A Royal Promise (Royal Hearts #4)

1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Drew

Parents should never involve themselves in the art of matchmaking.

Especially when said parents were forcing their son to spend time with the most conceited, stuck-up woman in existence.

Drew hadn’t even had time to unpack his suitcase after a trip to Edgemont for his childhood friend, Rosalie’s, vow renewal ceremony. Yet his parents were already throwing Clarissa at him. Again.

Technically, Clarissa was the one throwing herself at him. However, his parents knew she was interested, and they were the ones who kept inviting her family back to visit, so they were the ones he blamed.

As the Crown Prince of Glencrest, Drew understood they needed him to marry one day to continue the family line for the throne. As their son, he wished his parents wouldn’t try to make him spend time with such a miserable woman.

He reached into his pocket, feeling a little more at ease as his fingers traced the worn creases of the piece of paper he often carried with him—the one his best friend, Bri, had almost seen while they were at Rosalie’s wedding. If she’d seen it too early, before he was ready for that conversation, the results could have been disastrous. For now, it was better off safely tucked into his pocket as a reminder for him—a beacon of hope that he might live out his greatest dream someday.

Drew shivered the second he saw Clarissa sashaying toward him, swaying her hips so forcefully he was shocked they didn’t pop out of their sockets. The plum dress she wore was tight and revealing. He was sure plenty of men would find her pretty—beautiful even—with her feminine figure and sleek dark-brown hair. But there was only one woman he had eyes for—and it was not her.

“Andy,” Clarissa called out in a honeyed tone, wiggling her fingers at him.

He did his best to refrain from wincing. Drew hated it when people shortened his full name, Andrew, to Andy .

“Clarissa,” he responded flatly.

Her black stilettos echoed off the gray marble floors of the palace’s main hallway. He looked down at the floors then up at the white coffered ceiling—anywhere but at her.

As she got closer to him, he couldn’t help himself. His lips pulled into a grimace, and he involuntarily shivered again. When she reached him, Clarissa wrapped her fingers around his arm, squeezing it.

“Have you been working out?” She puckered her lips and leaned in, kissing his cheek.

His whole body tensed, and it took everything in him not to wipe at his cheek with his sleeve. He removed his arm from her talon-like grasp only for her to take hold of it again a second later. She may as well have been made of Velcro for how much she clung to him.

Drew didn’t care that Clarissa was the daughter of a trusted duke on his father’s council. That only meant she should’ve been raised with more decorum and understanding of how to act in the royal sphere. It definitely didn’t give her the freedom to hang all over him.

Before he could ask her why she was there, she provided him with an answer.

“My parents had a meeting with your parents this morning. Isn’t it great that we can spend the day together? I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot more time together in the future.” She smiled widely and shot him a wink, still keeping a death grip on his arm.

“Splendid.” Drew forced a smile. “Why would we be spending more time together, though?”

Clarissa playfully pushed his chest. “Oh, Andy. You’re hilarious.”

He heard more footsteps coming from around the corner and sighed with relief. Finally, his parents and Clarissa’s parents, the Duke and Duchess of Berwyn, came into view. It felt like an eternity as he waited for them to walk down the long hallway and join them.

Drew sent his mom an expression that said, “ Help me .” She shook her head and shot him a stern look. He took that as her telling him to play nice. He was on his own, and nothing about this was nice—he was seriously starting to worry about the circulation in his arm.

“I see Clarissa has found you. Isn’t it wonderful she could come along today?” his father, King Maxwell, said.

“Just magnificent,” Drew gritted out.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Clarissa somehow squeezed his bicep even tighter.

“You two look darling together.” Clarissa’s mother, Felicity, placed her hand over her heart.

Clarissa let go of her hold on his arm, providing him a momentary sense of relief, before wrapping both arms around his waist. “Don’t we?”

Drew shot his mom another look, and she finally acquiesced. “Why don’t we go for a walk on the forest trails? It’s beautiful outside today.”

“That sounds lovely, Your Majesty.” Clarissa’s mother nodded at his mom, and they led the way to the back doors of the palace. Drew knew from experience that Clarissa wasn’t any less handsy or forward with their parents around, but at least he wouldn’t have to be alone with her.

Once they were outdoors, Drew inhaled the crisp air. Spring was his favorite time of year, especially as the season slowly transitioned to summer. He loved the cooler temperatures and the scent of blooming flowers on the breeze.

“I could just live here forever.” Clarissa sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Real subtle.

“I’m lucky to call it home.” Drew was always careful to not say anything that might lead her on, but it was hard at times to ride that line between being kind and encouraging her advances.

As a prince, certain things were expected of him. He had to know Glencrest’s laws and policies like the back of his hand. He had to make public appearances and speeches at various events. His parents—and the whole country—expected him to always appear calm, cool, and collected, even when his patience and kindness were stretched to their limits.

All he wanted to do right now was hike the trails in the woods—the trails he knew from memory. Bonus points if Bri was joining him.

Instead, he was held to a tortoise’s pace with Clarissa leaning on him while her heels repeatedly sank into the dirt path.

“Ugh,” she huffed, pulling him to another stop as her manicured nails dug into his arm. “The hem of my dress is getting dirty.” Clarissa bent over and bunched the bottom half of her dress over her arm. “This is awful. My poor Louboutins will never be the same.”

He bit back an eye roll. Bri would never complain about a little dirt. She would be the one begging him to go outside, already wearing athletic gear and her favorite hiking shoes.

“Sorry to hear that,” he gritted out the words. Maybe you shouldn’t wear expensive heels outside.

For the rest of their walk, he attempted to clear his mind, pretending the person hanging off his arm was Bri.

Thankfully, Clarissa and her parents decided to return home after their jaunt in the woods. Drew was grateful for a quiet dinner with his parents. As an only child, he used to hate how lonely a dinner for three felt when there was no one else his age to talk to. As an adult, he found it peaceful, especially after a day like today.

He approached the entry to the family dining room, but whispers around the open door made him pause.

“Do you think he’s going to buy that?” he heard his father ask.

Drew didn’t want to eavesdrop, so he stepped into the room.

“I’m sure he—” His mother’s words cut off as Drew joined them at the table. “Oh, hello, darling. You’re early.”

“Like you always taught me, punctuality is key.” He looked between his parents. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Not at all.” She took a long drink of water.

“I thought I heard you mention someone buying something?”

His father opened his mouth to speak, but his mother leaned over and placed a hand on his arm. After clearing her throat, she said, “We didn’t know how many flower arrangements you would want to buy for the palace from the upcoming Spring Fling carnival. I hear the schools will have multiple flower booths to raise money for their arts programs.”

He took a seat across from his mother. “We could always buy what doesn’t sell.”

Her eyes lit up. “What an excellent idea.” She turned to her husband. “You’ll let the staff know?”

“Of course, dear.” He motioned for a palace server to retrieve their meal.

Steaming bowls of beef stew were placed before them, and they conversed about their day as they ate. When they’d mostly finished eating, his mother looked at her husband before shifting in her seat and turning her gaze to him.

“Drew, your father and I have to talk to you about something important.”

His back straightened, and his attention heightened. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Sorry, that wasn’t the best way to lead in.” She smiled softly at him. “We’re both fine.”

Drew’s shoulders relaxed a little as his father cleared his throat.

“We know you’re knowledgeable about Glencrest’s laws and policies, and you’ve put so much effort and hard work into learning how to run this country. But we also want you to have fun and live your life. You’ve never seriously dated anyone. You spend all your free time with Brielle, and we love her, but you need to think about the future of your country,” his father said and then ate the last bite of his stew, as if this was just a typical dinner table conversation.

Drew sighed in exasperation, spinning the friendship bracelet from Bri on his wrist. It was tattered, and the once vibrant blue and green threads were faded from having been worn every day for over a decade. But he refused to take it off, because it was the first gift Bri had ever given him. “What do you expect me to do? Stop hanging out with her? We’ve been best friends for sixteen years.”

No matter how they answered his question, Drew would never stop spending time with Bri. Because she wasn’t only his friend…she was his everything. There was no way he could ever seriously date or marry someone else when he was completely gone for his best friend.

“That’s not what your father meant, dear. Bri is like family to us. We’re only saying we want you to think of your own future. We want you to find someone who makes your heart sing. We want you to have what we have,” his mother said, wrapping her arm through his father’s and looking at him with such tenderness it almost made Drew tear up. “As you know, we’re not getting any younger. We’ve been reflecting and thinking about what we want the rest of our lives to look like.”

Drew bit the inside of his lip, looking back and forth between them.

His father wiped his face with a white linen napkin and then folded it before setting it on the table and looking at him. “I want to spend time with your mother, exploring the world together.”

That’s all they wanted to share with me? I was worried over nothing.

“That’s great news. I think you deserve a few vacations.”

His mother looked at her husband before turning back to him with her lips turned down at the corners. “We’re not talking about a few vacations. We’re talking about retiring early.”

Drew’s eyes widened. “Retiring?” He looked at his father. “You mean you want me to ascend the throne before you’re even gone?”

His father nodded. “I had to rule so young—before I even met your mother. Our focus for the first ten years of marriage was trying to have you. We’re so blessed that we got to raise you, but now we’d love to have some time to spend traveling to all the places we’ve always wanted to go and creating new memories together.”

Drew rested his head in his hand, letting out a long breath. “You are the best parents I could’ve asked for, and you deserve that time together. When are you expecting me to take over for you?”

“We’re not going to force the throne on you. We want you to feel prepared to rule, but with those preparations comes the other thing we wanted to discuss.” His father looked at his mom like they were having a silent conversation. She finally nodded and faced Drew again.

“We would love for you to have a wife by your side when you ascend the throne. It’s an honor to lead your country, but it can also be a burden. We want you to be able to share that with someone else.”

He already knew who he wanted that person to be. He would give anything to be with her. There was just one problem…Drew had never told her how he felt. He wasn’t sure he ever would. How does one tell their best friend of sixteen years they’re in love with them?

If Bri had ever given him the smallest indication she might feel the same way, he would’ve worked up the courage to share how he felt with her. But since she had only ever acted like he was a brother to her, Drew had kept his feelings hidden. He would much rather still have Bri in his life as his best friend than lose her altogether if he shared his feelings and she didn’t reciprocate them.

“We believe the best option for you is Clarissa.”

Drew sputtered. “ Clarissa ? Seriously?”

He respected his parents and their opinions deeply. There must have been something he wasn’t seeing—some put-together, elegant side of Clarissa he’d yet to meet.

“Her parents were very agreeable to the idea of a marriage between you two.” His mother shrugged.

His eyes went wide. “You talked to Felicity and Anthony about this before you talked to me? And you seriously want me to marry Clarissa? Marriages of convenience— arranged marriages—are outdated.”

“Are you forgetting what happened to Rosalie?” his father said. “This is a better situation than that because you know Clarissa. Rosalie didn’t even know Colin before their wedding day, and look at how happy they turned out.”

Drew shook his head. “The fact that they fell in love was a long shot, and you know it. I can’t believe you’re serious.” He rubbed his forehead, trying to soothe the headache forming there from this conversation. “Why would you suggest her rather than Bri…or literally anyone else?”

His mother wore an innocent expression. “Oh, I didn’t think of Bri as an option since she’s your best friend. You’ve known Clarissa practically as long as you’ve known her, so I thought it might be a decent match.”

He bit the inside of his lip, trying to maintain his composure. Drew knew his parents meant well, but this wasn’t something he was willing to give them.

“I can’t marry her.”

“Give me one good reason why you can’t marry Clarissa.” His mother met his gaze with a challenge in her eye.

He had to do it. Drew needed to reveal the one thing he had planned to keep hidden forever—the secret he planned on taking to the grave.

“I’m already in love with someone else.”