practically batting their eyelashes at each other.
“That is the happiest I’ve ever seen Xavier, and he’s been my driver for years,” I said.
“I’m excited for this ride,” Emma said.
“I love Ferris wheels,” Genoveve said. “I call dibs on the blue seat. I’ve decided it’s got to be the most comfortable one.”
“I’ll sit in that one with Genoveve,” Emma said. “If you don’t mind, Sebastian?”
“By all means,” I said.
It was painfully obvious that Emma had no interest in me, and I was plenty fine with that. It made everything easier. I still didn’t know what that meant in terms of marriage, however. Emma was intelligent. She may have known as well as I did that unifying her family with mine could be the best strategic move for both of us. There hadn’t been a royal family merger in far too long, and I was sure Emma knew that if she married me, she could do whatever she liked at all times.
We certainly didn’t have a drop of chemistry, but at least we had mutual respect.
The Ferris wheel cleared off and we started to hop in, Emma and Genoveve taking the blue seat. Xavier joined his new companion, which meant that Henry and I were the only ones left.
“Guess you’re stuck with me,” he said as he hopped into the next seat, swigging cider.
“So long as you don’t kick me out of this thing when we’re at the top.”
“I might be grumpy, but I’m not homicidal,” Henry said. “Come sit.”
The Ferris wheel seats felt ten times smaller now than they had when we were teenagers. I was squished right up against Henry’s side, which was both exactly what I wanted right now and also a huge problem.
Wanting Henry was… useless.
I couldn’t want him. His body or anything else. If everything went according to plan, I was supposed to eventually marry someone like Emma, and yet here I was, the side of my body pressed up against my childhood friend. It was the best thing I’d felt in years, and also the most agonizing.
As the Ferris wheel slowly started to spin, I let out a long sigh, my breath visible in the air in front of us.
“All good over there, Prince?” Henry asked.
I furrowed my brow. “I told you to stop calling me that,” I said.
“Fine. Sebastian, are you okay? You look like you’re about to have an aneurysm or like you just smelled something awful.”
“I’m fine.”
“Oh no, is it me?” Henry said. “Do I stink? I showered earlier, but—”
“You don’t stink, you smell amazing,” I said, unable to keep the frustration out of my voice.
Henry let out a long breath, and finally I mustered the courage to turn and look at him. His perfect fucking face, lit gently by the glow of the bulbs set around the Ferris wheel.
“You know, things don’t have to be terrible between us,” Henry finally said. “I was pissed, I’m not going to lie. I wanted you to show up in my room when you told me you would. But… it’s water under the bridge, Sebastian.”
“Do you mean that?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Even if we can never be how we were as kids, it would at least be nice to be able to talk to you without it feeling like a war-time negotiation every moment.”
“You’re the one who said fuck you,” I told him.
“I did,” he said. “And I meant it. And part of me still feels that. But… life goes on, y’know?”
“It definitely does.”
“I know we’ll probably never be friends again, but I’ll try not to be actively hostile. Deal?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. A slow sinking feeling set in inside my stomach as he said the words probably never be friends again.
Was that true? Maybe it wasn’t possible for us to be… anything, ever again.
I massaged my temple with my fingers. “So that’s how it feels to talk to me? Like negotiating with an enemy?”
“That isn’t how I meant it.”
“Well, it’s definitely not my intention,” I muttered, tossing back the rest of my cider. “Henry, my life is so different now. You can’t possibly imagine.”
“I’ve tried to imagine,” he said softly. “Even imagining it feels stressful.”
I blew air out through my lips. “Stressful doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
“I wish you didn’t care about the royal pressures so much,” Henry said, shaking his head as he looked out at the twinkling horizon. We were at the top of the Ferris wheel now, and Frostmonte Castle was easily visible in the distance.
I stared out