was so excited about the day’s festivities. He was glad she could finally rest now—that she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep beside him.
It was easy to imagine a lifetime of moments like this with her. Holding hands as they hiked mountain trails. Dancing under the night sky in the observatory. Sharing a funnel cake at the springcarnival. Stealing kisses at balls. Falling asleep beside each other every night.
That was what he wanted with Bri. He wanted all the big things—a wedding, a lifetime together with her—but he also wanted the little things that didn’t seem like much but left a lasting impact.
“Your Highness?” The flight attendant pulled him from his thoughts.
He looked up at her with a dazed expression. “Yes?”
“We’re descending now. We’ll land in Paris shortly.”
“Thank you.” Drew nodded, and she curtsied to him. When she walked away, he smiled down at the sleeping angel beside him and brushed her hair away from her face. “Bri.” He gently nudged her shoulder, trying to wake her. “Bri, we’re here.”
She slowly came to, her lashes fluttering before she opened her eyes. Bri pushed off his shoulder, sitting up and looking at him with a shy expression. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to use your shoulder as a pillow.”
“I’ll lend you my shoulder anytime you need it,” he said without even thinking.
Bri pressed her lips together in a soft smile before running her fingers through her blonde curls and straightening the collar of her short-sleeved sage-green tweed jacket.
“Ready for the landing?” She squeezed his fingers.
His lips pulled into a side grin. “With you by my side? Always.”
She examined him…really looked at him, like she was trying to see right into his brain and find the true meaning behind his words.
Drew had been testing out saying things like that. Things he’d wished he could say to her for years but hadn’t felt the freedom to until now.
