Page 70 of American Royals II: Majesty
They’re in love,Sam realized, stunned.
Beatrice was fully clothed in the sketch; there was nothing erotic or overtly sexual about it. But Connor’s feelings for her were visible in every sweeping line of ink. There was an indefinable bloom to her, as if she had some private secret you could only guess at.
Sam studied the image a little longer, her eyes lingering on the sparks popping from the fire, on the jagged line of the mountains, veiled by a luscious blanket of snow. It struck her that this wasn’t an imagined scene. This had really happened. It was a sketch of that night in December, right before New Year’s, when Beatrice and her Guard had been stranded on their way to Telluride.
It all made sense now, the various pieces of the puzzle crashing together. Sam’s mind flashed back to the night Beatrice had told her she was calling off the engagement.You’re seeing someone else,Sam had guessed.
Beatrice had admitted that she loved a commoner, and that he was there that night, at the engagement party. Sam had always assumed she was talking about one of the guests, but Beatrice had clearly meant herRevere Guard.
She scoured her memory, trying to recall when Connor had resigned. It was right after they’d come back from Sulgrave—when Beatrice and Teddy had set a wedding date.
Loving Beatrice like this, Connor must have decided he would rather quit than watch her marry someone else.
Sam’s hands tightened around the paper. She wanted to run to her sister, grab her by the shoulders, and shake some sense into her.You don’t have to go through with this!she would scream.You don’t have to marry someone you don’t love, just because Dad said you should.
But Sam knew she’d forfeited any right to give Beatrice romantic advice.
This gulf between them washerfault. Every time Beatrice had tried to apologize, Sam had turned her away. And for what,Teddy? Her own obstinate pride? None of it was worth losing a sister over.
Sam put the sketch back in the box and retied the ribbon, much sloppier than it had been before. Yet, for some reason, she didn’t let go of the invitation. She kept staring at it, tracing the loops of Connor’s name with her fingertips.
Before she’d fully acknowledged her decision to herself, Sam had turned out into the hallway and dropped the invitation into a gleaming brass receptacle markedOUTGOING MAIL.
Nina sank onto the picnic blanket, which was spread out on the grass before the open-air stage. The amphitheater at the center of John Jay Park was completely packed, the ground covered in a multicolor quilt of beach towels and blankets. Conversations bubbled up around them, laughter rising lazily into the air like smoke.
“I’m so impressed you got Shakespeare in the Park tickets. What time did you have to get in line?” she asked.
Ethan stretched his arms overhead with an exaggerated sigh. “Six a.m. When you were still in bed, Sleeping Beauty.”
Nina smiled, though she worried the real reason Ethan had gotten up early was because he’d been lying in bed awake, his mind spinning with anxiety. She knew that Jeff still wouldn’t speak to him.
Though Jeff didn’t seem to be losing any sleep over it, from the photos Nina had seen on all the royal-obsessed blogs. He’d been out almost every night this week, in a group that included Sam and Marshall—and Daphne.
Nina and Ethan had been pointedly left off the guest list.
“Thanks for getting the tickets. I’m sureRomeo and Julietin the park wasn’t your top choice for how to spend a Friday night,” she said, trying to sound upbeat.
“It’s okay; next week we can go to a movie. ThatIpick.”
“Oh goodie, something with lots of explosions and car chases.”
“Hey, give me some credit,” Ethan objected. “I like zombie movies, too.”
Nina still couldn’t believe that he’d waited in a five-hour line for her. Jeff would never have done that, but then, he wouldn’t have needed to. He could have gotten backstage passes with the snap of his fingers—and then they would’ve had tostaybackstage all night. The Prince of America couldn’t exactly sit out here in the middle of a crowd. It would be a security and logistical nightmare.
One of the actors walked out onstage, and Ethan sat up, rummaging in his backpack before emerging with a pair of square-rimmed glasses.
“I love when you wear those,” she murmured. He looked so adorably nerdy in glasses.
“Can you keep it down?” Ethan nudged her with his elbow. “Some of us aretryingto enjoy the play.”
Nina had readRomeo and Julietin middle school, had seen the movie version where Juliet wore a ridiculous pair of white angel wings. Tonight, though, the story felt different. Now, instead of sighing over the beautiful language, Nina found herself upset that Romeo and Juliet wanted to be together at all.
Relationships simply couldn’t work when people came from opposite worlds. No matter how long they managed to keep it secret, circumstances would eventually tear them apart. And it would be so much worse than if they’d never found each other in the first place.
In real life, love against the odds wasn’tenough.All it had done for Nina was hurt the people she cared about—caused the paparazzi to harass her parents, gave complete strangers the right to call her ugly names. In real life, impossible love caused more pain than it did joy.
As the play ended, the amphitheater broke out in applause, and Nina came to herself slowly. She’d nearly forgotten where she was. She wiped at her cheeks, a little embarrassed that she’d teared up.
