Page 41 of A Royal Arrangement
He picked up a super soaker and turned, aiming it directly at Rosalie. “This means war.”
She let out a squeal as he hit her with a spurt of water.
Colin immediately knew he had made a colossal mistake. Her t-shirt now clung to her body, flaunting all the feminine curves he would very much like to forget.
He couldn’t find his wife attractive. This marriage was for convenience only. It was something to satisfy his people and provide his daughter with a mother figure. The attraction he was feeling for her was very inconvenient.
Thankfully, Addie ran back over with a water gun of her own that was almost as big as her. Her little body shook as she used all her strength to hold it up. She started spraying both him and Rosalie with a playful grin on her face.
Rosalie picked up the super soaker he had been using and refilled it. She winked at Addie, and together they started showering him again. He ran away, a small laugh escaping his lips. They chased him around the grass, relentless in their quest to thoroughly soak him.
When they ran out of water in the giant tub the grounds staff had prepared for them, they all collapsed onto the lawn together.
“This was the best day evew!” Addie lay down on the ground and kicked her legs into the air.
“Better than your birthday?” Rosalie asked.
“Mmm…maybe not, but it’s close.”
Addie started talking about the friends she’d made at her birthday party and the play dates she was going to have with them soon.
As he sat there and listened to her, Colin’s throat tightened as he bit back a wave of emotion, because sitting on the grass with Addie and Rosalie, he felt like they were a family for the first time.
He didn’t want them to be a family. Colin, Addie, and Isabella were a family. Rosalie couldn’t replace her in their little unit. But was Rosalie really trying to replace Isabella? Everything he knew about her said no.
She was much more playful and bubbly compared to Isabella. His late wife had always been serious and composed. They were opposites in almost every way. And Rosalie was also the opposite of him. She wasn’t trying to be Isabella, and she wasn’t trying to replace her. She wasn’t trying to step in and prove she was better for his daughter than her mother had been. Rosalie was simply just being her genuine self, and she was starting to make a place for herself in Addie’s life…and maybe even in his.
“We should probably get this little one to bed.” Rosalie nudged his shoulder and pointed at Addie, who had fallen asleep with her head on Rosalie’s lap.
Colin stood and went to lift Addie when she suddenly popped her head up and smiled, looking back and forth between them. “I’ll put myself to bed. You two have fun.” She rushed back into the palace, leaving them both standing in silence.
“Did Addie just try toParent Trapus?”
“I think she did.” Colin nodded slowly.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a more precocious five-year-old.” Rosalie shook her head, letting out a laugh.
“She’s definitely precocious,” he agreed. Colin offered Rosalie his hand and helped her get back on her feet.
“This was fun. Thanks for being such a good sport.” She wrapped her toned arms around his neck, leaning in playfully for a hug. Her body pressed up against his, sharpening his sense of her curves.
He wrapped one arm around her, hugging her back, and shoved the other in his pocket, trying to keep it warm. His hand collided with something metal in his pocket, and his stomach dropped when he realized it was Isabella’s wedding band. He abruptly removed himself from her grasp and took a large step back.
“We really should get out of these wet clothes.”
Without waiting for a response, Colin abruptly fled the lawn, pulling open the palace’s front door and ignoring both Rosalie’s and Wes’s shouts after him as he jogged down the hall.
He couldn’t talk to Wes because he would see right through his lies. And he couldn’t talk to Rosalie because if he stayed around her for even another minute, he wasn’t sure he would be able to ignore his attraction to her any longer. And that was a recipe for disaster.
Colin had been married to Rosalie for a little over a month, and he had no idea what to do about the growing attraction he felt for her.
A safe home, financial stability, and the sweetest stepdaughter? That he could give her.
But his heart and a loving relationship? Those were out of the question.
His recent heightened attraction toward her caused him to do wild things, like running away after a hug. He’d definitely overreacted, but there hadn’t seemed to be another suitable reaction when being around his wife made his heart start to do things it clearly wasn’t allowed to do—likefeelagain. His heart was strictly ano-feelings zone.
At least, it had been—until lately. Hence the mad dash in response to a mere hug.
