Page 16 of Royally Drawn

I rolled my eyes. “You’re a child.”

“Perhaps, but you still can’t quit me. Admit it.”

“We’re pushing off. Everyone good?” Cici called out.

Our party was packed like sardines into two tenders about to go ashore.

“I think we’re good,” Lars called back from the other side of the boat.

I couldn’t deny there was something there any longer. Lars triedsohard in some perceived row with Keir to jockey for my affections. He was sweet and oh-so-accommodating. Lars was less aggressive than Keir in his attempts to woo me. Keir wasn’t hiding it, and while no Norwegian man would ever admit to hitting on you, Lars was trying very hard to convert me to his side.

I should have hated it. On paper, the idea of being an object two men sparred over didn’t appeal. In reality, I was flattered and found it hot. Last night, I’d been all about Keir. This morning, I had one of my regular chats with Lars. He’d brought me coffee and been overall darling. So, there was more in the mix now.

Keir threw his weight around in quite a fabulous display of hubris. He stretched to put his arm around me as the boat sped along. It lurched, sending me into him. I didn’t mind that he caught me. I longed for it to happen again. I looked up to see if he was staring at me. Instead, he stared at Lars with a “back off” look across the boat. Lars looked about to lose it.

Once we made it to shore, Lars approached. “Here we split. If you need anything, you have my number.”

Nearby, Keir loomed with a look of derision.

“Yep. I’ve got it,” I answered. “And Keir’s too. If I need anything, I will shoot you a group text?”

Crickets. I played dumb, lapping up everything I did to them. Each looked dissatisfied in a way I found delicious.

I had no time to watch things percolate, though. The women took lunch at a five-star resort before hitting the spa while the boys did fun, slightly dangerous things. I preferred fun to spa but also didn’t want to head out with a bunch of men on quad bikes through the rainforest. If Astrid, Odette, and Alex were here, they’d roll their eyes at my wild reticence. Theyloveda spa day.

“Hello, gorgeous,” Leah said, draping her arm around my neck.

As drunk as she got the night before, I was impressed she was upright. “Are you having fun torturing them both?”

She was onto me.

I shook my head. “I am torturing no one. Men are stupid and do it to themselves.”

“I commend you. It’s almost ridiculous that two men in their thirties are about to throw punches over who gave you his cell number first. I apologise for them both.”

“It’s fine. Iamenjoying it a bit. Although I worry, they’re both about to get hurt.”

“Oh, the lady rejects all the men?”

I shrugged.

“Far be it from me to cockblock them, but this is a fishbowl.”

Leah was older and wiser. Her words held the same wisdom Alexandra or Astrid would have passed down. Don’t shit where you eat, right? I was bound to see both these men—often simultaneously—over the next six months. Whether I relished the idea of a fling or not was secondary to my circumstances. If I shagged one of them, I’d have to deal with both of them. It wasn’t worth it.

“I know. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” I laughed it off as if I never once considered it.

I would heed Leah’s advice and let this go. It was a fine game, but letting it go beyond that was playing with matches.

Mouse Meet Cat

KEIR

Itried to spend even a moment with Ingrid all night to no avail. Lars wasn’t the top challenger I feared. That was fucking Leah. Wherever I went, she acted like a fence, preventing me from saying anything to the object of my affection. Meanwhile, Ingrid remained a foot out of reach, looking gorgeous in some slinky dress I’d love to throw to the floor.

“What is your deal, Leah?” I asked. “And don’t tell me you’ve thrown your hat in the ring because I swear to God, Natalie?—”

“You can stop invoking my given name right now. I agreed to fucking monogamy with the boyfriend so you can calm down,” Leah agreed. “It’s not that. Youdorealise that is not howanyof this works, right? Get your head out of straight-man sapphic fantasy land, bro. Also, she’s hot but young. I don’t want to teach her everything. And all of that matters not because I’m convinced that girlfriend is straight as a board.”

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