Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Gayle tossed her head back, laughing. It wasn’t a manufactured laugh, a performance she would sometimes put on when I tried to be clever during an interview. It was apparent she was as amused by Keegan’s innocent remark as I was.
As Gayle recovered, she snapped off-screen and a makeup artist passed her a tissue, which she padded against her eyes quickly before handing it back to her.
“We don’t bleep over here, but that’s probably the most precious remark you could have made after such a very mature response to my question. I think it’s easy to see the sort of charm that captivated our dear prince.”
Keeg’s face was bright red under the lights, and I couldn’t help but snicker as he attempted to bury his face under his hat.
“So this brings us back to the real issue a lot of people are concerned about right now,” Gayle continued. “King Lucas just came out this past week in support of your relationship.”
Without a damn word to me about it beforehand, of course.
“As you can imagine, critics of the royal family are saying this seems to time perfectly with the Equal Marriage bill coming up for vote in December. What do you say to those who suspect this is a publicity stunt attempting to continue Queen Tara’s work on LGBTQ+ rights.”
“I would say to them, regardless of what is going on in my personal life and what the Crown stands for, I believe the people should encourage their legislators to vote for what is moral. Two consenting adults choosing to be together isn’t a party issue. It’s a prejudiced relic handed down to us by regimes this nation broke free from long ago. As Keeg said before, everyone deserves a second chance. I think this is Parlaisa’s second chance to make the right choice.”
An improvisation on my part, and I felt another squeeze against my hand.
Keegan’s support.
And as I looked to him, I could see his confidence had returned.
Mad as I had made my brother or the critics in this country, we were doing the right thing.
When the interview came to an end, Gayle and her crew packed up as Bryan and Frederick congratulated us on a job well done, noting both of our improvisations as brilliant and perfectly timed.
“I had a good partner in crime,” I said, acknowledging Keegan’s help.
However, there was something about it that grated on my nerves.
I enjoyed having Keegan all to myself, at least for some time, but the more people saw of him, the more he would become public property, much like the rest of my family. He would be a chat piece they would discuss in ways that annoyed me just thinking about them, but it was what we’d both signed up for.
And it was too late to back out.
After we finished up, we headed out to the car, where Keeg and I sat in the back as my driver, Marco, drove us to the palace.
“How’d I do?” Keegan asked.
“That was incredible work.”
“You’re not just saying that?”
“You were impressive. And some of those answers, maybe they were a little over-the-top, but I’m sure people will enjoy them. That bit about second chances was a nice touch.”
“A nice touch?” he asked, his brows tugging together. “Owen, I really believe that.”
I could tell he meant it.
Although, maybe a part of it was just that I didn’t believe it for myself.
17
Keegan
I had been so nervous leading up to the interview. Despite all the work we’d put into getting ready, including me setting aside study time to read over the responses we had prepared, it was even worse than the stage fright I would get before performing in a play. It wasn’t just about memorizing lines. I basically had to remember possible lines depending on what she asked.
And then when the moment came, I’d been inspired, not to just go with what we’d all come up with, but answers that actually meant something. I was glad Owen, Bryan, and Frederick weren’t upset with me for improvising.
On our drive to the palace, where I was staying for the night before returning to Fever Falls the following evening, a knot twisted in my stomach, accompanied by a loud rumbling sound. Owen glanced over at me, a smile playing on his face.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“A little bit.” His right brow arched higher than the left. “Okay, maybe more than a little bit. I was so nervous, I forgot to eat lunch.”
He seemed bothered by what I’d said, though I couldn’t figure out why. “Keeg, you should have eaten. We’ll go ahead and grab something.”
“Sorry. This has just been a lot.”
“Yes, of course. You were anxious. That’s normal, and understandable, but you did great.” Owen pondered something. “There’s this really good pub near the river. It has an incredible view of the city if you want to swing by there.”