Her Royal Secret

Chapter 5: Part 4

Mum's words came back to me, about us giving Robert the time to heal and from the worn and tired look on his face I knew that it was killing him, to be back and to have to fill in Dad's shoes. I had always expected him to be strong, unbeatable and my rock but things had changed. The old Robert would have immediately picked up on the sweatshirt that I was wearing, made fun of me but more than that, would have wanted to know about the guy. He was my confidant, my best friend but right now there were only so many roles that he could play.

"I think we deserve a vacation don't you?" I nudged his shoulder, "Maybe get away for a couple of days and unwind."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a rueful smile, "The King doesn't get to unwind Len."

"You're not the King until your coronation, technically. How about we escape while we can. Mum would be happy to take care of things while we're gone."

The idea was tempting him, I knew it for sure and I knew I'd just have to push it a little more and get Liam involved. No one could persuade you to be a little adventurous like he could.

"I'll think about it."

"You're going to do it, I'll make sure."

He laughed and it sounded absolutely wonderful.

Feeling lighter than I had felt in ages, I walked out of Robert's room, already thinking of places we could go to. I wasn't sure if he was okay with being on planes following his accident but we could always take the boat. As for the place, well I would leave the planning to Liam because I knew he was itching for a trip. Maybe tomorrow when he recovered from his night of partying...

"Len," I was so busy planning that I had missed a pacing Jasper, who stood in front of my room. I had forgotten that I had his hoodie on until his eyes drunk me in, lingering on my bare legs.

Why did I wear this thing, why?

Still, I wasn't going to let him have the upper hand so I pretended as though I wasn't a hoarder and wasn't wearing the hoodie he'd left in my room ages ago.

"You really need to get your stalking under control Jasper from Shoreditch. It's getting out of hand." I tipped my chin up stubbornly.

He bit back a grin. "I'll keep that in mind Princess." He stalked towards me like a predator cornering its prey.

"I was worried," he admitted, "earlier on, with Liam you looked a little...sad." He tugged on a lock of hair that had escaped my ponytail. "You okay?"

His concern disarmed me because it felt good to have someone think about me for a minute, selfish as that sounded.

"Getting there." I shrugged

"Mind letting me help you." He drew closer, until his hands rested on my waist and I didn't push him away.

"Depends on how annoying you're going to be."

"I promise, I'll be so discrete you won't even notice I'm there."

"I'll hold you to that."