The Royal Romance

Chapter 8

"Don't worry about me and Riley. We will make the best of it!"

As Maxwell goes to the head table, Hana and Riley find their way to the back... and spot a familiar face, Drake.

"Welcome to the table of exiles."

"Drake? I'm actually glad to see you. And here I was worried that we'd be stuck with some stuffy nobles."

"It's probably meant to be a bigger slight that we're with a commoner Riley." Hana pats Riley's shoulder to reassure her.

"Well, Olivia missed the mark this time."

"Thanks, Brooks. That actually means something coming from you."

Riley starts to feel good by being surrounded by her friends, but she's longing to see Liam. She starts to have a pit in her gut and tries to distract herself.

"Drake." Hana says as she gives Riley an understanding look, "You don't seem bothered at all to be seated in the back."

"What can I say? After enough years of getting treated like this, you build up a thick skin. Besides, back here? Out of the spotlight? At least we can relax."

Riley watches the swarm of servers carries dish after dish of delicious food to the other table.

"The food looks amazing. I hope they'll serve us soon! I'm starving." Hana holds her stomach as it lets out a small growl.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up. Where we are seated, we'll be the last to eat. If there's even any left by the time they get to us." Drake rolls his eyes and puts his face in his hand.

"But... the lobster bisque... do you really think we'll go hungry?"

"Not if I can help it." Riley scans the room and targets a server who is walking toward her. "Hey... excuse me?"

The server walks pasts her without saying a word

"Your failure made a nice appetizer." Drake laughs as Riley scoffs at him.

"That's okay. I'll get him on the return trip."

"Oh, Brooks, no. I wouldn't count on it."

"Oh well. I'm sure the food will show up eventually."

Thirty minutes later...

"Wow.. the service here is terrible." Hana puts her head in her hands to admit defeat.

"All by design." Drake signs.

"Even if it's on purpose, at least it's not the worst service I've had."

"Hana, you've had worse service than this?" I've had better traffic in New York than the service here."

"Believe it or not, I've been to a wedding where the food wasn't served until midnight. They got hideously behind schedule and decided to do an open call for speeches before dinner. It took hours!"

"Oh, heavens." Drake sarcastically raises his hands in mock despair.

"Drake!" Riley gives him an angered look as he grins at her.

"I can tell you a real horror story. Let's set the scene. Causal get-together. Lots of people I don't know, but that's fine. There's a bar, man's true best friend. So I figure I'll grab a drink. I go up to the bar, and they're out of whiskey!"

"Drake, didn't they have other drinks?" Riley smiles at her snide joke and allows him to continue.

"No, no. You don't understand. We're talking about whiskey, the best of all drinks."