2. Chapter 2
~ELLIE~
“ A re you saying you don’t want me here?” I frown at my sister-in-law as she shakes her head back and forth, her pretty blond hair swaying with the movement.
“Not at all,” she insists. “You know I love having you here. But the boathouse is more private for you.”
“You’re going to be here for a month,” Sebastian adds. “We were trying to be sensitive to your privacy. The apartment out there is empty but still on the property, so there’s no issue for security.”
I’m sitting in the living room of Sebastian’s home, staring out the windows at the boathouse below. I’ve never had the opportunity to stay somewhere detached from the palace or the primary residence of wherever we were staying.
The idea of having more privacy takes root, and I find myself nodding in agreement. “Can we go down and have a peek?”
“Of course,” Nina says, jumping up from the couch. We walk down to the door leading outside and find Nick waiting for us.
So far, I haven’t seen Liam at all today, but I also haven’t had to leave the house. Thanks to modern technology, we can be monitored easily from the guest house where the security team is stationed.
Charles arrived last evening, and Phillip left straight away, so as of right now, I’m Liam’s charge.
“Ellie and I are going down to the boathouse,” Nina informs Nick as we walk past him and down the path to the dock that leads to the boathouse door. Nick follows not far behind. “I’ve already redecorated this space,” she says.
We enter the boathouse and climb a set of stairs that leads to an open room.
“Oh, this is beautiful.”
“As you can see, I love Joanna Gaines,” Nina says with a laugh.
The space is painted white with light grey wood floors. The small kitchen is open to the living area, and the space is decorated with colorful rugs and pillows. A couch and a chair face a television, the living area adjacent to a small dining room, and the windows facing the water are huge.
“That view is spectacular.”
“Trust me, I’ve thought of moving out here myself,” Nina says. “It’s quiet, the apartment is cute, and the view can’t be beat. Also, check this out.”
She walks to the wall of windows. To my surprise, she pulls open the glass and leads me out onto a wide deck.
I could live here for the rest of my days. With the lake and the mountains, it’s the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen.
“Wow.”
“I know,” Nina says. “Come on, I’ll show you the bedroom.”
We walk back inside, and she shows me the master suite with its attached bathroom. There’s a soaking tub that has my name written all over it.
With another half-bath for guests, Nina has thought of everything.
“I absolutely want to stay out here,” I say once the tour is finished. “It’s completely perfect for me.”
“So, you don’t think I’m trying to get rid of you?” she asks.
“No. You’re right, I’ll be happy out here. Not that the house isn’t wonderful, but some alone time is exactly what I need.”
“I thought so.” Nina hugs me close and then holds my hand as we step back out onto the deck. “I know you came here because you were running from something. Or someone.”
I glance her way, but she just shrugs a shoulder.
“You’ll talk about it when you’re ready. But I know how it feels to need some space. You’ll get that out here.”
“Thank you.” I rest my head on Nina’s shoulder. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Where do you want these things?”
We turn at Liam’s voice and see him standing in the living room, holding my bags.
“Oh, in the bedroom,” I say.
“For the record,” he says after he sets my things in the bedroom and returns, “I’m not in favor of this arrangement.”
“Why not?” I ask, watching his handsome face. His jaw is set, his brown eyes hard as he props his hands on his hips and stares at me.
He’s the least formal of all the security that’s ever been with us. It’s not that he’s careless. Or not good at his job.
He’s just not as formal as I’m used to. He rarely bows when he sees us, and he hardly ever calls me Your Highness .
It’s protocol and what I’m used to.
But Liam doesn’t bother me in the least.
“Because the boathouse isn’t as protected as the other areas of the property. It’s exposed to the lake, which means if someone wants to get to you, they can try from the water.”
“The odds of that are?—”
“Small but not non-existent.” He licks his lips and paces the kitchen, clearly agitated.
“There are cameras outside,” Nina says, trying to be reasonable. “And boat surveillance, as well. Ellie is perfectly safe here.”
Liam is quiet for a moment, seeming to think it over. “We will make it work. Please , Your Highness, don’t leave the property unless I’m with you.”
“I understand,” I reply. “I won’t pull a stunt like last year again, Liam. You have my word on that.”
He nods once and then leaves Nina and me alone in the boathouse.
“Do you still think he’s hot?” Nina asks quietly.
He’s bloody amazing.
“He’s an attractive man,” I reply, trying to sound cool. “If you like the tall, dark, and dangerous type.”
Nina laughs and slings her arm around my shoulders. “We all do, friend. We all do.”
“If I eat another bite of this cake,” Nina says later in the evening, “I’ll die from the sugar rush.”
We’re at Brooke’s Blooms in downtown Cunningham Falls with most of what I’ve started to call the gang . Nina’s friends—and now mine, as well—are Jenna, Willa, Hannah, Grace, and Fallon. Some are related by marriage, but all are wonderful friends who have welcomed me into the fold. I feel as if I’ve been here all of my life.
At first, I was terribly intimidated by them because I’m younger, and all of these women have successful careers and families.
But they’ve never made me feel anything but included and happy to be amongst them.
“How long are you staying, Ellie?” Willa asks as she tries to fit a rose into the middle of her bouquet. This flower class that Brooke offers is wonderful. She and her sister, Maisey, feed us all the cake we could ever want, and also have wine and a charcuterie table set up.
We’ll all leave with our bellies full and our hands bursting with flowers.
Not to mention, if I keep drinking wine at the pace I’ve been going, more than a little pissed.
“About a month,” I answer and raise my glass when Maisey offers to pour me a refill. “I need to be back in London for a state dinner at the end of next month.”
“Sebastian and I will be there for that, as well,” Nina says. “So, I’ll get to see even more of you.”
I smile at Nina and clap my hands in excitement. “Brilliant! I haven’t seen enough of you lately.”
“We’re always going here and there,” Nina says. “It seems we never stay in one spot for more than a week at a time.”
“But you get to see such exciting places,” Hannah reminds Nina. “Brad and I are so entrenched in this community—which I’m not complaining about—but we never have time to go anywhere.”
“What would Cunningham Falls do without their chief of police and the best OB/GYN in town?” Fallon asks and takes a bite of her cake. “Maisey, this gluten-free cake is so good. It tastes like regular cake.”
“Oh, thank God,” Maisey says with a relieved sigh. “I’ve been tweaking that recipe, and you’re the first to try it. Do you really like it?”
“It’s fabulous,” Fallon assures her.
I glance to my left where Liam and Nick flank the door, both standing stoically. I’m used to having security with me.
I’m not used to having Liam so close to me all the time.
“Would you two like some cake?” Willa asks the men.
“No, ma’am,” Liam replies.
“You love cake,” Jenna says, frowning at Liam.
I glance around, surprised. “Do you know each other?”
“Jenna and I are a little younger than Liam, but we were friends with Lauren Cunningham?—”
“Sullivan now,” Fallon reminds her. “She’s married to Ty Sullivan.”
“Right,” Willa says with a nod. “Lauren and Liam are cousins, and he came to Cunningham Falls for the summers.”
That part, I knew. Liam told me that when I first met him and cornered him at Sebastian’s house, hoping to flirt with him a bit.
Of course, I’m absolutely abysmal when it comes to flirting.
“And he always loved sweets,” Jenna adds.
“We’re on duty,” Liam reminds her.
“I’ll send some home with you,” Maisey says. “I have plenty, and you can enjoy it when you’re not on duty.”
“Thank you,” Nick says with a smile, then assumes his stoic stance once again.
“My flowers look like a drunk elephant put them together.” I stare at my pitiful bouquet in disgust.
“You are a little drunk,” Nina says. “Your cheeks are bright red.”
“That always happens.” I cover my face with my hands and laugh. “Not that I have the opportunity to over-indulge often, but my flushed cheeks always give me away.”
“You’re adorable.” Grace, who has been quiet up until now, leans over to tap my glass with hers. “I like you.”
“I like you, too.” I blink rapidly, not wanting to become a blubbering idiot over some sweet words. “I must have something in my eye.”
We spend the next hour putting the finishing touches on our flowers and polishing off our cake and wine. When Nick and Liam escort Nina and me out to our waiting car, I find myself stumbling over my feet.
Liam immediately reaches out to grab my elbow to keep me upright.
“Pardon me,” I say, trying to sound proper. “That sidewalk snuck right up on me.”
“Or the wine did,” Nina says with a snort. “That was fun. We need to do it more often.”
We climb into the back seat, and I sigh in happiness. I’m completely hammered. I don’t remember the last time I drank in such excess.
Perhaps never. It would be frowned upon to behave in such a way back home.
“Don’t feel guilty,” Nina says as if she can read my thoughts. “It’s time you act twenty-five.”
“I am twenty-five,” I remind her.
“Exactly.”
The car pulls into Sebastian’s drive, and Nick escorts Nina inside the house.
“Let’s go, Princess,” Liam says, motioning for me to walk down the path that winds beside the house to the lake below.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To your apartment,” he says, his lips twitching with humor. I want to kiss those lips. I’ve wanted to kiss them since the day I first met him.
“Oh, right. I almost forgot.” I giggle as I walk on the path next to Liam. When I stumble, he reaches out for me again.
I really like it when Liam touches me.
It makes my skin tingle.
I rub my lips together, hoping that will keep me from babbling. Alcohol gives me loose lips.
It’s a curse.
“It’s hot tonight.” I wipe my brow with the back of my hand. “Is it always so hot here in the summer?”
“Yes.”
I frown at him. “You’re not much for chatting, are you?”
“No.”
I narrow my eyes, still watching him. Well, both of him. “You’re allowed to speak to me, you know.”
“Okay.”
My toe catches on something, pitching me forward, but before I can land face-first on the path, Liam’s arms encircle my middle, holding me up.
“Oops.”
“Do I need to carry you, Princess?” He sounds angry. Frustrated. I don’t know why, this is his bloody job.
“I can walk.”
I think.
When he sees that I’m stable once again, he takes his hands away. Despite the hot evening, my skin is cool where his hands were.
I’m a bloody hormonal mess.
Liam is too virile for his own good.
We make it safely to the dock and the boathouse. Liam opens the door, and I step inside. To my surprise, he helps me up the stairs.
“I can do it,” I mumble.
“You’ll fall on your face,” he mutters.
Once at the top, I grin. “See? We made it!”
But my damn toe catches on something else. This time, I hit the floor.
“How many glasses of wine did you have?”
“Good question. I didn’t count. A lot. You can go, I’ll be fine.”
“Like hell.” He pulls me up, and suddenly, I’m pressed against him from hip to chest, looking up into his brown eyes. His jaw is firm, his lips pressed into a hard line.
“I’m a virgin.”
I feel my eyes grow wide, but I suddenly can’t stop talking.
“I know it’s silly, but I’m a twenty-five-year-old virgin. Can you believe that?”
“Uh—”
“Absolutely ridiculous,” I mutter and let my eyes travel down to his neck, where his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. “And you’re an attractive man, Liam.”
“I should go.”
“No way.” I grip his shoulders. He could easily push me away, but he doesn’t, and I take that as a good sign. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. Wait. Yes, I do. I’m telling you because I think you’re attractive, and I like it when you touch me, and maybe you should teach me all about the sex.”
“Christ,” he mutters and closes his eyes. “ The sex?”
“Yes. I’m here for a month, and you’re here with me. It’s convenient.”
“No.”
“But why?” I sound whiny, even to my own ears.
“Because I work for you.”
“You work for my brother. Not me.”
“No.”
“But why?”
“Because you’re too young for me.”
“I’m a grown woman who can make her own decisions with her body, thank you very much.” I hiccup and do my best to look sophisticated.
“No.”
“But why?”
“For a million other reasons that make this a very bad idea.”
I frown and bite my numb lip, still staring at Liam’s Adam’s apple.
“Why do they call this an Adam’s apple?” I brush my finger down the firm bump in his neck.
“I don’t know.”
“Me either.” I smile up at him. “I’ve never even had an orgasm , Liam. Isn’t that just preposterous? Some women can do…things…to themselves to make it happen, but I don’t know how to do that. I would Google it, but all of my internet usage is monitored. All the time. Can you imagine being called into the king’s office because I’ve been caught looking at internet porn?”
“No.”
“But why?”
“I swear to God, Eleanor, I’m not going to say it again.”
“Are you going to sue us for sexual harassment?”
“No.” He laughs and grips my upper arms to push me back from him.
“I quite liked where I was.”
“Me, too,” he grumbles. “And this can’t happen.”
“Of course.” I shake my head. “I’m doomed to be a virgin forever. Because the men I’ve met are all complete arseholes. Especially that mean Beauregard. He thought he could bully his way into being my husband and have a place in the royal household.
“Made him real mad when I wouldn’t let him in my knickers, I’ll tell you that.”
“I’ll make a note to have him killed.” Liam’s voice isn’t light and full of humor.
His eyes are fierce. His jaw clenched.
“Are you angry on my behalf, Liam Cunningham?”
He doesn’t reply, just watches me with that intense look on his impossibly handsome face.
“You have a scar, right here,” he says, reaching out to point to my jawline, but he doesn’t touch me.
“I fell when I was small. I have three older brothers. They always got me into trouble.”
Liam nods. “You should go sleep off that wine.”
“Yeah.” I sigh, resigned to going to bed by myself. “I’ll stop hitting on you now.”
I take a step. “Wait!” I whirl back around and brace myself on a chair so I don’t fall again. “I have to apologize.”
“For what?”
“For last summer. For the stunt I pulled that put so many of us in danger. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”
“I know.”
“It was stupid and thoughtless, and I want to let you know that it won’t happen again.”
“You’ve apologized before.”
“I know, but I feel like you haven’t forgiven me, and that’s why you’re not very nice to me. Anyway, goodnight.”
I turn to walk to the bedroom, immediately pulling the glittery tank I wore to the party over my head and letting it fall to the floor.
I don’t even give the fact that I’m not wearing a bra a second thought.
“Jesus,” Liam says behind me.
“What?”
“Don’t turn around,” he says quickly. “Go to bed, Ellie.”
“Yes, sir.”
I’m dying.
I moan and roll onto my back, take a deep breath, and then shove my face back into the pillow.
Yep, I’m dying. Probably of alcohol poisoning. My head feels like it’s split in two, my stomach roiling. I swear I’ve eaten a whole handful of cotton balls.
I want to just lie here all day, but I have to wee like crazy, and my phone has been buzzing with messages.
That’s what woke me.
I have no idea what time it is, and I’d look, except with my head cracked open, I’m quite sure I’ve gone blind.
I stumble my way into the loo, and once I’ve done my business, washed my hands and face, and scooped my hair into a knot on the top of my head, the headache starts to abate.
I pull on some yoga shorts and a sports tank, then pad out to the kitchen for a glass of water.
I stumble into a chair, sending it crashing to the floor. Grateful that it wasn’t me landing in a heap, I pick it up and pour myself a glass of water.
“Are you okay up there?”
Liam appears at the top of the steps. His eyes roam over me from head to toe.
“It was a chair,” I reply and sit on the couch, pulling my feet up under me. I lean on the arm of the sofa. “I’m dying.”
“You had a bit to drink last night.”
“Yeah. Or a lot.”
I sip the water, hoping it’ll settle my stomach.
Images start to fill my mind, and I frown.
“You know, I had a crazy dream that I told you some of my secrets.”
“That wasn’t a dream.”
Liam sits in the chair across from me, braces his arms on his knees, and frowns.
“Wait, it wasn’t?”
“No.”
No.
He told me no several times.
Because I practically begged him to shag me.
I let my head fall back onto the couch. “Bloody hell.”