Chapter 11
Sophie
Ashton is back the next day, even after I fell asleep in front of him.
I really didn’t mean to, but the pain medication I took after breakfast obviously kicked in. I don’t even know how long he was there while I slept.
I hope I didn’t snore.
Awkward.
I spent the rest of the day yesterday reading and watching season three of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. No one came to visit in the afternoon, and while I was glad for the quiet, I was a little bored.
Today is day four of my castle visit—or my castle captivity—and I might be here for a long couple of weeks.
I tell myself that’s why I’m happy to see Ashton.
Today he’s wearing baggy blue jeans and a thick cream coloured fisherman’s sweater. His dark hair is artfully tousled and there’s two spots of colour on his cheeks like he’s come in from outside.
He’s carrying a to-go cup from Coffee for the Sole, so chances are he did just come in from outside.
The coffee smells good.
I awkwardly pour myself another cup of tea.
“You’re a tea drinker,” Ashton says as he takes the seat beside me again. Today, the tiny black Freddy has joined Bono, and the two sleeping cats create a welcome barrier between me and Ashton.
“I prefer coffee,” I admit. “Mrs. Theissen brings me a pot in the morning and the afternoon, and I feel bad not drinking it.”
“You could ask for coffee instead.”
“She’s nice enough to bring me anything, and I don’t want to be a bother.”
He raises an eyebrow. “I sense a trend here.”
I shrug. “I’m a people pleaser. What do you want me to do about it?”
“Stop pleasing people?”
I turn away and sip my tea. Stella is always telling me to stop being so nice to people, and I always thought it was because she wasn’t. It’s not that my sister isn’t nice, it’s just that she’s grumpier than Ashton.
Not that Ashton has been very grumpy to me.
He’s been… nice. Attentive. Considerate, maybe?
All very unlike Ashton things. At least, the Ashton I know.
“So what do you do here in Battle Harbour?”
Scratch all that because the question comes with a note in Ashton’s voice. It’s maybe condescending, like nothing can happen in Battle Harbour that would amuse or entertain him. That nothing going on here would be his idea of fun.
Why would there be? Ashton Carrington treats the world as his playground.
He’s always flying here, flying there. Driving here, driving there.
Hanging out with his group of fabulous friends, and gorgeous girlfriends and women who fall in love with his blue eyes and sardonic smile before he even says a word.
He does have a point. Battle Harbour is quiet, not full of parties and yachts and extreme sports. But it’s my home, and I love it. I do things around here.
“I do things,” I say out loud. There’s that eyebrow again.
“Like, what do you do for excitement?” Ashton lounges on the couch, his long legs stretched out in what is sure to be a tripping hazard.
“There isn’t much excitement,” I admit reluctantly. “There are hiking trails. There’s the stargazing place near the water in the summer.”
“Do you prefer outdoor things?” Ashton asks like it’s the worst idea in the world.
“I guess?”
“Because that’s all you mentioned. Outdoor excitement. I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s flipping cold outside, so I’m not very interested in doing things outdoors.”
“Are you looking for things to do?”
“I’m always looking for the next big thing.”
“I don’t think you’ll find it here.”
Why are you here? I really want to ask him.
Not just here, in my room in the castle, but here in Battle Harbour. In Laandia, even. If he’s too afraid of the cold, then the Northern Lights and the ski hills on the Quebec border wouldn’t be much interest to him either.
It’s all very curious, Ashton still being in town. “You must miss your sister, or is it Basher that keeps dragging you back?” I ask. “Because you’re here a lot.”
Ashton laughs, and I start because it’s a real laugh not a wry chuckle that he usually does.
I like the sound of it.
“Sounds like you’re almost offended by that.”
“If you’re putting down Battle Harbour because there’s nothing you like to do, then yes, I am offended. People come here for the outdoors, even in the winter. You could try it—or you could not come back.”
Ashton’s mouth turns down like he’s sad, and it confuses me, because what on earth would make him sad? Billionaire. Party boy. Lover of beautiful women, and brother to fantastic Fenella. “Is that what you want? Me not to come back?”
“I didn’t say that, and why would you care?”
“Well, I kind of feel responsible for you after our little tête-à-tête in the street.”
That makes it sound like more than him running me down with his car happened between us. And why? Why would he do that? It’s almost… that smile… it’s like he’s flirting with me.
Again—why?
“Don’t,” I tell him. “You’re not responsible for me. For the last time, I know it was an accident.”
I say that a little too loudly.
“I like Battle Harbour,” Ashton confesses. “There might not be much to do when there’s seven feet of snow, but there’s something about it.”
“There’s a lot about it.”
“You’ll have to show me. At least, tell me about it because I will be around, whether you like it or not.”
I never said I didn’t like it.
If we were flirting, that’s what I would say.
But we’re not flirting, so I don’t.
“Basher likes me as his wingman,” Ashton continues. “He’s a big boy, so I don’t know why, but Mabel has him scared, and he wants me around to hold his hand.”
“What did Mabel do to scare him?” I do understand Basher’s fear because Mabel Crow can be scary. She’s definitely a strong woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid of telling someone exactly what they did wrong and what they need to do to fix it.
“I think she just stands there and looks at him like he’s a bug. No idea what the attraction is. I’m partial to women who smile at me. Even when I hit them with a car.”
Again—what is he doing? There’s been plenty of time and opportunities for Ashton to flirt with me. Why now?
“Did you know that the King’s Hat has doubled the income since she’s been a manager?” I ask him, because I’d rather talk about Mabel than wonder why he smiles at me like that. “Kalle did a good job, and Edie was fantastic when she ran the place. No one knows what Mabel is doing differently.”
“It’s probably Basher and all the beer he’s crying into. Let’s go back to what you do around here.”
So I do. I tell him about living in a small town, the markets and festivals and fairs. I tell him about the Christmas parties the king and queen used to host.
He likes hearing about the high school parties, where groups of us would head to the pond in the woods, or to the beach after a baseball game, staying out late.
He asks questions about who was there, what I did, and who I did it with, like he’s trying to find out more about me.
And then I turn it around on him and ask what it was like growing up as a Carrington.
We talk for the entire morning, the two of us sitting on the couch with the cats.
Ashton shows a talent for keeping the fire burning brightly, and we have playful arguments on my playlist of songs.
He opens up about so many things, which is a surprise, considering what Abigail said about him being guarded and unable to show vulnerability when she sent him home from The Suitorette.
Maybe he’s learned his lesson.
It’s … nice. Unexpected.
After protesting a song by Opium on my playlist, Ashton has commandeered my phone to change the music when there’s a knock on the door.
A smiling King Magnus stands in the doorway, with Fenella Carrington at his side.
“Sophie-of-the-broken-toes,” he cries, waving his hands for emphasis. “I’ve been trying to get up here to see you for days.”
Ashton—since he’s met many monarchs and heads of state—gets to his feet in a smooth move, while I’m left scrambling for my crutches.
“Don’t get up,” King Magnus says, coming toward us with his huge strides. Everything about the king displays his Viking ancestry—his height, his build, his hair. He could have been an extra on the Vikings TV show.
Who am I kidding? He would have had the starring role.
“My meeting with Fenella ended early, so I told her we needed to pop up to see how you’re doing,” he continues, leaning over the couch to drop a kiss on the top of my head. “How are the tender tootsies?”
“Doing okay,” I tell him.
I’ve known King Magnus my entire life. Even when I didn’t see my father, the king made a point of checking up on me, whether it was a surprise drop-in at school, or a scheduled visit to watch the latest student production.
When I was older, he would always ask for me when he called in his order at the fish and chip place.
In some ways, during those years that I was estranged from my father, I felt closer to King Magnus.
Which is totally ironic, because my mother would have hated that. She blamed Magnus and the rest of the royal family for everything that was a problem for her.
Now, the king is still a constant in my life, but I’m growing closer to my father again.
“Everything here to your liking?” he asks with another wave of his hand. “You know, you’re good here for as long as you like. I don’t know why you don’t just move in here to make your father happy. I can’t do anything without him, so the least I can do is have his kids under my roof.”
He’s already got two out of three—Stella is already here with Gunnar most of the time, and Spencer has a suite in the castle as well as his apartment downtown.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I say. “But I like my own place.”
“Better than still living with your mother,” he mutters. “And how many times have I told you, drop the majesty bit? It’s Magnus. Ashton knows, don’t you, m’boy.” He thrusts his hand at Ashton and claps him on the back as they shake.
“How are you, Magnus?” Ashton dutifully asks.
“I haven’t seen you for dinner the last few nights,” Magnus tells him.
“Find something better to do? Hey, when am I getting that ride in Fenella’s car you promised me in the summer?
You can drive it like it’s meant to be driven.
I know you do a good job with it, Fen but…
” Magnus trails off after a glance at Fenella’s face.
Ashton was driving Fenella’s car when he hit me. Whether he was driving it the way it was meant to be driven is debatable, but—
“Maybe we should put a pin in that,” Magnus adds without missing a step.
I laugh, and Magnus grins, wide and gregarious. “Ashton is a very good driver,” I tell him. “He should definitely take you for a ride. But maybe wait until the ice has melted.”
Ashton frowns, like he doesn’t like to be reminded of what happened.
Sorry, Ashton, but I’m reminded of it every time I stand up.
“You’re staying in town for a while longer?” the king asks Ashton.
He shrugs. “Not sure of my plans.”
“If you want to be sure of them, you should let me put you on the payroll with your sister. We could for sure find you something to do around here.”
For a moment, Ashton’s nonchalant expression drops. “You’re offering me a job?”
“I could be.” Magnus drops his grin, transforming from father’s friend Magnus, to head of the government of Laandia in an instant.
“I like having my boys on the various committees, and they’re doing a fine job.
We’ve got a road project that I want up and running this summer, and I figure you could be good as an advisor on that. ”
Ashton looks completely shocked at the offer.