Page 84 of Royally Drawn

Keir gently pulled my chin up so my eyes met his gaze. “Don’t apologise. I am sorry if that was… hard.”

“No. It just makes me love you more. Knowing that you understand somehow. No one does but you,mon cher.”

“It’s all way too fast. I shouldn’t have?—”

“It’s too fast,” I agreed. “But … It feels right, somehow. I’m not ready to race down the aisle with you. That could take years, I think. You have things to do—as do I. But this? I could do this every day. I’d be lucky to have you forever.”

He let out a long sigh. “You know I cannot?—”

“I know. So, let’s not think about it right now. You have me here and now. Let’s love one another and be happy. Let’s allow ourselves to be happy despite all the doubt.”

I kissed him slowly, feeling his five-o-clock shadow bristling against my palm as I touched his face. I wanted to bask in this. Whatever it was, it was powerful. And as deliciously deviant as we often were, there was something so sweet and genuine between us. He was dutiful.

PART THREE

Perfection

In Sketches

KEIR

Time was a curse. I had so little of it with Ingrid. Whenever I could, I flew to her. I played horse show boyfriend by day. We were happy. I felt whole when I woke up next to her in the morning. When we were apart, she was ever-present, too. I always rang her. Hearing her answer with “Allo?” always made me smile, but it wasn’t the same as having her in my bed or trying to teach her not to burn something as simple as pasta. She was so sweet and warm and present on days we were together. Things werelonelywithout her.

I wasn’t the only one noticing Ingrid, either. She’d made quite the splash. In eventing, she was a rising star. Her bravery and continued persistence paid off. Cici said she’d make the next Olympics if she and her horse stayed healthy. I believed it. She then caught the eye ofTatlereditors.

The front cover was Ingrid in a ballgown, resting on a chez-lounge, looking at the camera with a slight, cheeky smile. They’d taken the photo in Parker’s library in Devon. The headline read, “Ingrid Has Arrived.” She had. Her gaze seared through the page. And despite this beautiful picture, I thought she was most attractive when she layaround in next to nothing sketching, looking relaxed and happy. She was justher.

“Go on, read the damn thing.”

My aunt smiled, embarrassing me over breakfast as she watched my reaction to her receiving the latest copy ofTatler. We got everything—primarily newspapers. We were at Balmoral, all having breakfast on a rainy morning. Duncan snickered, and I glared at him, picking it up. I flipped through it, finding her article in the centre. She was on horseback in Parker’s family home.

“She’s… in the house… on a horse. How did they even manage that?” I asked.

“What?” My Uncle George, Aunt Natalie’s twin brother, looked up from his paper. “A horse in the house. Sounds like something Mummy would have done.”

“On marble? It should be fine.” Aunt Natalie looked over.

“He’s a well-behaved horse,” Nate said.

“He’s downright tranquil, but don’t let him fall asleep on your shoulder. He drools, and his head weighs about fifty stone,” I said.

I read through the article. They asked her about her career, her growing up in Neandia, and what she thought of the UK. She explained her tastes in fashion, her love of tall boots—something I found incredibly sexy—and her obsession with art. It was standard fare.

“The camera loves her,” Aunt Kiersten noted. “She’s gorgeous.”

I said nothing. Ofcourse, Ingrid was gorgeous, but I wouldn’t go on about it.

Duncan picked up the magazine.

“It is a huge horse. Why are small women always on large horses?”

Win snickered. Mamma glared at him. I fully expected a dick joke, but he dropped it.

“Oh, well, they ask her what she likes to draw. She confirms her horses.”

“This is not a surprise, Duncan,” I sighed. “The entire thing is just navel-gazing bullshit because she’s now an It Girl. She did it because Astrid wanted her to. She wasdyingto see the place photographed after their renovations to the library.”

“Oh, I’m not done,” Duncan said. He read on, quoting her now: “I suppose the other thing I draw endlessly these days is pictures of my boyfriend. It’s sad and incredibly typical, but I cannot help but do so. Also, sometimes dogs. I always love to sketch dogs.”

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