The Prince's Bride (Part 1) - J.J. McAvoy Page 0,56
like warm vanilla and roses, and I wanted to know if that smell was just the actual rose or if my face were at the nape of her neck, would I smell it there, too?
“Go to sleep, Gale,” I begged myself, falling onto the bed, trying to close my eyes.
But seriously, why the hell did she reject me?
But sleep did not come. Sighing, I tossed and turned only to hear my cell phone vibrate on the side table. Thinking it could be Odette, I reached for it far too eagerly, but sadly, it was not.
“How was the date?” my brother asked the moment I answered.
“It’s actually still going, and you are interrupting,” I lied.
“You are aware that Iskandar notified me when it was over.”
My jaw cracked to the side. “Do you not have enough to do, Arthur?
“Yes, but I will always make time for you, little brother.” He chuckled.
“It is not necessary, big brother. Please stop using my bodyguard as a spy.”
“The date, did it go well?” he asked clearly, not agreeing to stop.
“Can I go back to bed now?”
“That bad?”
“It was fine!” I snapped, causing him to snicker into the phone. I fought the urge to hang up directly. “Arthur, I’m exhausted. I’m going to—”
“Pout and kick your feet because she did not fall into your arms like every other woman, and you have to actually work for her to care.”
“I am not asking her to fall at my feet...wait, how did you know she didn’t fall at my—are you serious? You had Iskandar listen in and report the whole night? Or did you have a camera set up to watch? That is disturbing and abuse.”
“Stop being ridiculous. I do not need a spy to figure out you are upset that she doesn’t fawn over you. I know because if she had fallen for your charms, you’d be bragging about it right now.”
“I would not,” I muttered more annoyed with myself now because I sounded like a six-year-old. “Anyway, I feel like this is a sign, so thanks for setting me up for years of misery, big brother.”
“Would you like some advice?”
“You, give me advice on women?” I scuffed.
“Women? I would not dare. How to get an arranged marriage to work? I think I might know a thing or two.”
“Again, you’ve loved Sophia forever.”
“But did she always love me?”
I paused. Sophia married him because her family and ours wanted her to be the next queen.
She came from the best background, had the best education, and her mother and ours were friends. It was the match made in heaven.
“If you remember,” he went on, “she wasn’t that thrilled with me in the beginning. I figured it would be a one-sided love on my part. But over time, we became the couple we are today.”
“Yes, nauseating the rest of us with your long glances at each other from across the room.” I rolled my eyes, but I could help but smirk a bit. At least his relationship ended up well.
“I had to work for those glances. Unlike you, who just winked and recited poetry at any woman in sight.”
“Perks of being the more attractive brother.”
“Is that a perk, wallowing away with women you know you can never have any real attachment to, always doubting if they truly want you or just wanting the crown that comes with you?”
I did not answer.
“That is why we do arranged marriages, Gale. It might not work for normal people, but it works for us.”
“Maybe you all picked the wrong woman for me then—”
“From your tone, I feel like I was correct. I am quite glad she is giving you such a hard time. Nothing worth having comes easily.”
“I would like to go to sleep now.”
“Don’t you want to hear my advice?”
“You’ve been waiting your whole life for this, haven’t you?”
He chuckled. “You rarely give me big brother moments to work with, Gale. What else can you do?”
“Please, impart on me your great wisdom, big brother, so I may get some sleep.” The only good part of this conversation was that I now felt tired enough to close my eyes and keep them close.
“She is the one.”
“What?”
“Tell yourself that she is the one, believe that the circumstances that brought you together, whether good or bad, were meant to happen because you two were meant to happen. She is the one. It is fate. Once you believe that, you never give up, and eventually, she will always look for you to be there.”