16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Bri
Bri rarely craved time to unwind at home, but after a very busy couple of weeks, she was ready for a day of relaxation.
This fake engagement was turning out to be a much larger commitment than she’d anticipated. It was one thing to tell everyone they were engaged when they weren’t, but moving to a new country and spending all her time with Drew and his family was causing the situation to be even more sticky.
It had been great having her family visit for a game night, but she didn’t know how long she’d be able to keep up the ruse around them. She blushed as her thoughts wandered back to Drew’s reaction when she’d won their trivia match. She definitely hadn’t been sad when he had picked her up and spun her around in celebration.
Bri shook the memory away. She didn’t need to focus on anything that might add confusion before Drew arrived. He’d agreed to come hang out with her tonight, and she hoped it would be like old times, back when they had only been friends and she’d had no cares in the world related to their relationship.
She pulled out her phone, rereading their text conversation from earlier in the day.
Drew : Did you know one million Earths could fit inside the Sun?
Bri : I didn’t, but that’s very cool. I didn’t realize the sun is that big.
Drew : You know what I never realized? How much you listen to my space facts, Ms. Trivia Champion. *crown emoji*
Bri : It doesn’t ALL go in one ear and out the other! *winking face with tongue emoji*
Bri : Are you free to come to Hillside Cottage tonight? We could make dinner together and hang out. I could use a relaxing night in.
Drew : I’ll be at your door with sweet tea at five o’clock sharp.
Bri : *thumbs up emoji*
Glancing at the time, Bri panicked. Drew should be here any minute, and she’d completely forgotten about the cooking part of their evening. She had no idea what lurked in her refrigerator, especially when it came to ingredients she could use to throw a quick meal together.
Hurrying to her kitchen, she opened the fridge door and was pleased to find it well stocked. Someone from Drew’s staff must regularly bring her groceries since it certainly wasn’t her shopping for fresh meat and produce.
Before she could figure out a plan for dinner, a knock sounded at the door. She opened it, and a smile instantly covered her face when she saw Drew standing there with a big pitcher of sweet tea in one hand and a bouquet of sunflowers.
She let him inside and accepted the blooms, placing the vase in the middle of her coffee table. “Did you have these imported? Sunflowers are only in season in autumn.”
He shrugged off her question. “It was worth it to see the smile on your face.”
Comments like that left her belly swooping and her feelings all over the place, especially when no one else was around to hear them but her .
“Thank you. What did you do today?” she asked, but the words fell out of her mouth so quickly as she tried to change the subject that she wasn’t sure they were comprehendible.
If he picked up on her trying to switch topics, he didn’t react at all. “I attended a Royal Board meeting with my father. Since he’s trying to prepare me to take the throne sooner than expected, he’s been throwing me into the deep end with more meetings and responsibilities on my schedule than I’m used to.”
She let out a long breath. “Sounds like there’s a lot on your plate right now, between everything your dad is having you do and all the public appearances we’re making to convince the world our engagement is real.”
Drew nodded. “It’s a lot, but I wouldn’t change any of it. No one ever said it was easy being royalty. Anyway, how was your day?”
“I had a much-needed low-key day. I watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days for probably the hundredth time, then binged a few episodes of a new show that’s streaming. I barely got up from the couch except for when I needed to answer the door and let in your staff to deliver my breakfast and my lunch. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
He feigned shock. “Someone had food delivered right to your door? What a wonderful idea.”
Bri shot him a look. “Mm-hmm, sure. Well, you can thank whoever made those arrangements.”
“I’ll be sure to pass on your gratitude. What do you want to make for dinner?” He rubbed his hands together, and his eyes lit up like they always did whenever food was involved.
“I honestly have no idea what to make.”
“Let’s see what you have.” Drew moved to the kitchen and looked inside the fridge. “Oh, this is great. You have a lot to work with.” He pulled out some fresh shrimp and Brussels sprouts before grabbing golden potatoes and basil from the bowl on her countertop. “How does marinated grilled shrimp with mashed potatoes and crispy hot honey Brussels sprouts sound?”
“You can make all that from what I have here?” Her eyes went wide in amazement.
“You bet I can.” He reached his hand out in a fist, and she bumped hers against it. “Want to be my sous chef?” Drew held out an apron from a drawer she hadn’t even known was there.
“Gladly.” She wrapped the apron around her waist, tying it behind her back.
When Bri saw him putting on an apron of his own, she snorted. “The lace is a whole look for you, Drew.”
He propped his hands on his hips with a sassy look on his face. “Why, thank you.” He curtsied to her.
“You’re ridiculous.” She threw a dish towel at him.
He laughed, catching it easily. “Will you turn the oven on to 425°, please?”
She turned it on to preheat while Drew got to work. He moved around her kitchen like a seasoned professional. Within a few minutes, he had the shrimp marinating in a bowl with some tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Then he moved on to washing potatoes, which he passed to her, along with a cutting board, asking her to quarter them.
“Quarter them?”
Drew moved to stand behind her, placing his hand over hers on the knife. His other hand moved around her to hold a potato. With a fluid motion, they cut the potato and then sliced each of the halves again.
“Where did you learn to cook like this?” Bri asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“When my parents were at events when I was a teenager and I didn’t need to attend, I would go down to the kitchen, and our head cook would teach me how to make whatever was on the menu that day.”
She felt his breath on her neck, and goosebumps erupted across her skin. I don’t know why my body is having this reaction to my best friend. Maybe I’m still thinking of his abs from the other day. There was no other possible explanation for such a physical reaction to his nearness.
He was a great teacher, but she thought it was a safe bet that his palace’s head chef hadn’t taught him to hold a knife this way.
When he moved back to the other side of the kitchen, she looked up at him from the cutting board in awe. “How is it that we’ve been best friends for so long, and I feel like there are a lot of things I’m still learning about you?”
Drew washed and halved the Brussels sprouts, tossing them into a bowl. “We’ve never hung out this regularly before. I know we’ve always been close, but there’s only so much you can learn in sporadic visits and text conversations.”
He was right. They hadn’t spent this much time together…well, ever. And as confusing as it was, Bri loved hanging out with him. He knew her better than anyone, and they always had fun together, regardless of what they were doing. He was her person. Her forever friend-mate—because she couldn’t use the word soulmate in reference to him, even though that was what he felt like.
Drew knew her soul. He knew every part of her—good and bad—and he still loved her the same.
She looked up at him again to find him smirking at her.
“What’s going on in that mind of yours?”
“Nothing,” she said too quickly.
“I don’t think nothing would have you neglecting your potato-cutting duties.” He gestured to her cutting board with his baking sheet of already cut and seasoned Brussels sprouts before putting them into the preheated oven.
When she didn’t respond, he huffed out a laugh, taking the knife from her hand and quartering the remaining potatoes.
“Would you mind getting out a large pot?”
She walked to the cupboard beside the stove and grabbed a stockpot, placing it on the counter beside him. Drew dropped all the potatoes into the pot and filled it with enough water to cover them before seasoning the water with salt and some minced garlic. He placed it on the stove and turned the heat to high before turning back to her.
“We have a little bit of time before we have to do anything else.” He spread his hand out, motioning to all the dirty dishes. “I’ll wash, you dry?”
“Sounds good to me.” She picked up the clean dish towel she’d thrown at him earlier and laid it on her shoulder.
Bri put on a playlist of country music, and they got to work. They moved like a well-oiled machine. As soon as she finished drying a dish and put it away, Drew was ready to hand her another clean dish. They continued like this until the kitchen looked nearly spotless again.
“All right, the potatoes should be done boiling now. I’ll strain them and put them in a bowl. Do you mind mashing them with some butter and milk while I get the shrimp out on the grill?”
“You got it.” She held up the masher he’d left out on the counter. Bri got to work mashing the potatoes he’d placed in front of her.
Bri couldn’t remember the last time she’d cooked dinner. It made her appreciate all the time and effort the palace staff put in each day to have food on the table.
She threw in the butter Drew had left out so it had time to melt while the potatoes were still hot. Once she didn’t see any more major lumps, she poured in a splash of milk at a time, mixing as she went.
I can’t believe I didn’t know Drew could cook like this . He continued to surprise her the more time she spent with him. And she found it attractive that he knew how to cook, even though he was royalty and didn’t have a reason to. He had been humble enough to go to his staff and ask them to teach him something new.
Just as she’d deemed the mashed potatoes creamy enough, Drew walked back into the kitchen with a bowl of steaming grilled shrimp.
“Perfect timing.” He smiled at her, one corner of his mouth pulling up. “Let me just grab the Brussels sprouts from the oven and season the potatoes. Could you grab the honey and sriracha from your pantry?”
She handed the bottles to him, and he poured equal parts of them into a bowl and mixed them before tossing the crispy Brussels sprouts in the sauce. He then sprinkled a good amount of salt into the mashed potatoes before tasting them and declaring them perfect . Together, they carried all their dishes to the small dining table she’d prepared earlier with two place settings.
Drew pulled out her seat and made sure she was comfortable before grabbing the pitcher of sweet tea from the fridge and pouring them each a glass. He served her a plate before making his own. “Let’s dig in. I’m starving.”
She shook her head. “I thought you never allowed yourself to get to the point of starvation. Something about never being hangry?”
“Well, I’m not actually starving. I ate a piece of banana bread before coming here, but I do always have an appetite.” He speared one of the shrimp and moaned the minute he put it in his mouth. “These are delicious.”
“I would tell you to thank the chef, but since you are the chef…” She trailed off, eating a big forkful of mashed potatoes. The flavors danced in her mouth in perfect harmony.
Drew really knew what he was doing when it came to cooking. She wouldn’t ever say it out loud, but she had to admit, she had really liked watching him do it.