Home > The Billionaire Prince's Single Mother(4)

The Billionaire Prince's Single Mother(4)
Author: Leslie North

“Please, just call me Aldon,” he said.

His tone was so strained, she almost felt guilty for asking questions that forced him to talk about the source of his anguish. She definitely would press him no further on the topic. Not that he’d want to talk with her anyway. Why would he want to talk with the caretaker or any of his staff, for that matter?

“Okay, Aldon,” she said and smiled. “Well, you’ve come to the right place for some escape. Are you planning on staying long?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “I’ve brought some work to do while I’m here. I’d like to get back into economics, which is what I studied at university. I plan to spend some time reacquainting myself with that while I’m here.”

“Well, the castle is a lovely place to reconnect with what matters.”

Just then a strong breeze whooshed into the room, knocking over a vase on the bedside table. Both Aldon and Piper raced to close the window, their hands falling over one another onto the pane at the same time. Electric sparks seemed to dance over Piper’s skin at his touch. Reflexively, she snatched her hand back, as Aldon pushed the window shut then glanced back up at her. His cheeks were as red as hers felt just from having brushed fingers with him.

Piper bit her lip, then hurriedly picked up the vase that had fallen to the floor, grateful it hadn’t broken.

“As I was saying, the castle is lovely. That is until a strong wind blows you away.”

He grinned at her joke.

“But seriously, it’s been a pleasure living here,” she said.

Something in his countenance shifted at her words, becoming a bit more knowing and perhaps a bit naughty.

“I can see how it would be a pleasure.” He lingered noticeably on the word pleasure, letting his gaze travel over her then rest on her eyes. The hunger in his stare was more than just a little flirty, and she had to admit, it was making her respond.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek broke the tension of the moment.

“Is that a child?” Aldon asked.

Without answering him, Piper hurried from the room.

 

 

2

 

 

Aldon followed Piper down the winding staircase and through the foyer door to the servants’ quarters, feeling both baffled and annoyed about the loud screaming that had broken the spell of their heated moment. He trailed Piper as she scurried through the kitchen and pushed through the double glass doors that led to a courtyard out back, the wailing getting louder as they got outside.

With wide eyes, Aldon took in the source of the noise. A girl that looked to be about five years old was curled into a ball on the patio, her yellow pigtails swaying as she rocked with sobs.

“Oh, sweetie, what happened?”

He watched curiously as Piper got to her knees to inspect the child, then grimaced as he noticed the slow stream of blood that stained the little girl’s shin.

“I fell,” she cried. “It’s a big boo-boo, Momma.”

Momma?

“Oh, Willa, it’s not so bad.” Piper scooped the girl into her arms while Aldon attempted to bounce back from this latest shock.

Was this Piper’s child? Or had he misunderstood? He cleared his throat and tried to joke.

“Well, well, is this an employee of mine as well?”

Piper laughed, but the girl’s face seemed to be stuck in a traumatized frown.

“Aldon, this is my daughter, Willa,” Piper said and hugged Willa to her. “She lives here with me at the castle.”

Sweat beaded upon Aldon’s brow as he tried to structure this new information into the reality of the gorgeous caretaker. A daughter? This gorgeous woman had a daughter?

Piper carried Willa into the kitchen, placed her tiny form on the counter near the sink and began dabbing at her knee with a wet washcloth as Aldon looked on. Willa met her mother’s wound care with ear-splitting screams.

This was one of the many reasons Aldon had never wanted children.

They were noisy and unpredictable and quite a disruption.

Most importantly, though, he’d always doubted his ability to be a good father. His own father had always been detached, focused on his own goals, unwilling to see value in his sons’ hopes and dreams. He’d always made Aldon feel inadequate. Aldon would never want to inflict that kind of pain on his own children, but he didn’t really know any other way to parent.

The realization that Piper had a child changed everything. She may be beautiful and as sweet as a chocolate truffle, but he couldn’t risk getting close to her or even entertaining thoughts of a country fling with her—not if there was a child involved.

Although, moments ago, upstairs, he had been doing just that. When their hands had touched, something strange had come over him. An attraction like he’d never experienced before in his life. He’d found himself not only wanting to take Piper to him and kiss her right then and there, but he had the feeling he could also sit and talk with her for hours. He wanted to know her better.

But not now. Not with a kid in the mix. Too much complication for his liking when he’d come out to the country to get away from romantic complications.

“Okay, Willa, I think you’ll live,” Piper said and set Willa to her feet on the kitchen floor.

“But, Momma, it still hurts,” the little girl whined. Aldon sighed.

Whining was another aspect of children he didn’t much appreciate.

“Would you like me to cut it off?” Piper joked, and Willa gasped. “You have another leg. You probably don’t need two.”

Aldon laughed quietly. That was a clever response on Piper’s part.

“No!” Willa said.

“Are you sure?”

“Momma!”

Aldon couldn’t help but grin at the little girl’s shocked expression. Kids may be annoying, but they could also be cute.

“Okay. How about a Band-Aid then?”

Willa seemed to take a second to think about her mother’s offer then calmly nodded. “I think a Band-Aid is a good idea.”

Piper dug the promised Band-Aid from a drawer and carefully applied it to Piper’s wound. Her tenderness with her daughter wasn’t lost on Aldon, and he found himself unable to tear his eyes away. He watched her lean close to her daughter and whisper something in the little girl’s ear. Willa gasped again and placed a hand over her mouth. With big eyes, she looked at Aldon and then, when her mother had helped her down from the counter, she approached him with a curtsy.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Prince,” she said. Her expression was so earnest, Aldon found himself to be surprisingly amused.

Willa wiped her tears with the palm of her hand then held it out for a shake.

“Oh,” Aldon said, not wanting to grasp the child’s tear-soaked fingers but unsure of what else to do. The kid was trying to be gracious. Matching her courtesy was the least he could do. With two fingers, he uncomfortably accepted her hand and shook it.

Gross.

“Well,” he said. “I should go unpack my bags and get my head in the books.”

Piper regarded him with a confused look, tilting her head to the side and jutting her hip out in a way that accentuated her curves. Damn, she was stunning.

He reminded himself that his short-lived fantasy of shacking up with the caretaker was now over. Besides, he was here to heal from a broken heart, not get involved in more romantic drama.

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