“I mean, I crushed on Cam a little bit when I was in high school, but outside of that, no. We’ve never done anything.”
“It’s terrible how good it feels to hear that,” I confessed, which only made Keegan smile more.
“It’s hard liking someone, isn’t it?”
I laughed.
I did like him. And I was realizing just how much I was growing attached to him with every passing day.
We took the ice to Fever Pitch and helped the guys take it into the restaurant’s walk-in freezer. I hadn’t met Benny yet, so Keeg introduced me before we headed out to Nance’s.
I’d had the good fortune of having several dinners with the Kruses since I’d started staying in Fever Falls for lengthier visits, and I cherished each one. Nearly as much as I cherished Keeg’s ass and the way he offered it up and taught me how to truly worship a man’s body. We had our suspicions that Nance and Jace were onto the fact that our fake relationship had transformed into something more, but neither pressed for details or explanations. It seemed, like with Keegan coming out to them, they wanted us to tell them when we were ready...when we were sure where this was all really leading.
That night, we had to add a few additional leaves to Nance’s table to accommodate a larger dinner party than usual, including Frederick, who was staying in Fever Falls for the week. He had been acting as one of my liaisons as I worked between Keegan’s hometown and my home nation. After a major victory for our cause, he had hopped on my jet for a visit and to celebrate.
“I think cheers are in order,” I said as I lifted the glass of Arnold Palmer, which Nance had made for me, a personal favorite I’d acquired during the time I’d been staying in Fever Falls.
“Yes, we have so much to celebrate!” Keeg added, raising his own glass. “To the new poll results!”
The party clinked glasses, and Nance asked, “What difference does the poll make, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Frederick finished sipping from his glass before offering a reply. “A huge difference, Mrs. Kruse. When they see that seventy-five percent of our people are in favor of the Equal Marriage bill, it will pressure our legislators when it’s time to vote in two months.”
“That was very different than the first poll in your country,” Dax remarked.
“There was always speculation,” I chimed in, “that it was the wording of the poll that had led to the results, and I think this confirmed it.”
“Yes,” Frederick continued, “and it’s already affected political discourse about the bill. Several have already stepped forward to promote the cause. Even the King has been considering making a public appearance at a major event to express the royal family’s support of the bill.”
“A major event? Soon?” I asked.
“Soonish,” Frederick said. “Five weeks from now.”
Everyone else at the table seemed as interested as I was in the specifics. Although, I was mostly surprised that Frederick hadn’t already mentioned this to me.
“I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up,” Frederick continued, “but he’s been talking about coming to the Fever Falls Autumn Festival.”
As soon as he spoke the words, my jaw dropped. I turned to Keegan, who, judging by his stunned expression, was as surprised as me. Everyone must have had a hard time gauging how to react to the news, because they kept looking between Frederick and me.
“That would be…interesting, Frederick,” was all I could manage.
“Wouldn’t it, though?”
“I find it odd that you didn’t mention this before now.”
“I thought it was something you would want to hear in person. And that you might digest the news better among friends.”
“How serious is he about making this appearance?” I asked, thinking he shouldn’t be getting everyone’s hopes up unless my brother was really planning to attend.
“He’s very serious. He asked me to speak with a Carter James while I was here, who is helping organize the event.”
“Oh, wow,” Dax said. “That will be great for the festival, if he does come.”
I bit my tongue. Dax was right. And it wouldn’t only be good for their city’s event, but for the Equal Marriage bill. That didn’t change that I was pissed that neither Frederick nor my brother had run this by me.
“This is something we’ll have to discuss further in private,” I told Frederick, who nodded as he took a sip of his own Arnold Palmer, surely knowing I was going to give him hell for not having mentioned this before.
“So much royalty at the Fever Falls Autumn Festival,” Serena noted, flipping her hand through her new extensions, an auburn-blonde combination Keeg had helped her select. “You know, I dated a prince from Saudi Arabia for some time. We had a great love affair.”
