Chapter 5 – Ellie
There’s nothing a little sunshine and a day outside can’t fix. Turning my face up to the bright sun, I let out a sigh, releasing all my anxiety from the past day.
Since leaving the real-life princess party, I’ve been a ball of tension, thinking that the royal guard or secret police would be kicking in my door, putting a sack over my head and throwing me in a dark prison cell. Dramatic? Totally. But it had been a real fear.
I’d only just let my overactive imagination calm a bit when I left my apartment for the first time this morning and made it to work without incident. My huge mistake in bossing around an earl and treating him like a commoner had gone unpunished.
If the rational side of my brain had bothered to speak up this weekend, it would have mentioned that at no point did Henry act like a pretentious royal. In fact, he’d been quite charming. Kind and funny in a way that had made my foolish little heart beat a bit faster.
Not that it mattered now. Obviously that mistake and our embarrassing but I-can-look-back-at-it-now-and-laugh meet-cute was all we’d ever share. It was a good story. I’d just keep it to myself for a couple years until the sting wore off.
Focusing back on the earth around me, I spin around and smile wide, taking in the group of people walking behind me. Their happy faces, tinged with hints of red in the cheeks from exertion, shine back at me.
“All right.” I clap my hands, gaining everyone’s attention. “Congratulations, everyone! You’ve just completed the Larkingdom Trail. I’m so proud of all of you, and thank you on behalf of Elevated Adventures for choosing us as your partner in adventure today. We’re at the end of the hike now, and the main cabin is just past the upcoming bend. Thank you again for joining me this morning and have a great evening.”
Murmurs of thanks and grunts of relief meet my ears as my hikers make their way past me. I count everyone and check their names off my list, confirming that I had everyone who left with me this morning. The hike hadn’t been a strenuous one, but four hours of walking was a lot if you weren’t used to it. Or if walking wasn’t your actual job—like mine was.
Giving Judy, a regular of this hike, a nod of thanks, I check her name off and give the list a second and final scan. Everyone was accounted for and no injuries were sustained. An excellent day indeed.
Tucking the clipboard under my arm, I spin on the toe of my boot and head for Elevated Adventures’ main cabin, or Adventure HQ as I like to call it. The large A-frame cabin was my home away from home. Heck, I was here almost as much as I was in my apartment downtown.
The high-beamed ceiling and wall of windows at the back is a comforting sight. There are five of us working today including me, two in the café, one on the floor helping customers with merchandise and one behind the counter.
I wave to all my coworkers as I make my way to the counter. Everyone is all smiles. After logging in to the trail leaders’ program we had set up long ago, I enter in all the information from today’s hike and mark everyone as safe.
“How was it today?” My boss, Shirley, slides her upper body across the counter, coming to stop beside me.
“Good.” I unclip my hiker list and slip the paper into the folder where we keep our hard-copy files for the week. “There was a couple who definitely fibbed on their experience level, and another person who didn’t wear the correct clothing for the elevation, but it was fun overall. The peak was gorgeous.”
“The colors right now are stunning.”
I nodded, thinking of all the flowers in bloom and the sea of green I’d looked out at when we hit the trail’s peak.
Resting my upper body on the counter, I grin over at my boss. While Shirley and her late husband did open Elevated Adventures because of their love of nature, Shirley was not a guide. She preferred to run operations from the A-frame and not have to deal with hikers one-on-one for long periods of time.
“How have things been here?” I ask, running my hands over the smooth, dark oak surface of the counter. I listen to Shirley tell me about a humorous interaction with a camper looking for bear spray and get updated about two upcoming hiking expeditions.
I’m scheduled to lead another hike tomorrow that will have me camping out overnight on the mountain. The muscles in my shoulders relax at knowing I’ll have something else to distract me tomorrow. It had helped today to be outside and get out of my head, showing others the beauty of the area instead of obsessing about a man I would never see again except for in gossip magazines.
I’m just about to ask Shirley if she could add me to a couple more outings this week when she curses and rounds the counter, leaving me in the blink of an eye. Trying to follow her flurry of movement, my eyes scan past the front door and across—
I double back.
It takes me a stupid amount of time to believe what I’m seeing. At first, I think it’s a trick of the light. That I’ve conjured him here thanks to my overactive imagination.
But that smile. Damn, I would know that smile anywhere.
Holy shit.
Henry Cragnoor, 12th Earl of Caledonia, was at my place of work. An honest-to-God royal had walked in the door. He was standing at the front doors, grinning at me like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Holy shit.
Still not truly believing what I was seeing, I slowly straighten from my hunched-over position. With every step he takes toward me, I feel a new flutter in my stomach.
He’s almost unrecognizable in a dark green plaid button-down and dark jeans, artfully torn at the knees. I’d thought in a full suit he couldn’t be any more good-looking but I was very wrong. There was something about a man in plaid that made my heart beat into overdrive. Maybe it’s just a Canadian thing.
His eyes were focused on me as he sauntered his way over. A shine to them had me fighting not to bite my lip. Being the sole focus of Henry Cragnoor was thrilling—and probably one of the scariest things to ever happen to me.
Coming to a stop and interlacing his hands on the counter, he continues to give me a knowing grin. My mouth opens but no words come out. What is happening right now?
“Hello, Ellie.” The low tone of his voice sends shivers throughout my body. It both delights and terrifies me.
I know my eyes are wide with shock as I continue to gaze at him without a word. My body seems to have lost all function. Oh my God, Ellie, what are you doing?
“Hey.” The word is quiet, but drawn out. My brain is still glitching, trying to get back online after this second shock of a lifetime. This man keeps sneaking up on me!
“Did you have a good hike today?” he asks, all innocence and ease.
My vocabulary comes back, slow and a little hesitant, but at least I’m able to form full sentences.
“Yeah, it was a great hike. Spring days like this are the best weather for long trails.”
Oh, good one, Ellie. Yes, let’s talk about the weather with a freakin’ earl. That’s a baller move.
Shaking off my total lack of game with this man, I press my body closer to the counter until I feel a sting of pressure and I’m bending over a bit. Lowering my voice, I ask, “Why are you here?”
Following my lead, he leans forward too. I know immediately initiating intimacy like this, getting closer and whispering back and forth, was a mistake. His lean, muscular frame blocks out the store and his fresh scent, something earthy and pure temptation, engulfs me.
If the counter wasn’t nailed to the ground and separating us, my face would be pressed into his neck, taking long pulls of his scent, like an addict.
In an equally soft voice he replies, “I would think my reason is obvious.”
His words hang between us.
Distracted by how plump and juicy his lips look this close, I don’t immediately catch his meaning.
Wait. What? He wasn’t saying I was the reason, was he?
“I think I know the reason but I’m not one hundred percent sure. Why don’t you tell me?”
God Almighty, he licks his lips. He licks his lips and my body bursts into flames I’m so hot for him. It’s such a simple everyday move, an innocent wetting of the lips, but I swear the way Henry does it is full-out seduction. I’m ready to either throw my panties at him or change into a fresh pair. Holy moly.
“I came to see you, sunshine.”
It was official, this man was trying to kill me. I had a nickname. He was too handsome and too sweet for his own good.
“Me? Really? Why?”
Chuckling a little, he rocks back on his heels and straightens. “Let me answer those questions in order,” he teases. “Yes, I came to see you, Ellie Bailey. And yes, really. Because you made an impression on me yesterday and I would like to spend more time getting to know you.”
My eyes must be comically wide, because they’re feeling dry. Or maybe it’s because I haven’t blinked in a while. I’m that stunned. He wants to spend time with me? Getting to know me?
“You know I’m not a real princess, right? Because if that’s why you’re here, to secure my father’s secret dowry by tricking me into marriage, I’m afraid you have the wrong girl. I come from a long line of engineers, that’s it.”
“Oh, my plans are foiled!” he cries, throwing his hands up and then smacking them back on the counter. There’s no helping it, I laugh with him. It was an absurd thing to suggest. He walks the fingers of one hand over to my side and grabs my hand.
“In all seriousness, I really would like to spend more time with you.”
That sounded nice, really nice. There was just one problem.
“I’m booked to lead an overnight camping group tomorrow. It starts pretty early in the morning.” I grimace at how lame that sounds, but it’s the truth.
Staying up late isn’t hard for me, but when it comes to the safety of my hikers, I like to be as rested and alert as possible.
“And after the hike you’re here? At the headquarters?”
“Yeah,” I say sheepishly. I feel horrible. “Will you be here on Wednesday?”
“No, that’s the date I’m to depart.”
Silent disappointment hangs between us.
“I’m sorry,” I offer, hating that I’m missing this opportunity.
Looking at something over my shoulder, he tilts his head, as if he’s thought of something and needs to concentrate.
“If we were to find a magic time to meet and spend time together, is that something you would like?”
“Yes,” I blurt out, not needing a second to think about it. I would definitely like to spend more time with him. While Henry was gorgeous on the outside, I also felt that there were more layers to him. He was so much more than an earl with a great face.
And body.
And oh my God his hair.
“Good.” He smiles, letting go of my hand and nodding. “Very good.”
He turns away. Confused that he’s leaving after that declaration, I call after him.
“That’s it? You’re leaving?”
He begins walking slowly backward. “This is not the last you’ll see of me, sunshine. You can count on that.” Then, with those last words ringing out across the store, he exits into the setting sun.
That night, as I’m debating on watching one more episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., my cell rings with Shirley’s name. I’ve been taken off the camping trip. Instead, I’ll be leading a private hike.
Well, I’ll be damned. He did it.