Page 10 of The Royally Broke Billionaire
The four royals smiled, nodded, listened, and made appropriate noises when he paused in his monologue, but Cole Daniels was obviously here for them to get the opportunity to get to know him, not the other way around.
Suddenly, Cole announced that he had an important phone call to make. He managed to name-drop one of the hottest movie directors in Hollywood before pausing to promise to find Piper later for a quiet dinner for two, and quickly exiting the formal dining room.
It irked Piper a little that he just assumed she would jump at the chance to dine with him, rather than asking her to join him, but her curiosity was piqued enough that she couldn’t turn him down. Although she didn’t want to be charmed by the presumptuous, arrogant man, she couldn’t seem to help herself. She turned and smiled at Cole’s back as he left.
Once Cole was out of earshot, Mo asked the group in a much louder voice than anyone else would have dared to use, “Am I the only one who noticed that he puts the emph-A-sis on the wrong syll-A-bles of his words?”
The royals burst out with laughter. Even Piper couldn’t help but chuckle because the rather rude observation was spot-on. She and Tess both looked down at their laps as they guiltily giggled.
It wasn’t in Piper’s nature to be mean-spirited or to ridicule others, but she doubted that Cole’s supreme confidence would be affected by a little bit of gentle ribbing. Besides, he must be aware of the unique cadence of his speech, since they had all noticed it after one meal with him. It was probably simply another tactic to bring attention in his direction.
Normally, Piper would be completely turned off by a man who insisted on constantly being the center of attention––even in a room full of royalty, but something about Cole’s demeanor was charismatic, almost to the point of being irresistible.
When the meal came to a close, Piper started to make a swift exit. She intended to take Liam on an exploration of the palace grounds. The queen’s polite request for some time alone with her caught Piper completely off-guard.
Startled, Piper asked if she could bring her baby to the meeting. If the queen was surprised by the bold inquiry, she hid it well. Giving Piper a warm smile, she said, “Of course. I’ll see you both in my office in an hour.”
With that, the elegant woman swished out of the dining hall leaving Piper to stress and worry for the next hour over what the queen could possibly want to discuss with her. She was grateful for some time alone with the monarch, but she didn’t like not knowing what topics the queen wanted to address during their meeting.
Biting her lip as she headed upstairs to her room, Piper realized that she couldn’t come up with anything good that the queen might have to say to her.
11
Piper spent the time until her meeting with the queen pacing in her bedroom suite. Liam was so happy having the undivided attention of being carried in her arms that he didn’t seem to mind that she was going back and forth, practically wearing ruts into the thick, luxurious carpet. He cooed and smiled as if they were walking past a dazzling lights and colors display.
Smiling down at her baby, she realized that no matter what the queen had to say, she was the luckiest woman in the world. Liam was a sweet, delightful blessing in her life that no one could ever take from her––not even the queen of the land.
The knock at her bedroom door startled her out of her deep thoughts. One glance at her phone’s display told her it was almost time for her meeting with Queen Tess. She had paced and worried for nearly an entire hour.
Relieved that she was finally going to find out what the queen actually wanted, rather than just worrying over all of the unpleasant possibilities, she hurried over and flung open the door to her bedroom.
Finn McGinley was standing in the hallway, looking the part of the consummate royal steward in his smart blue, scarlet and gold uniform. She couldn’t help but notice how the classy garb accentuated his wide shoulders and narrow waist. He politely bowed low in front of her before extending his hand out in her direction.
She shifted Liam to her hip so she could offer him her own hand, but was surprised when rather than formally tucking it into his elbow to guide her down the stairs and through the maze of hallways to the queen’s office, he instead lifted and pressed a warm kiss to it. The steward’s charm seemed effortless.
“You look absolutely gorgeous today, Ms. Pearson. I hope you don’t mind me saying so.” He averted his gaze to the floor, but his adorable, brown, puppy-dog eyes flashed up to hers as if he couldn’t keep them off her for long.
At his shy smile, she said, “Of course, I don’t mind. Please, say it more.” They both chuckled lightly at her lame joke before she added, “And you may call me Piper.”
“I’m here to escort you to the queen’s office,” He reluctantly released her hand and held out his elbow for her to loop her arm through.
She had already figured out the reason for his arrival at her door, but she nodded to acknowledge it as she accepted his offered arm.
Finn tipped his head down and rubbed the back of his finger along Liam’s cheek. “Well, hello there, Mr. Handsome.”
Liam beamed up at the royal steward as if he was an extra-large serving of warm milk. Piper watched the man’s kind acknowledgement of her son, as well as her baby’s delighted reaction, and was surprised by the tingling surge of hopeful happiness that assaulted her senses over the sweet exchange.
Obviously unaware of Piper’s romantic thoughts, Finn was all-business when he said formally, “If you and Liam are ready, I’ll escort you to your appointment with the queen.”
Piper nodded and they set off. Even though she was on her way to what was probably the biggest meeting of her life, all Piper was thinking about was where her arm was touching Finn’s as they walked down the stairs together.Did he feel the same marvelous thrill from their connection as she did, or was it all in her head?
When he turned to give her a wide grin, she noticed his perfect, white teeth and the adorable dimples that emerged when he smiled. Her thoughts raced as she wondered if his undeniable charm was just a part of his job, or if he was actually flirting with her.
Finn was handsome, but with a more understated elegance than the billionaire she had eaten breakfast with this morning. Cole had the perfect looks, style, and physique of a Ken doll. She almost chuckled to herself as she silently wondered if he had the brains of one, too.
Shaking her head and disappointed with herself, she realized she was being too harsh on Cole. The man was a self-made billionaire, so there must be more to him than just selfish egotism.Right?
As if she had summoned him with her thoughts, Cole Daniels quickly rounded the corner, looking down at his cell phone screen, and plowed into the unsuspecting trio.
