want a distraction, as I wanted to prove myself as a strong contributor to the family. Then Roman appeared on his motorcycle, all sexy and hot, and as soon as he took off his helmet and I saw his hazel eyes, I was done. Game over. I wanted that man.”
We all laugh with her at that comment.
“I’m so jealous,” Victoria chimes in. “I want to find some sexy man to ride me off into the sunset on the back of a motorcycle.”
“I thought you were on a dating sabbatical,” Bella says with a knowing tone, smiling in that big sister way at her.
“Maybe I’m getting bored,” Victoria declares.
“But Liz loves Roman because he’s such a good man, not because he rides a motorcycle,” Bella adds. “I’ve never seen Liz so happy. Or in love.”
Liz beams happily. “I do love that man something fierce. It’s nothing I have ever experienced before. But I had never met anyone like Roman. I thought it was brilliant that he was a gardener. That we grew up in different worlds. Now, was I concerned about bringing Roman into this world, with all the baggage that comes with it? Of course. But just like Clementine and Christian, we fell in love. And our love is what matters the most.”
Her words give me hope. That a biscuit artist and a prince really could work in this royal world, as a modern couple like Liz and Roman are.
But Liz is far removed from the throne.
Xander never will be.
And his birth position makes it clear he has different rules to live by.
I shake the thought from my head. Lord, am I leaping ahead much? We’re dating. Feelings are new and beginning to grow. They are nowhere near the point that this should even be a thought in my head.
I don’t have to worry about the future so soon.
And certainly not today.
“Who says I want love?” Victoria asks. “I just want to ride around on the back of a bike with a gorgeous manly man.”
We all laugh.
“But you’re right,” she concedes, sighing. “Roman is not only hot but a bloody good man.”
“Xander is a good man, too,” Liz says, shifting the topic back towards me. “He always has been. We know the real Xander, and I think you are getting to know him, too.”
“I am,” I say softly. “He’s smart and has a wonderful dry sense of humour. Xander is considerate and respects my thoughts and opinions. I can never stop talking to him, and whenever I leave his home, I miss him and can’t wait to go back. I’ve never felt this way before. Xander is completely different to what I expected him to be.”
“I think you could say the same about us, too. We’re different than what people expect us to be,” Clementine says, putting the last slices of pepper on a platter. She turns on the tap to wash her hands. “Well, except for the fact that Liz and I are jealous of each other. I do hate you, Liz.”
Liz roars with laughter. “I hate you more.”
“Now that we’ve confirmed how much we loathe each other, I’ve got to run these out to Christian, along with the prawns,” Clementine says, drying her hands on a tea towel.
Victoria gets up. “I’ll do that for you. You know I want to go out there and give Xander a hard time in front of the guys. He was ruthless when Christian started dating you. It’s time for someone to return the favour.”
I smile as she winks at me.
Clementine laughs. “Well, by all means, take these out then.”
Victoria takes the platter outside, and Clementine joins me, Liz, and Bella at the table, taking a seat next to her faux arch-nemesis, Liz.
“So tell us more about you,” Bella says, turning her attention towards me. “You’re obviously an incredibly talented baker.”
Now I’m entirely at ease. Bella is so good at making me feel welcome, as if I’m in a room of people who are genuinely ready to like me and embrace me instead of judging me or treating me with skepticism. When I bring something up, she’s the first to ask a follow-up question or make a comment. I find myself gravitating to her warm, inviting personality.
I’m in the middle of telling them how I got into decorating biscuits when the doorbell rings.
“Oh, that must be Camden,” Clementine says, rising from the table. “I’m glad he could come tonight, he’s a lot of fun.”