STALE
AH… IT FEELS LIKE my heart is going to explode.
A beautiful melody floated through the ballroom. The lights illuminated the center of the room, which had everyone’s attention. Tiara strode across the marble floor and selected Prince Cedric, drawing a cheer from the crowd.
The attendees had sometimes tittered when a new guest was announced, but Tiara’s bold selection raised the excitement in the room to a whole new level. The furiously blushing Prince Cedric joined Tiara on the dance floor.
I shoved down my mixed feelings about that man standing next to my younger sister, but I didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on it; the woman beside me had my heart pounding.
“Thank you, Stale.”
It took everything I had to respond normally. “It’s my pleasure.”
Pride and I headed for the best-lit place on the dance floor. I breezed by the guests, showing them that it was my right to have the first dance with the most wonderful woman in the world. The clacking of Pride’s heels filled the expectant silence. When we bowed, everyone’s eyes fell upon us.
We slowly turned to face each other once the music began. Our eyes met. Bathed in the bright lights, Pride smiled. How radiant she was.
I placed one hand on her waist and took her hand in mine. We’d danced as brother and sister many times in the past. Yet here and now, it was just the four of us, with everyone watching. Only in this moment could I take her hand and dance with her like this.
I’d never felt more special in all my life.
We began to sway. Each time our steps carried us closer to the guests, their sighs slipped under the music. Electricity crackled everywhere my skin met Pride’s. I tensed at the sensation of her smooth skin against mine, shuddering.
“Stale…are you nervous?” Pride whispered.
Our bodies were so close. I only needed to glance down to see her staring up at me. I could almost feel the caress of her breath. Without thinking, I averted my eyes. “No. Sorry…just a little. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”
She chuckled at my excuse. Startled, I snapped my gaze back to her. “Me too,” she said.
The teasing smile on her face made my heart leap all over again.
“I’m glad you’re the first one I’m dancing with,” she went on. “I think I would have been a lot more nervous with anyone else.”
My chest clenched around those words. One of her next partners might be a marriage candidate—the man who would stand by her side someday. I knew such a man existed, though I’d ruled out Prince Cedric. Captain Callum was a possibility, but that still left two others. Logically, they had to belong to dukedoms or royal families of our close allies.
I cut off that train of thought. I was wasting the valuable opportunity to dance with Pride by getting distracted with speculation. Right now, I needed to commit this moment to memory.
Smiling back at her, I said, “I’m honored.”
Pride’s delighted reaction filled my heart.
“I’m so glad to be your adoptive brother,” I added, putting my joy into words. “It’s the very reason I have the special privilege of taking your hand.”
This was the last place a commoner like me should have ended up. I still loved my mom and my late dad, and I still considered my birthday significant because it was the day I got to write a letter to my mom. But…from the bottom of my heart, I was glad the royal family had adopted me. It was how I’d met Pride. My position allowed me to stay by her side, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
My response took her aback. I guided her across the dance floor, leading her through a gentle spin. The crowd cheered.
Amused, she offered me a smirk. “I’d still dance with you even if you weren’t my brother.”
I gulped. Though I didn’t know exactly what she intended, heat crawled into my face regardless. I only grew hotter when I remembered all those guests watching us, and I desperately tried to calm my racing thoughts.
“Stale?” Pride whispered, concerned.
I told her I was fine, then concealed my emotions with a question. “You would really dance…with just me?” Even if I weren’t your brother?
Pride smiled again, tickled by the question, and squeezed my hand lightly. “Absolutely. You’re very special to me, Stale.”
She made it sound like it was the most natural thing in the world, and it nearly brought me to tears. I swallowed around the lump, lest it grow into a sob. Even if I were someone Pride had no obligation to dance with, she would still choose my hand out of everyone’s. Even if I was just another face in the sea of guests. Even if I didn’t outrank any of them. She would still find me.
Pride had acknowledged me not as her adoptive brother but as Stale the human being. My heart felt so full, it threatened to burst.
We continued our dance. She moved with light steps, leaning into me.
I gazed at my smiling reflection in her purple eyes. “Thank you.”
Overcome with emotion, I pressed my lips together and turned my attention to the guests. Several men had their eyes locked on her, every last one of them eager to be her next partner. The realization yanked me out of my daze.
“If anything happens, be sure to call for me or Arthur.”
“Huh?” She didn’t understand.
I calmly looked back at Pride—the most beautiful woman in the world. Her red dress blazed like fire, and her jewelry reflected the lights like stars kissing her skin. That long, crimson hair—the color of passion—made her pale skin stand out even more. With her standing so close, her chest lingered in my peripheral vision, emphasizing that she was womanly indeed.
Even if she weren’t crown princess, she would’ve stolen the eyes of men all the same. I searched for a way to tell her this, but I came up empty and instead focused on the dance.
We were nearing the end of the song when I finally stumbled across the right words. “You’re just…far too attractive tonight.”
She and I flowed through the final moves. Before the song ended, Pride took in the guests, then herself—stealing a glance at her own chest before squeezing her lips together bashfully. It seemed I’d made my point. The song concluded, and I released her hand. We stepped apart and bowed to each other to the sound of thunderous applause.
I closed my eyes. My next dance was with Tiara. I took a deep breath to compose myself, then felt something soft brush my cheek. My eyes shot open to find Pride had closed the distance between us once more, stroking my face with her fingers. I stared back at her, lost for words.
“Thank you for looking out for me,” she whispered into my ear, drowning out the applause.
I stiffened. When I realized she was responding to my warning, I nodded.
“Even if you weren’t a prince, I don’t think anyone in this world would dare refuse to dance with a wonderful man like you.”
After that, she wished me good luck on my next dance and gave me a light slap on the back. I mumbled some sort of response, adjusted my glasses, and caught my breath as I approached Tiara. It was hard to see through the steam fogging up the lenses. Tiara smirked mischievously and took my hand.
“A wonderful man,” she said. Those words reverberated in my ears, the moment replaying over and over. My heart thrummed with whatever energy my body hadn’t already used up, each beat like a hammer to the chest, the shock waves rippling through my body.
Tiara giggled. “Your face is still red, Big Brother.”
Our dance proceeded smoothly, though I couldn’t stop thinking about my warm face. I fluidly led Tiara through the steps, my hazy vision drifting toward Pride. Perhaps it was pathetic, but I sighed with relief at the sight of her next dance partner.
Surrounded by my beloved sisters and my friends, I was the happiest man on earth.