It’s amazing how a little dancing will do the soul some good.

After we arrived at the reception for Mom and Bennett’s wedding, I saw Asher in glimpses. Glad that he wasn’t hounding me or trying to check on me all night, I got a minute to breathe. To recover a bit from the heaviness of what happened in that rectory at the church.

There wasn’t a drink in his hand all night, but we did meet on the dance floor. Our bodies shook in rhythm with the classics that the sixteen-piece band was cranking out. We smiled, even laughed at the goofiness of some of the old fogies trying to bust a move. Mom had insisted on a non-traditional British reception. Instead of a sit-down dinner and drinks in separate men’s and women’s rooms after, she wanted family style pasta dishes and mini-cheesesteaks passed around during the cocktail hour. She wanted dancing, merriment, and no stuffiness.

Some of the royals and nobles snuffed her for this, deriding her under their breath throughout the night. But we didn’t let any of it put a damper on our night. If anything, Mom and Bennett laughed more because now there was nothing any one could say to them. They were married, and it was a celebration.

At the end of the night, Asher walked me to the car that took the family back to Kensington Palace. We didn’t say much, having been all talked out from the hours beforehand. But I’d let him hold me, kiss the crown of my hair. I didn’t feel safe in his arms like I used to, but I also didn’t feel harmed. I knew, after what his father had done, that his childhood and the trauma he’d been through had tainted his vision of the world, and my family.

Which was why I had agreed to meet him today.

“Hi.” I wave cautiously as I near him, eyeing the spread he has laid out.

“Welcome to our picnic.” He looks shy, uneasy.

We stand there, neither of us knowing what happens next. I decide to be the bigger person and challenge myself, leaning in for a hug. Mostly, I just can’t resist him when he’s so close to me, looking so relaxed in his summer shorts and T-shirt.

The hug is warm but fleeting, both of us jumping back into our own personal space before it goes on too long. His arms felt strong, supportive. My heart ached to be close to him again.

“I’ve never been to this side of the park.” I look at the little marble house, surrounded by fountains and gardens. There wasn’t much foot traffic here, not like at the Serpentine or the Princess Diana Memorial.

“It’s always been one of my favorite parts, not too crowded, like a little Secret Garden.” He takes out two sandwiches and a thermos.

“I loved that movie as a little girl. A whole reading garden away from the world with a lock and key? Sign me up.”

Asher laughs, a quiet but appreciative laugh. “I could see you loving that. So I got sandwiches from Pret, a crayfish and rocket one for you and a ham and cheese toastie for me. And then I have iced tea, and I brought some of that Milka chocolate that you like.”

He hands me my favorite Pret sandwich and the butterflies in my stomach flap their wings. He remembered my order, brought my favorite chocolate … I should be careful to feel this comfortable with him but the way he’s making this semi-date go, I’m weak to his charm.

“Thanks.” We eat in silence for a few minutes.

“I know it’s not easy for you.” He speaks up after he polishes off the last of his sandwich.

“What?” The sun shines down on us, the fragrance of the flowers floating all around us.

“Trusting me. I know it’s not easy. I don’t know what to say or do to help you get over that … I know it takes time. I know that I betrayed you, hurt you. I promise on my life, on everything I have, that I will never do that again.”

I look down at my hands where they fist in my white sundress. “It’s not, honestly. But I realize what you went through wasn’t easy either, and I’m going to try. We’ve resolved what happened, I know that you said things and they were what you thought were accurate. I’m trying to forgive you, but I also can’t be mired down in all of the drama any longer. We have to move on from here, a clean slate. There is too much to be happy about to think about that dark time anymore.”

And I know that what I say rings true, even in my soul. I don’t want to dwell. I’m not going to be as naïve as I was. But I also don’t want to hate Asher, or even avoid him. I love him, I know that now, and while I might not tell him … I also didn’t want to fight. I’d seen how love had set my mom free, how happy she and Bennett were. We both had college to look forward to, and with the little time we had, I didn’t want to spend any of it dredging up the past.

Asher looks relieved. “That’s all I want. Thank you.”

“So have you started rowing for the summer yet?” I change the subject on to new things.

He leans back on his elbows, his abs flexing through his shirt. His sunglasses sit low on the bridge of his nose so that I can make out those green eyes. “Yep, summer team has started. But I hate rowing in the summer, it’s too hot. Everyone else seems to love the sun and nice weather, but I prefer the cut of the cold. Gives me some sort of edge.”

“Oh, you’re so hardcore.” I roll my eyes.

“Did you like your trip to the college you picked in the States?” When I raise my eyebrow, he explains. “Come on, Nora, you have to know that I was still keeping up with everything you did. You’re in the papers all the time, and I missed you.”

I can’t help the smile that creases my cheeks. “I liked it a lot actually … it felt good to be back in Pennsylvania. Although Philly is a whole different beast than where I grew up. Have you decided on college? Still Oxford?”

He nods, but I see the hesitation there. “Oxford is still the plan, even though I’m not really following the Frederick path anymore. But I figure, I have to try it out … it’s one of the best schools in the country after all.”

“And what’s the plan now that you’re not sticking to your family’s design?”

He shrugs. “I’m not sure to be honest. Rowing, study some kind of business. Be free for the first time in my life. I bought my own flat, if you didn’t know.”

Surprise works through me. “You did? Where?”

“A little one bedroom in Chelsea. I could have you over sometime, if you want?” He looks like he’s trying not to get his hopes up.

“I’d like that.” I smile, shyness suddenly coming over me.

We spend the rest of the afternoon catching up on the last four months, and basking in the beautiful summer day. A part of me starts sewing itself back together; the part that needed Asher so much but couldn’t heal without him.