Note: This chapter includes the first group date. and leads up to the first elimination ceremony. As always, please feel free to leave comments or likes. I really appreciate the feedback and it helps guide and inspire me for future works.
The Beaumont brothers had put Riley though an excruciatingly long day of training. The rest of her night and the next morning were uneventful. She talked briefly with Hana at breakfast about her date with Liam. She said the date was fun and they had a ton in common. Liam gave her and apple blossom corsage on the date (which was up for grabs on all one on one dates), which meant she was staying at least through the next week, but she wasn’t sure yet if they had a romantic connection. For her own sake, Riley was happy to hear this. Hana was quickly becoming her best friend. Riley wanted her to be happy, and wanted her to stick around for awhile, but it would be a lot easier if they both weren’t fighting over Liam in the end.
Riley and the other women gathered outside the palace as instructed and filed into the limos. They didn’t know what they were doing, but had been told to wear clothes they wouldn’t mind getting dirty.
They pulled up to an apple orchard, and there stood Liam. He was dressed in jeans and a fitted light blue button down shirt that complimented his muscular physique. He looked great in a suit, but Riley much preferred this more casual look.
“Good morning ladies,” Liam greeted them with his charming megawatt smile. “Welcome to the orchards at Applewood Manor. I assume you are all anxious to hear what we are doing today. My goal during this social season is to give back to Cordonia. Today, we will be planting apple trees to help sustain our most important crop, the Cordonian Ruby. Afterwards we will celebrate with a picnic lunch. You will all have one hour to plant as many trees as you can, and the woman who plants the most trees will get to stay here with me after lunch for dessert.”
There were some audible gasps and groans from the other noble women. While Riley wasn’t exactly expecting to do manual labor, she was up for the challenge. She had probably done more physical labor in her life than all of the other women combined.
The ladies were instructed on how and where to plant the trees, and then the clock started. Riley dug right in and was working with impressive speed. She did take a few moments to check out the competition when she needed a rest. She was surprised to see how hard Madeleine and Olivia were working, but although they might not be used to this type of work, they were both very determined to spend time with Liam. Kiara and Penelope both looked kind of clueless, and seemed to give up half way in, realizing they would never catch up. Some were giving better effort than others, but Riley’s only real competition was Madeline and Olivia.
“Times up!” Liam called. “It was a close race between Madeleine, Riley, and Olivia, but the winner is…..Riley!”
“This is bullshit,” Riley heard Olivia say under hear breath.
Madeleine passed by Riley on the way to the picnic area with Penelope and Kiara. “Of course the waitress beat us all at manual labor. She’ll find out she doesn’t fit in here soon enough,” she said intentionally loud enough for Riley to here.
Drake walked up to Riley. “Wow Bennett, I’ve got to say I’m kind of impressed. Oh, and you have some dirt on your nose. He tossed her a towel.”
Riley was too concerned about her dirty face appearing on television to dwell on the fact that Drake actually complimented her. “How long has that been there? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Hey, my job is to ensure your safety, not to make sure you look pretty on camera.”
“Did you just call me pretty?” Riley teased. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she might of seen Drake blush ever so slightly at that remark.
“That’s not….never mind…I think you need to get over to the picnic. And since you will be coming back with Liam, my work here is done. I’ll pick you up tonight at 8 to take you to the cocktail party. Be ready, so I don’t have to wait for you.”
Riley tried to keep a low profile at the picnic. She wanted so badly to steal some moments away with Liam, but she didn’t need the others talking behind her back. She knew she would get her time alone with him, but not all of the others would. It was still a little hard to see the other women sneaking around the corner with him every few minutes or so doing who knows what. The food was great and there was plenty of wine. She was missing Hana, but Lydia and Sophia kept her company. They both seemed somewhat down to earth despite their titles and upbringing.
The picnic wound down and everyone but Riley was sent back to the palace. Liam led her around the manor to a gorgeous garden filled with flowers of every color. A footbridge crossed a pond with a cascading waterfall. The gazebo had a table set up with two chairs. Atop the table was a platter of chocolate covered strawberries and bottle of champagne chilling on ice. A bit cliche, but romantic nonetheless.
Liam pulled out a chair, and Riley sat down. “You don’t even know how thrilled I am that you won today. I’ve been dying for another moment alone with you since our dance at the ball the other night. I want to know everything about you.” Liam gazed at Riley intently.
“Where should I start? I grew up in New York as an only child to a single mother…well…I thought I was an only child…” Riley trailed off. She was still getting used her new reality.
“That’s right. It must have been quite a shock to learn you had a family you never knew about.”
“Yes…I understand my mom had her reasons for not telling me, but I wish she wouldn’t have made the decision for me. And now that I know, I’ll never have the chance to talk to her about it, since she died two years ago…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for our first real conversation to get this serious right off the bat. Let’s talk about something lighter.”
“Riley, I want to know everything about you. Everything you’ve gone through has made you who you are today. You don’t need to hold anything back…And you may not know this, but I lost my mother as well, several years ago.”
“I’m so sorry Liam, I had no idea. I assumed Regina was your mother. Although that does explain why you look nothing like her,” Riley joked trying to lighten the mood.
Liam laughed softly. “But in all seriousness, Regina has been good to me, but nobody can replace your mother. There’s always a piece of you missing.”
Riley nodded her head in agreement. “I hate that we are in the same club, but it’s nice to talk to someone who gets it. I didn’t know anyone else my age who had lost a parent. My friends were supportive, but they could never understand how it felt. I’ve spent two years grieving and feeling alone, and all of this couldn’t have come at a better time really. I’m ready to start living life to the fullest again.” Riley felt her eyes welling up. She tried to hold back, but a single tear fell down her cheek.
Liam leaned in closer. He reached his hand up gently to the side of Riley’s face and wiped her tear away with his thumb. They locked eyes, and Liam picked up on her unspoken invitation. He brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly. Riley responded, deepening the kiss. In that moment, the rest of the world melted away. She forget about the film crew surrounding them. It was just her and Liam. When they finally pulled away to catch their breath, Liam was smiling from ear to ear.
Riley was at a loss for words. She looked down art the table, remembering why they were there in the first place. “I think we forgot about our dessert.” Riley and Liam both laughed.
“I suppose that is why we are here.” Liam poured Riley a glass of champagne and they ate, talked, and laughed until it was time to get back to the palace.
The limo dropped them off out front, and Bastien got out of a car right behind them. “Riley, I have some things to do before the ceremony, but I will see you again this evening.”
“Thank you Liam. I had a wonderful time this afternoon. I think I’m just going to go back to my room and rest.”
“Bastien, please escort Lady Riley back back to her room,“ Liam directed.
“Yes Prince Liam. As you wish.”
~~~~~
Drake met Liam in Liam’s game room at the palace. Liam and Drake often hung out there when they had free time. There were table tennis, foosball, and pool tables, as well as a large screen TV and a fully stocked bar. It was Drake’s favorite place. Equipped like a sports bar but without all the people. There were very few people Drake trusted or could even tolerate being around in Liam’s world, but Liam was not only his employer but his best friend. If it weren’t for him, Drake would have been gone years ago.
Drake poured a glass of whiskey on the rocks for both of them. “So, what’s it like dating 20 noble women at one time?”
“Exhausting,” Liam replied with a laugh.
“Better you than me buddy. That sounds like my idea of hell.” Drake shuddered.
“Yes Drake, I know you aren’t fond of most of them.”
“Liam, you have to admit, they treat you a lot differently than they do me. If I’m lucky, they just ignore me.”
“Sometimes I worry you will die alone if you keep shutting everyone out like you do,” Liam voiced with concern.
“Don’t worry Liam, I’m just busy right now and focusing on work, which by the way you aren’t making any easier for me. Maybe you could cut Riley this week, so I have more free time,” Drake joked.
“Sorry Drake, that won’t be happening. We talked a lot on our date today and had an amazing connection…We kissed for the first time and she literally took my breath away. I know it’s really soon to say this, but I think I’m falling in love with her.”
“Oh…yeah, it is really soon to be saying that.” Drake downed the contents of his glass. He didn’t understand why, but he suddenly felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He didn’t really like Riley. She was too upbeat and asked too many questions, and she was naive to think she could just come in to court right away and fit in with the other nobles. Sure she seemed smart and had a good sense of humor. She was pretty and had a great body, not that Drake was ever looking at it. But no, he absolutely didn’t have any feelings for her. That would be crazy. He’d only known her a couple days. Maybe it was just becoming more real to Drake that Liam would get married soon, and their friendship would never be the same. That had to be it, Drake told himself.
“Don’t worry, I’m not making any decisions just yet. There are a lot of other women to get to know…But I have a feeling Riley will be around a long time.”