Page 39 of A Royal Arrangement
He reached a hand down to Rosalie and effortlessly pulled her to her feet. She tugged at her avocado-print pajama shorts, wishing she were wearing something different right now, suddenly feeling self-conscious. But then Colin shot her a real, genuine smile, and Rosalie’s worries flooded away.
“Thank you,” he mouthed to her, motioning his head to Addie.
She smiled back up at him. Together, they walked to Addie’s bedroom and put her to sleep, forgoing her bath tonight to just be together and make sure Addie fell asleep with two of the people who loved her most in the world at her side.
Even though the moments leading up to this one had been terrifying, Rosalie would have gone through it all again to arrive at this moment—the one when she felt like they were a real family for the first time.
When she finally made it back to her room in the middle of the night, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
The next morning, her alarm came much too early, and Rosalie trudged from her bed to the bathroom. She threw her hair up into a messy bun and brushed her teeth. After putting on a plain oversized t-shirt and jean shorts, she slipped into a pair of Birkenstocks and lackadaisically walked to the dining room for breakfast.
Normally, she woke up optimistic, ready to take on the day, but today she was too exhausted to be her bright self.
It felt like an eternity before she finally slumped into her usual seat at the table. Surprisingly, she was the first one to arrive for breakfast that morning, so she casually rested her head on her forearms on top of the oak table.
Rosalie closed her eyes.Was this table always so comfy?
“Is she alive?” Addie asked, poking her arm, startling Rosalie awake.
She lifted her head and tried to inconspicuously wipe her chin, checking for any drool after her catnap. Luckily, her hand came away dry, but she still felt self-conscious as the palace staff walked in and delivered their breakfast plates filled with eggs, roasted potatoes, and chicken sausage patties.
“Did you sleep well?” Colin asked after the wait staff had left the room.
She grunted in response. He dropped his forkful of scrambled eggs and looked at her with his mouth slightly agape.
Addie giggled as she nibbled on a cranberry-orange muffin. “You sound like Daddy.”
“What? I don’t sound like that,” Colin scoffed.
“You’re wight. Wosie sounds like a puppy when she does it. You sound mowe like a bear.”
Rosalie sputtered as she took a sip of her iced coffee.
He made a grunting sound of his own. “I don’t sound like a bear.”
“You weally do.”
A small grin twitched on Rosalie’s lips at the outright grumpy expression on Colin’s face. When they got into a full-throated conversation, Rosalie’s head started pounding.
She stood, lifting her plate with her. “I’m going to finish my breakfast on my balcony.” Rosalie turned on her Birkenstocked heels and strode out of the dining room and back up to her room.
Once she was on the safety of her balcony, she set her plate on the table and sighed, letting her face fall into her hands. She wasn’t used to feeling this exhausted, and she hated it.
Rosalie wasn’t sure how long she sat there, staring out at the ocean, but it was long enough for her food to get cold, still untouched, and for the sun to reach its highest peak.
She turned her head when a light knock sounded on the glass door.
“I thought you could use a little pick-me-up.” Colin raised the tray he held in his hands. “Gloria said this is your favorite.” He handed her a plate with a cinnamon roll. “And I guessed how you take your coffee from how I’ve seen you drink it at breakfast.”
Rosalie stayed seated, frozen in place. Her eyes widened when his words fully hit her. Colin had gone out of his way to do something nice for her.
My husband wants to cheer me up.
The thought had her genuinely smiling for the first time that day.
She took a giant bite of the cinnamon roll, barely holding back a moan at the sweet goodness hitting her tongue. After she finished chewing, she took the iced coffee from him. Rosalie did her best to hide a grimace after taking a sip. The iced coffee was so incredibly sweet it belonged in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory rather than in a cup.
“It seemed like you were having a rough day, so I thought maybe this would help.”
