Page 37 of Royal Catch
Phillip—the royal hottie, I recognize him from his many online pictures—stands to greet me. He takes my hand in a warm clasp. He resembles Gabriel with his thick dark brown hair, beautiful blue-green eyes, and square jaw, except there’s an open friendliness to his expression. Maybe Gabriel would’ve been more like Phillip without the pressure of being the heir.
“I saw you when you first arrived,” Phillip says. “You were so entranced by Gabriel you didn’t even notice me in the entrance hall.”
My eyes widen and I do a quick mental rewind. He’s right. I took one step into the palace and latched onto Gabriel in his tux. He was such a gorgeous mesmerizing presence that I was only dimly aware of the other people standing behind him, fading into the background.
My cheeks flush hot and Phillip chuckles. We both turn to Gabriel. His eyes are warm on mine, a smile playing over his lips. I can’t help my goofy smile back. He’s still mesmerizing.
“I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Polly,” Phillip says.
I reluctantly turn from Gabriel. “All good, I hope!”Highly doubtful. The queen probably raged about my impropriety.
Phillip smiles, but doesn’t comment. Instead he gestures toward Emma, who’s sitting across the table from him. Emma looks like a proper princess—long dark brown hair parted nearly in the middle, big innocent hazel eyes, cute perky nose, full pink lips. Her dress is modest, a pink short-sleeved sheath.
She smiles at me, remaining seated. “Hello, Polly, I’m Emma. We watched some of the competition on video this morning. You’re quite the athlete. Are you supremely motivated to win the right to marry stuffy old Gabriel?” She winks at Gabriel.
“The fact that the competition was filmed was supposed to be a secret,” Gabriel replies in a mild reprimand to Emma. He must really love his little sister, because he’s usually much gruffer with everyone else. Not so much with me anymore. Sex will do that to a man, soften him up. Actually, more like harden him.Stop thinking about sex with Gabriel!
Emma slaps a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “I’m so sorry.”
“No harm done,” Gabriel replies. “Polly knows. Just don’t mention it once Francesca arrives.” He pulls out a chair for me. “Polly.”
I take the offered seat, and he sits at the head of the table on my right. Emma is across from me. Phillip switches seats to sit next to me, which draws a frown from Gabriel.
Gabriel turns to me. “Emma has had an arranged marriage since she was sixteen. They’ll marry soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, only a few months from now.”
“Are you serious?” I can’t help my astonishment. I could see it with the heir, but further down the line they’re still being forced into arranged marriages?
Gabriel is matter-of-fact. “It’s the preferred way. The recent bridal competition has been very much the exception. My siblings are not required to agree to the arrangement. They can ask for a more suitable candidate. Emma agreed without question to the husband chosen for her. She’s always been the most proper of princesses.” His speech is more proper now. I wonder if it becomes more casual the more comfortable he is. With me, in the dark of the night, he sounds different—warm, casual, dirty. My favorite.
“I do my duty as I should,” she returns.
“We’re quite alike in that way,” Gabriel says, his eyes warm for his sister.
“The only two in our generation,” Phillip says. “Everyone else turned an arrangement down. You two really took to the proper protocol, didn’t you?” He turns to me. “Emma’s not even close in line to the throne. She just loves rules and the sense of carrying on tradition.”
Emma levels Phillip with a hard look. “Without rules the world is chaos. Our traditions are what sustain us. Villroy has a revered history, and that continuity won’t be lost on my watch.”
“Do you agree, Polly?” Phillip asks.
The truth is I can see both sides. There’s freedom in making your own decisions, but there’s also something beautiful about taking your place in a revered history. That sense of rooted tradition on Villroy must give them a built-in sense of their place in the world. Then I think of Gabriel and shape my answer in a way that will set him on the right path.
“I suppose rules and tradition can be important.”
Phillip’s eyes dance with good humor. “And are you a rule follower?”
I snort-laugh. “No.”Oops! Too much me.“I mean, yes. I’ve been raised to follow the royal protocol of my kingdom.” I have to remember to stick to the princess script.
Phillip smiles at me. “But it’s not easy, right?”
I laugh. “Right.”
“So tell me all about you. Were you raised in the US?”
All eyes are on me. I can’t screw this up for Polly this late in the game. The less I say, the better. “Partly.”
“And why is that?”
I stick with one-word answers. “Education.”
