Page 16 of A Royal Arrangement
Rosalie couldn’t help but smile at the young girl’s words and antics.
Colin released a defeated sigh. “I did say in the morning, didn’t I?”
He rubbed one of his biceps with his hand. Her eyes tracked his every movement. The morning looked good on him, from his bedhead to the tight long-sleeved shirt he wore that clung to every contour in his muscular arms.
His attention finally turned to Rosalie, and Colin immediately looked away as his cheeks flushed. “Ah…uh, I’m sorry. I’ll let you get dressed.”
She glanced down and felt her own cheeks heat when she saw that all she was wearing was a small silk nightgown. Rosalie immediately pulled the comforter up to cover herself.
He hurried over to her bed and grabbed Addie’s hand, pulling her into his arms and averting his eyes the entire time.
Rosalie decided then and there that this flustered Colin was her favorite version so far.
“But I want to meet my new mommy,” she cried right as Colin shut the door behind them without a backward glance. Even through the door, she could hear Addie ask, “Can I get a dwess like Wosie’s?”
She smiled to herself.Addie already gave me a nickname.The only other person who had ever given her a nickname was Charlotte—well, besides her sister when they were children, but that felt like a lifetime ago.
“No.” Colin’s gruff response came quickly to his daughter’s question.
Rosalie looked down at her nightgown again. She’d put it on last night without a second thought. It was comfy and soft…and she hadn’t thought there was any way Colin would ever be seeing it. But she had no reason to feel ashamed. He was her husband now, after all, not some random guy.
The voices outside her door quieted, so she pushed herself out of bed and got ready for the day. She decided to wear a black pencil skirt and pink blouse. It was one of the outfits that made her feel feminine yet powerful, like she could conquer any problem the day would throw at her.
Rosalie walked back to her end table and picked up her phone to look at the weather for the day before she decided on a pair of shoes. The screen remained black when she clicked on it.
Oh my gosh, I never turned my phone back on. My friends must be going absolutely nuts right now.
She held down the power button, and once it came back to life, her phone immediately started lighting up with dozens of notifications.
The recent article titles from theRoyal Inquisitornews app jumped out to her first.
A First Look at the Royal Wedding No One Saw Coming.
A Surprise Wedding and A New Queen for Edgemont.
Findorra Solves Financial Troubles with Arranged Marriage.
Since it had consumed her thoughts for the past week, it had completely slipped Rosalie’s mind that her marriage to Colin would be a surprise to the rest of the world…including her friends. She swiped back to her phone’s home screen and swallowed hard at the sight of twelve missed calls and thirty-seven text messages. She pressed the messaging app icon and opened the “Royally Yours Gal Pals” group thread, which accounted for the large majority of her missed texts.
She reread the last message she had sent them right before shutting off her phone.
Rosalie:Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. I have some…unexpected news. I’m getting married today.
Their group thread had erupted after she’d dropped that bombshell.
Bridgette:Wait. WHAT?!
Bridgette:You’re joking, right?
Sienna:Like MARRIED married?
Charlotte:Nice one, Rosalie. You almost had me there!
Charlotte:*GIF of girl spewing coffee and laughing*
Sienna:Soooo, it’s been like five hours with no response. It went straight to voicemail when I tried to call Rosalie. Should we be worried?
Charlotte:Rosalie, blink once if you’re okay. Blink twice if we need to send help.
