Page 109 of Royally Drawn

We watched Chris kick water at Kari. She was giggling so hard she fell over.

“If I’d done any of this, Celeste would have beaten me. And I did, but if she’d found out?—”

“I’m sorry for that,” Rick said. “You deserved so much better. But I am pretty sure that’s why you’ll make a wonderful mother someday. It’s what makes Alexandra so fiercely protective of this little pack of dogs.”

I smiled because it was true.

“I dunno. I hope I will be. It’s not all I want, and maybe I shouldn’t even bother wanting it.”

“To be a parent?”

“I’m still so young,” I sighed.

“You’re the same age Lex was when she had Linny. It’s okay to want something. It doesn’t mean you want something tomorrow. In my experience, knowing what you want is the most important bit. The key is to be honest about it, Ingy,” Rick said. “Because when you aren’thonest… everything falls apart. I almost lost Lex over it. I wished I’d been honest with her from the beginning.”

“Hindsight is 20-20.”

“It is.”

Manon fussed in Rick’s lap, reaching her arms out for me. “Maaaa.”

She referred to all of us as “Ma” or “Mama,” driving Alex mad.

“Rid-Rid,” I laughed. “Not Mama.”

“Ma-Ma.”

“It’d be nice if you ever said ‘Pappa’, Manon. It’s not like I spend every waking hour with you or anything,” Rick said.

I took the child in my arms, holding her against me. Taking in the way her fat legs dangled—rolls and all—from my lap and her giggles filled the quiet garden, I was momentarily satisfied. I was grounded like a tree with strong roots. Then, I looked away and realised I couldn’t stay here forever. I knew what I wanted.

“I shouldn’t let anyone take that away from me,” I explained. “I get to live the life I know I want.”

“You do. And no one should. But, Ingrid, don’t get in your own way, either,” Rick said. “Take it from the king of getting in my own way.”

The One

KEIR

I’d pictured the day I saw Ingrid again happening at a barbecue Cici and Isak would host—probably to celebrate that they were pregnant or maybe a baby’s first birthday. I’d have to share air with Ingrid. She’d spot me, nod, and maybe we’d briefly chat. I pictured her in summer clothes—perhaps because I most wanted to remember her that way—with wavy sun-kissed care in a short dress. She’d be carefree and relaxed. She’d be off-limits—with someone else. And while I could lie and tell myself that she was perhaps with dozens of men while I was away, it didn’t matter.

One, I didn’t care who she was with while I wasn’t around. We weren’t together. I didn’t own her. I’d have her all the same, even with a body count in the hundreds. Two, I’d already gone down that rabbit hole from my mother’s couch yesterday while scrolling gossip blogs. The only times Ingrid came up were odd weekends when she came to London with Leah and Astrid or in the pages ofHorse and HoundorThe Chronicle of the Horse, where she was seemingly everywhere. If aircraft consumed my entire life while I was gone, she’d thrown herself entirely into riding and becoming an evenbetterathlete.

The results of that last bit were altogether too precise. Her asscould not have looked better—even in mourning gear. Our first meeting post-breakup was anything but a kind glance across a room. Instead, Ingrid ignored me. She didn’t make eye contact and kept to her nieces and nephews exclusively. She looked elegant, composed, and controlled. In contrast, I didn’t have my shit together.

I wanted to hate her—to want her less. Instead, she looked more tempting than I remembered. She was gorgeous. Her laugh—spent on her nieces and nephews—was still lovely. I still loved this woman. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.

“You do need to say hello,” Betty said, pulling on my arm. “You’re being impolite.”

Betty jumped on a plane three days ago to help Ingrid. She did so without telling anyone—even me—so when I arrived, she was there.

“You shouldn’t tell me about social decorum when you showed up unannounced. How the fuck did you get a room so late?”

“I’m staying with Ingrid,” Betty said.

“We’re all staying here,” I said.

“No. In Ingrid’s room. There was no room. So, I’m staying with her. I’m going back to her. I don’t need your salty attitude.”

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