The King and the Kindergarten Teacher

by Shanae Johnson

  “What are you doing here?” Leo asked.

  “Alex invited me.”

  Something in his face changed. His gaze narrowed. His fingers gripped the tops of the chairs. “You’re here with Alex?”

  “Alex invited Jan. The pie maker. For the baking contest.”

  Relief flooded his face. “You’re just here dropping off your friend.”

  Esme’s breath stuck in her chest, never quite reaching her belly. It was just as well because her belly was tensing in knots. Uncertainty begged her to keep her mouth shut. But her heart ignored the thought.

  “Well,” she said, “I’m coming, too.”

  “Coming to Cordoba?”

  She nodded.

  “For the weekend.”

  She nodded again.

  Leo gulped. His Adam’s apple rose and fell along his throat column. He looked back to the front of the plane as though searching for an escape.

  “I hope I’m not intruding or overstepping any bounds, your majesty.”

  His attention snapped back to her at the mention of the honorific. Hope blossomed. But he didn’t insist that she call him Leo like before.

  Instead, they stood staring at one another. Esme with hope in her gaze. Leo with something that looked very much like wariness in his.

  “Evening, brother. Hey there, teach.” Alex ambled his way down the aisle, followed by Jan. Neither got far with Esme’s suitcase still blocking the path. “You need help with that?”

  Before Alex could reach for her case, Leo came out of his sequestered spot in the opposing seats. He hefted her bag up and over his head. Esme had worried the piece of luggage wouldn’t fit, but Leo maneuvered it until it slid into place. His muscles bulged and flexed as he did so. Esme did not look away.

  “You all set there?” Alex asked her.

  “Yes,” she said. “Thank you, your highness.”

  “We talked about this. It’s Alex. You’re practically family.” He gave her a squeeze on the shoulder.

  Behind Alex, Leo’s breath caught. Perhaps it was the physical exertion of lifting her suitcase, but there it was again. The thing.

  Leo swallowed. The bob of the projection on his neck was even more pronounced. It looked like he couldn’t dispose of whatever it was he was trying to get rid of.

  “Don’t be flattered by my brother’s overtures,” said Leo. “Anyone who feeds him he considers family.”

  “If that were true, then I’m likely to marry our Chef Jan here.”

  Jan cringed at the thought. For a second, Alex actually looked taken aback, as though he couldn’t fathom any woman not dying to be his princess. If ever there was such a woman, it would be Jan. She had no plans to ever don a veil again after her first and only disaster with matrimony.

  Leo chuckled at Jan’s grimace. When he did, his breath touched Esme’s nose. Now it was Esme’s turn to swallow. Unlike Leo, she gulped the taste of him down.

  Leo watched the movement of Esme’s lips. Esme could’ve sworn she saw him grit his teeth. It didn’t look like annoyance. It looked like desperation.

  He didn’t want to be attracted to her. It was classic Jane Austen. She was Elizabeth, and he was Mr. Darcy. Finally, she knew how the story was supposed to go. Esme breathed a sigh of relief which was stunted by the clearing of a throat.

  “Your majesty, your highness.” Giles looked at them from the back of the plane. “We’ll be taking off soon. Best to take your seats.”

  Giles made a sweeping motion to the back of the plane where the royal party sat. There had been a curtain there, but it was swept aside. It was first class in reverse.

  “Ms. Picket?” Penelope appeared through the curtain. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

  The child smiled wide, but she kept her hands together in front of her. Esme couldn’t shake that the girl looked like a miniature version of an adult in her cardigan and pale dress. This late in the day, she was still perfectly put together, not a hair out of place.

  “I am too.” Esme smiled. “I’d love to present to you my best friend, Jan Peppers. She’s a baker.”

  “She must be excellent at fractions,” quipped Princess Penelope.

  “Indeed, she is.”

  “Perhaps we can bake together?” said Penelope.

  “I’d like that,” Jan replied.

  “I wouldn’t want her to get in the way,” said Leo.

  “She wouldn’t be in the way at all,” said Jan. “Little helpers have the best hands. Maybe you can help us? As a child, you must get to eat lots of pastries. I’d love to hear about your favorite Cordovian pastries to help me prepare for the pie making competition.”

  “We’re about to take off,” Giles said. “The princess needs to take her seat.”

  “Can’t I sit here with Ms. Pickett and her friend?” Princess Penelope looked to her father for permission.

  “Your highness, your place is in here with the royal family,” said Giles. But he looked to Leo as he spoke.

  Ouch. If she hadn’t sussed it out already, Esme pegged Giles as the villain of this particular tale. He might be armed with a scowl and a superior attitude, but Esme had hundreds of years of literature and dozens of animated musicals on her side.

  Still, it stung, and she cast her gaze downward. That was the only reason she saw Leo’s fingers ball into fists. He didn’t swallow anything down this time. His voice was resonating and commanding.

  “If the princess would like to spend her time learning math and entertaining our guests, then so be it.”

  Leo chucked his daughter under the chin. Then he lifted his gaze to Esme. He opened his mouth. Then closed it and tried again. “Just let me know if she becomes a bother.”

  “With such perfect manners, I doubt that’s even possible.”

  With another glance at Esme’s lips, Leo turned his back and was gone. For now.

  Esme strapped into her seat with a smile. As the plane taxied onto the runway, she prepared herself for the part of the story where her life changed forever.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The unfasten your seatbelt sign came on overhead followed by a message from the pilot about the expected duration of their flight. Leo did not unfasten his belt. He needed the extra security to ensure that he stayed put. With the curtains still pulled back, Leo was able to see into the staff section of the plane.

  Alex sat with Jan, the pie maker. The two put their heads together, likely talking spices and sweetmeats. Jan quirked an eyebrow at the prince every now and again. But more often than not, a look of consideration crossed her features, followed by a small smile, and a reluctant nod of agreement. For resisting his brother’s charms, Leo decided he liked the woman even more.

  Two of the flight attendants hovered about just outside of their view. Those two gazed down at Alex in the way women often did his brother as though he were a priceless handbag or pair of shoes that they knew they couldn’t afford but still hoped for. Alex was entirely focused on Jan and the piece of paper they passed back and forth between them. Food was his brother’s only passion. Unfortunately, there was little way to exercise a passion for the culinary arts for a prince.

  Then there was his little Penelope. She gazed up, her eyes shining bright, her smile wide and genuine. Leo couldn’t remember the last time he saw his daughter smiling in pure joy. His gaze traveled over to see why. He knew the source before his gaze landed on her.

  Esme grinned down at his daughter as though Penelope were a flower blooming. Plenty of women were nice to Penelope. Be it because of her status or because of her relation to him. But Esme had taken his daughter under her wing before she knew he had any attachment to Penelope.

  In the kitchen, and even now, Esme gave Penelope her full, unadulterated attention. Esme had a small smile on her face with just one corner of her lips lifted. It was her amused smile.

  Wow, had he already begun to learn the woman’s smiles?

  Yes, he had. He knew that when she leaned in with her hand on her chin; she was consid
ering what had just been said to her. He knew that if she tugged at her lower lip with her thumb and index finger; she was waiting to talk. He knew that her eyes squinted when telling a tale and then everyone else would lean in.

  Yes, he knew her looks, her expressions, her motions.

  “The duke’s not winning this year,” said Alex as he slunk down into the seat next to Leo. “Jan is going to crush whatever second rate chef he brings in. The woman’s a genius.”

  It took Leo a moment to focus on his brother and his words. Alex and the Duke of Mondego had a long standing rivalry. It stemmed from them being two of the youngest royals with wealth and good looks. They constantly needed to find new ways to one up each other, be it a swimming competition, racing sports cars, on down to who found the best chef to win a pie making competition.

  It was juvenile. But Alex could be in to worse things. So, Leo didn’t complain. Still, he’d pulled the pie maker across the ocean to participate in his little sparring contest.

  “Is it really so important that you win that you have to drag people from their lives like play things?” said Leo.

  “I invited two women to an island paradise for the weekend. When would they ever have an opportunity like this?”

  “So, you’re calling them beneath you?”

  Alex opened his mouth. Then appeared to think better of speaking his first thought. “Which is it? Am I inconsiderate or ignorant?”

  Leo sighed and turned away from his brother. Alex could be a pest of a little brother when he wanted to. He leaned over to Leo and kept buzzing in his ear.

  “I thought you liked Esme.” When Leo didn’t respond Alex buzzed closer. “Oh, I see. You like Esme. Perhaps a little too much.”

  Leo reached for his seatbelt but still didn’t trust himself with freedom. He yanked headphones from the side of the seat and plunked them over his head. Unfortunately, he forgot to plug them in. The cable dangled over his knee for Alex to see and know that Leo could still hear every word he said.

  “This is great,” said Alex. “It’s finally happened. You have a crush on a girl.”

  “Stop it,” Leo commanded, peering into the front of the plane to see if they’d been overheard. No one looked up. And Alex kept going because Leo’s powers of state didn’t extend to his brother.

  “Well, we’ll have to have The Talk.”

  “There will be no talk,” Leo growled. “There will be no anything. I’m practically engaged.”

  “But you’re not.” Alex’s face sobered. He placed a hand on Leo’s shoulder and, for one of the few times in his life, looked earnest. “It doesn’t have to be the same as it was before. It doesn’t have to be a business arrangement. It could be something more.”

  “Has my little playboy of a brother suddenly become a romantic?” Leo snorted, trying but failing to brush his brother’s hand from his shoulder.

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” said Alex. “But I do want what’s best for you. You deserve happiness. Especially with all you do for everyone else.”

  Leo brushed the notion off. “Marriage has been done this way amongst royals for centuries.”

  “Until good old cousin Henry and his harem of revolving wives.”

  “That’s your example? Henry the Eighth was not an honorable man.”

  “There’s always Edward the Eighth who abdicated for love.”

  “There is another option,” Leo hedged.

  “Don’t even think about it.” Alex held up his hand before Leo could even get any more words out. “Me on the throne?”

  Alex shuddered.

  So did Leo.

  Leo always hoped he’d have the luck of Prince Phillip of England. Phillip was chosen as a suitor for Princess Elizabeth when she was just five years old. Luckily for them, they fell in love and reigned happily ever after to this day.

  Leo and Isabel hadn’t been in love. They’d never pretended that could be between them. But maybe, just maybe, it was possible with Lady Teresa? He just had to give it a try.

  Now he at least had an inkling of what that sensation might feel like. His gaze went to Esme again. Just the sight of her and butterflies flapped around in his heart.

  He shook himself, turning back to his brother. “We’ve always had different responsibilities, you and I.”

  “Not really,” said Alex. “Our only requirement is to live life to the fullest and pay taxes. But we beat the latter game and get paid by taxes. No reason you can’t live a full life now that you’re solely in charge of it.”

  “Be serious.”

  “I am,” said Alex. “No one’s arranging your life but you.”

  “We need an alliance for Cordoba’s future.”

  “Sometimes I wonder if instead of rescuing a damsel in distress, you need to be rescued from yourself.”

  With a final pat on the shoulder, Alex turned over and, in an instant, he was asleep. In a matter of moments, so was everyone else. Except Leo.

  The King of Cordoba stayed awake and watched Penelope who fell asleep against Esme’s shoulder. He watched Esme shift in her sleep and bring his daughter into the cradle of her embrace.

  The move tugged hard at Leo’s heart strings, shaking off the butterflies and turning them into something else. Something bigger. Perhaps birds?

  He didn’t know. He just knew the rumbling they made inside of his chest wouldn’t let him close his eyes. And so he watched over the two of them as they flew through the sky.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Ms. Pickett, wake up. We’re nearly there.”

  Esme’s eyes fluttered open. Slowly, a round cherubic face came into view. The little angel had the most beautiful hazel eyes. There were sparkles in the pupils. The little girl looked as pretty as a princess. Even after six hours of flying, Penelope still looked entirely put together, not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle in her clothes. It couldn’t be anything but magic.

  “Look.” Penelope pointed out the window. “This is my favorite part.”

  Esme sat up. Her contorted bones crackled and snapped. Then her eyes popped out of her head as she turned and looked out the window. It was a storybook illustration come to life. Like the bird from The Lion King flying out of the mist and down onto Pride Rock. Only on the rock sat a castle that put the Disney Cinderella Castle to shame.

  The clouds parted to reveal a lush green land. Set against the backdrop of the rising sun, which turned the sky various shades of pink and lavender, rose a white castle. Brick battlements bordered one side from the sea. Silver and gold capped towers and turrets reached for the sky.

  “It looks like magic,” Esme breathed.

  “Our ancestors were an eclectic and flashy bunch,” said the five-year-old, surprising Esme once again with her grasp of the English language. “They were Moors from Africa, Spanish conquistadors, and French aristocrats, with a few English cousins coming along during the Middle Ages.”

  “People would pay just for the view,” said Jan, leaning over to catch a glimpse for herself.

  “It’s hard to get here for the average person.” Alex rejoined their bunch, taking his former seat beside Jan.

  “You could start a cruise line from Spain or France,” said Esme.

  Esme looked up to see Leo cock his head at her words. He stood at the curtained barrier between the common class and the royal line. Unlike his brother, Leo did not come across into their territory.

  After a tight smile and nod at Esme, he turned his attention to his daughter. “Buckle up, Sweet Pea. We’re about to land.”

  And with that, he turned and took his seat in the back. His head went down to look over papers. He only looked up to talk to Giles. He did not look in Esme’s direction again.

  As they moved closer to the landing field, the castle disappeared from view. Esme’s heart ached to see the structure up close, to experience the magic she’d seen from afar in real life. She settled back into her seat and waited to have her feet on the ground once more.

  The landing was as smooth as
the flight. Once the unbuckle your seatbelt sign came on, Esme bolted out of her seat, eager to see this extraordinary world with her own eyes. But first, she had to win the battle of her oversized suitcases.

  She managed to free her first piece. But the second case was determined to stay on the plane. Though she hadn’t heard the sound of his steps, she felt his presence before he made himself known. Before he asked, Esme stepped aside to allow Leo to hand down her luggage.

  He handled the task with ease. When he was done, and the wheels of her luggage were on the floor, he didn’t look up at her. He turned as though to leave.

  “Your homeland looks beautiful from the sky,” she said to his back. “I can’t wait to see it on foot.”

  He gave her a polite nod. His gaze was fixed on her shoulder and not her face.

  Esme had seen this scene play out in countless romantic comedies. The hero was doing everything he could to put distance between himself and the woman who was clearly right for him. Esme just needed him to look into her eyes again. Then he’d see the truth of the matter. He’d see the thing.

  “I don’t suppose you have time to show us around?”

  “No.” He fixed the cuff links on his shirt. “I’m afraid I don’t have time today.”

  “Oh. Of course. Perhaps I’ll see you later at dinner?”

  He shook his head, now adjusting his watch. “There’s much to do before the gala.”

  “I’m sorry.” Now she looked down. She was losing this battle, and she was out of ideas. “I’m on vacation, but you’re back to work.”

  He’d stopped fiddling with his watch. His fingers were still, but he wasn’t moving forward. Esme chanced a glance up and their gazes connected. Only for a second, but that was all it took. The spark reignited, burning brighter than before.

  Leo gulped, but just like before he couldn’t swallow that look of desire past his Adam’s apple. He cursed under his breath and took a step toward her. “This may look like a fairytale to you, but it’s my real life.”