Page 4 of A Wise Prince

The little boy grins at me. “She’s not old enough to be my grandmother,” he says as though I must be the dumbest man alive. I grin at him and wink.

“So, she’s your twin, then.”

Andrew’s giggles are pretty fucking adorable. I don’t normally feel drawn to kids, but I like this one. He’s not like the others, trying to get selfies with me, and I respect that.

“No, this is Miss—”

“Kathryn. Miss Kathryn,” the woman interjects. The little boy gives her a strange look but says nothing.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kathryn. And how are you related to Andrew?”

“I’m not,” she says. “Andrew and I are just good friends, right?” she asks him. He nods enthusiastically.

“Oh, so Miss Kathryn’s your girlfriend, then?”

Andrew giggles again. “No, that’s silly,” he answers. “She’s way too old to be my girlfriend.”

I laugh at that as Kathryn nudges him in the arm. “Thanks,” she says sarcastically.

“Well, it’s true,” he says as though it’s the most important fact ever. I have to admit, the kid is cool.

I ask the little boy about his time here. He talks about his favorite nurses and doctors. I put their names away in my head so that I can have Paolo send them accolades later. Everyone might think I can’t be a prince, but I have mad royalty skills when I need them. I find out that Andrew has been here for three months, receiving treatment. I also find out that he loves horses and ninjas. I can sense my entourage at the door. I don’t want Andrew to be stifled by photo ops, so I cut short our conversation.

“Well, I have to be going. It was nice to meet you both,” I say to them.

I give Andrew a high five before leaning down to hug him.

“Does Kathryn come here often?” I ask him because I feel like he’s an excellent wingman in training.

“Yep, she comes here a few times a week since I’ve been here,” he whispers back. “Will you come back too?”

“You bet,” I say, and I mean it because I want to find out more about Miss Kathryn.

CHAPTERTHREE

Kathryn

“I’ll see you tomorrow,”I say to Andrew as I pack up and head back to my apartment. Jackie follows me as we walk toward the exit.

“He seems good today,” she says, talking about Andrew.

I nod. “He does.”

I had been in Norddale for four months now as part of a graduate program. I had always volunteered at the children’s hospital back home, so volunteering here seemed to make sense. Andrew is my favorite patient for many reasons. He is poor and his mother works two jobs and can’t visit often, but he never lets that bring him down. He is alone most of the time and going through something so hard that even most adults couldn’t relate to him, yet he fights like a brave soldier. I’ve only seen him cry once and that was out of pain.

My classes are every morning, but several afternoons a week, I come here, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for several hours. It lets me escape my life for a bit and focus on something other than me. It’s my happy place, as weird as that sounds.

“Got a lot of homework tonight?” Jackie asks as we walk.

I shrug. “Nope, just some reading. Why?” I ask her.

“No reason, was just curious,” she says. “So, how was the prince?”

I laugh. “I was waiting for that question.”

She raises an eyebrow.

“Fine. He’s actually not as bad as I thought he’d be. He was nice. And he was sweet to Andrew.” To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to make of Prince August. The tabloids, hell even the mainstream media, paint a very…colorful picture of the man. He frequently dates supermodels or at least is seen making out with them at various clubs. If he’s not partying on a yacht or jetting off to a private island with celebrities, he’s wining and dining a who’s who list of female celebrities. He’s a definite lady’s man, but he also has a reputation as a bit of a male whore. I can never really tell if the moments like today are merely the palace’s attempt to paint a more respectable picture of him, or if he has some sort of self-respect buried deep down inside.

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