by Adele Hart
Chapter 4
Henry
I decide to make good on my word and pull my textbook out of my knapsack. “Johan, would you be a mate and get me a coffee?"
"Very good, sir. As soon as Gabriel returns to watch over you."
"Thanks. And if you could cut back on the ‘sirs,’ that would be very useful. Oh, and I promise I won't tell anyone if you sit down at the table with me. It's really not all that convincing that were friends when you stand with your back to me everywhere we go."
"Sorry sir… err, Henry. I'll try to look more casual." He remains standing but leans on the booth, bending his right leg and crossing it in front of his left ankle.
The effect is such that I now look like I have a strange overprotective boyfriend which quite frankly is not the look I'm going for here. I sigh to myself then open my textbook, pretending to read while I'm really just wondering how long Gabriel is going to take with the lovely Addison. The thought of her causes a hum of electricity through my body. The feeling of her soft skin against my fingers, her gorgeous heart-shaped face, her slightly wild, curly brunette hair that conjures an image of what she would look like after a few hours rolling around in the sheets together. The thought of that has my crown jewels tightening up and my sceptre growing hard. And I find myself wondering what it would take to impress the panties off a girl like her.
A moment later, Gabriel appears and stands next to me. Johan walks to the counter to place my order and I take the opportunity to pump Gabriel for some info about Addison.
“How’s her hand?”
“She’ll be fine.”
“Thank you for helping her,” I say. “Did she say anything about me?”
“Umm…not really,” he answers, shaking his head. “Well, she did ask who you are. She must be bright. She knew I wasn’t a student. Also guessed that you’re an heir to some type of fortune.”
“It’s the ear pieces, isn’t it?”
“Quite possibly, yes. She also noticed my gun holster.”
“Did you learn anything else about her?”
“She hates rich people.”
“Ah, perfect,” I say with a sigh.
Chapter 5
Addison
He’s still here. It’s almost midnight and he hasn’t left yet which is making it super hard for me to concentrate on my work. I do my best not to look over at him but that doesn’t mean I’m not completely aware of him the entire evening. Seriously, he’s the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.
I went over a couple of times to ask if he and his bodyguards want anything. They took me up on some paninis around eight o’clock, and some pie at ten. I keep expecting him to leave but he just sits there, studying and smiling at me every so often.
The place is dead now so I grab a bucket and cloth and start wiping down all the tables, starting at the far end of the café from Henry. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so self-conscious in my life in front of anyone. I can’t stand him seeing me doing this type of work—something I know he’s never done before himself. When I make my way to his table, he packs up his books and moves them onto the bench beside him.
Ringing out the rag, I wipe his table, feeling very silly.
“You’re a very hard worker. Rachel should really treat you better.”
“That’s not how it is when you’re one of the little people. You take what you get and you don’t get upset.” I lean over him while I wipe, catching a whiff of his expensive cologne. “I bet that’s a foreign concept for you. To have to accept anything less than what you want.”
“You’d be surprised actually. I was born being expected to accept my position in life without question.”
“What are you, a prince or something?” I say with a light chuckle.
“Yes.”
I stop moving and stare at him for a second, trying to determine if he’s just joking around.
“Have you heard of Tanovia?”
“No.”
“Few people outside the U.K. have,” he says. “I’m their next king.” He doesn’t say it like he’s boasting about it, or even happy for that matter. Suddenly Gabriel’s words come back to me. The weight of the world.
I plop myself into the other side of the booth out of shock. “So what are you doing here?”
“Escaping my family for a year.”
“Before you go back and be a king.”
“Well, that won’t happen for a long time hopefully. My father is quite healthy. But as Crown Prince, I have many obligations and a long period of…internship in the family business.”
“I see. You don’t look very excited about that.”
He gives me a small smile. “I suppose I’m neither excited nor upset by it. We’re all born into our place in this world. My place just happens to be a palace that requires its owner to devote his entire life as master.”
I suddenly find myself feeling a little sorry for him. It sounds kind of sad when he puts it that way, but how can I have pity on one of the rich people? And yet, I do. Glancing at the clock, I realize it’s closing time. “I should close up. It was nice to meet you Prince Henry.”
“Oh, just Henry, please,” he says, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Okay, Just Henry, I should close the café.”
Standing, I take my bucket and rag, then walk back behind the counter to cash out. After a moment, I feel him standing in front of me again.
“How will you get home?”
“I’ll walk.”
“At this hour? Alone?”
“Yes,” I say, taking the twenties out of the tray and starting to count them.
“That will never do. It’s not safe for a woman to walk alone at night.”
I lose track and stop counting. “And yet, I manage it every night.”
“Not any more. What nights do you work?”
“Every night except Saturday.”
“Then I’ll be here to walk you every night except Saturday.”
I raise one eyebrow and stare at him. “You’ll be here or you’ll send your ‘friends’?”
“Me,” he says. “Well, they’ll be there, too, I suppose.”
“Huh. That’s very kind of you, but I think it’s a little too big of a commitment, wouldn’t you say?”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out his game. “Listen, I’m fine, I promise. We bumped into each other, you didn’t knock me over. I’m not going to sue you now that I know you’re rich. You had me taken care of and you really don’t owe me anything.”
“What if I want to walk you home?”
“What is this? A charity thing?”
Henry wrinkles his nose in confusion. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I mean, I don’t know why you’d want to even talk to someone like me, let alone offer to walk me home, but whatever it is, you don’t have to do it. I’m a big girl with a long history of taking care of myself.”
“Is it so hard to believe that I’d want to spend some time with someone like you, as you put it?”
“Yes.”
“Well, believe it.” His gaze is so intense, I can’t stand to look at him.
“Believing things gets you hurt,” I say, going back to counting.
“Not with me.”
“With everyone.”
“What happened to you to make you so skeptical of the world?”
I sigh, not wanting to tell my life story to a freaking crown prince. “Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly born into royalty and my parents weren’t what you’d call reliable. So if you don’t mind, I’ll go back to not relying on anyone—including you.”
“I do mind, actually,” he says in a firm tone. “I’ll tell you what. You let me walk you home every night and I’ll show you that you can trust someone other than yourself in this world.”
“Sure,” I say, my tone sarcastic. “But for now, I’ll need you and your friends to leave so I can lock up. I’m not allowed to have anyone here while I do the cash out.�
��
“Fine. We’ll be outside waiting.”
***
Fifteen minutes later, I set the alarm, let myself out, then lock the door. The air has turned chilly now that it’s late but I’m not cold like I usually am. Instead, I feel flushed and my stomach feels like it’s filled with butterflies because Henry and his bodyguards are waiting, just like he said they’d be.
“All ready?” he asks with a charming smile.
Oh, that voice could melt a girl’s panties. No, Addison! Stop thinking like that. He’s not for you.
We start walking, Johan and Gabriel falling in line behind us. About a block from the café, I stop at the bank to make the night deposit. I take the key out of my coat pocket, and then pull the heavy bag out of my backpack. Unlocking the overnight deposit box, I toss the bag in, close it and pocket the key.
“So you actually walk to the bank with a bag of cash every night at midnight alone?” Henry asks.
“Yes. It’s a normal person thing to do.”
“And you don’t worry about getting robbed or assaulted?”
“I have a can of pepper spray on me at all times.”
“Really?”
“No, not really,” I say with a little grin up at him. Narrowing my eyes, I say, “But I probably shouldn’t tell you that, should I?”
“Don’t try to change the subject. You’ve been engaged in some seriously risky behavior and I think we should address it.”
“Seriously risky behavior,” I say, imitating his accent. I turn and grin at him.
“I’m not joking.”
“I don’t think you have a very good grasp on seriously risky behavior,” I say, then start listing things, counting them off on my fingers. “Mobster, drug dealer, crack whore—those are seriously risky behaviors. I’m a barista at a campus coffee house. I deal in caffeine and sugar, not cocaine and heroine.”
“But anything could happen to you. Some psycho could be watching you, learning your patterns, waiting for his chance to follow you to the bank. Or home, for that matter. Is someone at least waiting for you when you get there?”
“I don’t think I should answer that.” I start toward my apartment with him next to me.
“Why not?”
“Because you could be the psycho…” I say, bumping his arm with mine. “Relax, Henry. I’m a big girl. I know how to take care of myself.”
“But you shouldn’t have to,” he says, his voice gentle.
“Well, not every woman has a team of bodyguards or the bank roll to fund it.”
“I know that. I just…” his voice trails off and he runs one hand through his thick, slightly messy hair.
“Just what?”
“Just don’t like the thought of anyone…hurting you.”
Stopping in my tracks, I say, “But we just met. Why would you even care?”
“I have no idea, and yet, I do.”
Chapter 6
Henry
We reach Addison’s apartment far too soon for my liking, even though it’s almost one in the morning by the time she stops in front of the four-story brick building. Over the course of the long walk, I’ve found out she’s an only child. She was raised by a single mom and if I’m not misunderstanding her, her mother spent more time at the bar than at home looking after her child. She doesn’t mention a father at all, but if I had to guess, I’d say he either is an unknown to her or was so disappointing she can’t bring herself to talk about him. Either way, she’s had a shit start in life.
She tells me about getting a scholarship to Harvard, and about her dream of being a civil rights lawyer and how she has to work full-time during the school year and two jobs all summer to keep up with the bills, but she’ll still have what sounds like a crushing student loan at the end of all of it. I listen as she talks passionately about wanting to help others and protect people and I realize that even though our pasts couldn’t be more different, our goals are much the same. I hang on every word, wanting to know every little detail of her life, which is entirely unlike me.
“Well, this is me,” she says, turning to face me. “You’re probably glad this is over. I’ve been talking your ear off.”
“Not at all. I find myself increasingly enchanted at every word.”
“Oh, you really are a prince, aren’t you?”
Chuckling, I say, “I might be.”
“Thanks for walking me home.”
“My pleasure.” I reach up with one hand, wanting so badly to kiss her, but knowing it’s too soon. Instead, I tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear, just so I can touch her again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she says, then she turns away and walks up the steps. She turns back and says, “Don’t worry about it if you can’t make it. Tonight was more than what I’d ever have hoped for.”
She blushes, then says, “That sounded stupid. Forget I said that.”
Taking the steps two at a time, I stop at the stair below her so we’re the same height. Before I can think about it, I reach up, cupping her jaw with one hand, and give her a kiss that tells her she’ll see me tomorrow.
***
It’s been nearly three weeks since I started spending my evenings at Perks, and in that time, two remarkable things have happened. I’ve turned into a good student for once in my life—now having someone to impress on the basis of my own accomplishments—and I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen in love with the woman I want to spend my life with. Addison is all I can think about from the moment I wake until I fall asleep at night. I want to know her opinion of every subject under the sun, I want to know about everything that’s ever happened to her, every person she’s ever met before me. I think of her lovely smile and her laugh and the way she speaks. I think of her curves and how badly I want to undress her and explore every inch of her beautiful body and bury my cock into her. But not just to sleep with—to make her mine forever.
We haven’t gone beyond our goodnight kiss at the door, although we now hold hands the entire way to her apartment. Somehow it’s enough for me. I want to take it slow with her because when we’re finally together that way, I want her to know it’s the start of something real and lasting. With her troubled past, I know she’s going to need me to take my time.
Trust doesn’t come easily to her and I understand that feeling because I’m exactly the same way. When you grow up as rich and important as me, you have a hard time figuring out who’s a friend because they like you and who’s there so they can say they know you.
Tomorrow is Saturday and I’m working up the courage to ask her on a real date. Strange for me to have to work up the courage to do anything, really. Everything else in my life has come too easily, but not her. She’s making me work for her affection and I intend to do it.
I watch from my booth as she finishes counting up the cash for the night. Over the past days, she’s finally decided it’s all right if we stay for that bit. She crinkles up her eyebrows in the most adorable way when she does math, and I find myself smiling like a fool.
“Stop watching me,” she says without looking up.
“Sorry, it can’t be helped.”
“Yes, it can. I thought you were supposed to be studying.”
“Yes, well, it’s hard to concentrate when I’m in the presence of such unbridled beauty.”
“Unbridled beauty?” Addison laughs. “Is that a fancy way of telling me my hair is a mess?”
I get up and walk over to the counter, leaning my arms on it so I can be near her. “It’s my way of making sure you know how beautiful you are.”
“That’s good stuff, Your Highness. You should really keep that up.” She leans over and holds her lips just a fraction of an inch from mine.
“I intend to,” I murmur, closing the distance between us and giving her a lingering kiss.
Addison pulls back first, blushing and gesturing with her head at Gabriel and Johan, who are both standing near the door now, facing the street.
“Don’t worry about them,” I
whisper. “They’re hoping we end up together.”
She laughs again, then says, “Are they now?”
Nodding, I say. “They are. They’re both really big on romance.”
“It seems like their boss is too.”
Grinning, I say, “Yes, him too.” I swallow, feeling stupid to be so nervous about asking her on a real date. Then I plunge in before I can change my mind. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Saturday is laundry and studying day.”
“That’s a shame because I happen to have two tickets to Fenway to see the Sox and I really hoped to bring you.”
Her eyes light up with excitement. “Seriously?”
“Seriously, but if you’d rather be at the Suds ‘n Spin, I completely understand.” I say in a mock disappointed voice.
“Laundry can wait.”
Chapter 7
Addison
How is this my life? How am I, Addison Cooke—a girl so poor, you can’t even see the wrong side of the tracks from where I grew up—getting ready for a date with the Crown Prince of Tanovia?
I check my look in the mirror and decide it’s all wrong. I’m wearing jeans, a long-sleeved tee, and a Sox hat with my hair pulled back in a pony. Is this too casual for a date with a real prince? I mean, I should probably be in a fancy dress or at least a very expensive pair of designer jeans and some Jimmy Choos. I sigh, tugging at the bottom of my shirt to straighten it out.
Before I can change into my fifth outfit, the front door buzzer goes. I rush over and press it. “Yes?”
“It’s Henry.”
“I’ll be right down.”
I grab my bag from the counter and rush out, locking the door behind me. My heart races as I hurry down the stairs to the main floor. When I reach the front door, I see him standing on the other side, dressed in a T-shirt, a grey suit jacket, and jeans. In his hand, is an enormous bouquet of roses. Behind him, Gabriel and Johan stand facing the street. I swing open the door and smile at him.