Chapter Nine
Sadie
“Okay.” Beckett put his phone down and his hands up. “No photo. Maybe we could make a little avatar of you instead.”
“An avatar?” I asked. “What’s that?” I simply couldn’t put my photo on the computer and risk my family or Cian finding it.
Finding me.
So far, I’d managed to disappear successfully from Verdalach and I didn’t want to compromise that in any way.
I was too close to having the life I’d always wanted.
To having freedom. My family had apparently decided not to make a big spectacle of trying to find me because I hadn’t seen anything the few times I’d gone on the internet or on the magazine covers Patty had on display in her store or on TV.
Verdalach was very private and announcing a missing princess would put the country in the public eye.
That privacy was finally something beneficial about Verdalachian ways.
“An avatar is a cute cartoon version of yourself.” Beckett got up and walked over to a complicated-looking computer station on the other side of his office. After a few taps on the keyboard, he turned toward me while gesturing to the computer’s large screen. “See? This is an avatar for me.”
I peered at the rendition of Beckett that still looked exactly like Beckett.
At my hesitation, he walked back to the other desk and his laptop. “We could make something less life-like, if that’s better.” He fiddled around on that computer for a few moments while I debated about collecting all my slips of paper and getting out of here.
But when Beckett angled the laptop so I could see the screen, a much more illustrated version of himself stared back at me.
“This one is more cartooned,” he said. “Give me a few moments and I can build one for you so you can see it.”
He turned back to the computer and busied himself while I paced behind him. Beckett certainly had the skills I needed to get this business launched, but I couldn’t tell him why I didn’t want my photo on the internet. Would he even believe me if I did tell him?
I’m a runaway princess from a faraway land. It sounded ridiculous because it was ridiculous.
Every few moments, Beckett peered back at me, his eyes a little squinted, then he would dive back into tapping and clicking on the keyboard. He talked to himself as he worked, and it was rather adorable.
That was the other problem I was currently experiencing by working with Beckett on my business. The more time we spent sitting next to each other and talking, the more I liked it.
Liked him.
He was smart and patient and encouraging and certainly pleasing to the eyes. He even smelled nice. Something fresh and masculine and woodsy. I was growing more intoxicated by the minute.
“Okay, how’s this?” Once again, he moved the laptop so I could easily see the screen.
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The little cartoon version of me in the exact outfit I wore right now, topped with so much red hair, was silly and funny enough not to look like the actual me.
“I’ll take that reaction as approval.” Beckett smiled up at me. “Some people don’t like to have their photo taken and I understand. This avatar, however, is personal enough that it should work on clients.” He tilted his head at the cartoon me. “It still has your vibe.”
“My vibe?” I sat beside him again, relieved I didn’t have to abandon this partnership after all.
“Yeah. You know. Your energy.” He grinned. “Some might call it your aura.”
I poked him in the arm, not able to resist smiling back at him. “Fine. Use the little cartoon.”
“The avatar. We’re professionals over here.” He navigated away from the avatar of me and opened another site. “Let’s get building this website.”
I watched in fascination as Beckett constructed something that truly represented the vision I had in mind for Kalm Kingdom.
He chose colors from my note about neutral tones.
He typed up descriptions of my services and offerings with my input.
He showed me how to use the scheduling app and the payment system he’d included on the website.
He led me through a design-making process that resulted in a logo for my new business.
We landed on a regal-looking font for the words Kalm Kingdom with Kalm stacked above Kingdom. While those words were in black, he overlayed them on a mint green background shaped like a mountain range. He then added a little gold crown on the capital K in Kalm.
“Gives it a royal flavor,” Beckett said as we both studied the completed design. “Like, your clients will get the royal treatment from you and that will lead them to ultimate relaxation.” He swiveled to face me. “What do you think? Do you like it?”
“I love it.” The crown was subtle enough that it would be harmless. Plus, my new name was all over the site. No mention of my real name and without my actual photo on there, I’d be safe. “Thank you so much, Beckett. This is a wonderful start and I never would have gotten to this point without you.”
His cheeks actually pinked a bit, and his reaction was so charming, I almost couldn’t resist the urge to show him how grateful I was with a kiss.
Working with him today had felt much like one of Orla’s romance books.
Forced proximity I believed she’d called it when the hero and the heroine had been thrust into spending a long period of time together.
It may have started out as forced with Beckett’s sister orchestrating our collaboration, but we’d both softened into something more comfortable along the way today.
“You’ll still need at least a short bio for this site,” Beckett said, “but right now I’m starving and you probably are too. I’ve been a horrible host, letting us get all wrapped up in working on this. That happens to me a lot when it comes to techy stuff.”
“You have not been horrible,” I immediately said. “Not at all. You’ve been so focused on helping me and I’m so appreciative.” I gathered up my slips of paper to clean up and leave, but Beckett’s hand over mine stilled me. It felt as if my heart stopped beating at his warm touch.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He pushed my hand off the papers but didn’t remove his hand from atop mine.
“Leave all that. We’ll take a break, get something to eat, and dive back in.
We can finish this website today.” He slid his hand off mine and I instantly missed the contact.
“I mean, if you have time to keep working. I didn’t mean to assume you had nothing else to do today. ”
“I have nothing else to do today.” And if I did, I would have cancelled it without hesitation to spend more time with Beckett. I liked being around him.
“Great. C’mon.” He rose to his feet and motioned for me to follow him out of his office.
We landed in his kitchen which had sleek, steel appliances and a lovely, glossy, wooden countertop. I ran my index finger along one of the prominent knots in the wood surface.
“This is a beautiful kitchen.” I glanced back toward the living room then scanned the dining room which had a chunky wood-and-black-iron table with black iron chairs around it. “What I’ve seen of your house so far is beautiful. Did you design this space yourself?”
“I did,” Beckett said. “Each of my siblings—except for Vanessa who now lives with her husband, Spencer—has a house on the property and we all put our own flavor on our living spaces. Most of them went with a more rustic feel that blends with the woods better, but I like modern and I like technology with wooden accents.” He tapped his phone and the lights dimmed then brightened, the windows darkened then lightened, the fireplace flared to life then immediately snuffed.
“Wow. You can control everything from there, can’t you?” I gestured to his phone.
“Pretty much.” His grin was boyish, the electronics clearly delighting him. “It’s mostly powered by solar panels on the roof too so I’m not taxing the grid or polluting the environment.”
I understood pollution. Back in Verdalach, I’d begged my father, the king, to make laws against dumping waste in the Lilyan River that ran through the southern grounds of the palace. He and Cian had laughed at me.
“We have this handled, Aislinn,” Cian had said. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about the river.”
They’d chuckled, completely dismissing me and my ideas.
Not at all like Beckett who had listened to all my ideas today.
“Clean and functional,” I said to Beckett now. “Very nice.”
He pulled open his refrigerator and perused the shelves. “How would you feel about BLTs for lunch?”
I’d had a BLT from Bear Belly Tavern a few nights ago. I hadn’t known what it was at first, but the menu description revealed what the letters stood for and that sandwich had been delicious. I’d bought it two more times so far and it was a tasty meal every time.
“That sounds wonderful.” I rounded the counter, drawing closer to Beckett. “How can I help?”
He opened the freezer and pulled out a loaf of bread. “Toast some pieces while I get the bacon sizzling.”
While we worked together, we moved about his kitchen as if we’d been sharing that space for years.
Those sandwiches were built and on plates in a short time.
Beckett added potato chips and pickles to the dishes and gestured for me to have a seat on one of the kitchen stools he had near the countertop.
He sat beside me and, for a few moments, the only sound in the house was the two of us biting into the sandwiches and crunching on their contents.
“This is better than Bear Belly Tavern’s BLT,” I said after I’d swallowed.
“That’s high praise.” Beckett wiped his hands on a napkin. “Bear Belly Tavern makes a great BLT.”
“It does,” I agreed, “but this bacon is cooked to perfection and . . . and what’s that added flavor I taste?”
“Maple syrup,” Beckett said. “I drizzle a little over the bacon whenever I make it. It’s a little secret upgrade to the sandwich.”
“Delicious.” I popped a chip into my mouth. “So you’re good at business stuff, technology stuff, and cooking stuff. Is there anything Beckett Hartley can’t do?”
“Fix his own aura, apparently.” He tapped my elbow with his own. “I hadn’t known it was discolored or whatever.”
“Well, after all the work you’re doing for me, you’ve definitely earned aura cleanses for life,” I said. “Beckett Hartley will never pay for Kalm Kingdom services.”
“I might take you up on that offer,” he said.
“I hope you do.”
And . . . we were staring at each other. Again. My eyes kept getting trapped in a spell or something when our gazes connected.
But it happened to him too.
His phone vibrating on the countertop broke the enchantment, which was good because this staring session was going on a bit longer than the previous ones for some reason. His dark brown eyes were so mesmerizing, and when my gaze coasted down to his mouth, I . . . felt things.
Beckett reached for the phone and slid it toward him. He tapped the screen and said, “Hey, Zia.”
“Hey,” a woman’s voice said back.
A woman? A special woman? Did Beckett have one of those already?
Of course he did. Why would a man like him be unattached? Surely a woman had deemed him . . . what was the phrase Hank had used with me the other day?
A great catch.
Yes. Certainly Beckett was a great catch.
And he’d already been caught.
So much for me living out one of Orla’s romance novels.
“What’s going on?” Beckett asked.
“The guys and I were wondering if you were free to pick up where we left off in Apocalypse Attack right now,” the woman said. “We’re all dying to make it to the next level thanks to your brave leadership the other day.” She chuckled and Beckett joined her.
“I’d love to,” he said, “but I’m in the middle of something.”
“Something more important than gaming?” The woman’s voice rose up an octave. “Okay, who is this and what have you done with Beckett Hartley?”
“It’s me, you goofball,” Beckett said. “I’m helping someone who is trying to launch a business and we’re on a roll here. Raincheck on Apocalypse Attack?”
“Yeah, sure,” the woman said slowly. “But you should probably expect Leif and Melvin to at least text you to confirm because they aren’t going to believe me when I say you didn’t want to play right now.”
I tapped Beckett’s arm and he looked at me. “I can go if you—”
He immediately shook his head. “Maybe we can play tomorrow, Zia.”
“Okay. Later, dude,” the woman said.
“Later.” Beckett tapped the screen to end the call.
“Seriously,” I said. “I can go.”
“That was a friend I play video games with and I don’t want you to go.” Beckett turned those brown eyes on me. “We are on a roll with your business stuff and it’s best to ride the wave, you know? Get as much accomplished as we can while the fire is hot.”
The way he’d said the word hot and let his gaze slowly sweep over me certainly stoked a fire that had been quietly simmering since Beckett had reclined on his couch before the sound bath.
What is this feeling? I definitely hadn’t felt like this whenever I was in the presence of Cian.
Quite the opposite, in fact. Every interaction with Cian had left me cold. And dismayed. And hopeless about the future.
But interacting with Beckett? That made me feel as if anything was possible.