Page 45 of A Royal Arrangement
“Did your father change his mind?” Charlotte prodded.
Sienna shook her head, her chocolate hair swishing around her. “No, Spencer said that after seeing me on the show, he had this giant awakening, knowing I had been so close to ending up with someone else. He realized he still loved me and said he would have regretted his decision for the rest of his life if he hadn’t at least explained to me why he had walked away and seen if there was something still there.”
“And there was something still there?” Bridgette waggled her eyebrows.
“Oh, gosh, you look like Liam.” Charlotte giggled, and they all laughed freely together.
After wiping tears from her eyes, Sienna nodded. “I don’t think I ever stopped loving him.” She got a far-off, dreamy expression in her eyes, a soft smile on her face.
“I’m so happy for you.” Rosalie grinned.
“Thanks, but enough about me.” Sienna waved her hand in front of herself, like she was shooing the topic away. “What do you think is the best way to capture Colin’s heart, Ro?”
Rosalie pondered all their ideas. “I think I’ve been going at this whole situation all wrong. All the things I’ve done to stand out and try to have him see me in a romantic light so far have been bigger, public gestures. But he has only ever responded positively when I’ve done small things.”
Colin had held onto her hand like a lifeline on the beach as they talked about his late wife. He had joined in on the danceparty she’d had with Addie. Colin had seemed reluctant to play their chess games at first, but he showed up—and continued to beat her—every week without fail. He had also swooped in like a superhero at the ball and rescued her.
It was obvious he wasn’t good at big gestures, but maybe he had been showing that he cared for her all along in his own quiet, guarded way.
“Maybe the way to his heart is through getting to knowhimbetter and intentionally caring for him in smaller ways. I think I just need to do things that he loves to do, show up every day, and be present with him. I need to be more intentional, and taking on more royal duties couldn’t hurt either.”
“See, you knew what you needed to do all along.” Charlotte nodded along encouragingly. “We’re rooting for you. Please keep us updated.”
“I will,” Rosalie promised. “Also, I don’t think we can let the idea of the singing telegram go to waste. Can we please send one to Liam?”
“Heck, yes.” Bridgette pumped her fist in the air.
“It could be our belated wedding gift to him…from all his ex-girlfriends.” Sienna cackled.
“We’re going to get him so good.” Charlotte smiled.
Rosalie spent the rest of her morning working with her friends to figure out what they wanted the singing telegram to say to Liam and laughing about anything and everything. She ended the call with a renewed spirit. Her soul was full of joy from the conversation with her best friends, and her heart was open for whatever was to come.
The next day, Rosalie had barely finished getting ready when a knock sounded at her door. She opened it and smiled when she saw who it was.
“Rosalie.” Wes’s eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Wes,” Rosalie responded with a smirk.
“Colin wanted me to inform you that the royal families from Westridge and Glencrest are visiting this afternoon for trade agreements.”
She perked up at his words. Those were the countries her childhood friends were from. “Do you know if Brielle and Andrew traveled with them?”
Wes nodded. “Yes, they came along hoping to visit you.”
Rosalie smiled. “I’ll make sure I’m downstairs to greet them when they arrive.” She opened her mouth to speak again, but the words caught in her throat. Rosalie felt awkward asking Colin’s best friend about him.
“You can ask me anything. I won’t tell your husband.” Wes winked at her. If any other man winked at her, she would think it was flirty, but she had quickly learned this was simply Wes’s personality.
She attempted to steel her expression, not wanting her emotions to seep through and give her away—even though it appeared Wes could already see right through her. Rosalie sighed before asking, “How is Colin doing?”
Wes ran his hands through his mop of hair, making his brown curls even more frizzy and wild. “I think as good as he can be.”
Rosalie inhaled a sharp breath. “I’m guessing he told you what happened?” she whispered.
“Yeah.” Wes pressed his lips together. “For what it’s worth, I completely understand why you’ve been avoiding him. Colin can be a real dunderhead sometimes.”
A smirk pulled at her lips.
