Tangled Games (Dating Games #5) - T.K. Leigh Page 0,62
she asked Anderson to fill in on her behalf. I know how it sounds,” I add quickly. “He definitely had a valid reason, so I didn’t go all crazy on him because of one isolated incident.”
“But because of everything else, too,” Chloe states matter-of-factly.
“It was just the catalyst. The event that drew into focus something I’ve felt since our engagement was announced.”
“And what’s that?”
I look up at the ceiling, taking a moment to collect my thoughts. “As I stood next to Anderson, his arm around my shoulders, while his father announced to the media that he’d granted us his permission to marry, it felt like a stranger’s arm was around me. It wasn’t Anderson’s. It was Prince Gabriel’s, this man I know nothing about. I brushed it off, though, because I still saw bits of Anderson, too. But in the past few weeks, as I’ve learned more and more about the royal family, its history, seen coverage of his public appearances, it feels like I’m sharing a bed with a man I don’t know. That I’m about to marry a man I don’t know.”
Evie offers me a sympathetic smile. If any of my friends can empathize with what I’m going through, it would be her. She dealt with something similar with her husband, Julian. Maybe not to the level of Anderson and me, but she can certainly relate.
“Do you want to know what changed my mind about Julian?” she asks, her green eyes awash with compassion.
“What’s that?”
“I realized how lucky I was. When I first learned that Julian kept this huge secret from me, that he was the subject of the article I’d been writing for the magazine, unbeknownst to me, I was absolutely furious. It was the worst kind of betrayal. But then I realized the truth.”
“The truth?” I repeat, swallowing hard through the ache burning my chest.
“I was one of the few lucky people to know Julian. The real Julian. Not this other persona he’d created. Just like you’re lucky enough to know the real Anderson, the side of this highly sought-after prince that no one else gets to see. Who cares if you don’t know Prince Gabriel? What you have is infinitely more special. Sure, when his father was up there announcing your engagement and upcoming marriage, Anderson may have not been the same man. But I guarantee you the love he has for you is the same. Don’t throw it away because you don’t think you know him. You do. You know him better than anyone. And I’m not saying that because you own his cock.”
I burst out laughing, swiping my tears from my cheeks.
“It’s because you own his heart,” Chloe adds. “Regardless of whether he’s the Anderson you met on Route 66 or the Prince Gabriel the public adores, his heart is still the same. There’s no doubt in my mind that it beats for you, and only you.”
Emotion swells in my chest, and I choke out a sob. “God, I hate all these pregnancy hormones.”
“Oh, don’t get me started,” Evie says. “I was watching Schitt’s Creek the other day and couldn’t stop crying.”
“Was it the series finale?” Izzy asks. “Because I cried during that, too.”
Evie slowly shakes her head. “No. It was that scene where David and Stevie are buying wine and equating the wine to David’s sexuality, like how he likes red wine and white wine, and sometimes a red wine that used to be a white wine.” Her lower lip quivers. “It was so beautiful how accepting Stevie was of that.”
The line falls silent for a moment before we all laugh once more. Unfortunately, my moment of happiness is cut short by a knock on the door.
“Ms. Tremblay, you need to be at the palace in ninety minutes.”
I groan, cursing under my breath. “Thank you!” I reply in a bright voice.
“You have to go?” Chloe presses.
“Duty calls,” I sing. “It was so good to see you girls.”
“It was great to see you, too,” Izzy offers.
“Let’s make a plan to do this every week,” Evie says. “You need some normalcy in your life. Let us be that for you.”
I beam. “I’d really like that.”
“We would, too,” Chloe states. “Now go. Be a fucking princess.”
“Okay. I’ll go be a fucking princess. Love you girls.”
“We love you, too.”
I blow a kiss to my friends, then end the call before dragging myself from my bed for another day of learning how to be a princess.