The Royal Love Triangle

12: Meeting the Princess

Gabe's POV

A black limo pulled up to the front gates and that’s when the nerves really hit me. I had been fine up until this point. I could feel the butterflies fluttering around my stomach. This was really happening, and I was meeting the girl I was supposed to marry. When the limo pulled up to the front steps and came to a stop, a tall older looking gentleman got out of the back first. Andrew was standing behind me and whispered to me that his name was Chandler, the Bohon family’s assistant. He also informed me that Clara, Princess Callie’s assistant, would be joining us today as well. I nodded as I watched him hold his hand out to help the next person out.

I held my breath as a young woman, maybe 21 years old, stepped out. She had long, black hair and was dressed in a dark purple dress and had a small but elegant tiara on her head. That was her. My jaw must have dropped as I heard someone clear their throat, bringing me back to reality. I looked over my shoulder to see Andrew looking at me, trying to remind me to remain professional.

When I turned my head back around, King Franklin, Queen Melissa and Prince Marcus were all heading up the stairs. I looked around to try and find the princess again. She was still standing by the limo and it looked like she was talking to someone. She stuck her hand out and helped another young woman out of the limo. I had no idea who that was. She was in pale yellow dress suit. She had short blonde hair and was much taller than the princess. As they finished their conversation, I felt her eyes land on me. When I looked up and met her gaze, she glared at me. What was that all about? The two young ladies were ushered up the stairs by a third woman, I assumed that was Clara.

Once everyone joined us at the top of the stairs, Andrew opened the front doors, and everyone went inside. Once inside, Andrew approached Chandler and shook hands. Queen Melissa and my mom were hugging, and King Franklin and my dad were also shaking hands saying how nice it is to see everyone again. Prince Marcus was standing next to King Franklin, joining in their conversation. This wasn’t the first time our families had met.

There were many meetings about what to do if the princess wasn’t found. Everyone knew one another and we were all comfortable together. Well, except Callie and the other girl. They were new to these meetings. After I had said hello to everyone, I kept catching myself watching Callie. She was breath taking and I don’t even think she knew it. She was standing closer to the door with Clara and the other girl. Callie and the other girl were hugging. It almost looked like they were both giving Callie a pep talk. She must have been nervous. Clara shooed her over towards the rest of the group. They quickly followed behind her.

Chandler cleared his throat, and everyone looked over at him. “Well, since everyone knows why we’re here today, let’s not waste any more time. It is my great honor and pleasure to present Princess Callie Marie Bohon.” Chandler bowed down and she stepped forward. She took a deep breath in before she dipped into a curtsy.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” She stood back up and put on the best smile that she could.

I could see that everyone in the room had their eyes on her. I couldn’t blame them; she was absolutely stunning. She looked over her shoulder to the girl, whose name I still didn’t know. The girl flashed her a smile and nodded trying to encourage her. When she faced forward again, I could see my parents’ eyes on her, they were watching her every move. Andrew stepped forward and tried to break the tension. He cleared his throat.

“Princess Callie, please allow me to introduce everyone. This is King Maxwell, Queen Allison and Prince Gabriel Saint-Clair. I am Andrew, Prince Gabriel’s assistant. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to finally meet you. Everyone has been talking about you since we heard you were found safely.” His voice trailed off and the room was quiet again. Andrew glanced down at his watch. “Well now, I think lunch should be just about ready. Why don’t we all head to the sitting area and enjoy some drinks until then. Your highness, may I have the honor to escort you to the next room?”

Andrew bowed a little in front of Callie before offering her his arm. She giggled and took his arm. I turned to watch them walk into the next room. Andrew was chatting with her and she was smiling. It was contagious. My father escorted my mother into the next room, as did King Franklin with Queen Melissa. Prince Marcus followed closely behind the two. Chandler offered his arm to Clara, and she giggled. I saw the other girl still standing in the room. I tried to smile at her, but she only glared at me. I walked over to introduce myself.

“I’m afraid that we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Prince Gabriel.” I bowed in front of her then stood up. I was expecting her to introduce herself. Maybe she was shy. She glared at me some more. If looks could kill, I’d be dead. “Miss, may I please know your name?” I was rather annoyed at this point, but I tried to give her the best smile that I could. She crossed her arms and sighed.

“My name is Tessa. I’m Callie’s best friend.” She raised an eye brow and looked me up and down. I smiled.Tessa crossed her arms across her chest. I must have forgotten that Callie’s friend was coming along. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t think that Tessa was cute. She wasn’t my type, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t beautiful. She moved so that she was closer to me. “Don’t think for one second I’m just going to step aside and let you have her. I loved her first, and I will get my happily ever after with her.” With that, Tessa stormed passed me and walked to the door way of the sitting area. She stood there for a minute and took a deep breath before walking in.

I made my way over to the other room. I took a few moments at the door way to watch Tessa. She walked over to Callie and sat down next to her. She whispered something in Callie’s ear and Callie covered her mouth to cover her giggle. It was absolutely adorable, and I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. Callie’s eyes met mine and she froze. Tessa looked over her shoulder to see what Callie was looking at. When her eyes landed on me, she glared then turned right back to Callie. Tessa grabbed Callie’s hand and scooted a little closer to her. Callie’s eyes left mine and looked around the room. Her face flushed when Tessa scooted closer and grabbed her hand. Was Callie interested in Tessa too?

Lunch was over before I knew it. There was some small talk, but it was mostly everyone trying to learn about Callie. The entire lunch, Callie and Tessa were exchanging glances and smiles. Before we had all made it back to the sitting room, Andrew pointed out that I had hardly spoken to Callie at all. He suggested that I try to get her somewhere private so that we could talk. I was nervous to get to know her. I glanced around the room and saw that Tessa was still by her side. I smiled, if she wanted a competition, then she was going to get a competition. I walked up to Callie and she froze when I stopped in front of her.

“Princess Callie, would you like to take a walk around the palace with me?”

I simply offered her my hand. I flashed her a smile and I tried not to turn my gaze at Tessa, but I could feel her eyes on me. Callie looked over at her mother and Clara, who encouraged her to go with a nod. Callie smiled and took my hand. She looked nervous, but we both knew that we would have to get to know each other. She wrapped her small hand around my forearm, and I lead her out of the room.

“Your castle is amazing.” Her voice was small. I could tell that she was shy, so I would have to step up and take the lead on this. “What’s your favorite room here?” She smiled and I saw her cheeks blush when my eyes met hers.

“My favorite room is the library. It’s quiet and I do a lot of thinking there. It overlooks the garden, so it’s rather beautiful. Would you like to see it?” I smiled down at her. She was so much shorter than me, her 5’2 compared to my 5’8 was a big difference. I took her hand in mine and laced our fingers together. She smiled and squealed in excitement. With her hand in mine, I lead her towards the library.

Once we got there, she walked right over to the window and looked out in amazement. “I love the snow. I think it’s absolutely breathtaking.” Her voice was quiet. But I couldn’t help but think that she was breath taking. She walked over and sat down on the window sill. She flattened out her dress and turned back to face me. I walked over to her and put one arm on each side of her. She bit her lip and looked o the ground. I grabbed her chin with my hand and moved her head up, so she was looking at me. Her cheeks flushed once our eyes connected.

“Callie, there’s something I need to ask you.” She froze and her eyes got wide. Did she think I was proposing? I know that that’s what everyone was expecting, but we had only just met. I wasn’t just going to jump into something like that. “I’m not proposing. Rest assured, I’m going to do this right. Besides, I have until my 28th birthday.” She let out a small sigh of relief and I chuckled a little. She was adorable. “Callie, would you do me the honor of being my date for your celebration ball tonight?” She looked up at me wide eyed. She looked shocked. A small smile spread across her face and she nodded. I smiled and sighed in relief. “Really? I just thought…” I stopped myself and shook my head. “Never mind, that’s not important. I’ll inform Andrew and Clara. They will make arrangements from there.” I smiled.

“Gabriel, I…”

“Please call me Gabe.” I smiled.

“Gabe, can please we exchange numbers? I’d really like to talk more. I mean… Our situation is… unique, and I’d like to get to know you better. I don’t have my phone on me, Clara insisted on keeping it while we were here. But you can text me and I’ll send you one back once I can.”

She smiled. I nodded and took my phone out of my pocket and handed it to her. I saw her typing on it. Then she held the phone up to take a picture of herself. Ah, contact photo. As if I would forget who she was. She handed me back my phone and I threw it back in my pocket. “There, send me a message a little later. Once I have a free moment, I’ll send you one back. Then tonight you can take a contact photo for me.” She smiled. I chuckled again.

She looked up at me and our eyes met. I felt a spark between the two of us. I leaned down to be at her level. Our eyes locked, and we were both leaning in for a kiss. Just before our lips touched, the doors to the library were thrown open. We both jumped and turned our attention towards the door. It was Tessa. Of course, it was. She would ruin a moment like this. Her eyes locked on Callie.

“Cals, it’s time to go. Clara has the rest of the afternoon and evening planned to help get you ready for the ball.”

Callie kissed my cheek before hopping off the window sill and walked off towards Tessa. Callie stopped for a second and looked over her shoulder to shoot me a smile. I returned it. Once Callie had left the room, Tessa glared at me and crossed her arms before walking out of the room. I sighed. She really wasn’t going to make this easy.