Page 35 of Once Upon a Royal Summer
She reminded herself that being gallant was part of his job description. A ride that featured a ghostly pirate who liked to knit scarves for his pet parrot aboard his sunken ship was hardly a recipe for romance. This wasn’t a date. Henry was simply being nice. Charming was built right into his DNA.
They took their seats in the boat behind Rose and Ian’s. Lacey’s gown spilled over into Henry’s lap, just as it had on the very first day when they’d ridden in the Snow Queen’s sleigh together. But now there was an ease between them that hadn’t been there before, a quiet intimacy as familiar as it was beguiling. Lacey forced herself to face forward and ignore the nonsensical impulse to rest her head on Henry’s princely shoulder.
The boat floated forward, headed for a cave illuminated with deep blue lighting and dripping with sparkling gemstones and ropes of pearls hanging from the ceiling.
She felt Henry’s gaze on her—as real as if he’d reached out and touched her cheek—so she swiveled to glance in his direction. Blue and purple shadows moved across his chiseled face, making his eyes glitter like sapphires. He smiled a lopsided smile, looking far more like someone she might bump into on the walking path at the beach than an actual, future king, and Lacey melted a little bit inside.
Maybe she hadn’t been imagining things in recent days. Maybe there really was something happening between them, something real.
Lacey swallowed hard, and as their boat ventured deeper into the cave, she could no longer see Henry’s expression. But somehow she could feel still feel his boyish grin.
Had she really been indignant when Mr. Dole had informed her she’d be showing Henry and Rose around the park during their stay?
She had, hadn’t she?
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Lacey said while flashes of fake lightning lit up their surroundings and wind whistled through their watery cavern.
“I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for Rose over the past few days.” Henry shifted beside her.
“Of course. I got the idea for the carousel from my roommate, Ava. She works here at the park too.” Lacey lowered her voice to a whisper. “She’s Red Riding Hood, but her identity is supposed to be a secret, so maybe keep that under your hat.” She shot a meaningful glance at Henry’s head. “Or in your case, crown.”
His handsome face split into a wide smile. “Cute.”
Lacey took a deep breath. She was flirting…with royalty, which, when you were a commoner, was probably the literal equivalent of flirting with danger. “You already thanked me this morning,” she said, turning to face the depths of the watery cave again. “And last night, remember?” She caught another glimpse of Henry as streaks of rain were projected onto the walls of the cave.
He regarded her thoughtfully. “Well, it bears repeating. And…” He took a deep breath. The air between them felt swollen all of a sudden, full of things neither one of them would let themselves say.
“And?” she prompted. Lacey’s heart hammered in her chest. What was happening?
Their boat drifted past a vignette of a shipwrecked pirate ship with ripped sails. A chest of gold coins lay scattered onto the sand beside the wreckage. Lacey barely noticed any of it. Her body was inside the tiny pirate boat she shared with Henry, but in her imagination, she was back on the dance floor in the ballroom at Ever After Castle, waltzing one last time with the Crown Prince of Bella-Moritz.
“Well, I was wondering—” Henry began.
And then Jack the Knitting Pirate popped out of nowhere, a ghostly apparition that seemed to crawl right into the boat beside them, thanks to a dash of theme park magic and high-end special effects.
They both jumped in their seats, caught completely off guard by the spooky interruption. Lacey heard someone scream, and she realized the noise had come from her very own mouth. Worse yet, the ridiculous pirate had given her such a start that she’d grabbed onto Henry and was clutching the front of his pristine polo shirt in both of her fists.
“Oh, um.” She tried to apologize, but the words wouldn’t come. Henry’s face was right there, mere inches from hers. Beneath handfuls of Ralph Lauren fine knit fabric, she could feel his heartbeat, pounding like mad.
Or was that frantic boom-boom her own heart, galloping wildly in her chest? She honestly couldn’t tell.
Henry’s gaze dropped to her mouth, and she licked her lips. He was going to kiss her, like they were a pair of completely normal teenagers riding in a pirate-themed tunnel of love instead of what they were. Mismatched royalty.
He lowered his head, ever so slowly, and Lacey tipped her face toward his. She’d never identified with her theme park character more in her life.
This is craziness!
And yet, it felt right, somehow. It really did…
Until Henry pulled away in the moment right before their lips touched.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Are Platonic Goosebumps a Thing?
Henry blinked.
He was sure he’d just seen a flash of cell phone camera. It had come from somewhere to the left, but when he scanned the dark recesses of the pirate cave, he came up empty. The flash of light must’ve been one of the ride’s many special effects.
