Page 74 of A Royal Arrangement
A smile appeared on his friend’s face again. “I’m honored.” Wes wiped an imaginary tear away.
“Where do I go from here?” he asked.
“The only way you can go.” Wes lifted the half-eaten apple to him in a cheers gesture. “Forward, my friend. You go forward, and you don’t look back.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rosalie
It had been seventy-five hours and thirty-six minutes since Colin had kissed Rosalie, and it had been all she could think about in every passing moment since then.
The feel of his hands on her hips and the tender way he’d held her face. And when he’d kissed her…he’dkissedher. She hadn’t expected anything less from him. Colin didn’t seem like the kind of man to do anything halfway, and he’d kissed her likeshewas hiseverything.
The passion she’d felt from him at the beginning of the kiss had reassured her that she wasn’t the only one feeling something between them, and then the way he’d slowed the kiss down and turned it into something more flirtatious had been like the cherry on top of a sundae.
She could spend the rest of her life kissing him. Since they were married, Rosalie should be able to do exactly that, but they still hadn’t defined their relationship.
There were two facts she knew for certain. One, they were husband and wife. Two, they’d kissed one time, and it had been magical.
But beyond that, they needed to talk about where their relationship was going from here. As she tried to figure outhow she was going to navigate bringing up that conversation with him, her phone lit up with a notification. Her lips pulled into a smile when she saw it was a text from Colin.
Colin:Sunshine, please meet me at the docks at one this afternoon for a date. There’s an outfit in the bag at your door, so you don’t have to worry about what to wear *winking face emoji*
Rosalie:I didn’t know you knew what emojis were *winking face with tongue emoji*
Rosalie:This already sounds like a dream date! Can’t wait!
Colin:Is that an old joke? *thinking face emoji*
Rosalie:Mayyybe
Rosalie:Lucky for you, I find thirty-year-old kings named Colin very attractive!
Colin:Good thing my parents named me Colin, then.
Colin:I just so happen to think queens with red hair and a personality as bright as the sun are beautiful.
Colin:See you soon, sunshine *sun emoji*
Okay, maybe there was a third thing Rosalie knew for sure: her husband thought she was beautiful. She walked to her door with a wide grin on her face. Flirting with Colin was her new favorite pastime—besides kissing him,obviously.
After carrying the gift bag inside, she pulled the tissue paper out of it to find a gorgeous emerald-green bikini. The bottoms were high-waisted with a little bit of ruching, and the top was a V-neck with a twist that made it look even more flirty and fun. Underneath the swimsuit was a lightweight white sarong to wear over her bottoms. A blushcovered Rosalie’s cheeks at the thought that her husband had picked out a bikini for her.
She changed into the swimsuit and added a few curls to her hair before tying the sarong around her waist. When she looked at herself in the mirror, Rosalie couldn’t deny how well the outfit worked for her. The bikini was the perfect color to complement her auburn hair, and it was even more special that Colin had picked it out specifically for her.
Before she went to meet him, there was one other thing she needed to do. Rosalie grabbed her phone off her end table and pulled up the “Royally Yours Gal Pals” group text.
Rosalie:Soooo…
Rosalie:Colin kissed me a few days ago!!!
Charlotte:And we’re only just now hearing about it?? You can’t just say that without any other details!
Bridgette:Oh, my gosh!!
Sienna:Give us ALL the deets!
Rosalie:I fell asleep next to him two nights ago. It’s a long story, but nothing happened between us. The next morning, he avoided me, and I ended up running outside into a rainstorm.
