Page 13 of Once Upon a Royal Summer
He rubbed his temples. “Am I the only one feeling jetlagged?”
Ian glanced at his ever-present smartwatch. “We’re due to meet with the park manager in an hour, but I could always reschedule for first thing in the morning if you’d rather get some rest. We’ve been on the go for almost twenty hours straight.”
Henry was accustomed to powering through time changes and travel stress, but little Rose wasn’t. Despite her tea party excitement, she was beginning to yawn every few minutes.
He rested a hand on her tiny shoulder. “What do you say, sweetheart? It’s your birthday trip, but we’ve got days ahead of us. Maybe you’d like to take a nap, or call it day and hit the ground running in the morning?”
Rose glanced around the bustling theme park until her gaze landed on a gift shop, conveniently situated mere steps from the Ever After Castle. A child-sized version of Sweet Pea’s puffy ballgown hung in the window, covered in bits of glitter that twinkled in the Florida sunshine. Rose gasped. “Look, daddy! It’s her dress!”
“Shopping it is, then, birthday girl. Followed by a nap and a quiet night in.” Henry nodded. They could order room service and have a picnic on one of the hotel beds—something they could never do on Rose’s fancy four-poster bed in the palace.
Rose sprinted toward the gift shop and gazed up at the window display in wide-eyed wonder.
“Rose is having a ball.” Ian’s expression turned tender as he lowered his voice. “As much as it upset Her Majesty, I think this birthday trip was an excellent idea—if you don’t mind my saying so.”
Henry felt the tense set of his shoulders relax just a bit. “I haven’t been spending as much time with her as I should. The queen will understand, eventually.”
Unless Rose refuses to ride in the royal procession at the Flower Festival…
It was going to take more than a waltz to get Henry’s mind off the pony problem. The queen wasn’t just his mother—she was his monarch. His sovereign. He’d made her a promise, and if he didn’t live up to it, there would be consequences. Not just for him, but for his daughter, too. The queen wasn’t going to let the matter of Rose’s education go, not if he continued to let her avoid getting back in the saddle. Henry didn’t want Rose to spend all day shut inside a palace. He wanted her to learn with children her own age. Yes, she was a princess, but she was also just a little girl. She wouldn’t sit on the throne for years. She deserved to have a life first.
Henry’s gut tightened. Was that how he felt about this own existence? That he didn’t have a life?
He glanced at Ian. “You might want to postpone the meeting with the park manager. Something tells me Rose is going to be a while in the shop, and afterward, I wouldn’t be surprised if she wants to check into the hotel and take a bubble bath.”
Which was exactly as it should be. She was behaving as any normal seven-year-old girl would, and it warmed Henry’s heart. For better or worse, he’d deal with the fallout when they returned to Bella-Moritz.
“Very well.” Ian pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “And later, I’m assuming you’ll require my assistance.”
Henry felt himself frown. Had he forgotten something? “Remind me what for, please.”
The corner of Ian’s mouth hitched into a sardonic half-grin. “For roaming the theme park far and wide in search of the fair maiden whose foot fits into the shoe the princess left behind. That’s how the story goes, isn’t it?”
Henry glared at him.
Ian waved a hand at Henry’s athleisurewear. “I’m assuming you pocketed the glass slipper in question.”
“Ian.” Henry sighed. His head pounded. He could really use an ibuprofen…or three.
Ian pulled a face. “Too far?”
“A little bit, yes.” Henry held his thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch apart.
“Duly noted, Your Royal Highness.”
By the time Lacey had finished her princess shift and was back home in her favorite gingham pajamas and sharing Chinese takeout with Ava, she’d forgotten all about her royal waltz with Grumpy Baseball Cap.
Mostly, anyway.
Maybe she’d kept an eye out for his sweet daughter’s pigtails for an hour or so post-tea party, but with three meet-and-greet sessions dotted throughout the park and a private party for children visiting from a summer camp for kids with special needs, she’d had more pressing things to think about than a semi-professional ballroom dancer disguised as a moody dad.
She still did, apparently, because as usual, Ava was brimming with gossip about the behind-the-scenes goings on at Once Upon A Time.
“Gretel and the Big Bad Wolf are an item now. Can you believe it?” Ava said as she dug into her half of their sesame chicken. Over the years, they’d fallen into the habit of referring to most of their theme park friends by their character names. In the beginning, it had been easier than trying to connect actual names to so many faces. Plus, now there were no less than three Brittanys on the Once Upon A Time roster. Character names just worked better all around.
Lacey blinked. “What? I thought Gretel had a crush on the Frog Prince.”
Practically everyone had a crush on the Frog Prince. There was a lot going on underneath that warty green costume of his.
