Page 33 of A Royal Arrangement
“You’re uncharacteristically quiet.” Wes bumped her shoulder with his.
Rosalie kicked at the grass with her pointed-toe flats. “I’m not sure I should talk about it.”
Wes nodded and gave her a look that said he completely understood where she was coming from. “I don’t know what Colin said or did, but I’ll talk to him. Hang in there, okay? Things won’t be this way forever.”
She breathed out a sound between a laugh and a sigh. “If you say so.”
“I do say so.” He put on his usual persona, shooting her a wink. “And I’m always right.”
A genuine smile popped back onto her face. “Yeah, yeah.” She squeezed his arm. “Thanks for walking around with me. I really needed a friend today.”
“At your service, m’lady.” He bowed, his poufy hair flopping around. “Now, please excuse me so I can grab a slice of cake before I go knock some sense into my best friend.”
She quietly laughed as he walked away. It turned into a real, uncontrollable laugh when she spotted Colin across the way with multiple barrettes and bows clipped into his hair by Addie and some of the young girls in attendance. His expression was one of utter irritation. He didn’t seem to do well with large groups of children and the mayhem they brought, but he was there, which said something about his character.
She wanted to wish Addie a happy birthday before she went back inside, so Rosalie pulled up her imaginary big-girl britches and walked over. Addie saw her coming and bounced up and down, waiting for her. When Rosalie knelt in front of her, Addie threw her arms around her neck, squeezing with as much strength as her little body could muster.
“This was so fun. Thanks, Mama.” She pulled back slightly, and her little eyes went wide as they found Rosalie’s. “I mean, Wosie.”
Chapter Eleven
Colin
“This was so fun. Thanks, Mama.” Addie pulled back, and her wide eyes landed first on Rosalie, then Colin. “I mean, Wosie.”
But the damage was already done. Her words were like a knife to his heart. Rosalie wasn’t her mom. Isabella was, and it was a shame Addie hadn’t had a chance to know her. He still couldn’t believe she had been taken so suddenly from them. Living in the past wouldn’t change anything, though, and he needed to keep his focus on the present. On the fact that Addie had ladies to look up to like her maternal grandmother and Luna…and now Rosalie.
“I’m going to head inside, but I’ll see you at dinner, okay?” Rosalie hugged Addie again from her kneeling position, not seeming to mind that her light-purple dress was pressing into the grass and dirt.
“Okay. I’m going to paint another unicorn.” Addie looked at him again then turned to Rosalie, putting a hand to her ear but still speaking in a normal voice. “And I’m going to eat another cotton candy, but don’t tell Daddy.”
A wry grin slid onto her face. “Your secret is safe with me.” She stood and walked back into the palace without so much as a glance at Colin.
Hesupposed he deserved that after what he’d said to her. It was a real jerk move to refer to Addie ashisdaughter and to tell Rosalie she wasn’t her mom and didn’t get to have any say about Addie’s life. She was her stepmom now…and his wife. He knew he’d messed up and shouldn’t have been so rude to Rosalie.
Colin removed all the barrettes and bows from his hair and stood, walking over to a lemonade stand. He chugged down a cup and reached for another as a hand clasped his shoulder.
“Hello, Wes,” he said without even having to look.
“Why are you being such a blockhead?”
“A—what?” Colin sputtered.
“What did you do to make your gem of a wife stop smiling? I ran into her earlier, and it was like the light in her had been completely dimmed. Naturally, I assumed that had to be your doing.”
He rested his arm on the lemonade stand and sighed. “I might’ve yelled at her for planning this party without me and then told her she wasn’t Addie’s mother.”
Wes hit him in the arm with the back of his hand. “She threw together a magnificent party for your daughter with a week’s notice, and you yelled at her for it?”
“It wasn’t my best moment.”
“Did you know that she even invited Beverly and Richard? They couldn’t make it, but she went out of her way to make sure Hector personally reached out to them.”
Colin shook his head. He already felt remorse for how he had treated Rosalie, but knowing she had invited Isabella’s parents made him feel that much worse.
Wes looked at him with pity. “I know no one can replace Isabella, but can’t you appreciate Rosalie for who she is andhow she’s caring for your daughter? It takes one small glance to see how much Addie looks up to her. You’re the one who said you wanted a positive motherly figure in her life.”
“I do know that, and I appreciate the role she’s filling in Addie’s life, but sometimes it becomes too much.”
