Page 110 of Trained Royal

“I want to ask you something,” Patrick said.

Kieren leaned his head back against his shoulder. “You can ask me anything.”

“Will you marry me?”

A small black box appeared in front of him, and Patrick opened the lid. Nestled inside was a shiny gold band with two lines of amber and one line of blue between them, encircling the entire ring. Kieren’s heart missed a beat.

“You don’t have to answer now.” Patrick’s voice trembled. “I just want you to know how I’m feeling. I love you so much. It would be a great honour to be by your side for the rest of my days, but I know it might be too sudden—”

His words stopped when Kieren slammed their mouths together. He took him hard and deep, then gentled it, finishing with a couple of pecks on his lips. Tears trickled down both their cheeks, and Kieren smiled.

“Yes. I will marry you. I love you.”

Patrick kissed him again, and when they pulled back, he lifted the ring from the box. “I have no idea if this will fit.”

The ring slid on, maybe a little tighter than Kieren would’ve liked, but it fit. That was the main thing. It sparkled in the muted sunlight.

“I thought of you when I saw the colour of the blue. It reminds me of your eyes.”

“And the amber? Does that have significance?” Kieren asked.

“Nothing official, but it made me think of the royal crown. I thought it was apt to have something related to the royals. As you’ll become a prince, after all.”

Kieren’s mouth opened and closed several times, but he couldn’t think of a thing to say to that, apart from, “Holy crap!”

Patrick laughed and held him tighter. “It’s funny how none of you—and by you, I mean the partners of my brother and cousins—none of you realise you’re going to be princes when you marry. It’s as if you all push it aside and see us as actual people. It’s wonderful.”

“That’s because you are a person first, a prince second.”

“Not to the rest of the world.”

“But to those who matter most.”

They drifted into silence again, broken only by their kisses and random musings. When they both became too cold, Patrick helped Kieren to climb back onto Beauty, and they rode to their temporary home. The pressure around his ring finger was strange but not unwelcome. Every time he moved, it rubbed or pressed against his fingers and gloves, and it reminded him of what his future held.

When they arrived back at the stables, he stopped Patrick from heading back into the house with a question that had concerned him. “Do you want people to know straight away, or should I put the ring back in the box for now?”

Patrick wrapped his arms around his waist and smiled. “I want the world to know, but only if you’re okay with that.”

Kieren kissed him, the cold tip of his nose brushing against his skin. “I’m okay with that.”

“Good. Let’s go tell Mother and Father.”

Kieren couldn’t help but react to Patrick’s enthusiasm, but the closer they came to Patrick’s parents’ suite, the more nervous he became. He loosened his coat and scarf, removing his gloves and putting them in his pockets.

“Stop worrying. They love you.”

He thought they liked him, but there was always that niggle of doubt in the back of his mind that they were only saying that for Patrick’s benefit. When things appear to be more permanent, they might change their minds.

Patrick faced him as they stopped at the door. He grabbed his hands and squeezed. “You have nothing to worry about. I promise you.”

Kieren swallowed, inhaled and blew it out. “Okay,” he said with more certainty than he felt.

Patrick knocked, keeping hold of Kieren’s ring hand. There was a call for them to enter, and Patrick led the way.

“Good afternoon, boys! How was your ride?” Victoria asked, coming forward with her arms open. Patrick hugged her, and so did he. “Come sit.”

They removed their coats and put them on the coat stand, and Patrick grabbed his hand again and pulled him to the sofa. Victoria sat in an armchair to their left and asked her assistant for tea for them all.