Summary: After the night of Liam’s bachelor party, Riley is confused about what she wants.
Riley lay down, hoping to try to get a little bit of rest before starting her day. Since the sun was already up, she didn’t have much time. With everything on her mind, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to sleep anyway, but it couldn’t hurt to try.
Until recently, she had been so sure of what she wanted. She had been attracted to Liam from the moment they met, and the more time she spent with him, the stronger her feelings became. She knew he was the one she wanted to be with. Although she and Drake had grown closer, they were mostly just friends. The night of the Coronation Ball, Drake had told her that if it was the last time they would be alone together before she got engaged, he would be a fool not to kiss her. She figured one kiss couldn’t hurt, so she told him he could do it. Still, her heart belonged to Liam. When they were alone together in the hedge maze, Liam told her that he loved her, and they made love for the first time. She was ready to commit to him for the rest of her life, but then all hell had broken loose.
While she worked on clearing her name, she held out hope that she and Liam could be together one day. In the meantime, she made the most of every opportunity that she had to be alone with Liam. She knew that he loved her, not Madeleine, and that Madeleine did not object to them spending time together as long as they were discreet. She tried not to think too far ahead, and that worked until Liam had taken her to the Blue Grotto. He had asked her if she could go on meeting with him secretly if he married Madeleine. His words made her face the fact that he might actually go through with the marriage. She figured he wanted her to say that she would continue their relationship even if he married Madeleine, but she couldn’t make that promise. She might be able to do it for a while, but not long-term. Being his mistress wouldn’t be enough for her. She wanted a real commitment, and he wouldn’t be able to give her that if he were already married.
Before long, she was wondering who she could really trust. She never expected Penelope to be the one who paid the photographer to take the pictures of her and Tariq. She liked Penelope, and thought Penelope liked her too. Penelope had apologized and said she had to do it in order to stay at court, and told her that Bastien had been the one who had given her the instructions. She had never expected Bastien to be involved in the plot either. Although she did not know him well, she had always been fond of him. He had seemed truly sorry when he had escorted her out of the Coronation Ball. She knew that Drake was close to him, and she had asked Drake about him, curious to know more. He had seemed like a good person. She didn’t understand why he would do this to her.
After last night, she was more confused than ever. She had to confront Bastien, so she crashed Liam’s bachelor party. Liam asked her to meet him later at a bridge along the Seine, and then Maxwell distracted the others with a toast. Bastien had taken her and Drake aside and said that she had to leave. When they told him they knew what he had done, at first he had pretended that he didn’t know what they were talking about, but Drake kept pressuring him until his facade began to crack. Still, he wouldn’t tell them anything. He told her she had to go, and said that he was sorry. Although he had not given her any reason to believe him, he actually seemed sincere. Then he had reached out to her and taken her by the arm, and she became even more confused. He had betrayed her. So why the hell did it feel good? What was wrong with her? She didn’t have long to think about it; Bastien let go of her after Drake grabbed him and told him to take his hands off her. Then Drake started arguing with Bertrand, and they all had to leave the party.
When Drake suggested that they go to a dive bar, she readily agreed. Although she had a glass of whiskey at the party, she needed more to drink. Their game of Never Have I Ever had started off innocently enough, but then became flirtatious. She had to admit that she had stared at Drake when he had his shirt off during the barn raising. Hey, she wasn’t blind! How could she not notice? She had to get back at him, so she said she had never had a scandalous dream about the two of them in bed together. Drake admitted that he had. Once she knew that, she couldn’t help picturing them together in her mind. After the game ended in a tie, she realized that she had forgotten to say what they were playing for. She decided that the stakes were a kiss, and the two of them kissed passionately. Although they went their separate ways when they got back to the train, she knew that she would have slept with him if he had made a move.
After all that, she still met Liam at the bridge. Liam said that Maxwell told him what happened, and he wondered if the two of them were safe, considering that the person behind the plot was powerful enough to make Bastien afraid. Liam made a very good point. Would she ever be safe with Liam? Even if she cleared her name and married Liam, new threats could emerge. After all, Liam’s mother had been poisoned, and there had been attempts to assassinate the royal family. Cordonia was a very dangerous place. She loved Liam, but could she marry him, knowing that she could be in constant danger? She hadn’t had the courage to express her doubts, especially after Liam talked about the tradition of leaving locks on the bridge as a symbol of commitment. He showed her the lock that he had brought with him and told her that she was the love of his life. She told him he should keep the lock, using the excuse that she didn’t want to get him locked up for vandalism, but the truth was that she didn’t want to make a commitment that she wasn’t sure she could honor. And yet she still almost had sex with him in public, right there on the bridge. If that tour boat had come a little later, they would have been caught in the act.
What was she going to do? What did she really want? She hoped that the answers would become clearer as time went on. Right now, she was all mixed up.