Page 38 of A Royal Arrangement
“Addie is missing. I’m so sorry. One minute she was right there with me, and then I went to draw her bath, and when I returned, she was gone.”
Not Addie. Please don’t let anything be wrong with my little girl.
Without so much as a thought, he unlocked the door connecting his room to Rosalie’s, turned the knob, and burst into her room. Whether he liked it or not, he needed her right now.
Chapter Twelve
Rosalie
Rosalie sat on the couch in her room, reflecting on the day she’d had. From Colin sending her to the spa to finishing the day by enjoying dinner privately with him, everything about it had been wonderful. Things finally seemed to be moving in the right direction with him.
With a smile on her face, she started scrolling through pictures of her and her friends from her time onRoyally Yours. Happy days like today made her wish they were here so she could share it with them. She missed her friends more than words could express. A few text messages here and there weren’t nearly enough.
She swiped to the next photo—one of her and Charlotte in evening gowns—when the door connecting her room to Colin’s suddenly burst open.
Colin rushed in, his eyes darting around, trying to find her, as he ran his hand through his already mussed hair. She jumped to her feet, crossing the room to stand in front of him. He was breathing heavily, and he rocked on his feet. Rosalie had never seen him this undone.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, reaching her hand out to steady him.
“Is Addie in here?”
“No, I haven’t seen her since breakfast this morning. Is everything okay?”
“She’s missing. Luna can’t find her.” Colin grabbed fistfuls of his brown hair. “I’m going to have Luna tell the grounds staff and guards to search outside.”
As he called Luna into the room and spoke to her, Rosalie’s heart raced at the thought of Addie missing and alone. Unshed tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes, but she willed them to not fall, wanting to remain positive and optimistic in front of Colin.
When Luna left in a run, Colin turned back to face her. His voice was strong and commanding as he said, “I’ll check her bedroom and playroom along with the other rooms on this floor. Can you handle checking the fourth floor? If she’s not any of those places, we can move down to the first and second floors.”
“Of course.” Rosalie nodded, trying to put as much positivity into her words as she could muster.
“Call me if you find her.” He gave her a brief nod and left the room.
Rosalie ran barefoot up the stairs to the fourth floor, not bothering to put on shoes or something other than her t-shirt and pajama shorts. She started in a familiar place—the room with the beautiful balcony where she loved to sit. Addie wasn’t there or in the next few rooms she checked.
She didn’t know where else she might’ve gone.Where would a five-year-old run off to at bedtime?All of a sudden, the realization hit her like a strong gust of wind. At dinner, Colin had told her about the conversation he’d had with Addie during their daddy-daughter tea party.
In Rosalie’s time exploring the palace, she’d found the room he mentioned, where all Isabella’s ballgowns werestored. Rosalie had a gut feeling that was exactly where Addie would be. She ran down the hallway and let out a breath of relief when she found Addie on the floor in that room, wrapped in her mother’s dresses, sobbing into them.
Rosalie sprinted across the room and dropped to the floor. Addie crawled over into her lap and continued to cry on her shoulder. She immediately pulled out her phone and called Colin to let him know she had found Addie, that she was safe, and where they were.
Addie’s sniffles subsided, and she took in a shuddering breath. Rosalie felt it through the little girl’s entire body as she held her in her arms.
Colin burst through the door, rushing toward them. He ran his hands up and down Addie’s arms like he was checking that she was truly uninjured. When he deemed she was okay, he pulled them both into his arms in a tight hug.
Rosalie couldn’t help but notice the fresh, somewhat spicy scent of his cologne as her head pressed into his chest. But when Addie started sniffling again, all Rosalie’s attention returned to her.
“You had us worried. I’m so glad we found you.” He pulled back and looked at his daughter. “Why did you leave Luna to come here, little princess?” His tone was so soft and sweet it caused goosebumps to erupt over Rosalie’s arms.
In a small voice, Addie said, “You told me about my mama’s dresses. I couldn’t wait to see them, but then I got sad because she isn’t hewe.” Tears started trailing down her face again.
Rosalie pulled her close again, stroking her hair and rocking them back and forth gently on the floor. “It’s okay, sweet girl. I know it hurts to miss the people that you love, but I’ll always be here for you, and so will your daddy.”
“That’s right. We’ll always be here for you, and you can always talk to us about how you’re feeling.” Colin gently brushed his fingers through Addie’s hair, his fingertips also grazing Rosalie’s arm with the motion. “In the future, please remember that you need to tell an adult when you want to go somewhere so they can go with you. We want to make sure we know where you are so you’re always safe.”
“I will, Daddy. I pwomise.” Addie climbed out of Rosalie’s lap and flung her small arms around Colin’s neck. His eyes closed as he hugged her close to him, like he never wanted to let her go.
“It’s time we get you to bed.” Colin stood, still holding Addie in his arms.
