Royally Rebellious: An arranged royal romance (Resplendent Royals Book 1)

Chapter 15

Rikandra Lives!

Exclusive! spent the weekend at the Gold Cup charity polo tournament in Neandia. We hoped to see more PDA between our royal favourites Prince Rikard and Queen Alexandra. Following some signs of interest between the two—lots of hand-holding and loving looks—we were treated to a royal reveal. In a surprise upset, Prince Rikard’s team beat the British-Norwegian conglomerate with a severe handicap going into the game. Their triumph inspired a kiss for the ages after the match. When presenting the trophy, the Prince kissed Neandia’s young monarch. If this isn’t an official couple, we’re surprised. Stay with us as we will wait on tenterhooks for an engagement announcement.

In bed with Asti that evening, I ignored anything Rick promised. I was cross with Rick, licking my wounds, and wanted to forget his stupid promises and stupid face. The problem was if I told her too much, she would say, “I told you so.” As such, I only communicated the frustration of him kissing me. I wasn’t giving in to him. He tried to redeem himself, but I was hurt. I wanted to believe that his kiss was more about wanting to kiss me than out of obligation.

As much as I denied my feelings, I had them. I didn”t expect him to fall in love with me tomorrow. That was ridiculous! I needed him to say he found me attractive enough to kiss me. It was bigger than that. I was attractive. The more I dressed like a young woman instead of an elderly debutante, the more men looked at me. I owned this power. I felt more like the heroine in my own story and less like the wallpaper in the background. It thrilled me that people looked to me for style advice. They should not have, but that wasn’t the point.I was good enough for them. I refused to accept he felt nothing for me—not even a bit of attraction.

“I just… I wanted my first kiss to mean something. I didn’t think that much through. I wish it hadn’t surprised me,” I said. “It did.”

“How did we get this far without kissing boys?” Astrid asked. “That’s the real crime. You shouldn’t have your first kiss on a polo field at twenty-one. I shouldn’t still be un-kissed at twenty.”

“It’s all so screwed up,” I said. “It’s a damn mess, Asti.”

“Was it good? Did it feel nice?”

I blushed. “It was nice.”

“Lucky! I hate you. Honestly, I know he’s an asshole but if I had a free pass to do whatever with a handsome guy, I’d throw caution to the wind.”

“Astrid! That’s not how this works! And you are the one who believed he was up to no good.”

“Look, I want to be kissed, okay? I am sure it’s fun. I could make it work.”

“It caught me by surprise,” I said. “I wanted it to be with someone I loved. That’s all.”

The truth? The kiss was better than good. It made my entire body tingle and my pulse race. I was desperate to do it again. I kissed him back, wanting more. I wasn’t ready to admit that to anyone, but it had been more than nice. I wanted to bask in it. I wanted my heart to continue fluttering. I wish he would have lied to me. I wanted him to want me—desperately. I never expected it, but I felt it.

Marta entered with a knock, holding a note, “A footman handed this off.”

The scrawl was a mess compared to my nice handwriting.

Meet me in the ballroom at 22:30. Don’t get caught.

-Rick the Prick

I stifled a laugh, reminding myself that he was, indeed, a prick. However, I was intrigued.

“I shouldn’t go. He doesn’t have my best intentions in mind. Why should I bother?”

“You protest too much and want to go. I doubt he’s planning a hookup in the ballroom when he could come in here or invite you down there,” Astrid said. “I am curious as to what he is doing, though.”

“Can you come with me?” I asked.

“Nah. I don’t need to be a third wheel. You don’t need a chaperone.”

“Maybe I do? Celeste will be livid about the kiss thing in the morning when she reads the papers.”

“Meh. You two are about to announce an engagement, right? People expect it. She will have to get over it and live in this century.”

Astrid brushed my hair as if I were a puppy. “I’ve got your back. Go, see the man. And if he’s an ass, just leave.”

I shrugged. I wasn’t excited to let Rick get away with this—wanting to admonish him. If I fobbed him off, he’d probably grovel even more. Part of me loved that. Why? I didn’t know. Being in control was fulfilling if not downright hot. Ordering an older man around unexpectedly resonated with me.

I decided to be honest and follow. I pulled myself together and left at the indicated time, sneaking through two back corridors and around the ballroom’s rear. There, I peeked in.

“Rick?”

No response.

“Rikard, if this is a joke, I swear?—”

“It’s not, it’s not,” Rick said, coming into the light of the hallway. “I don’t know how to make it any brighter in here.”

“There’s a lighting box somewhere,” I said. “Come with me.”

He held up his phone as a torch and we crawled through to a closet where I knew we’d find something.

“What were you thinking?” I asked, annoyed.

“That I would be able to switch the lights on like it was something out of the past two centuries, Alexandra.”

“Well, next time, tell me.”

“It was a surprise,” Rick protested.

“Well, I don’t like surprises, Rikard!”

“Women love surprises!”

“I’m not women!” I protested. “God! Who do you think me to be, Rick? I’m not some silly girl in a bad romance. I am not too stupid to live.”

“Too stupid to live?”

“It’s when the heroine is too dumb for her own good.”

“I got that, yes.”

It was dark, but I felt him pressed against me as he held the light too high. We were stuck in this tiny area, our bodies touching as I fumbled. I had a burning desire for him to drop the phone and pin me to the wall and was relieved my flushed face wouldn’t show in this light.

“Hold it down a bit,” I said. “You expect me to be a foot taller than I am.”

“Fine,” Rick complied, illuminating the light switches.

I flipped them, “Go check.”.

“Check what?”

“To see if the lights came on.”

“Oh, shit, yes!”

Rick raced out and returned. “We’re good.”

“Brilliant.”

I went to the ballroom, unsure what this was all about. Rick was on his phone.

“Glad I came down here to watch you stare at that thing.”

“You should get one.”

“What? So she can monitor it?”

“No,” Rick said. “So you can do fun things.”

He turned the volume up on his speaker and played music. It was some old music. Something classical.

“I am going to try to teach you how to waltz,” Rick said. “Now, I’m not the best dancer, but far from the worst. And I hope that as bright as you are, you’ll outclass me sooner than you know. It’s an olive branch. Are you game?”

“Sure,” I agreed, surprised. “You will not die of embarrassment?”

“Should I?”

“No,” I said. “Don’t men hate dancing?”

“I don’t. For one, it’s plenty fine. Two, you will get a kick out of it, and I stuck my foot in it. So, come on. Let me abscond from guilt.”

I took his extended hand. I was confused about what to do with the other.

“On the top of my arm,” he said.

I did as directed. Rick pulled me much closer than I bargained for, putting his hand on my back. I looked up, surprised.

“What? You must be close to dance a waltz. I don’t bite. I swear.”

I nodded like an idiot, staring up at his brown eyes. His expression was calm, pleasant, andnot at all grumpy. I loved his dimples. God, why must he have dimples? I was overwhelmed by how our bodies touched and the strong smell of his cologne. I worried my palms would get too sweaty. How was this allowable? It felt strangely intimate.

“You doin’ okay?”

I nodded again and squeaked. “Uh-huh.”

“Okay, so I lead, you follow. I go forward, you go back. You mirror me,” Rick said as if this were simple.

“Just follow you. Got it.”

Rick started. He stepped forward. I fell back, then forward as he fell back. I nearly tripped as he did something else. He caught me and pulled me back with him.

“So, it’s a change step. 1-2-3, change, 1-2-3. That’s it. And we just go around and round. We could do this all day. It’s not difficult.”

“I am far from good at this.”

“Practice makes perfect. You’ve never done it before. In my family, you’d have spent a decade learning to do it right. You’d be bored about now.”

“Maybe.”

“You’re doing great. Really,” Rick said, encouragingly. “It suits you.”

“Honestly?”

He nodded. “You are a decent dancer.”

“You don’t have to take pity on me.”

“One, I have fun with you?—”

“Because you have no one else to hang out with?—”

He chuckled. “Yes, but I do have fun. I realised how much freedom I’ve had and how little you had. I am honoured to be your partner in crime, Alexandra. I’m putting my devious powers to good use.”

I smiled, feeling faint as I had when he’d kissed me hours before. I was running on a high. I couldn’t put anything into words. We stopped. I held his hand. We stood staring at one another, my mind racing, hoping he might kiss me again. Rather, dying for him to kiss me again.

Just when I felt his face coming closer to mine and we were moments from a genuine, real kiss, it all fell apart. My hopes were dashed. The fuzzy feeling turned to fear, and it all faded away.