18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Bri
Bri ran over to Drew, completing a jump-stop in front of him, her arms stretched out wide. The pink tutu she wore fluttered around with every movement. He smirked as his eyes roamed up and down her outfit.
“You look festive.”
She shot him a playful smile. “I’m glad you think so because…” Bri pulled out the blue tutu she’d tucked into the back of hers. “I brought one for you to wear too!”
She was expecting him to come back with an excuse for why he wouldn’t wear it, but he surprised her by making a give me motion and saying, “All right, hand it over.”
Her eyes searched his, narrowing slightly. “You’ll wear it?”
“You brought it for me, so of course I will.” He took the tutu from her outstretched hand and slid it on over his charcoal joggers until it rested around his waist. Drew fluffed it up before propping his hands on his hips. “How do I look?”
Bri laughed. “Like you’re ready to crush this Survivor Run.”
Today’s race was to raise support for and awareness of the Cancer Research Center in Glencrest’s main hospital. She couldn’t think of a better way to combine two of her favorite interests: philanthropy and the outdoors.
When she spotted Bastian and a slew of palace guards behind Drew, she quirked an eyebrow. “Are we going to have a whole entourage running with us?”
He shook his head. “I got them to agree to stand guard on the course every quarter mile. Only Bastian will run with us—undercover, of course.”
A voice came over the speakers saying, “Welcome, racers. This is your ten-minute warning to get to the starting line.”
“We should go,” Bri said once the announcement was over.
Drew agreed, and after a quick word with a guard, they all scattered to their positions along the road. Bri and Drew made their way to the archway where the race would start, standing in the middle of the gathered crowd.
As they waited for the race to begin, she stretched out her calves and did a standing quad stretch. Drew watched her with amusement.
“What?”
“You look cute when you stretch.”
She was sure her face matched her pink tutu. Luckily, the announcer’s voice came across the speaker system again, saving her from having to respond.
“Racers, the seventeenth annual Survivor Run will begin in three, two, one.”
The sound of a horn blared through the speakers, and the charity run began. Bri and Drew started jogging at a steady pace, only speeding up or slowing down as they weaved in and out around slower joggers and walkers. Drew easily matched her pace, slowing his longer stride to fit with hers.
“I haven’t been able to ask you yet, but how did my cooking compare to the dinners you’ve eaten at the palace?” Drew’s words came out even and steady, like running the race wasn’t taxing at all.
“If I hadn’t seen you cook it yourself, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. The head chef taught you well,” Bri said between measured breaths.
“Well, shucks.” He shot her a lopsided grin.
She gently shoved his arm. “If you were searching for a compliment, you could’ve just asked for one.”
“But it’s so much better when I don’t have to ask.”
Bri let out a sarcastic laugh. They jogged in silence for a few minutes, but around the halfway point, Bri couldn’t seem to shake the feeling someone was watching them. With a brief look over her shoulder, she spotted someone a few paces behind them with a camera slung around their neck.
When he saw her looking, the man held the camera up to his eye, snapping a picture in their direction. “Your Highnesses,” he called out, his voice ragged and out of breath. “Why did you decide to get engaged? What are you hiding? What is the palace hiding?”
With the paparazzo calling out his questions, Drew looked over at Bri, realization spelled out across his face. He nodded slightly toward a wooded path to their left, and she immediately understood what he was saying.
As they approached a water station, they slipped through the volunteers on the side of the road onto the wooded path. They increased their pace but were careful with their steps, looking out for any stray branches or other ways to twist an ankle.
Drew led them down a side path diverting off the main one. “I think this might be a shortcut.”
She jogged behind him, knowing he was trying to make sure they lost whoever had been following them. Bri looked behind them after a few minutes, pleased to find that no one had followed them—not even Bastian. They were lucky they’d been able to slip away unnoticed.
When Bri faced forward again, she gasped, trying to sidestep a large tree branch. She heard a ripping sound and looked down, spotting a tear in her shirt near her ribs.
She heard Drew’s footsteps stop and watched him turn around and see how far back she was. He sprinted back to her and crouched to look at her directly.
“What happened?” His eyes raked over her. “Are you hurt?”
“I was checking to make sure no one had followed us, and when I turned back around, I nearly ran straight into a branch.” She motioned to it with her hand. “I was able to jump around it but not completely unscathed.” Bri poked her finger through the hole in her shirt.
He kneeled in front of her. “May I?” Drew pointed to the tear.
She nodded, and he pulled up the bottom of her shirt. His fingers gently grazed over her skin, and she had to press her lips together so she didn’t let out a gasp. Even though his touch was light, she felt it everywhere.
“Hmm, there’s a small scratch, but it isn’t deep enough to have drawn blood.”
Her hand flew to her chest in mock exaggeration. “Oh, thank you, doctor.”
He smirked at her. “You’re lucky I was here. I think you’re going to make it.”
She rolled her eyes as he stood up.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You didn’t twist your ankle or anything?”
“I’m good. My t-shirt, on the other hand, may not make it.”
“I can’t solve that problem right now, but I might be able to fix it enough to finish the race.” Drew stepped forward and grabbed her tutu, pulling it up so the elastic band rested over the tear, blocking it from view. “There. Nobody will notice anything was ever wrong. Now, what do you say we get back to the race so everyone doesn’t think we ran off into the woods to make out?”
She dropped her gaze to the ground, trying to hide her blush. “And so Bastian and your palace guards don’t freak out because they lost sight of us.”
His eyes were playful as he stared at her. “Sure, that too. I like the making out idea more, though.” He winked at her and then turned on his heels and started jogging back down the wooded trail.
She pressed her lips together, unsure if he was actually flirting with her or if this was just for show. There wasn’t time to dwell on those thoughts now, though.
Bri ran after him, trying to wipe the image of them kissing in the woods from her brain. She caught up to him, and they ran side by side for about five minutes before she stopped, both hands on her hips.
“Do you know the way back to the road?” she asked, her eyes roaming over the trees around them. They all looked identical to her.
He grimaced. “We need to go to the right…I think.” Drew grimaced as he looked around. “But I can’t hear the race announcer anymore.”
She felt her face fall. Drew placed a hand on her arm and shot her a warm smile.
“Hey, we’re going to figure it out.” His features darkened as he looked at her. “I would never let anything happen to you, Bri.”
The intense way he was looking at her made her feel more vulnerable than after they had kissed. It felt like a declaration. A forever kind of promise. But it couldn’t possibly be that.
“Let’s head to the right. I’m sure we’ll find our way back.”
Sure enough, after a few more minutes of brisk jogging, they came out of the woods and popped back onto the road where the race was being held. Almost immediately, one of his formally dressed guards approached them.
“The press member who was running behind you has been detained, Your Highness.”
“Why was he detained?” Drew asked, slipping into the formal royal persona he wore so easily.
“Bastian saw him harassing you with questions then watched you slip away. He was able to stop the press member from pursuing you any further, but he lost sight of you while he was detaining the man.”
Drew stood quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful. “He doesn’t need to be detained. He was only trying to do his job, and he didn’t cause us any harm.”
“Of course, Your Highness. I’ll have him released immediately.”
He nodded curtly at the guard and turned back to her, his face instantly morphing into a casual grin. “Shall we finally finish this race?”
It always impressed her how Drew could easily slip between the goofy man she knew into royal mode. It didn’t look practiced or forced. It seemed effortless. “We shall.”
They fell back into an easy pace for the rest of the race. When they neared the finish line, Bri reached over to him, and Drew wrapped his hand around hers. They crossed the finish line together with giant smiles.
After posing for a few photos for the press, they made their way back to the car waiting for them. Drew had told her they would make an official donation on behalf of the entire royal family.
When they arrived back at the palace, the sun was setting, and Drew led her back inside.
“Do you want to eat dinner together in the observatory? Maybe do some stargazing?”
“That sounds great.” She looked down at her outfit. “I should probably change first, though.”
He waved his hand between them. “You can borrow one of my shirts and some sweatpants. If you go back to your cottage and change and come all the way back before you eat, you’re going to be starving, and I can’t have that. Let me feed you.”
The words every woman wants to hear: Let me feed you.
“I can’t say no to that.” She smirked. “Lead the way, doctor chef.”
Drew chuckled. They walked through the palace and up the stairs to Drew’s room. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in there—probably when they had been kids. Being in there now felt more significant. It felt personal and intimate, but Drew didn’t seem to mind as he walked over to a large walk-in closet and looked through his clothes to find something Bri could wear.
While he did that, she walked along the perimeter of the room, taking in the details. Bri smiled when she saw the black picture frames on his desk. One held a picture of him and his parents a few years ago in front of a Christmas tree, all laughing. Another held a photo of her and Drew, his arm slung around her shoulders as she smiled at the camera while he gazed at her. But the last framed picture stopped her in her tracks. It was just of her—a photo she’d never known he’d taken.
She instantly recognized when the picture had been taken. They had reached the peak on a mountain hike in Westridge. Drew must’ve taken this picture the moment she’d turned to him, when she’d thought he’d only been capturing the view. The joy of having reached the peak was written all over her face.
Why does he have this picture of me in his room? He hadn’t known she would be coming up here today, so it hadn’t been purposefully placed there as a prank. But if it had a permanent spot on his desk, that only added to her confusion. Surely he’s trying to convince his parents we’re engaged and in love. That has to be it.
“Here,” Drew said from behind her, making her jump. “I think these will fit you best.” He extended a small pile of clothes for her to change into.
She took them and stepped toward his bathroom. “I’ll be right back.” In her periphery, Bri saw him step toward his desk, looking at the photographs. Just before she shut the bathroom door, she peeked through the crack and watched as he took the picture with only her in it and hid it in his desk drawer, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck.
I wish I hadn’t seen that , she said to herself. Because it didn’t fit with the story she’d been telling herself at all. On the contrary, it told her Drew hadn’t wanted her to see that photo, and she didn’t have the faintest idea why.
She quietly closed the door and stripped out of her clothes before pulling on his sweatpants and rolling them three times at the waist. Bri then slid on the navy t-shirt Drew had set out for her. It felt like butter against her skin and was perfectly oversized and cozy.
I wonder if it smells like Drew.
Bri paused, looking around as if someone might pop into the bathroom door at any moment. When she couldn’t resist any longer, she brought the collar to her nose and inhaled, smiling softly when his soft scent flooded her senses. It was a little sweet mixed with a hint of spicy, but one hundred percent Drew. The scent brought an instant sense of calm to her.
She wasn’t sure if she would ever give his shirt back. It smelled too good for her to care if that was a couple-y thing to do.