Page 14 of Trained Royal
“Can you come up here, please?” Oscar asked Christian, who climbed up beside him. “I love you. I want to experience everything with you, and I thought we could start with this.”
After some prodding, Christian opened the box and lifted out a beautiful chocolate brown Labrador puppy. There were some hushed words that were not picked up by the microphone before Christian passed the puppy to Patrick. The smile lit up Patrick’s face as the puppy licked at his chin. Maybe a dog would help lift Patrick’s spirits? It was something Kieren could manage.
His gaze snagged on the stage again when Christian dropped to one knee. Into the microphone, he said, “I truly thought you were going to steal my thunder when you brought me up here, but I’m glad I still get to do this.” He held out his hand without moving his gaze from Oscar, and Prince Frederick handed him a box. “You mean everything to me. Everything. I refuse to live my life without you in it, and I want to ask you a very important question. Oscar Hall, will you do me the honour of marrying me in front of the entire world?”
Oscar said something and nodded, and Christian slid the ring onto his hand to an audience of ear-splitting cheering and whistling. Once more, Kieren scanned the room for Patrick, finding him at a table with the puppy on his lap, his cheek buried in its fur. Yes, a puppy might be a suitable gift. He’d have to check with his employer first, though. The last thing he wanted to do was bring a dog into a place where someone was allergic. That was a quick way to get fired.
“Check in, please,” Brett said.
“Felix, main hall, garden exit door,” Felix said.
“Isaac, main hall, garden exit door.”
“Matt, main hall, side door.”
“Locke, hallway to the right of the ballroom.” Kieren glanced around, noticing Frederick was not present, hence why Locke and Matt had changed positions.
“Kieren, main hall, emergency exit door.”
And so it continued. They didn’t have to move around extensively because they had asked the royal family to keep within the ballroom wherever possible, meaning the security team could guard the party easier. The team was at least thirty strong at events like these, usually more when the king was in attendance, but they had vetted the people they’d invited extensively before being allowed to attend.
Incidents had been happening throughout the past year, and the security team was on full alert that anyone could be against the crown, even those who appeared to stand with them. The team’s job was to keep the royal family protected at all costs. There were other people involved who were investigating who and how these incidents kept happening. From what Kieren had heard, Christian had been a vital part of that process.
Kieren hated the uncertainty that the family faced. With everything Patrick had entrusted to him, on top of what he’d been told by Brett, he couldn’t imagine what they were going through. Losing Kieren’s family was a devastating loss, but to apparently have Patrick’s family gunning for them was cruel.
“Are you okay?”
Kieren snapped his head to the side, focusing on Patrick and grimacing to realise he’d moved without Kieren knowing. He brushed aside all other thoughts and refocused on his job. He couldn’t afford to lose concentration like that. He could be all that stood between Patrick and someone trying to kill him.
“I’m good. Are you enjoying yourself?”
Patrick sighed. “Not really.” He smiled as a guest wandered past. “But they’re my family.”
“Are you going to play for them?”
Patrick shook his head slowly. “Not today.”
Kieren glanced out of the corner of his eye as Patrick leaned his shoulder against the wall, a glass held against his chest. He appeared worn out, and Kieren wanted to get him home. Unfortunately, it was not his choice.
“Do you want to visit the club with me?” Patrick asked.
Kieren raised his eyebrows. “What?”
****
Chapter 5
Patrick
Patrick had no idea why the invitation came out, but once it had, the better the idea sounded.
“Do you want to come to the club? I know you’ve never been inside before. You have a membership, so I can show you around if you like?”
He held his breath, wishing Kieren would take him up on the offer but knowing he wouldn’t.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
Patrick snorted. “I think it’s a great idea. Once we’re done here, we’ll go. I’ll show you how things work.”
