Page 70 of Royal Rising

“Which is…”

“You’re dating my cousin.”

I honestly draw a blank for a moment. Maybe it’s seeing Kalle’s taut stomach or just my sleep-addled brain… or maybe it’s because Mathias means nothing to me.

Huh. Mathias means…

I think it’s all three.

Mathias invited me to visit, insinuated that he has something important to discuss with me, and I went to bed last night without giving it a single thought. Yes, Kalle was a distraction, but some part of my mind should have wondered. Questioned.

Gotten excited?

But nope. Nothing. Am I okay with that?

“You need to end things with Mathias before anything happens with us,” Kalle informs me as casually as if he’s back to talking about the storm.

“I don’t know,” I say.

His face shutters closed like it’s a store at the end of the work day. “You don’t know if you want to end things with him?”

“No, it’s just…” I was answering myself rather than Kalle. “Mathias is nice enough—”

Another chuckle but this one doesn’t have a lot of humour. “You should tell him that.”

“I’m not telling him anything. I mean… I’ll tell him I won’t see him anymore but… This is confusing,” I admit, flopping back on the pillow so I can face him, pulling up the covers. While I have no problem ogling Kalle, there’s not a lot of appeal in what I wear to bed.

But still, Kalle is smiling. At me. And maybe it’s because of what I just said, or maybe it’s because of the faded Snoopy I have on my shirt.

“It’s a lot,” I admit. “I’m—I don’t move that fast. Last night you were out for dinner with Fenella, and this morning, you’re ready to de-friend zone me.”

He smirks. “Is that a thing?”

“I don’t know what is a thing. Are we a thing? Is this because things didn’t work out with Fenella?”

Kalle’s mouth tightens. “I’m going to forget you said that.”

“But Kalle, I can’t forget that we’ve gone sixteen years without anything more than friendship and now, out of the blue—”

“It’s not out of the blue,” Kalle says, pointing to the window. “The sky is still pretty gray.”

I look at him, exasperation rising like the storm and then, inexplicably, Kalle gives me a mischievous, very Gunnar-like grin, and I can’t help but laugh

And then I open that door, the one I’ve kept closed and locked for sixteen years. The door I’ve kept my Kalle feelings behind, the one that I’ve never thought I’d get to open.

It’s surprisingly easy to open. It’s not stuck at all.

“You are very vexing,” I tell him.

“Are we doing Bridgerton-speak? Is this because we didn’t get to watch your episode last night?”

“I’d say you’re pissing me off, but vexing is a much better word.”

“If I kissed you, would that vex you too? Or would it convince you that we could be more than friends?”

That takes the breath out of me, sucks it clear out of my lungs, and I can only stare at Kalle. Kalle, my best friend.

Kalle, the future king of Laandia.

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