Page 57 of The King's Maiden

I returned it with a nod of my own and went back to browsing the shelves.

“My dad loved to read,” I said softly, a note of melancholy in my voice I hadn’t intended to share with him. But thoughts of my dad always made me sad, even when I relived my happiest memories of him. “He used to read to me every night, and then whenever I got sick, once I was too old to be tucked in at night.”

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, but tears filled my eyes as I found an old copy ofThe Princess Bride.I traced the letters on the spine and tried to hold off the grief rising in my chest. It clawed its way up my throat, making my voice a hoarse croak when I finally spoke.

“This is the last book he read to me.”

I’d been sick in bed, gearing up for my fifth rewatch of the movie adaptation of the novel, when my dad had shown up at the apartment. He’d insisted on turning off the television and reading to me, like the grandfather does for the boy in the movie. I’d fallen asleep listening to the sound of his voice, and he’d still been there, lying beside me, when I woke up.

Pain sliced through my chest as I relived the memory. Whenever I’d needed him, no matter how old I’d gotten, my dad had found a way to show up for me.

I’d never have that again.

“Would you like to have it?”

My eyebrows rose at the offer and pulled something tighter in my chest. But I shook my head.

Even though it was incredibly thoughtful, I didn’t need it.

“I have his copy in my bag.” I pulled my eyes away from the book to meet his across the room. “But thank you, Landon. For offering.”

He nodded again, but that was it.

Because for a fellow bibliophile, Landon Scott was impossible to read.

I sniffled and brought my hand up to my face, wiping tears that must’ve slipped out without me noticing. “I should probably get some rest.”

“You can take the bed.” He stepped away from it, heading back toward the door to the bedroom. “I’ll just clear out for a bit.”

“That’s okay,” I said too quickly.

Inside the room, the bed felt even larger and more imposing than it had outside of it. The last thing I needed was to get comfortable there, so I laid my hand on the back of the chaise, scrambling to come up with an excuse.

“I, um…I’d prefer to sleep here if that’s alright with you. I have back problems, so…”

Without waiting for his response, I sat down on it. I could feel him watching me as I got comfortable, probably not buying my excuse for a second, but I pretended I didn’t notice.

I tucked my legs under me and turned toward the window, closing my eyes and hoping that would convince him to leave it alone if he was on to me.

Talking to him about my dad had been too personal, and I didn’t need to blur the lines between us like that. I blamed it on the exhaustion.

Something soft landed over my body and my eyes shot open, giving away my ruse of sleep. My cheeks warmed, and so did the rest of my body, as I realized Landon had covered me with a blanket.

He set a small box tied up with a blue ribbon on my lap. “From Kingston.”

I pulled off the ribbon and lifted the lid.

As soon as I opened it, I wondered if I should’ve waited until Landon left the room. But that felt like overthinking things, so I peeked inside the box, picking out the small item nestled in tissue paper.

A charm for my bracelet.

Kingston must’ve noticed it at the Maiden Selection. The gold bauble matched my bracelet and the other charms on it perfectly.

Most of them, I’d added myself or received from Gia over the years. The rest were from my parents. Charms they gave me on my birthday right before my mom passed away, and some given later by my dad.

I never took it off.

Closing the lid on the box, I shut my eyes. It was a beautiful gift, but a tear slid down my cheek.

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