Royally Matched (Royally Kissed #2)

Chapter 5Sofia

Chapter 5

Sofia

“You know what your problem is?” Amelia asks, although I know she’s not really asking. In the world according to Amelia, I’m about to be told exactly what my problem is.

Lucky me.

I pull another arrow from my quiver and line up my shot, aiming at the target across the long stretch of lawn. “I’m absolutely certain you’re about to tell me.”

“Way back when, sometime in the Dark Ages, you fell in love.”

“Ami, I’m only three years older than you.”

She ignores me.

“You got your heart broken, and now you’re too scared to put yourself out there at all. You’ve become emotionally stunted, too scared to let yourself feel anything for a man. Really, it’s nothing short of a tragedy!”

I glance at Tomas, the member of palace staff who has accompanied us to the archery range this morning for my weekly practice. It’s an activity I usually get to do in blissful silence, but not today with Amelia choosing to join me in order to offer her deeply insightful perspective on what’s wrong with me. As always, Tomas has an impassive look on his face, as if anything we say in front of him goes completely unnoticed.

I draw the bowstring, adjust my aim, and feel the tension in my muscles. The arrow’s feathers brush my cheek, and as I release, it flies swiftly through the air, hitting its target with a satisfying thunk .

“Emotionally stunted?” I say, my tone droll to show her just how much I’m enjoying hearing her opinion on my personal life. “Ami, you’re such a drama queen.”

“Stunted! It’s an utter tragedy.”

I turn to my sister. “Isn’t ‘a tragedy’ a tad dramatic, even for you, Ami? That’s just the way relationships go. Most end. It’s a fact of life.”

“No, because that’s exactly what it is: a tragedy. In fact, I’m surprised you don’t have that old Bee Gees tune as the soundtrack to life.”

I look at her blankly.

“You know, the guys with the tight jeans and long hair? They had falsetto voices that make them sound like a group of chipmunks.”

“Chipmunks? Ami, what are you talking about?”

She throws her hands in the air in exasperation. “Oh, never mind. My point is you don’t stop eating just because you once got food poisoning, do you? You get over it and you move on, and you eat plenty more yummy things and forget about the food poisoning altogether.”

“Love is like food poisoning. You know, Ami, I absolutely agree. It really is the perfect metaphor for falling in love.”

She lets out an exasperated breath. “You’re impossible to talk to. Do you know that?”

“Thank you,” I deadpan because I’d really rather prefer this conversation to be over. “Your turn.”

“Do I have to?”

“If you’re bothering me at my archery session then yes, you do.”

With reluctance, she pulls an arrow from her quiver, but instead of placing it in the bow, she drops both the bow and arrow against her legs and gazes off into the distance.

“Here you are, trying to tie yourself to your misguided idea about what it means to be a princess while all I want to do is shake off the pesky title and have a whole host of grand love affairs, away from prying eyes, judging me.”

“They do judge.”

“I want to meet gorgeous men who whisk me off my feet and romance me in the most wonderful of ways.” She looks like the women on the covers of romance novels, all starry eyed and in love.

I roll my eyes. Romantics .

“Good luck with that,” I quip, returning my attention to the task at hand. “Just remember that inevitably with every grand love affair comes heartache.”

“Really, Sofe, you are so cynical for one so young.”

Rather cynical than have my heart broken, thank you very much.

“Didn’t you say I was young in the Dark Ages? Make up your mind. And you haven’t taken your shot yet. Hurry up.”

“Such a tragedy,” she mumbles as she pulls the bow of her string back with a creak of stretching fibres before she releases the arrow. It sails through the air and punctures the straw below the target.

“Too bad, Ami. Perhaps you should concentrate on your archery rather than on all these fictitious love affairs you’re going to have.”

“Ha ha. At least I get to fancy the pants off whoever it is I end up marrying. I’ll be sizzling all over the place. Just you wait and see.”

Entirely without my permission, my mind instantly turns to Duck, that tall glass of rugged water who saved me from drunk Austin Whatshisname’s proposal. The man who made my pulse quicken with a single flash of those bright blue-green eyes of his, whose lips lifted into the sexiest of smiles that made my whole body feel like it was humming.

Who knew a smile could have that kind of an effect on a person?

But I point blankly refuse to call it the sizzle, even if there was major sizzling going on. Shame Duck isn’t Enzo Revera, Mr. Perfect For Me.

But at least I’ll never see him again, so any feelings of sizzle can fade to nothing, just like they always do.

Amelia narrows her eyes at me. “Who are you thinking about?”

“No one,” I reply hastily, my voice sounding as high as a mouse’s. I clear my throat. “Absolutely no one.”

“I think it was someone. You went all pink and dreamy looking. You’re Sofia—you don’t do pink and dreamy.”

I rub my belly. “It must have been something I ate.”

Amelia raises her brows at me as if to say, “fat chance.” “ I didn’t see it, but Max told me some guy swept in and saved you from an inappropriate proposal at the ball the other night. Who was he?”

My belly does a flip at the memory. It was so very gallant of Duck. He handled the situation so seamlessly, saving me from too much humiliation. I didn’t see him again after that or I would have thanked him. It’s not everyone who would have stepped in the way he did.

“His name was Duck.”

“Duck?” She asks on a giggle. “Why?”

“Something to do with a scorched derriere , I believe.”

“Was he hot?”

I concentrate on not thinking about his blue-green eyes, the color of the ocean, only brighter. More intense. His deep velvety voice. The way his suit was at least a size too small, but somehow failed to detract from his attractiveness, suggesting a rather spectacular physique hidden beneath.

I clear my throat. “I suppose you could say that, although he wasn’t my type at all.”

“You mean he had a personality,” she replies with a snort laugh.

I throw her a look.

“Sorry, it’s just the man you danced with half the night seemed rather dull.”

“Lord Strozzi is not dull.”

“Lord Strozzi? Does he have an actual name?”

“Enzo Revera. He’s intelligent and well-read and enjoys opera and classical music and understands the way our country is run.”

Amelia yawns. “Sounds riveting to me.”

“He’s riveting to me , and that’s what matters,” I reply, even though I’m not being entirely honest. It may have just been nerves, but he wasn’t exactly easy to talk to you. When he did speak, I learned very quickly that he has a fondness for big words and wanted to explain his approach to business in rather a lot of detail. But I reminded myself that these are the things I want in a husband. I might not have felt any attraction for him, but that sort of thing fades and you’re either left with compatibility or nothing, and I know that Enzo and I are compatible. That’s what counts.

“There you are,” a male voice says, and we turn to see Alex running toward us, panting lightly, wearing his running shorts and sneakers and not a lot else.

“Did you forget to put on your shirt?” I ask, but he only flashes me his grin, as though a prince running around the palace grounds bare-chested is perfectly fine.

“Hey, Alex,” Amelia says brightly. “I thought you were in Austria or somewhere.”

“Been and come back,” he says between breaths.

“Is Maddie here?” she asks.

“She’s in the garden with Mummy. She flatly refused to run with me, even when I took my shirt off for her.” He flashes us a grin and I shake my head at him. Alex has always been a bit of a show off, but at least he’s got the physique for it.

“Clever girl.” Amelia hands her bow and arrow to Tomas. “Thanks, Tom,” she says before she waves goodbye to us and bounces toward the garden.

“Where are you going?” I call out after her. “You’ve only taken one shot.”

She turns to face us, walking backwards. “To see my future sister-in-law, of course. Some things are more important than archery, you know.”

I give Alex a knowing look. Amelia and Maddie became firm friends from the moment they laid eyes on one another. But then that’s the way our sister is: open to everything that comes her way .

So very different from me.

“If you’re also finished, I’ll take those from you, ma’am,” Tomas says and with a resigned sigh, I hand him my bow and arrow.

“Same time next week,” I tell him.

He bows. “Of course, ma’am.”

I relish my time at archery. I may only get to do it once a week, but the concentration it takes to focus on the target, to hear the satisfying thunk as the arrow hits the bullseye, brings me peace. I suppose it’s my way to relax and recharge amidst my busy royal life.

“Were you looking for me?” I ask Alex as we begin the walk back to the palace.

“A man by the name of Lord Strozzi and his personal secretary have arrived for you. Said you had an appointment with him? I was surprised because you’re Sofia and you never miss appointments.”

I glance at my watch in shock. “That’s because he’s half an hour early!”

“Eager, perhaps?” he questions with a smirk.

I chew on my lip. “Maybe he is? I don’t know. Father and I are due to meet him, but not until 10:30 a.m.”

“And?”

Nerves twist my belly. “Well, he’s here, isn’t he?”

“Wait. Are you telling me I just met the man who could be my future brother-in-law?”

I pull my lips into a line and nod, my belly churning. “Maybe?”

Alex lets out a laugh. “Try not to look so happy about it, Sofe.”

“I am happy,” I insist.

Alex raises his brows. “Convincing.”

I place my hand against his arm and shove him. “Euw. You’re sweaty. ”

“It’s all part of my natural charm, don’t you know? Come on. Pick up the pace. You’ve got a bloke to charm and he’s stuck in a room with Father.” He moves into a slow jog. “Who knows what might happen to him in the lion’s den.”

“I’m not running, if that’s what you think. The last thing I want to do is be even half as sweaty as you when I… well, when Father and I meet with him.”

Alex comes to a stop and turns to face me, his hands on his hips. “Are you planning on proposing to this man today?”

“No!” I exclaim in alarm. “Father suggested we meet with my choice and discuss the future. No one’s getting engaged or even entering a relationship today. It’s just two parties meeting to discuss possibilities.”

“But I thought this was meant to be an arranged marriage.”

“It’s the way Father suggested we do it, and I think it’s very sensible.”

“Is he the guy from your spreadsheet?”

I chew on my lip.

“I knew it! He checked more boxes than anyone else, so you’ve decided he’s the right man for you.”

“It’s logical, isn’t it?”

“Love isn’t logical.”

“Who said anything about love,” I mumble.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

He gives me a look. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? I mean, I’ve got nothing against the man. He seems nice enough, and clearly Father approves of him, so I suppose he must be okay. But if you’re going to back out, now would be the time. Far less messy than when your engagement is announced and the whole country is expecting a royal wedding.”

“Everyone is expecting a royal wedding. Yours and Maddie’s.”

“You know what I mean.”

We continue to make our way back to the palace when a bunch of pheasants suddenly take off from the bushes, their colorful wings flapping as they scatter. Their startled squawks fill the air, and we stop and watch the wild burst of activity.

“You’d think after living in the palace grounds for generation upon generation they’d get used to humans wandering around,” Alex remarks.

“They are lovely, though.”

We watch as the last of Ledonia’s national bird flaps away.

“That Lord Strozzi seemed nervous, you know.”

“Nervous?” The thought of the pleasant, serious man I danced with at the ball being nervous to see me again makes me smile. Nervous is a good sign. Nervous I can work with.

“You’d be too if you were meeting with the King. Father’s like the proverbial dad with a rifle, meeting his daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Only he’s got more than just a rifle. He’s the got entire Ledonian military behind him.”

“Poor Enzo.”

“There’s nothing to feel sorry for whatsoever. He gets you , doesn’t he?”

I regard my brother in surprise. “Alex, I think that’s about the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

He pulls one of the back doors to the palace open and holds it for me to walk through. “If that’s the best I’ve done so far, I clearly need to pick up my game. ”

“In that case, I look forward to all the compliments coming my way.”

He places his hand on my arm. “I’m serious, Sofe. We don’t say it enough in our family, but I really do love you. You’re special to me. I want you to have whatever it is that makes you happy, and if it’s this guy up there with Father, then I support you one hundred percent.”

His words warm my heart. “Thanks, Alex.”

“Right. Off you go to propose to this man with Father. Not quite as romantic as I would have done it, but still.”

“I’m not proposing! And besides, we can’t all propose in front of a Christmas tree to the person we’ve fallen madly in love with,” I joke, referring to the way he himself proposed to Maddie.

“More’s the pity for you, sis. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

A feeling I’m more than happy to forgo.