Rosie gripped Olivia’s hand as they stepped out into the demi-gloom of the pub car park, and the feel of Rosie’s skin against hers was everything. Compared to the deafening roar of karaoke and Friday night fervour inside the pub, outside was an ocean of calm. Rosie didn’t look at her, just pulled Olivia through the car park and down towards the clifftop, away from any stragglers and their smartphones. As they neared the bench where they’d sat before, where Rosie had shared about her family and her story, a wave of relief washed through Olivia. Rosie was still entertaining her, and she guessed that after everything that had happened, it was her turn to share.
Rosie turned to check for any followers, but they seemed to be alone. Then she stared at Olivia, before her face creased and words came tumbling out. “What the hell are you doing here?” Rosie didn’t seem to know what to do with her arms or facial expressions — she was clearly flummoxed.
“I came to the cafe to find you, but then I saw the sign on the door saying you were closed for a celebration — and if there’s a celebration, I knew you’d be at the pub.” She paused. “What are you celebrating?”
Rosie shook her head. “You don’t get to show up and ask the questions, that’s not how it works. Why are you here, and why are you looking like that?” She waved her hand up and down Olivia’s tall frame. “You look like Charlie, you don’t look like Princess Olivia anymore.”
Olivia reached out and put a hand on Rosie’s arm, before looking down at herself. Black jeans, leather boots, a white-and-grey striped top — she didn’t think she looked that bad. “I wanted to blend in,” she said, frowning.
“You’re a princess, you don’t do blending in,” Rosie replied.
Olivia fixed her with her gaze. “I do when it matters — and tonight mattered.”
If Rosie’s attention had been wandering, she snapped into focus now. “But…” She shook her head. “What are you doing here looking like Charlie? You’re getting married to Jemima whatshername. You can’t just come back to Otter Bay in a pair of skinny jeans and sing karaoke, like a normal person. Isn’t that against royal code?”
Olivia smiled. “Have you been talking to my mother?”
At Rosie’s continued frown, she stepped forward, and sat her down on the bench. Their bench. Olivia turned her body towards Rosie and took her hands in hers.
“I know this is out of the blue, but you haven’t been far from my mind ever since I left all those weeks ago.”
“But you’re getting married — everyone knows that. I saw the venue in the paper.”
Olivia shook her head. “I’m not.”
“I read a piece where they interviewed the designer of your dress.” Rosie scrunched up her face.
“Rosie,” Olivia said, a sharpness to her voice.
“And your cake’s elderflower and rose — I remember thinking I would never have elderflower in my wedding cake, I always think it tastes a bit like wee—”
“—Rosie!” Olivia’s voice slapped the air. “Listen to me.” She brushed a thumb over Rosie’s knuckles.
Rosie looked down, then back up.
“Ready? Watch my lips. I’m not getting married.”
Rosie frowned. “You’re not?”
Olivia shook her head, arranging her face in the most convincing way she knew how. “I’m not, I’ve called it off. Jemima and I… we were never really together. We’re exes who run in the same circles, and that was enough for my mother to get us married because apparently I’ve reached a certain age. But we haven’t even kissed each other since the engagement was announced, and the thought of doing that again only got worse after I met you. Because how can I kiss Jemima — let alone marry her — when my heart belongs to someone else?”
As realisation slid down Rosie’s face, Olivia sucked in a breath and waited for a response.
“Well say something! I don’t make a habit of coming to seaside villages and singing karaoke — never mind Royals. It’s not a particular favourite for any of my family.”
That brought a sound from Rosie, finally. A small spark of laughter, which hugged Olivia’s ears.
“You’re not getting married?” Rosie’s voice was low, but clear.
Olivia shook her head. “I’m not. I couldn’t, not when all I could think of was you.” She brought Rosie’s fingers to her lips and kissed them lightly. Her insides shivered — she’d missed Rosie and what she did to her. Olivia glanced up to see Rosie staring at her, her eyes dark and questioning. Olivia hoped she felt the same, otherwise she might throw herself off this cliff.
“But what about everything else? It’s not just any wedding — you’re a royal for fuck’s sake. The whole nation has been counting down, as I’ve become very aware of since you left. Can you just… up and leave?”
Olivia winced, kissing Rosie’s hand once more. She caught a shudder as she did so and smiled. At least that part still worked. “Let’s just say, my mother’s not happy with me, but she’ll get over it. We’ve done an official statement and it’s getting released tomorrow morning.”
Rosie sat up. “Won’t you get in trouble for the karaoke stunt you just pulled?”
Olivia shrugged. “The Palace press office will be pissed off, but I was only out singing a song — there’s no law against it. Plus, tomorrow’s big announcement will blow that out of the water anyway — but I couldn’t wait till tomorrow to tell you.” She paused. “I missed you so much, and I’m so sorry about it all, you’ve no idea.” Olivia looked up into the hazy sky, the ocean slapping the rocks below. When she took a deep breath, it was coated with hope. “I wanted to tell you, to come clean, but I didn’t know how. And then you liked me for me, for being Charlie, and part of me wanted to keep it that way.”
“And honestly, if I had known, I’d have run a mile.” Rosie shook her head. “I keep thinking I was stupid not to have known. How could I not see who you were?”
A smile creased Olivia’s face. “You see what you want to see — I wanted you to believe I was Charlie, and you did. Nobody would think a princess would eat in their cafe every day, would they?”
Rosie laughed, shaking her head. “I didn’t even think princesses ate fry-ups — I thought you survived on dust.”
“That’s my sister, not me.” Olivia paused, stroking Rosie’s soft fingers. “I had a magical time here with you, and everything I told you was true. I fell in love with Otter Bay first, and then I fell in love with you.”
Rosie sucked in a breath at that, biting her lip. “You really fell in love with me?”
Olivia nodded. “With you, with your family, your cafe — but mainly with you. And when I left, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. But I thought I’d fucked everything up so much there was no going back. I sent you the crockery, the flowers, the texts, but you didn’t respond.” She gave her a sad smile. “I thought we were done, that I had to do my duty, because that’s what my mother kept telling me. My royal duty to the crown and to the country. So, I agreed to carry on with the marriage. But the closer it got, the more wrong it felt, until eventually, I knew I couldn’t go through with it.” She paused. “I can’t marry one woman when I love another, it’s just not how I’m built.”
Olivia shuddered. Had she left it too late? Did Rosie feel the same? Had she buggered it all up again? “Leaving you and this place was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m so sorry for all the upset I caused you. I know it must have been a shock.”
“Understatement of the year.” Rosie quirked her mouth into a semi-smile. “It was good for business, though. Turns out you’re quite the celebrity, and everyone who came in wanted to know where Princess Olivia had sat.”
“I hope you didn’t show them photos of me with baked bean sauce dripping down my mouth, I have an image to keep up.”
“I think you just punctured that by singing Royals in the Dog & Duck.”
“You’re probably right,” Olivia said, sweeping some hair from Rosie’s cheek. Rosie still hadn’t responded to her declaration of love, and her heart was still waiting, everything crossed. “I’ve missed this, I’ve missed you,” she said. “Most of all, I’ve missed us. That night we shared is still seared in my memory.”
“Mine, too,” Rosie replied. “But then everything happened and I didn’t know what to think.” She paused, staring into Olivia’s eyes. “But despite it all, I don’t regret it, and I don’t regret meeting you — Charlie, Olivia, whatever your name is. Because yes, you might be a princess, but to me, you were just you.” She gazed at her. “And whatever happens, you changed my life for the better.”
Olivia’s heart boomed — at least she’d done something right.
But Rosie wasn’t done. “I’ve got something else to tell you, too.”
Olivia’s stomach dropped. “What?”
“You know you were asking what we were celebrating.”
Olivia nodded.
“We were drinking to new beginnings.” Rosie licked her lips. “Paige leaves for Durham in September, and I’ve sold the cafe to Amy.”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “After everything? I thought it was doing better?”
“It was — it is! And that’s all thanks to you.” Now it was Rosie’s turn to bring Olivia’s fingers to her lips.
Her touch made Olivia’s heart stall, but she forced herself to concentrate on what Rosie was saying.
“But when you left, when Gina was sorted and the cafe started to do so well — I realised that, despite it all, it still wasn’t what I wanted to do. This was my parents’ dream, not mine. And with Paige leaving and Amy’s offer on the table, I decided to do what I wanted for once — and I’d never have had the courage to do that if I hadn’t met you. You made me see there’s a big world out there and I want to be a part of it.”
Olivia shook her head. “Wow — you never stop amazing me, you know that? The easy thing to do would be to stay here and run the cafe — chasing your dreams is always the harder route.”
“Isn’t that what you’ve chosen?” Rosie asked, her gaze heating Olivia’s skin.
Olivia smiled. “Coming back here was the easiest decision to make. Coming back to you.” Olivia kissed Rosie’s hand again. “When I was with you, I felt myself. When I lost you, nothing was right. I knew I was in love with you because every time I saw you, I never wanted to leave you.” She couldn’t hold back anymore. “But I have to ask — do you love me? Or at least think you could, in time?”
Rosie’s gaze was so deliciously warm, Olivia melted.
“Of course I love you — how could I not? You’ve changed my life.” Rosie cocked her head. “Plus, you look hot in a pair of skinny jeans.”
“I do?” Olivia wanted to punch the air, but she stayed put.
Rosie quirked an eyebrow. “Very much so,” she said. “But how can this work? Last time I checked you were still a princess, and I’m still me. We live in very different worlds, that hasn’t changed.” Sadness crossed her face. “I’m not really royal material, and maybe Jemima was.”
“Jemima’s my past — you’re my future. Or at least, I’d like you to be.” Olivia had never meant anything so much — it was a future she could already see forming in her mind.
“Don’t,” Rosie said, shaking her head. “This can’t work, Charlie… I mean, Olivia.” She threw up her hands. “I don’t even know what to call you anymore. How’s that for ridiculous?”
“I don’t care what you call me, so long as you call me something.”
“Aren’t all the stars telling us this isn’t destined?” Rosie said, glancing up to the sky, before coming back to Olivia. “It hasn’t exactly been the perfect start to a romance, has it?”
“No but we could make it the perfect ending.”
“But I’m leaving — I’m going travelling.”
“You’re leaving?”
Rosie nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Shit.” Olivia’s forehead creased, then she sat up. “Then I’m coming with you.”
“What? You can’t do that — don’t you have royal things to do?”
“They can wait.” And they could: sorting this out with Rosie was her top priority, nothing else mattered.
Rosie shook her head. “But—”
“—No buts. Just one question. A simple one. With a yes or no answer.” Olivia paused. “Do you love me?”
Rosie’s whole body softened. “You know I do.”
“And I love you. We should be together — you know it and I know it. Nothing else matters when I’m with you.” Olivia swept her thumb across Rosie’s cheek as she brought her lips within inches of Rosie’s once again. Back where they belonged. “I’m not letting you go, Rosie. Not for a second time.”
And then there were no more words as Olivia closed the gap between them and pressed her lips to Rosie’s, putting everything she had into that kiss.
What she’d said was true — nothing else did matter — apart from the two of them, together. Just like this. Lips locked, Olivia’s hands sliding to Rosie’s breasts, Olivia groaning into Rosie’s mouth as her tongue slid into hers. She wanted to start over, a fresh chapter. What better time was there than right now?
After some long moments, Olivia pulled back, her breathing shredded, her heart just wanting more. More of Rosie, more of them, more of this moment. “You want to get out of here and go somewhere more private?”
Rosie nodded. “God, yes,” she said, her voice scratchy.
“Then let’s go,” Olivia said, pulling her to her feet.