Page 57 of His Royal Request

Ronan laughed. “Yeah, you really did.”

“Ronan. Not now.” The Queen scolded. “Charlie, there will be eyes on you now. Tonight, and tomorrow at the wedding. I’m sure this isn’t what you were expecting but we need to accept the situation. It’s up to you how we handle it.”

I gazed at her. “What do you mean?”

She glanced at Aiden before addressing me. “There are three options. First, you can leave and avoid this story growing.”

My breath caught and my eyes found Aiden. I didn’t want to do that. I couldn’t leave him, not after what he’d revealed last night.

“Second, you may stay and avoid being seen with Aiden. You can stay close to Isla and we spin things. Say you’re her friend and it was an innocent kiss.”

I didn’t think that one would be successful. If the picture looked half as passionate as the kiss felt, no one would buy it.

“Finally, we face things head-on. You go as Aiden’s date and we deal with the repercussions.”

I swallowed. “Repercussions?” Why did I feel like I was being punished? Sure, this whole thing started out as a ruse, but it had quickly become real.

“The media attention,” Isla clarified.

“If you choose to stay and go as Aiden’s date I recommend staying at the palace for a little while until things calm down. We can’t guarantee protection outside these walls.”

The Queen’s words sank in. If I stayed and put myself out there for the media and press, they would find out more about me and I’d be a target. I’d seen how the paparazzi treated the girlfriends of celebrities and the British princes. Did I want to subject myself to that? I looked at Aiden and knew the answer.

“If it’s alright with you and the king.” I took in his serene expression, feeling a bit better. “I’d like to stay.” I reached out for Aiden’s hand. “With you.”

The King cleared his throat. “It’s decided. We’ll do what we can to minimize the effects on you and your family, but we can’t prevent everything.”

I nodded. “Thank you, your--”

“Leo.”

I paused. I knew that was his first name but I never thought I’d address him by it. “Thank you, Leo.”

He smiled and stood, helping his wife to stand. She paused next to me, placing a delicate hand on my shoulder. “You made the right choice, Charlie.”

They left the room and I started to feel my knees go out. Aiden directed me to the couch his parents had just left and I plopped down with much less dignity than the Queen.

16

Aiden

I could feel my brothers’ eyes on us, but I didn’t care about their opinions. Ronan had asked me repeatedly over the past few days what was so special about Charlie that I wanted to endure this additional attention. He didn’t understand. He hadn’t met someone he couldn’t stop thinking about. He’d never felt the need to be with someone. He’d never panicked about the thought of losing her or never seeing her again.

Mum had done me a tremendous favor by telling Charlie she had to stay after the wedding. It was something I wanted to bring up but I didn’t know how. Now, I didn’t have to.

“I hope you understand what you’re doing, Charlie. This isn’t a game for us.” Cian stood and walked around until he was facing us. “What you’re feeling now is a fraction of what we endure every single day. It’s not ever going to get better than it is now. It will only get worse.” He paused, letting that sink in. I took Charlie’s hand and squeezed. “If that’s not something that interests you, leave now. While you still have some remaining anonymity.”

He turned and left the room. Charlie leaned into me like the weight of his words was crushing her.

Ronan passed by and shook his head once. “He might not have said it with any tact, but he isn’t wrong.”

He left and only Isla remained. I looked to her for some sort of reassurance.

She smiled sadly and sat on the sofa across from us. “As he said, Cian’s not wrong. It will only get worse from here. The attention, the press, the burden. If you are serious about Aiden you need to accept that part of the relationship. We’re not normal. We come with our own set of issues. You need to really think about that before putting yourself out there for the world to scrutinize.”

She reached forward and squeezed Charlie’s knee. “I want both of you to be happy, truly. I’ve loved getting to know you and I can see the change you’ve brought in my brother. I think you’re good for him, but you have to ask if he, and everything that comes with him, is good for you.”

She stood and walked out of the room.