Page 43 of A Royal Arrangement
Colin stood and then pulled Rosalie up to her feet.
“Thank you for telling me about Isabella and your mom. I know how hard it is to open up when you’ve experienced that level of loss.” She started walking back to the palace, but he was stuck in place, her words striking a chord in him.
Rosalie turned around when she was a few paces away. “Are you coming?”
Before Colin could think about what he was about to say, the words were flying out of his mouth. “You couldn’tpossibly understand what it means to lose someone that close to you.”
Rosalie turned quiet. He could almost see her shrinking in on herself, like she was a turtle retreating into its shell.
“I’ve lost more than you know,” she whispered.
He watched a tear fall down her cheek before she turned and clambered over the rocks and then ran back up the steep pathway to the palace.
Colin clenched his hands into fists and squeezed tightly.
What just happened? Things were going so well. What is wrong with me?
He took his time walking back to the palace, knowing tonight was probably not the night to try to talk things out with Rosalie. Colin kicked at a stray pebble on his path.
It was possible he and Rosalie had something else in common—something he wouldn’t wish on anyone.
The rest of the night, he lay awake, realizing he really hadn’t asked her as many questions as he should have by this point in their relationship. He didn’t know what she’d meant by her comment, but he planned to figure it out whenever she was ready to share. All he knew right now was that he needed to make things right. She deserved so much more than what he had given her thus far, and he would find a way to prove it to her.
Chapter Fourteen
Rosalie
Usually, Colin was the one who made himself scarce. He attended meals and his weekly chess date with Rosalie, but otherwise, their interactions were infrequent unless she made an effort to see him.
But recently, there had been a reversal of roles. Colin had knocked on her door, trying to talk, the past two evenings…but she’d ignored those knocks, feigning sleep. She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet.
It would be difficult to open up about the greatest loss she had encountered in her life, especially after his words had cut through her like a knife to her heart.
You couldn’t possibly understand what it means to lose someone that close to you.
His words replayed in her mind over and over again until she felt numb to them. As much as Colin might like to think he had a stone façade, Rosalie had begun to be able to see through it. It had only taken a few weeks of being around him to see the man beneath the grumpy exterior he wore so well.
It was hard for people to get close to him, and he hid his emotions well. But once you were in his inner circle, Colin loved fiercely. She saw it in the tender ways he cared for Addie. She saw it in the way he lovingly talked aboutIsabella. She even saw it in his lighthearted friendship with Wes.
Rosalie didn’t believe Colin had always been a grump. He seemed like the kind of man who had been reserved his whole life, but she believed his grumpiness stemmed from having lost his wife. It was likely a coping mechanism to keep people at arm’s length. She couldn’t blame him for that after the year he’d lost both his father and wife—two terrible blows so close together.
Even though she may not have made the decision to marry him on her own, she was in this for the long haul. She would choose him every day because that’s what a relationship was about—choosing your partner day in and day out, even when things got hard.
Yes, she had been avoiding him, but only so she would be in the right headspace when she talked to him. Rosalie had already forgiven him in her heart for what he’d said. And today, she’d awakened with her heart lighter, ready to take on that conversation with him the next time they were alone.
But first, she wanted to talk to her girls. Rosalie walked onto her balcony and sat on the outdoor couch, pulling out her phone. She took a bite of the cinnamon roll Gloria had sent up and opened her “Royally Yours Gal Pal” group chat.
Rosalie:LADIES! I’m in dire need of advice.
Rosalie:*GIF of Nick Miller screaming, “Help me!”*
Their responses were almost instantaneous.
Bridgette:Do we need to call in the big guns?
Charlotte:I need ALL the tea, sis!
Sienna:Everyone available for a video chat?
