Page 72 of A Royal Arrangement
Rosalie is becoming the sunshine that lights up my entire world. I could never admit that to anyone, though—especially her.
He was an idiot for treating her the way he had that morning. What man had his wife comfort him after a nightmare, fell asleep holding her, and then acted like a child when he woke up by pretending like it had never happened? Him, that was who.
When Colin had said goodbye to Isabella at the picnic Rosalie had set up, he’d told himself it was time to open his heart again. That made him even more of a fool for acting like that after realizing how he felt about Rosalie.
But that was exactlywhyhe had done it. He was running away from his feelings like he was an Olympic sprinter trying to break a world record.
I really like her.
But he was scared to death he was going to open himself up and lose her just like he’d lost Isabella. He was scared that giving her his broken heart wasn’t what she needed or deserved.
She deserved a better response than the one he’d given her this morning when she asked if he was okay. Once hedropped Addie off to Luna, he found Hector and a few other palace staff members in the front hall, looking out the windows and pointing outside.
“It’s really storming, huh?” Colin glanced at the windows, currently getting pounded by the sideways downpour. “Hector, have you seen Rosalie?”
The head butler looked at the other staff before peering back at him with a sad and slightly concerned expression. “She’s gone, Your Majesty.”
“Gone? What do you mean she’s gone?” Colin’s voice crescendoed.
Hector pointed outside. “She ran out into the storm.”
“What?” His question echoed in the front entryway. Before the butler could respond again, Colin had thrown the front door open and started running without even knowing where he was going.
“Your Majesty!”
He could hear Hector calling out for him, but he didn’t stop. Colin needed to find Rosalie and apologize to her. He needed to get her to safety before she caught a cold or…worse. The rocky cliffs surrounding the palace could get really slippery in a storm. He hadn’t ever told her to be careful near the cliff’s edge if it had rained recently. He shook his head, brushing his soaking-wet hair out of his eyes. He couldn’t think like that. He just needed to find his wife.
“Rosalie!” Colin yelled, but he knew his voice would be lost in the downpour. He rushed closer to the back of the palace that overlooked the ocean, knowing how much Rosalie enjoyed that view. Careful of his steps, he continued moving as fast as he could when he finally spotted her.
He sucked in a sharp breath, feeling like he could finally breathe again knowing she was safe. But she wouldn’t reallybe safe until she was in his arms, back at the palace. Colin ran to her, continuing to call her name. When he was a few yards away, she finally heard him, spinning to face him. Her wet ponytail spun with her in giant clumps, sticking to her face and back. When he reached her, he wrapped her in his arms and crushed her to him, holding her head to his chest with one hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist.
She shivered against him. Despite the warm summer heat, the raindrops were cold, and her clothes had been soaked completely through.
“What are you doing out here? Are you okay?” He pulled back, intently searching her eyes.
“I’m glad you regained your ability to say more than a few words at a time.” Her voice was dry, and there wasn’t a hint of a smile on her face.
He continued to hold her, even though her entire body remained stiff at his touch. “I’m sorry for how distant I was this morning. You didn’t deserve that. I freaked out when I woke up next to you.”
“That much was obvious.” She let out an exasperated laugh.
Colin closed his eyes and tilted his chin up, letting the rain wash away his fears. When he looked back at her, he was filled with a new bout of courage. “I panicked because I have feelings for you. Feelings that scare the absolute crap out of me because I haven’t felt like this in a long time. I haven’t opened my heart in years, and I didn’t know how to deal with the emotions I felt when I woke up next to you this morning.”
Rosalie’s whole demeanor softened. She reached up and brushed his brown hair back from his eyes. “You could have told me just like that.”
“You know me and my problem with words. I can’t always find the right ones to share how I feel.”
She glanced down at his lips, licking her own before raising her gaze to his eyes again, a challenge in them. “Then show me.”
Colin didn’t hesitate for a second. He grabbed her face and lowered his lips to hers. Immediately, her body melted into him. She wrapped her hands around his neck, running her fingers through his rain-soaked hair. Her fingernails grazed his scalp, and he leaned into her touch. A deep, guttural sound escaped his lips, and she swallowed it with another kiss.
The kisses shifted from firm and passionate into something more playful. He pulled away from her, and she groaned, making him chuckle. She stopped her complaints immediately when he trailed kisses from her neck up along her face.
When he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, it seemed she couldn’t wait any longer. Rosalie reached up and grabbed his face, pulling his mouth back to hers. Her actions told him plainly that she didn’t need all the build-up or the fancy words. She wanted Colin just as he was.
He tilted his head, deepening the kiss as rain pounded against his back. Rosalie immediately leaned into him and grabbed fistfuls of the shirt on his back. For someone so sweet, he hadn’t expected her to kiss likethis. He’d thought she might kiss more timidly, but the way her lips moved against his was intense and full of fire.
He showed her once…twice…a dozen times how much he cared for her.
