10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Bri
As they walked into the middle of the fun, even the smell of fried treats couldn’t seem to distract Bri from her thoughts.
They obviously needed to do a better job of convincing the press they were together and in love, that this engagement wasn’t a sham—even though it was.
While their betrothal might be fake, the way Drew had shielded her from the press with his body was very real. She appreciated how protective he was of her. She never doubted if she was safe around him, because she knew he would never let anything happen to her. Whether it be something life-threatening or just a slew of over-the-top, invasive questions from the press, Drew would always have her back. And it was only one of a million reasons why she was grateful for his friendship.
When they reached the funnel cake line, Bri finally shook herself out of her thoughts. “I’m excited to be here. It’s been a few years since I’ve been to the Spring Fling carnival.”
“I’m glad to have you with me.” He shot his signature grin at her. “We’re not here just for fun, though.”
“Oh?”
“This year, local schools are hosting flower booths to raise money for their arts programs. We’re going to purchase whatever flowers they don’t sell at the end of the weekend, but I wanted to make sure the royal family made an appearance to show our support.”
“You’re always so thoughtful.” She leaned closer so her next words wouldn’t be overheard. “Some girl is going to be so lucky to snatch you up.” Bri bumped her hip against him.
She sensed Drew stiffen beside her. When she turned to face him, he was looking straight forward, his jaw clenched and twitching, like he was grinding his teeth.
“Are you okay?” Bri asked, placing her hand on his arm.
“Fine,” he gritted out.
Before she could ask him what was wrong, it was their turn to order. Drew stepped forward and bought a funnel cake and two lemonades. He placed a big bill in the tip jar and led her to a picnic table, pushing the plate and one plastic tumbler toward her.
“Where’s yours?” She tore off a piece of the powdered sugar-covered goodness and hummed happily as she ate it.
Drew ran his hands through his dark-blond hair. “I don’t have an appetite right now.”
Bri gasped, nearly choking on a cloud of powdered sugar. “Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” She placed her hand on her chest. “You never pass up food, especially funnel cakes—they’ve always been your favorite. Seriously, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I ate before we left.”
She knew for a fact that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but Bri chose not to say anything. If he didn’t want to tell her what was going through his mind, she wouldn’t push it.
“More for me.” She smirked before popping another large bite in her mouth and wiping her fingers clean with a napkin. When Bri finished chewing, she asked, “So, what do you think we can do here to look like a couple? Do we need to hold hands or kiss or what?”
Drew was mid-sip when she asked the question, and he must’ve inhaled his lemonade down the wrong pipe, because he coughed and pounded his chest with his fist. “You think we should kiss ?”
She shrugged. “We said no PDA unless it’s necessary to keep up our fa?ade, and it seems like we still have some convincing to do.”
“But it’s frowned upon for royals to kiss in public.”
“I know. I’m only spouting off ideas. What do you think we should do?” Bri finished off her funnel cake and wiped her fingers clean.
Drew was quietly staring at her like he was sizing her up. “I think some handholding should sell it well enough until we can come up with a targeted game plan.”
“Works for me.” Bri took a long sip of lemonade. “You know what would make this day better?”
“What?”
She lifted her cup in the air. “If there was some sweet tea to go with this lemonade.”
He finally smiled again, a twinkle of amusement back in his eyes. “I think we can manage that.” Drew stood and extended his hand to her. “Let’s go see the flower booths.”
Bri slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers as they made their way to the booths on the other side of the carnival grounds. Their hands had grazed plenty of times throughout their friendship, but they’d never held hands like this. The only other time their hands had been interlocked like this was when he’d reminded her of their pact and “proposed” to her. But something about this felt different, and she didn’t know what to think.
Her neck started to feel splotchy, and her palms started to sweat. When Drew pulled her to a stop in front of a make-your-own-flower-crown booth, he rubbed his thumb along her skin in small circles, and she felt a flicker of something in her abdomen. She told herself this was normal. Surely, this was how everyone felt when pretending to date someone else. It was easy to confuse the ruse with reality.
“Bri?” Drew’s voice snapped her out of her daze.
“Mmm, sorry. What was the question?”
He gestured to the booth in front of them. “Is it okay if I make you a crown?”
She attempted to shoot him a playful smile as she curtsied. “Why of course, Your Highness. I would be honored.”
Drew sat down on a stool and got to work, creating a flower crown with the assistance of two young girls who ran the booth with their teacher. She watched as he bit his tongue in concentration when picking out the specific blooms he wanted and the careful way he arranged them.
After a few minutes of watching him, the teacher pulled Bri aside.
“I’m Eliza.” The brunette stuck out her hand, and Bri gave it a gentle shake. “I wanted to offer my congratulations to you and His Royal Highness. It’s about time we had another royal wedding to celebrate.” She smiled brightly at her. “But really, I want to thank you both for coming.”
Eliza glanced over at the booth where Drew was still working on her flower crown. “I can’t tell you how much the support of the royal family means to our school system. I teach art, and it’s the favorite subject of so many students—like the young girls helping His Highness.” She swiped at the tears in her eyes. “Allowing us to raise the money to continue teaching art and music classes and offering extracurriculars in the arts not only lets us teachers keep our jobs, but it ensures students will continue to have a creative outlet.”
Bri pulled Eliza into a hug. “You don’t have to thank us. We’re happy to help.”
Eliza nodded over toward Drew. “It looks like your fiancé finished his craft.”
Bri turned as Drew approached her, almost sheepishly, with a flower crown in hand. He’d chosen an arrangement of cream spray roses, pink strawflowers, and some greenery.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
He smiled at the compliment. “May I?”
“Of course.”
Eliza went back to the booth as Drew stepped toward her and set the crown on her head. She turned around, and he tied the ribbons into a bow in the back.
“What made you select these flowers?” she asked when she faced him again.
“They reminded me a little bit of the gown you wore to our engagement ball.” He looked at the ground.
Bri blushed at his words, grazing her fingers over the crown. “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard you say. I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
She bit the inside of her lip as soon as the words were out. This is fake. It would’ve been the sweetest gesture—if it were real. If they were dating and he said that, it would’ve made her heart melt. But this wasn’t real. He was just saying it for the sake of those who might overhear their conversation.
“Looks like you’ve still got a lot to learn about me.” He raised his eyebrows in a challenge. “Are you ready to keep exploring?” Drew asked, and she nodded. She waved a quick goodbye to Eliza and wrapped her arm through his.
They bought a variety of things from the different booths supporting local schools, giving the items to a palace staff member standing by Bastian, who Bri just now realized had been trailing them the whole time.
When they reached the carnival rides, Bri squeezed Drew’s arm. “Ooh, can we ride the Ferris wheel?”
“Anything to make you happy.”
Bri’s smile faltered. There he was, saying something sweet and flirty again, and he seemed so genuine that she couldn’t tell whose benefit it was for—hers or all the people around them who needed to be convinced their engagement was real. Had he been saying things like this to her all along, and she hadn’t noticed?
She put back on her bright, royal smile as they reached the front of the line. Drew waved off their guards, and they sat down together in the seat.
The ride attendant secured the safety bar over their laps, and then they were slowly moving up.
Bri was looking out at the view of Glencrest when she heard Drew’s shallow breaths. She turned to face him and noticed his white-knuckled grip on the bar at his lap.
“What’s wrong?” She rubbed his shoulder.
He sucked in a long breath at her touch. “Heights.”
She let out a small laugh. “You climb the ladder to our treehouse with one hand.”
When he didn’t laugh with her, her chest tightened. He was seriously anxious right now. Bri reached over and placed her hand over his. He let go of his iron grip and intertwined their fingers, squeezing her hand like it was the only thing keeping him on Earth.
“Hey.” She turned sideways and gently cupped her other hand to his cheek. He leaned into her touch. “You’re going to be okay. I’m right here with you. We’re perfectly safe.” She dropped her hand, letting it rest on his arm, rubbing up and down in soothing motions.
“As safe as a carnival ride can be,” he muttered, pulling a laugh out of her.
“How am I just now learning you’re scared of heights?”
Drew shrugged. “You’ve never wanted to ride the Ferris wheel before. The treehouse has walls, and when we’re in the mountains, I have solid ground beneath me. It’s when I’m in open air like this that panic sets in.”
“That makes sense. It’s different, being up here.” She turned, placing her hands on his cheeks as he started hyperventilating. “Look at me, Drew.” Bri waited until his eyes met hers. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
She kept one hand cupping his cheek while the other wandered to the back of his head, running through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Can you try to match my breathing? Breathe in.” She inhaled. “Breathe out.” She let out a long, slow exhale.
Bri continued guiding him through the breathing exercise. With his eyes locked in on hers, she realized how pretty they were. His irises were swirls of ocean blue flecked with green. They were captivating, pulling her in like the ocean’s tide.
Finally, his breathing slowed, and he looked a little more at ease.
“Are you with me, Drew?” she repeated the question he’d asked her on the day their engagement had been announced to the world, trying to help calm his nerves the way he’d calmed hers.
His eyes softened. “Always,” he said, his voice husky and his pupils dilated.
Suddenly, Bri felt like she was the one struggling to breathe. She had to change the course of this conversation—and fast—before she started focusing on whatever was stirring inside her.
“Is it weird for you?” she squeaked out, dropping her hands from his face and looking back out at the view.
“Is what weird?”
“You know…having this be the first event we’ve attended outside of the palace together since announcing our engagement?” Bri twisted the ring on her finger.
“Honestly, not really.” He shook his head. His breathing finally sounded normal, and he was back to acting like the Drew she knew. “We’ve been hanging out together at events like this our whole lives.” He squeezed her hand. “Is it different for you ?”
Well, shoot. She hadn’t thought he would turn the question back on her. This wasn’t something she wanted to think about right now. It wasn’t something she wanted to think about ever .
Trying to act unaffected by the whole thing, Bri nudged his shoulder with hers. “Same as you. It just feels like I’m hanging with my best pal.”
Best pal? Where on earth did that come from? We never call each other pal. She internally face-palmed.
“All right then, ol’ buddy ol’ pal.” His laughter was unrestrained and drew out Bri’s smile.
“Stop teasing me.” She pinched his side, and he gasped.
“Then don’t call me pal .” He reached over and grabbed her waist, leaving a trail of fire along her hip. It felt like he moved in slow motion as he brushed a stray hair out of her face, looking straight into her eyes.
She tore her gaze away, looking out at the bird’s-eye view of the city. “Apologies, fiancé.”
Bri heard the gasp he sucked in at her new choice of nickname. She let out a slow breath through her nose as she chided herself. She had no idea what she was doing. Flirting wasn’t something they did. They didn’t tease each other like this. They didn’t touch each other like this.
What she did know was that she was now the person who wanted to get off the Ferris wheel the most. Surely once they weren’t glued to each other’s sides anymore, she would be able to shake off these weird feelings and flirty vibes, and everything would go back to normal.