Page 43 of Royal Rising

He proposed to me. Then he said all this nice stuff, how I’m his best friend, andthenhe goes out with Fenella Carrington.

Hell, yeah, I’m mad.

I got Mathias’s text after that, and told him I have to be here all night but to come over if he has time. It’s possible I was a little more flirtatious in my response than usual because why wouldn’t I when the man who just proposed marriage was leaving to go on a date?

Who does that?

Technically, it wasn’t a proposal, but still.

I can’t even look at Kalle when he leaves. We were having amoment… But maybe we weren’t, because—only friends.

Just friends because that’s how it’s always been. That’s how we’ve always wanted it.

So why did my stomach twist into a knot when Kalle showed up wearing his favourite jeans, the ones I helped him track down online because he needed athletic fit because his thighs are so muscular, and his dark purple shirt with the white squiggles that make his eyes even bluer.

It’s his date shirt. His favourite date shirt and he’s never once worn it with me.

I had to look at him then because I can’t not. It’s like he’s a magnet and I’m a piece of metal.

He probably wore the shirt because it matchesFenella’seyes.

Seeing him leave to meet her doesthingsto me. The ego takes a beating; the whole episode has done a number on my self-esteem. I’ve never had an issue with self-confidence. I know who I am, and my worth, but a half-hearted proposal because we’re friends? It doesn’t feel nice. It’s as if Kalle smashed a mallet into a gong and the vibrations are still being heard.

And then there’s how it felt to have his arms around me. It felt like it shouldn’t feel. Even though Kalle isn’t the most affectionate, we’ve hugged lots of times but that felt… different.

It did a thing to me too.

“Edie? Earth to Edie?”

I come back from my angry internal monologue to find Leah before me. “Sorry, what’s wrong?”

Leah has been at The King’s Hat longer than I have. In fact, Kalle would have given the older woman the job of manager, but she wanted nothing to do with it. “I’m retired,” she had said in her slightly nasally voice. “I’m fine with slinging drinks and helping Luke in the kitchen but no more than that.”

Luke, her husband, used to be a cook at the castle. Both he and Leah worked there for years, retired at fifty-five with benefits and a nice pension, and then were persuaded to come work for Kalle.

Everyone calls Luke by his nickname, Skywalker, except Leah.

“I wanted to make sure you’ll be okay if Luke and I take off,” Leah says with a concerned frown. “We got the last of the supper crowd plated and served and this lot left—” she waves a hand around the tables— “—are here to drink.”

“It’s all good,” I assure her. “Bethie and Suze are here, and Kalle won’t be late.”

“Oh no? I thought he was out with the American.” Usually I ignore the disdain in Leah’s voice when she talks about Kalle and the women he dates, but right now I want to give Leah a fist bump for being on my side.

“He’s with Fenella but…” Kalle looked good in those jeans and had even replaced his well-worn boots with a nice pair of shoes. I’ve seen Kalle leave for countless dates and I can tell when he’s trying to impress. “I don’t know when he’ll be back,” I admit. “But we’ll be fine. It’s a quiet crowd even with the storm.”

“If you’re sure.” Skywalker will stay for as long as we ask him to, but Leah, despite her words of concern, comes to work, does her shift, and clocks out.

I don’t blame her; my feet hurt after being on them all day, and Leah is a lot older than I am. “Get home and see you tomorrow. Stay dry.”

“Tyler is still in the back if you need an extra set of hands. Or if there’s trouble.”

As soon as Leah says that, the door opens and Princess Lyra blows into the bar with a gust of rain-soaked cool air. Kate McKibbon,her best friend and personal secretary to Prince Odin, is right behind her, shaking the droplets off her hair with a grin.

“I can’t see there being trouble,” I say wryly as Lyra and Kate wave and head for a couple of empty stools.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” Leah mutters as she ducks out the back door and I make my way over to play bartender.

“Hey,” I greet them, unable to summon up my usual cheeriness. And it’s not like I’m not pleased to see Princess Lyra; Kalle’s younger sister is like a breath of non-beer-scented air whenever she drops in. The King’s Hat welcomes everyone, but the clientele is primarily men content to sit and drink beer and watch whatever is on the screen. Lyra always gives the place a more fun vibe.

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