I couldn’t hold in the sarcastic laugh that came out. “Are you serious?”
He gave me a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, then looked back to the winding road, readjusting his grip on the steering wheel. “Look, I know that you’re mad at me, but?—”
“Mad?” My voice raised an octave. “Mad doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel about this. I’m livid, Dad.”
“Yes, I understand that, but?—”
“Oh, you do? Didyourdad decide to put you into a royalcourting competition without your agreement? Didyourdad not consider that you might not want to date the Crown Prince of Wexstone? Didyourdad make crazy decisions for you? Because mine has, and then he says that he ‘understands.’”
I rolled my eyes, acting like the teenager I felt like he was treating me as. I still couldn’t believe that my own father had agreed for me when King Leroy called to ask him if I might be interested in courting Oliver.
Granted, my parents had zero idea that Oliver and I had any history. I had never even told them about tutoring Oliver all those years ago. And I still hadn’t been able to talk to anyone about my PCOS diagnosis; I was still trying to process it myself and didn’t want to have to admit to my parents that the odds of them ever having grandchildren were impossibly slim. But Dad hadn’t evenaskedme if I was interested in being a part of the competition.
I had told him I wouldn’t do it, but he guilted me into agreeing to the welcome gala and one of the activities before I pulled out. I had managed to avoid Oliver at the gala earlier this week, spending most of the time hiding out in the washroom. I intended to send my regards to King Leroy and Queen Isobel after the press conference and visit to the artisan workshops the day after, quietly dropping out of the competition, but the queen had been so excited to host me for today’s private tour of the palace that I couldn’t say no.
I’d get through the tour today andthenI’d drop out. No harm, no foul.
“Adelaide. May I please talk?” Dad asked.
I turned to glare at him some more but didn’t object. He took that as a yes and continued, “I understand you are angry with me. I do. However, I truly do think this is for the best.”
“Is that so? Please explain. How is having the entire country watching my every move the best for me?”
“Well, for starters, I think it’s a great opportunity to date a very fine young gentleman.”
Whenever my dad said something nice about Oliver, I wished I had told him about how Oliver had ghosted me years ago. Even if I knew now that wasn’t exactly what happened, it didn’t change that he had also left the fundraiser without so much as a goodbye. That didn’t feel like something a “fine young gentleman” would do.
And anyway, I doubted my dad wanted to know about my sexual history. There were some things that just didn’t need discussing. I still cringed at the memory of him and Mum attempting to give me the “birds and the bees” talk as a preteen.
“And what if I am already dating someone? Did you ever take that into account?” I quipped back.
“Well, are you?”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
“Exactly. Adelaide, I love that you are so passionate about your work. I’m so very proud of the things you do for your students, the school, and those around you.” He put his hand on my knee and gave it a light squeeze. “But your mom and I want you to get out and meet people. We don’t want you to grow old and lonely.”
“Dad, I’m not lonely. I have Shadow and Dash.” It was a lie conveniently shrouded in the truth.
There were many times, especially around the holidays, that I was indeed lonely. It was hard to see all my friends getting married and either welcoming children or going off on lavish vacations and traveling the world.
I loved Dash and Shadow, and they were both great company, but traveling with your best friend was so muchdifferent than traveling with a partner. And spooning my extra-large cat at night was much different than being held by someone you loved.
“Listen, just give him a chance, okay? If things don’t work out, that’s fine, but just give it a shot at least. For me? Please?”
“Fine,” I pouted. I’d go into the tour with an open mind, even though I knew I could never actually end up with Oliver.
“Adelaide!” Queen Isobel, dressed in a beautiful deep teal suit with large gold buttons down the front, greeted me from the marble steps of the snow-covered palace. Oliver stood next to her in dark-wash jeans and a charcoal cashmere sweater. He had always been able to pull off that preppy-casual look so well.
“We’re so happy to have you here.” She grabbed my hand as I rose from a curtsy, encircling me in a half hug as she led me through the palace doors.
“May I take your coat?” a young gentleman asked from my left as soon as we made it into the spacious limestone entryway. I had always loved the foyer’s glass-dome ceiling and the way you could clearly see the sky through it.
“Yes, please.” I smiled. Oliver walked over to help me out of my camel-colored wool pea coat. I handed the footman my thick scarf as well and thanked him.
“Would you like to join us for some tea?” Queen Isobel asked eagerly.
“That would be lovely.”
