Page 32 of Once Upon a Royal Summer
The next page showed the queen heaping twenty more mattresses plus twenty feather beds on top of the pea, which definitely seemed like overkill to Henry. But of course, the following morning, the princess woke up black and blue from the offending pea, which had caused her a terrible night’s sleep, despite the abundance of cushioning.
“The prince was delighted and asked her to marry him right away, because he knew he’d at last found his real princess,” Henry read.
“Her dress is pink, just like Princess Sweet Pea’s,” Rose said, tracing the illustration of the royal newlyweds with the tip of her pointer finger.
“Indeed it is.” Henry nodded and felt a nonsensical stirring deep inside his chest. “That’s because this is Princess Sweet Pea’s story.”
“So Princess Sweet Pea is a real princess, just like me,” Rose said without an ounce of doubt in her tone.
Henry swallowed. How the heck was he supposed to respond to that? “There are a lot of things that make someone a real princess,” he finally said. “Things like bravery…” He was tempted to slip in a mention of Daisy the pony, but decided against it. They were still on holiday, and he didn’t want to push—not yet and not here. “And kindness too. Like when you gave your crown away the other day. That was very kind.”
Rose nodded against his chest. “Princess Sweet Pea is brave,” she said in a sleepy voice. “She loves all the rides, even the scary ones.”
Henry smiled to himself. “Yes, she does.”
“And she’s kind too,” Rose murmured, finally letting her eyes drift shut.
“Very, very kind,” Henry whispered.
He closed the story book and set it gently on Rose’s night table. Rain pitter-pattered against the windows, and the moon cast shimmering light over the ocean. He wondered where Lacey was right then and what she was doing. The more she opened up to him, the more he wanted to know about her.
Henry crossed his feet at the ankles and made no move to slip out from beneath the soft weight of Rose’s sleeping form. He wanted to suck all he could out this vacation—to make each moment last as long as possible. Maybe he’d close his eyes for just a minute…
And maybe he’d dream of cotton candy and peppermint and being lifted so high in the sky that he could no longer see his troubles waiting for him down below.
CHAPTER TEN
Gallant Is Just Part of His Job Description
The sun came up the following morning and bathed the shore in pale golden light, melting away all traces of the previous night’s storm. Rose popped out of bed and zipped herself into her Sweet Pea costume before Henry managed to finish shaving. She was so anxious to get to back to the park that he practically had to tie her down in order for her to finish their breakfast of American-style pancakes and fresh Florida orange juice.
But before they left the room, she tore one of the croissants that had come with their room service order into tiny bits and arranged the crumbs in a neat row on the balcony railing. Just as she finished, a small sparrow sporting wings tipped with yellow plucked one of the torn pieces of bread from the railing. Rose turned toward Henry and her entire face lit up.
He had an expansive feeling in his chest as she tore another croissant into pieces, covering the railing from one end to the other.
Rule number one: always make friends with birds and butterflies.
Ian accompanied Henry and Rose to Once Upon A Time and, just as she had the day before, Lacey met them at the special VIP park entrance. As usual, she was in full theme-park-princess mode, with her elaborate Sweet Pea crown, white gloves, and billowing gown. Henry really should’ve been used to the sight of her by now, but something about her generous smile turned his knees to water.
He’d developed feelings for her over the past few days. There was no more denying it. His heart beat faster whenever she was near, and for the first time in his life, he’d begun to let his guard down. The anonymity the theme park afforded him had allowed him to drop his royal mask and be his true self—a luxury he hadn’t experienced in years, if ever. He was going to miss that sense of freedom, but he was beginning to realize he was going to miss Lacey even more.
“Good morning,” she said, greeting Rose with her customary Princess Sweet Pea curtsey.
Henry had lived in a palace his entire life, and he’d never witnessed as many curtseys as he had in the past few days. It was rather endearing.
Rose mirrored Lacey’s greeting, and Lacey flashed her a wink.
“I have a special surprise for everyone this morning,” Lacey said as she guided them through the white wrought-iron gate, decorated with elaborate swirls and scrollwork.
“A surprise?” Ian said, glancing at Henry. “That certainly sounds intriguing.”
Rose reached for Lacey’s hand. “I love surprises.”
“Me too,” Lacey said.
She led them down the wide promenade at the entrance of the park, toward the lush, green space where the words Once Upon A Time were spelled out in lavender, violet, and cherry-red chrysanthemums. The heady perfume of the flowers reminded Henry of home, and for a brief, fantastical moment, he wished he could show Lacey what Bella-Moritz was like this time of year. He wanted to walk with her through Grand Flower Park and watch her close her eyes and tip her face toward the warm Mediterranean sun. He wanted to tuck a daisy behind her ear. He wanted so many things, none of which were remotely possible.
Henry blinked hard and commanded himself to focus on the here and now and whatever surprise Lacey had up her glittery, puffy sleeves. Henry himself had never been overly fond of surprises, which he supposed was a result of his royal upbringing. Not only was everything in the palace meticulously planned, it had also been set in stone since what felt like the beginning of time. Nothing was as important to a royal court as tradition.
