Page 48 of A Royal Arrangement
I’m visiting a local farm to pick some berries today. Please let me know if you wish to accompany me.
-C
Much better. Kind but straight to the point. Colin folded the parchment and put it into an envelope. He poured a small amount of melted wax onto the back and pressed his wax seal stamp into it, allowing it to cool for a few minutes. When he removed the stamp, a perfect royal-blue replica of his family’s royal crest remained on the envelope.
“Writing a love letter?” Wes walked into his study without knocking, his ever-present smirk plastered on his face.
“As if I would ever write a love letter,” he scoffed.
“I also never thought you would engage in a water fight, but…” Wes trailed off, absentmindedly flipping a pen around with his fingers.
“That water fight was for Addie.”
Wes rolled his eyes. “If that’s what you need to believe to sleep at night.” He paced around the study as if it washis. “Anyway, what are you up to today? I was going to see if you wanted to hit the basketball court with me this afternoon.”
“I would, but I hopefully have plans this afternoon.”
“Hopefully?”
Colin lifted the envelope off his desk. “I’ve invited Rosalie to go berry picking.”
After a moment’s pause, Wes erupted in laughter. He wiped under his eyes when he finally calmed down. “Whew. I’ve been needing a good laugh.” Wes walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “You, my friend, are in the deep end.”
“The deep end of what?”
“The ocean of looove.” Wes drew out the last word and moved his hips with his arms out like he was riding a surfboard.
“You’re the biggest flirt I know. You’ve never even had a girlfriend. How would you know what it looks like to fall in love?”
“You don’t need to be dating someone to fall in love.” His friend’s smile faltered before he put back on his cocky façade.
“It sounds like there’s a story there.”
Wes opened his mouth and then closed it, pressing his lips into a flat line. When he finally looked back at Colin, he wore a casual smile, trying to play it cool.
“What are you talking about? There are plenty of people in the movies who fall in love at first sight.”
“I’ll pry the story out of you another day.” Colin stood. “But for now, I need to have someone deliver this to Rosalie.”
Wes snatched the letter from his fingers. “Please, allow me to do the honors. I’ve always wanted to play matchmaker.” He hurried out of the room.
“It’s not matchmaking,” Colin called after him, but his friend was already gone.
A good half hour later, Colin’s phone dinged with a text message. He pulled it out of his pocket and shook his head when the message preview popped up on the screen.
Wes:I convinced Rosalie to agree to the date this afternoon. You’re welcome. Don’t mess it up…again.
He didn’t plan on botching things again. Hopefully, by the end of today, he and Rosalie would finally be on the same page and figure out how they could move forward together.
Their ride to the farm had been quiet. Things between them still felt a bit awkward, but Colin hoped their time here today would resolve that. He was just glad that she had agreed to come.
He walked a few steps behind Rosalie through the rows of fruit bushes. She went from bush to bush, kneeling and picking handfuls of blackberries before putting them into the basket he insisted on carrying for her.
They reached the end of a row and saw a slightly rusted metal bench sitting parallel to the field. Colin gestured to it and set the basket on the ground. He sat beside her, wringing his hands together.
“Are you ready to talk? I don’t want you to feel cornered just because you agreed to come here with me.”
She nodded.
