Sovalon Royals: The Complete Series

by Leslie North

  Piper’s brows furrowed. “Do you usually feel like you don’t matter?”

  Aldon didn’t often talk about his complicated relationship with his father, but he felt compelled to open up to Piper. “I’ve always kind of been the other son,” he said, his eyes cast down.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, ever since I was young, I’ve gotten lost in between my other brothers. My older brother was always the perfect child who could do no wrong. Marcus, on the other hand, kept my parents busy with his antics.”

  “The playboy prince?” Piper asked, and Aldon nodded at the nickname his brother had procured from his former gigolo lifestyle. Since Marcus had settled down with Kyra, his American bride, he’d done a total one-eighty, but more time would need to pass before people would let the nickname go.

  “I had to try really hard to get my parents’ attention, especially my father’s. I got good grades and never got in trouble or anything, but I always seemed to come up short somehow.”

  “I’m sorry,” Piper said and caressed his arm lovingly. “Families, especially fathers, can be complicated. I imagine having a king for a father can’t be easy.”

  Aldon shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s any different from what everyone else deals with, but my father has just always been tough to pin down let alone impress. I used to play pranks on him just to feel like I had some sort of impact on his life.”

  Piper laughed. “What types of pranks? Saran Wrap on the toilet? Shaving cream while he slept?”

  “No. I used to hide his things,” Aldon said. He remembered feeling a weird sort of pleasure as a young boy at watching his father hunt for his pens, his phone, his cufflinks. “Sometimes I’d play the hero and act like I’d found what it was he’d misplaced.” Aldon placed air quotes around the word. “He’d usually notice me for a few minutes then.”

  “Aldon, that must have been really hard,” Piper said. Her green eyes gazed into his as if he was the only person in the world who mattered.

  “I turned out okay.” Aldon knew he was making light, but he didn’t feel like talking about his family anymore. “How about your family? Are you close?”

  Piper propped herself up on her elbows. She looked adorable with her feet peeking out of the comforter on the other end of the bed. “Well, I’m close to my mother. She lives in town and helps me with Piper.”

  “And your father?”

  Piper released a frustrated sigh.

  “The first of several men who left me high and dry and disappointed me.”

  Aldon was quiet. He couldn’t imagine any man wanting to leave Piper. He wished that they could stay here like this, his body wrapped around hers, forever.

  “I’m sorry, Piper,” he whispered and kissed her ear.

  “He cheated on my mom so many times. He’d meet his fancy of the month and leave us for her only to show up with half-dead roses and an insincere apology a few weeks later when his latest fling fell apart.” Piper ran a hand through her hair, remembering the time she’d run off after her father, determined to find him and bring him home. She’d only been about eight years old and had gotten herself lost. When the police found her hours later and brought her home, she’d been too ashamed to tell her mother she’d been looking for her dad.

  “So, what happened with your dad? Did your mom eventually stop taking him back?”

  “No, she took him back every single time,” Piper said. “The last time, he disappeared for good. He left me a note saying he’d tried his best to stick around, but it just wasn’t working out for him.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve always felt like I wasn’t enough of a reason for him to want to stay.”

  “That’s awful,” Aldon said. Anger and sadness filled his chest at the thought of Piper, a small child, being devalued by her father.

  “At least I have my mom,” Piper said. “She never deserved to be treated the way he treated her.”

  “You said your father was the first of many men who disappointed you,” Aldon said. He knew he was digging, but he was curious about Willa’s father. Piper had told her that he’d been unfaithful, but Aldon got the sense that there was more to the story.

  Piper must have sensed his curiosity. “I got pregnant with Willa when I was twenty. Her father disappeared the day after I told him. I knew I was keeping my baby, knew I’d have to be strong to raise her alone, but it worked out. I’ve had to work hard and fight alone for a good life for the both of us, but Willa’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  Listening to Piper’s story, Aldon realized that she wasn’t only beautiful and kind. She was strong. That was what had made her able to bounce back from her father deserting her and then another desertion from Willa’s father. Piper was a wonder. Instead of saying anything, Aldon leaned in and kissed Piper tenderly on the lips. When he pulled back, Piper was smiling.

  “Thank you for today, Aldon,” she said. “For helping the people of Thistledown Valley and for helping me with Willa.”

  “It felt good to help,” he admitted. Nice to be needed for a change. “It’s been a long time since someone gave me a reason to want to take a stand for something. But you… you make me want to be a better man.”

  Piper scooted close to Aldon and kissed him passionately again. He pulled her to him and closed his eyes, feeling grateful to have stumbled upon this amazing woman. Soon, he and Piper were asleep in each other’s arms.

  9

  Aldon woke to sunlight filtering through the curtains. The moment he opened his eyes, memories of the night before washed over him. Beside him, Piper lay sleeping, the sun casting a halo of light over her perfect face. He hated to wake her, but he knew she would probably want to be in her room when Willa woke up.

  He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, and she stirred. She opened her eyes and seemed lost in the moment for just a second before returning Aldon’s kiss.

  “What time is it?” Her words were throaty with sleep.

  “Almost eight,” Aldon said. “I didn’t want to wake you, you looked so peaceful, but I was afraid Willa would wake up and wonder where you were.”

  Piper sat up and stretched her arms over her head with a yawn. Aldon longed to reach out and touch her bare shoulders, to caress her naked skin, but he knew he shouldn’t start anything now.

  “It’s a good thing you woke me,” Piper said. “I’m sure Willa will be up any minute. I’d better get dressed and get downstairs.” She kissed him again, and Aldon closed his eyes, not wanting her to leave but knowing she had to.

  He watched her rise from the bed, marveling at her flawless body, curvy in all the right places. Grinning, she turned around and faced him. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her beautiful naked body in the light of day.

  “Are you watching me, Aldon Ashton?” she teased. She tossed her mane of red hair behind her shoulder and stood still for a moment, letting his eyes devour her.

  Aldon couldn’t resist her. Just looking at her had aroused him all over again. He crawled across the bed and pulled her back down to him, reaching out with the other hand to fumble for the nightstand, pulling out a condom.

  “I don’t have much time,” she whispered.

  “We’ll be quick,” he promised and cupped her smooth bottom with one hand as he glided inside her. She cried out, as ready for him as he was for her. Afterwards, Piper slipped from his bed and wrapped herself in an oversized bath towel.

  “We left our clothes in the library,” she said, giggling. “Hopefully, if Willa did wake up, she didn’t find her way there. Can you imagine the questions?”

  Aldon smiled at her. “I can’t even imagine,” he said honestly.

  Piper blew him a kiss and disappeared through the bedroom door, leaving Aldon feeling satiated and energized at the thought of spending another day with her. He strode into the shower and let the warm water rinse over him as he mused on the events of the day before. Without permission, thoughts of his father snuck over him. He could only guess how his f
ather would react if he knew what had occurred between Aldon and Piper. Although Aldon felt that Piper was just about perfect for him, he was sure his father would not agree that someone of her “status” could be a suitable partner.

  After Aldon was finished showering and drying off, he noticed his phone on the bathroom counter. It was lit up with messages, several being missed calls from none other than the king.

  Speak of the devil.

  Aldon got dressed and reluctantly resigned himself to return his father’s call.

  “Sorry I missed your calls, Father,” he said when King Hansen answered the phone.

  “I understand you had a busy day yesterday, Aldon.”

  Aldon sat on the bed and sighed. His father had eyes everywhere. There was no hiding anything from the man.

  “What on earth are you thinking, son? You have a reputation to uphold, and you romancing the gardener is not something I want smeared all over the papers.”

  “I don’t see how it’s anyone’s business—” Aldon began, but his father interrupted.

  “We’re monarchy, son. That makes us the country’s business,” he said. “And what’s this I hear about you making promises to the people of Thistledown?”

  “Father, there are serious problems in this town, and it’s our responsibility to help solve them. Thistledown Valley may be a small town, but it’s still part of our country.” Aldon heard his father grumble, but continued anyway. “I own a home here. I have a responsibility to the community. We have an obligation as leaders to do something about the infrastructure dilemmas.”

  “Aldon,” his father practically shouted into the phone, “I’ll hear no more of this. Listen and listen well. You are to steer clear of that woman, stop focusing on the Thistledown, and start focusing on repairing your broken engagement.”

  “Father, I told you, Carrie and I are finished.” Aldon took a deep breath, trying to hold on to his sense of calm, but his father was challenging his temper.

  “Nonsense,” the king said. “Call Carrie. Make arrangements to meet and talk things over. You can iron everything out, I’m sure. She’s perfect for you—the right choice for our family.

  “I won’t!” Aldon was the one shouting now. “She cheated on me. I want nothing to do with her. She wants nothing to do with me—she chose someone else. Our relationship was never anything but a farce, and now it’s over.”

  “Aldon, listen to me and heed my directive.”

  Heed his directive? What was Aldon? A servant? This was ridiculous. It was his life, not his father’s.

  “Pack up and leave Thistledown Valley behind. There’s still time for you to undo the damage that was done before the media gets wind of things,” the king said. “I refuse to have another son become involved with someone unworthy of his station.”

  Unworthy? Piper?

  Out of every preposterous comment his father had made, this one was the worst. It broke something inside of Aldon—a shackle that perhaps had long needed to be severed.

  And for the first time in his life, Aldon did something that was totally out of character for him. He hung up on his father.

  Piper felt altogether uncomfortable sitting in the dining room at the castle while the valet placed goblets of water and juice in front of her and Willa.

  “You really don’t have to do this,” she said to the valet as he piled each of their plates with pancakes and drizzled syrup over top. “We’re fine serving ourselves like we always do.”

  “Absolutely not, Miss Mackenzie,” the valet said with a smile plastered from ear to ear. Piper wasn’t sure if the smile was genuine or not. “Prince Aldon gave me specific orders to make sure you and your sweet daughter were treated like guests.”

  Guests?

  Piper flinched at the term. She and Piper were far from guests here. Thistledown Castle had been her home for the past five years. Though she’d never seen herself as a resident per se, she’d also never seen herself as a guest.

  “Good morning, Prince Charming,” Willa said through a mouthful of pancake, and Piper looked up to see Aldon breezing over to the table. At the sight of him, warmth flooded her, washing away the discomfort from the valet’s insinuation.

  “Well, hello, Willa. How are those pancakes treating you?”

  “Yummy,” she said and shot him a thumbs-up.

  Aldon sat beside Piper and gave her hand a squeeze under the table, where Willa couldn’t see. She couldn’t help but sense that there was something off about him this morning. Although he was smiling, he seemed stressed.

  “Are you okay?” she asked after Willa had excused herself from the table to play outside.

  “Fine,” he said and dug into a plate of scrambled eggs.

  Piper placed a hand on his knee. “Aldon, you know you can talk to me.” She wanted to be there for him, not to be nosy or pushy, but for him to know he could share his troubles with her.

  He looked into her eyes for a moment, seeming to be weighing whether or not to open up, then wiped his mouth with his napkin. After a pause, he began talking.

  “My father called this morning,” he said.

  “Ah.” She didn’t push. She knew from what he’d told her last night that his relationship with his father was a source of pain in his life. She wanted to let him share his story at his own pace.

  “He somehow caught wind of everything that happened yesterday.”

  At this, Piper couldn’t mask her shock. Her eyes stretched wide, and she felt her stomach drop to her knees.

  Aldon shook his head. “Well, not everything!” he said quickly.

  “Phew.” Piper exhaled. “I was imagining spies at the window, or in your bedroom closet,” she said and took a sip of her coffee. “Or worse—in the library!”

  Aldon laughed for a moment, and she was glad she could at least lighten his mood a little.

  “No, I don’t think he knows those details,” Aldon said. “But he seems to have found out about yesterday’s activities at the shelter and the restaurant, and he’s upset. He doesn’t want me making promises to the people of Thistledown. He basically told me to stay out of it.”

  Piper sensed that there was more to Aldon’s frustration with his father.

  “And what else?” she asked.

  Aldon’s face clouded over. “And he wants me to get back together with Carrie.”

  Piper swallowed, trying to push down the cold lump of sadness that was in her throat. “I assume he must have heard something about us?”

  He avoided Piper’s eyes but nodded.

  “Someone must have noticed we were affectionate with each other at the restaurant,” he said.

  “And I’m guessing your father is not pleased with his son, the prince, cavorting with someone of my social rank.” Piper’s tone was sarcastic, but it hid a deep hurt. She pushed it away, choosing to focus on the dictate about the town. “Well, you’ll just have to work on him,” she said, and Aldon looked up at her like she had two heads.

  “Work on him?”

  “Yes. You’ll have to convince him that providing aid to Thistledown Valley is his responsibility as leader of our country.”

  “He’s so stubborn, Piper.” Aldon ran a hand through his hair and blew out a sigh.

  “So, what then? Are you going to just give up and forget about everything you told the townspeople yesterday?”

  Piper’s voice was getting louder, her anger inflating by the moment. She was so tired of the monarch failing to do what was right for his people.

  “Piper, I never made any promises that I’d be able to fix all the problems. I said I would try.”

  “Well, then try,” she said. She knew her tone was getting out of hand, but at the moment, she didn’t care. “And us? What about us?”

  “He’s wrong about you,” Aldon said. “He doesn’t know you. Doesn’t know us.”

  He squeezed Piper’s hand and kissed it. She felt a little better then, but something about Aldon’s manner rubbed her the wrong way. He didn’t seem confi
dent or sure about anything—not even their relationship.

  Aldon had told her he’d spent his entire life trying to gain his father’s approval, and the king obviously did not approve of her. Would Aldon truly stand up to his father? Piper couldn’t imagine that Aldon would go against the king’s wishes, even after the few days of bliss they’d shared.

  Perhaps this prince would become just another man in her long line of disappointments.

  10

  When Piper pulled up the driveway with the groceries later that afternoon, she noticed Aldon and Willa coloring with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. It was a tender sight. When he’d offered to keep an eye on Willa while Piper ran into town to do some errands, Piper hadn’t been sure. What if Willa behaved badly or got hurt? Would he know how to react?

  “Look, Mommy!” Willa exclaimed when Piper opened the car door. “Prince Charming made a rainbow.”

  Aldon had pink chalk smeared on his cheek and in his hair. Piper tried not to laugh.

  “Wow, I didn’t know you were an artist,” she said to Aldon.

  “I’m a man of many talents,” he teased. “How was your trip into town?”

  “Not great,” she said. She hated to be the bearer of bad news on this sunny, chalky afternoon, but somebody had to break it to him.

  “What’s wrong?” He left Willa to her drawing and approached Piper.

  “It’s Brickton bridge,” she said. Brickton was the main bridge in town. It had been in disrepair for years, surviving on patch jobs up until now. “It’s developed a fairly large crack that will need to be repaired soon or the bridge may not stand for much longer.”

  “That sounds serious,” he said. “Was anyone hurt?”

  “Thankfully, no—or at least, not yet.” Piper began unloading bags from the trunk while she spoke, and Aldon helped. “Really, it needed to be replaced a long time ago, but there was never any money in the budget. It’s a major route for a lot of the people in the surrounding area to drive to and from work, and a major access point for the town.”