Instead, I sit around with my leg up, waiting for the minutes to tick by. I’ve taken to keeping a chopstick on me at all times so I can temporarily relieve the itching while I deflect questions about my non-existent love life. “I already told you. We were hiking in the dark, and I was going too fast, so I fell into the ravine like a total dumbass.”
“Language,” Harrison says, giving me a stern look from under his eyebrows.
“She’s not even two,” I answer, pointing to Clara who is currently dressed in a floppy swim hat and a UV-protection long-sleeved swimsuit with pants. She’s filling a plastic watering jug with water, then pouring it over her dad’s outstretched legs, and giggling like crazy. I wish she would come water my legs. I’m dying here.
“Yeah, well, she’s absorbing new words like a sponge. Yesterday, Libby said …” Harrison cups his hands over her ears. “‘Screw it.’” He lets go and continues. “And when we put her to bed, we could hear her repeating it over and over in her crib last night.”
I chuckle a little and smile at my niece. “You’re a tiny badass.”
“Seriously, man?” he asks.
“Sorry, last one, I promise,” I say, taking the chopstick out of the pocket of my cargo shorts and digging into my cast. Aahhh, that’s the stuff.
Harrison watches me for a second, looking slightly disgusted. “Something happened out there. I’ve never seen you this grumpy before.”
“Broken ankle, concussion, no bonus.” That one really feels like a kick to the junk because I got a text from Stew that Oprah’s listing her house so he can’t hold on to Matilda any longer. I haven’t told Harrison. There’s no sense in breaking his heart when he never knew we came so close to getting her back. “All reasons for me to be in a crap mood.”
He shakes his head and purses his lips. “Nope. That’s not it. This is a woman thing.”
Rolling my eyes, I say, “It’s not a woman thing. When have I ever let a woman get to me like this? Never. That’s when.”
“Until now. But I can tell. You love her.”
I growl a little and pick up my beer, gulping back the rest of the bottle. “I do not love her.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No, I really don’t,” I say firmly. “And even if I did, there would be no way to make anything work between us, so it’s better if we leave things how they are.”
“Which is?”
“Which is nothing. We spent a few days in the jungle together filming a TV show. End of story.”
“Hey, you two goofballs,” Emma says, sauntering up to us, dressed in a loose skirt and tank top. She’s got that ‘just got back from my luxurious, super long honeymoon-two days ago’ look about her as she melts into the chair next to mine. She waves and opens her mouth wide at Clara. “Hi, baby! How’s my favourite girl?”
Clara grins at her and says, “Me do it!” before dumping more water on her dad.
“You sure do!” Emma answers. “She’s so smart. Listen to her talking in sentences already. She’s definitely a genius.”
“She gets that from her mom,” I say.
They both shrug and nod. “Most likely, yeah,” my brother admits.
Emma gives Harrison a serious look. “So, did he tell you yet?”
“Tell him what?” I ask, already annoyed even though I don’t know what they’re talking about.
She turns to me. “Tell him what really happened in that jungle and why you’ve been such a whiny brat since you got back?”
“Oh for …” I start, then, remembering my niece, I blow out a long puff of air.
Emma grins at me. “You love her.”
“He loves who?” Rosy asks from behind us. She steps under the shade of my umbrella, fanning herself with a clipboard. Turning to Clara, she says, “Hi Clara Bear, how’s my sweet girl?”
“Me do!” Clara yells, throwing her hands in the air and crouching.
“Yay! You do!” Rosy yells, before giving Emma a pointed look. “I hope you didn’t waste your honeymoon, because I want another one of these as soon as possible.”
Emma rolls her eyes. “Then bug Harrison for a follow-up baby.”
“Hey, what are you doing outside?” I ask Rosy. She hates being outdoors with a passion. In fact, if you go to her house for a barbecue, you’ll have to help carry her super-powerful air conditioner into the yard so she can have ‘nice, cool indoor air’ while she eats.
“I came to check on my Cuddle Bear,” she says, smiling down at me. “Now, who is it that you love? It’s that beautiful princess, isn’t it? There’s no way you could’ve spent all that time together without falling for her.”
Harrison grins at me but talks to Rosy. “He was just about to admit it.”
Rosy squeezes herself onto my lounge chair, next to my leg. “Oh, good! I didn’t miss it then!”
Glaring at Harrison, I say, “Nope. Not admitting anything. Not talking. What happens in the jungle, stays in the jungle.”
“So something did happen!” Emma says.
“It happened all right,” Rosy answers. “Look at his pouty little face. It’s exactly like when he’d get hurt as a boy. He could never admit it. Always had to be the toughest kid in the room.”
I pull my head away from her. “I’m not going to get tricked into admitting I love her. I’m not an idiot.”
“He loves her. He’s just scared,” Emma says.
Rosy nods. “I don’t blame him. It would be hard to make it work. After all, they couldn’t be from more different worlds.”
“True,” Emma says, looking at Rosy. “It would be almost impossible. Will would suffocate in her world, and she’s so busy with all her charity work and her royal obligations. There’s no way she could just quit.”
“I don’t know. Harry and Meghan did it,” Rosy tells Emma.
“But, neither of them is a total coward, unlike Will,” Harrison adds.
“I’m not … you know, whatever. You guys go ahead and talk. I really couldn’t care less.”
“That’s because he loves her,” Emma whispers.
“So much it terrifies him,” Rosy adds.
“Maybe he’s not scared,” Harrison says, rubbing his chin. “Maybe, he’s just waiting for his ankle to heal so he can run to her and carry her off into the sunset.”
“Ahh, that’s so sweet,” Rosy says. “Is that what you’re planning, Cuddle Bear?”
“No, I’m not …” I shake my head, exasperation flooding my veins. “I don’t have any plans for any grand romantic gestures or anything. I am not the man she needs. She needs someone who could survive in her world—someone well-read who … likes being inside all the time at meetings and lunches and who would be happy to attend an endless list of boring functions. I couldn’t even stand being at Emma’s awful wedding. No offense, Emma.”
She shrugs. “None taken. I could hardly stand it myself.”
“Listen, I know you all think you’re helping me, but you aren’t. None of you have even met Arabella, so you really have no idea what’s best for her.”