For the Sake of Love Read online

  When they finished eating, they relaxed for a few before heading over to Buckingham Palace at 9:00 a.m. to meet up with Nya and Chance. When they got there a small crowd had already gathered, but at least there weren’t so many people they’d have to stare at the back of people’s heads.

  “This is exciting!” Nya said, sounding like a young child.

  “Yeah, it is,” Bria agreed.

  Kerryngton mentioned the two of them taking future trips together, and Bria’s stomach flopped. She and Spade used to talk about all the places they wanted to go together: Dubai, Paris, France, Italy, Sweden. Even though their plans weren’t etched in stone, the fact that they entertained the possibility gave them something to look forward to and strive for. She felt herself become a bit misty-eyed because London, England, was also on their list. The thought that she and Spade were both in London, but not together, caused a tinge of sadness for her. Bria turned her attention to the guards. She liked the red and black uniforms with bearskin hats that the soldiers wore.

  Promptly at 11:30 a.m., the Changing of the Guard took place. Bria took out her phone to record the memorable event. The handover was accompanied by a Guards band. The music played ranged from traditional military marches to songs from films and musicals, and to Bria’s surprise, even familiar pop songs. Forty-five minutes later the ceremony ended.

  “That was incredible,” Bria said as she stopped recording and put her phone away.

  Kerryngton grabbed her hand. “Let’s head over to our tours.”

  “I can’t wait!” Nya said, schmoozing up to Chance.

  Their first stop was The Queen’s Gallery. On arrival, the group and their belongings went through an airport-style security check. Bria was disappointed to learn that photography, video recording, and filming were not permitted inside of the palace. She’d just have to pay particular attention and create some good memories in her mind, she figured.

  Once at The Queen’s Gallery, they stood in the entrance hall along with the other visitors. They had to go through security yet again before making their way to the galleries and activity areas on the upper level. Bria found herself paying acute attention to the details of her surroundings. Gold lettering that read: “THE QUEEN’S GALLERY” was prominently displayed above the entrance. Above that sat a red lion. The monumental entrance doors were made of oak. Framing the stone-arched entrance to the exhibition areas were two free-standing winged figures. Bria noticed that the entrance hall’s robust rusticated style contrasted with the interior of the stair hall beyond, which was polychromatic and ornate. She looked up and observed that the ceiling was painted in fascinating red and green anthemion patterns above Ionic columns and pilasters in green scagliola.

  Inside, both couples walked hand-in-hand. Bria saw the most unique reception desk made from curved pieces of Scottish elm with kilned glass and patinated copper. Dividing the reception from the main Gallery area was a patterned glass screen. The dramatic central stair of native timber led to the Gallery spaces above.

  Bria thought the Leonardo da Vinci anatomist exhibit was fantastic! Very well organized, the staff was particularly friendly and happy to impart their knowledge.

  To their dismay, they had to go through security again before going to the next exhibit. When they finished going through a full TSA scan of their bags, they proceeded to a forty-five-minute guided tour of the Royal Mews.

  A warden, dressed in his striking red and navy livery, guided them on their tour. The tour itself introduced the work of the Royal Mews, whose staff was responsible for all the road travel by the queen and members of the royal family. Bria admired the coaches and carriages on display.

  The guide talked about how the Mews serve the queen in the performance of her official duties and prepares for major State and ceremonial occasions. Interesting, Bria thought.

  During their visit, they got to see some of the queen’s horses that draw the coaches and carriages in the Mews. Even the horses looked regal—white, spectacularly large, and adorned in red, black, and gold.

  They saw the bridle room, which displayed the gift from President Barack Obama to the queen—a set of horseshoes from a race horse and some bridle pieces. Bria felt proud to be an American. However, she did find it humorous that she had to go halfway across the world to occupy the same space her president once had.

  In the stable area, they saw the carriage used in the recent royal wedding. They also got to see some of the fine livery worn by the queen’s coachmen. Bria liked all the fine details. At the end of the informative tour, they purchased a few souvenirs and went to their last tour of the day.

  Finally, an audio tour of the nineteen lavishly furnished State Rooms. They saved the best for last, Bria thought. The tour started out with an introduction by the Prince of Wales, chairman of the Royal Collection Trust, and took them through all the State Rooms and the special exhibition.

  Bria pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The sting of the pinch let her know she was very much awake and walking around an actual palace lived in by the royal family. The rooms were furnished with many of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection, including paintings by Van Dyck and Canaletto, sculpture by Canova, exquisite pieces of Sèvres porcelain, and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world. Bria really liked the White Room with the ebony-veneered cabinets that held a concealed door!

  The commentary provided a lively guide to royal history and the works of art from the Royal Collection. They heard about the palace’s transformation over the last 300 years, from its early beginnings as Buckingham House to the world-famous palace. Along the route, staff of the Royal Household explained the role of the palace as an official residence of the queen and talked about their work, from arranging State Banquets and Garden Parties to cleaning the sparkling chandeliers.

  Next, Bria got a better understanding of why diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Her eyes grew huge as they witnessed the spectacular exhibition Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration. The exhibition showed the many ways in which diamonds have been used by British monarchs over the last 200 years, including a number of the queen’s personal jewels. They started out standing in line until Nya suggested they go around the back of the cases and peek over people’s heads. They tried it, and Nya was right. They could see just as much and spent far less time waiting that way.

  “Impressive,” Bria said of a jeweled crown. The queen sure had it going on in the jewelry department, Bria thought.

  When they finished, they took a guided tour of the most remarkable features of the famous garden.

  The gray-haired tour guide told them, “The thirty-nine-acre garden is the setting for the queen’s Garden Parties.”

  Hearing that sparked Bria’s imagination. She imagined having tea with the queen in the garden.

  She heard the guide say, “Described as ‘a walled oasis in the middle of London,’ the garden boasts more than 350 types of wildflowers, over 200 trees, and a three-acre lake.”

  The tour included the beautiful Herbaceous Border, the wisteria-clad summer house and Rose Garden, the enormous Waterloo Vase and the palace tennis court, where King George VI and Fred Perry played in the 1930s.

  At the end of their tour they enjoyed a moment of downtime in the Garden Café on the palace’s West Terrace while they took in the panoramic view of the lawn. They drank tea and ate sandwiches and delicious pastries specially created for Buckingham Palace. Bria felt like a princess.

  Chance nibbled on a sandwich. “Man, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be a part of the royal family and live in a palace.”

  “I know, right?” Nya’s eyes lit up like she was trying to imagine what being royalty must feel like.

  Bria shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, but I feel like royalty right now,” she admitted with a huge smile on her face.

  “Well, you’re a queen to me, baby.” Kerryngton took a napkin and dabbed a little shine off Bria’s nose.

  “Awww, how
sweet was that?” Nya poked Chance in the rib with her elbow.

  Chance shook his head. “See what you started?” He playfully directed his comment to Kerryngton and finished his sandwich. He licked his lips.

  They finished eating their refreshments and Bria and Nya stuffed their empty pale blue cups with Garden Café Buckingham Palace scribbled on them into their purses. The guys just looked at them.

  “What?” Nya said. “It’s a souvenir.”

  “You know they have a gift shop, right?” Chance said. “We can get some souvenirs.”

  They made their way to the gift shop and had a hard time deciding on what to get because they wanted everything.

  “How about this?” Kerryngton suggested. “Let’s just get it all and have it shipped home.”

  Never in her life had Bria gone into a store and purchased absolutely everything that she wanted. She quickly tallied the numbers in her brain and determined that was way out of her price range. She had a budget for souvenirs, but she was thinking along the lines of postcards and maybe a piece of china.

  “That’s too rich for my blood,” Chance said.

  “Dude, I got you,” Kerryngton assured him. “When you all are out with me you don’t have to reach for your wallet.”

  “That’s real generous of you,” Chance acknowledged, “but I can’t let you do that.”

  “Don’t mention it. I want to. It’s not every day you get to come to London,” he insisted.

  After a brief moment of hesitation, Chance agreed to let Kerryngton buy the souvenirs. Kerryngton spoke to the salesclerk and asked her to give them three—one for Bria, another for Nya and Chance, and a third for Kerryngton—of everything in the store. The clerk’s eyes lit up like a Las Vegas slot machine. The clerk went around the shop gathering the merchandise. She rang up the items and Kerryngton paid with his black card. He then provided the clerk with a shipping address. He took his receipt, and they left the store.

  “I’m exhausted,” Nya said, trying to stifle a yawn.

  “I’m with you, babe,” Chance added. “It’s been a long day.”

  “What about you?” Kerryngton asked Bria.

  “I’m good.”

  “In that case, we can drop them off at the hotel and find something else for us to do,” he suggested. “That is, if you’re up for it.”

  “That works for me. I didn’t come all the way to London to spend time in a hotel room,” she smirked.

  Kerryngton dropped Nya and Chance off and took Bria back to his hotel while he handled some business before taking her shopping. He told her he had to make a business call back to the States. Bria tried not to listen, but it was hard considering Kerryngton was yelling from the other room.

  “I don’t have time for incompetence!” he yelled. “Either make it happen or you’re fired!”

  Bria’s heart jumped. She had never seen him upset before, and it made her uncomfortable. He came into the living room where she was switching TV stations trying to find something to watch. Funny thing was, when he joined her he didn’t seem upset at all.

  “Sorry about that.” He shook his head. “I can’t stand when people make excuses. To me, if somebody tells you no, that just means you’re not asking the right person. Anybody who has ever worked with me knows I don’t accept no for an answer.”

  Bria could tell that Kerryngton ruled with an iron fist. She was glad she didn’t work for him, because she didn’t like seeing that side of him. She would’ve hated to have been on the receiving end of that call. She had heard that some of the most successful, powerful people were the most difficult to work for. Apparently, Kerryngton wasn’t an exception.

  Twenty-three

  The week had gone by too quickly for Bria. She had a magnificent time in London and hated to leave. She had gotten a taste of international travel and wanted to put some more stamps on her passport.

  To her surprise, Spade would be flying back to Atlanta with the three of them. Kerryngton had made those arrangements prior to finding out about the two of them.

  She didn’t know how she felt about that. She hadn’t seen Spade since that fateful night due to his demanding schedule, but he had texted her a few times just to say he was thinking of her. Kerryngton, on the other hand, would be back in one more week.

  “Call me as soon as you land,” Kerryngton requested as Bria was about to board the plane. He kissed her on the lips.

  “I will,” she promised.

  Nya, Chance, and Spade were already onboard the private jet.

  “You sure you’re okay with Spade traveling with you?” He held her hands as he looked in her almond-shaped eyes.

  She sighed. “I’m fine with it.” Even if she wasn’t, what difference would it make? she figured. Spade still needed to get back.

  He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her. “I don’t want you to go.”

  She nestled her face in his neck and inhaled his manly scent. She didn’t really want to go either. “I’ll miss you too, but we’ll see each other in a few days.”

  “I know.” He released her. “You’d better go before I don’t let you go.” He gave her a closed-mouth grin.

  Bria waved good-bye to him and ascended the stairs to the aircraft. Cool air greeted her as soon as she boarded. Chance and Spade were cracking up over what she was sure was one of Chance’s corny jokes. Seeing them together like that reminded her of old times.

  She flung the Gucci purse Kerryngton had purchased for her during their shopping spree on the seat and sat down. Then she leaned her head back and stared at the blank projector screen.

  “A wooden nickel for your thoughts,” Chance said as he snapped his finger in front of her face.

  Swatting his hand away like an annoying gnat, Bria told him, “I’m good.”

  Nya emerged from the bathroom wiping her hands on a paper towel. She crumpled it up and tossed it in a nearby trash receptacle.

  Spade came over and said, “Tomorrow’s the Fourth of July. We still hanging out?”

  “Yeah, man,” Chance told him.

  Nya and Bria exchanged perplexed expressions. Although spending the Fourth together had become their tradition, Bria hadn’t given any thought to the holiday and how that would’ve changed since she and Spade were no longer together. She did want to spend the holiday with her friends, but she didn’t want to give Spade false hope. She wasn’t sure where her relationship with him stood, and she needed time to sort things out.

  Nya whispered in her ear, “Just go. It’ll be fun.”

  Bria found it amusing how well Nya knew her. Nya could just look at her and know exactly what was going on inside. Giving Nya a reluctant smile, Bria agreed to attend the cookout.

  Once they were in the air, they paired up into guys versus girls teams and played different card games for a couple of hours. They seemed to take turns winning and losing, and each team talked more trash than a little bit. Bria thought this truly felt like old times. They then watched a slasher film which Nya and Chance fell asleep on. With Chance snoring and Nya’s head bobbing, Spade and Bria were left alone to discuss their issues. For a long while they just stared at each other in silence.

  “Where’s your engagement ring?” he asked, pointing at her hand.

  She touched her naked hand as if she had forgotten her ring wasn’t there. “No point in wearing an engagement ring when I’m not engaged.”

  His eyes dropped to the floor. “I guess I deserved that.” He looked back up at her. “How long are you going to make me suffer for my mistake?”

  “I’m not trying to make you suffer. It’s complicated.”

  “You’ve changed.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “There was a time when I knew how much you loved me. I had a connection with you that I’ve never had with anybody else. I thought you had my back, and I had yours. I’m not gonna lie. I’m pissed off that you fell for the first guy that came your way. The Bria I knew never would’ve done that.” He sounded so absol
ute.

  Bria felt tears sting the back of her eyes. His words cut her like a steak knife. “You have no right to judge me.”

  He pointed his finger. “Let me tell you something. If the situation had been reversed, I wouldn’t have given up on you. Even if I was remotely interested in somebody else, she would’ve gotten dropped for you. Hands down, end of discussion.”

  Whoever said words can never hurt lied. They obviously had never been in love. His words killed her like a stingray’s poisonous venom to the heart. She could tell that underneath his hard-core veneer there was genuine hurt. His voice trembled, but she knew his ego wouldn’t allow him to shed any tears. At least not in front of her.

  She didn’t appreciate him attacking her as if she had never loved him or didn’t love him still. Why couldn’t he understand that she was human? He cut her, and she bled, figuratively speaking. She couldn’t turn her feelings off and on like a faucet. If she had never met Kerryngton, she could not have, nor would she have wanted to, imagine being with anyone other than Spade. She feared that if she dropped Kerryngton and ran back to Spade, she would always wonder what could’ve been. She didn’t want to take the chance of resenting Spade one day. It’s not like she had a whole bunch of dating experience to begin with. She simply wanted to explore her options before making a lifetime commitment now.

  She wiped her face. “You can try to downplay it, but you know exactly how I feel about you.” She softened her tone. “And I know how you feel about me too. Aside from Nya, you are my best friend. All I’m asking you to do is to give me some time. It’s easy for you to tell me what you think I should do and what you would do. You’ve dated plenty of girls. That’s how you can be so sure about me. You know what’s out there. Well, I haven’t had that much experience.”

  “But, Bria—”

  “No, let me finish.” She sniffled. “If we’re meant to be together, we will be. I probably would’ve married you and never looked back. I’m certain I would not have regretted that decision a day of my life. But since that didn’t happen, I came to realize that everything happens for a reason. Maybe I needed to live some more before getting married.”