The next morning, Piper woke to the sound of heavy rain pelting against the window. The sky promised no hope of a clear-up, so her plans for cutting the grass were a wash-out. Apparently, today would be used for indoor chores, such as getting Aldon’s valet situated—she’d heard him arrive very early that morning with the rest of the prince’s things from the city. She still felt a little guilty about her heated conversation with Aldon the day before. She’d definitely overstepped and wanted to make up for it. After mopping the plethora of muddy footprints from the blue-gray slate tile in the foyer, she hurried to the study where Aldon was putting away what looked like an impressive book collection the valet must have brought.
“What ugly weather,” she said as she breezed into the study with Willa at her heels. He looked up from his task and met her eyes. “At least the gardens will be watered.”
“True,” he replied. “I’m going to be in the study, arranging my books.”
She wondered why he didn’t let his valet unpack his books for him. Wasn’t that what the valet was for?
“I’m a bit obsessive when it comes to my collection of texts,” he said, seeming to have read her thoughts. “I’d prefer that no one else handles them. I’ll be awhile, so don’t worry about me for lunch.”
Piper stared into his eyes, willing her heartbeat to slow down. His good looks were alarming! “My outdoor plans have been utterly sunk by the will of Mother Nature, so I’d be happy to help you get these put away.”
He studied her for a moment, as if he were trying to gauge whether she was being sincere. Her breath caught in his gaze.
“Sure, I’d like that,” he said.
Phew. Olive branch accepted.
“Great!” Piper said and began unpacking books and stacking them on top of the heavy mahogany table in the center of the room.
The quiet seemed to calm Aldon, relaxing him enough to start reminiscing a minute later. “This place hasn’t changed a bit,” Aldon said, his eyes bouncing from the high ceilings to the dark wood bookshelves. “It still smells like books and pipe tobacco.”
Piper laughed. “I don’t know about pipe tobacco, but you have enough books to make every room of the castle smell like paper and ink!”
“I love to read,” he said, running a finger long the spine of a title she recognized. “Ever since I was a small child, I’ve never been able to get enough of books.”
“All educational?”
“Not at all.” Aldon set the first line of books along the highest mahogany shelf, arranging them so that the tallest books were to the left. “Fiction, non-fiction, it doesn’t matter much. I read everything I can get my hands on, although recently with all the travel, I haven’t had as much time as I used to.”
“Understandable,” she said and held up a copy of a well-known adventure novel. “Ambassador work doesn’t allow the time for this type of frivolous activity.”
He chuckled, and she noticed his cheeks redden a bit, perhaps at her discovery of the adolescent title. He continued then. “But my love for reading has never waned, especially non-fiction books about economics.”
“Oh, of all things!” she exclaimed and laughed. “With so many great books at your fingertips, you choose economics. Funny.”
“Well, I find it far more interesting than pedestrian things such as… say… gardening.” He shot her a look that was more flirt than challenge, and she took the bait.
“Botany,” she corrected, her tone just as coy. “With all these books, you wouldn’t happen to have any on the subject, would you?”
“I might,” he said. “I like my collections to be thorough. There are a few encyclopedia sets. And if not, well, I can certainly get some.”
Could he really?
And would he venture to get his hand on some botany books… just for her?
She smiled a quiet smile, and he returned it, the both of them letting their looks linger just a beat longer than normal.
“So, what’s your favorite book then?” Piper asked. She started on another shelf, trying to follow his lead with organization. Tall books to small books, left to right.
“Well, my favorite books currently are academic ones.” He began loading books onto the shelf she’d begun. She couldn’t help but wonder if his fingers were brushing hers by accident or on purpose. Either way, they left a little tingle at their touch.
“But when I was a young boy, I loved adventure novels—the ones where you get to choose your own adventure and pick what happens next.” His face lit up as he described the books.
“I think I remember those.”
“I’d read one a day,” he said. “If only I had that kind of spare time now. What about you? What’s your favorite?”
“I’m a sucker for fairy-tale romance,” she admitted. “It may not be fashionable, but I love stories where the girl gets her prince charming in the end.”
Aldon nodded, a sheepish grin painting his face, and she realized what she’d said.
“I don’t mean—”
But before she could explain herself, a loud crash echoed in the room and Willa’s small voice squeaked.
“Oopsies,” she said from across the room. “I dropped my juice.”
Piper’s stomach dropped when she realized that not only had Piper dropped her cup of juice, but that it had spilled all over a box of Aldon’s books.
As Piper raced to wipe down the books, Aldon’s face contorted into an expression of shock and horror.
“No!” he wailed, looking miserable at the stack of titles now accessorized with sticky red liquid. “That’s my prized collection on Sovalon’s economic history! It’s out of print—this is one of only five complete sets in the world!”
“I’ll make sure I wipe down every page,” Piper said, nervously. “Willa, please apologize.”
“Apologize?” Aldon spat. “What good will that do?”
Piper bit the inside of her cheek, unsure what to say. She understood how important his books were to him, but the prince’s reaction seemed a bit overblown.
“I’m sorry I messed up your books, Prince Charming,” Willa said with tears in her voice. Piper scooped her daughter into her arms and comforted her.
At the sight of Willa’s tear-streaked face and Piper’s alarmed look, Aldon was suddenly overcome with shame. He recovered his temper from whatever inane it had climbed into and went to Willa.
“It’s all right, Willa—I know you didn’t do it on purpose,” he said then got down to her eye level. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I overreacted.”
Willa shrugged and buried her face in Piper’s middle. Her little shoulders shook as she continued to cry, and Aldon was completely slayed by the fact that he’d caused her tears.
He couldn’t believe he had lost his temper like that—she was just a child! And what was he supposed to say now to make her stop crying? He was no good at this comforting business. This was exactly why he shouldn’t be around children.
“It was an accident, and I should never have snapped the way that I did,” he attempted.