Page 28 of Royally Drawn

Keir stood atop the ledge now, looking fucking gorgeous. I marvelled once more at his shoulders and how the indents in his lower back moved as he stretched. The man practically glistened. I tried not to drool. How the hell had he been naked in my bed last night?

He dove in, looking like he did this every day. Duncan and Nate followed him in quick succession. This left Ollie, me, and Lars since Betty noped out immediately. She wasn’t about to dive in anywhere in her tiny bikini. Instead, she’d already popped a beer and was swimming below.

“Come on, Ingy!” She called up. “You are next.”

I stood on the ledge, looking way down. I wasn’t much of a diver, even if I was a competent swimmer. I knew I’d be safe, but damn, it looked intimidating!

“You can do it, Ingrid,” Keir said. “It’s not that bad.”

“Better than being thrown off a yacht, right?” Duncan joked.

Leah smacked water at him.

I snickered. “Okay, here goes nothing.”

I held my arms out over my head and leaned forward, pushing off towards the water. I dove down into the waters below, then popped back out, the mist of the beautiful waterfall hitting me in the face. I spun around to spy the others swimming over.

“See?” Cici laughed. “Look at you, darling!”

“I did it,” I said. “Finally! It was nervy.”

Lars dove in next and swam over before I could reach the others. It was another awkward moment. He wasstilltrying. I felt terrible knowing there was not a chance in hell he’d land me. Part of me wanted him to find out so he could move on. If he knew I’d been with his brother, there was no way he’d want me, right?

“Hard to believe this is all the time we get in paradise,” Lars said as we swam toward a rock.

“I know. I don’t want to leave. Especially when you’ve made England sound awful.”

“Ah, it’s not so bad. I was planning to dip down. And maybe… help you all… if you don't mind.”

I pulled myself onto the rock into a little ray of sunshine, unsure what to say.

“I think I’m just trying to settle in, honestly. Coming all that way?—”

Lars followed me. “I don’t mind. Honestly.”

I wanted to let him down gently. Saying anything else felt wrong.Lars was a sweetheart, a good friend, a lovely big brother, and a kind soul. He deserved better than me to lead him along—even to spare trouble for Cici and Isak. I’d take my lumps with them if I had to.

“Uh, Lars, I think there’s… I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

He furrowed a brow.

“I like you… a lot—as a friend. And I get a feeling you might feel like you… like me more than that. If so, I’m flattered. But I cannot return that. I’m sorry.”

His face fell. “Oh… I…”

“Don’t apologise, please. Don’t. I just wanted to be precise. I’m… flattered. I do care about you. I value your friendship, and you’ve always been so well?—”

He hopped off the rock. “Well, that’s fine. Thanks for letting me know.”

I watched him swim away in a huff, but trying to fix it was useless. Lars needed to calm down. I felt eyes on me and looked over to see Keir with a curious look on his face. I gave him a little smile, then turned back. I didn’t want to be obvious about it. Betty swam over and hopped up on the rock next to me.

“What is going on with you and my brother?”

“Uh… I…” I panicked.Shit!

“He seems like he’s in a horrible mood. Is he being nice to you?”

She meant Lars. I was relieved.Too many brothers!

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