Page 32 of Princess Bride Swap

And he gave her just that. She knew it didn’t solve anything, didn’t change anything. This couldn’t be who they were, and he could never fully know who she was. Divio was his guiding star and always would be.

But for tonight, she got everything she wanted.

The next morning, Lyon woke up later than he could ever remember waking. But he did not allow himself to think of last night and why that might be. That was over. A new day had dawned, and it was now time to make all the right decisions.

Beau still slept, the covers heaped around her. She looked peaceful if more unkempt than he might have expected. But he could not allow himself to think of the reasons her hair was tousled, her shoulders bare.

A new day. A new page.

They would eat their breakfast, go on their hike. Maybe spend a late afternoon cozied up to the fire with their books before making, eating and cleaning up dinner together. Then, and only then, would they retire to the bedroom. New desires clearly under his control, and then satiated. So there was every possibility a pregnancy came sooner rather than later.

Which he wouldn’t think about now.

He went into the kitchen and decided to put together a breakfast and some snacks for the hike. It was rare he got the opportunity to justbein his kitchen. Any kitchen. He liked the process of it. Putting things together, having something come out on the other side that even if it didn’t look perfect, might taste well enough, and would certainly do the job of nourishing either way.

When he was nearly done with all his preparations, he heard her approach. He steeled himself for a day wherehewas in control of himself. He turned, pleasant smile pasted on his face.

She was dressed in a good base layer for a hike. She had brushed her hair, but she still looked oddly sleepy. He had slept like a rock, except when she’d woken him.

But he wasn’t thinking of that. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” she offered around a yawn. “Is that breakfast? I’m starving.”

“Yes. Have a seat.”

She approached the table then sat down as he put a plate in front of her. “I will bring a pack for our hike. Water, snacks, but a good protein-rich breakfast is the best way to keep your strength up if we are to make it the full distance.”

“Of course,” she replied pleasantly. She did not look at him. She did not bring up last night. She wolfed down her breakfast.

She wasn’t making things awkward or uncomfortable, and yet he did not fully feel like himself. His entire life had been in service of one thing—becoming the kind of man and leader who would step into his station once the knock of fate came to the door. He had never considered anything else.

And now he was considering this strange woman who was only supposed to be a business associate at best.

He forced himself to eat his breakfast even though he tasted nothing. Then, once they were both done and the meal cleaned up, they put on layers for hiking in the cold snow. Beau said nothing about last night, and seemed eager to get started, so they set out.

The day was sunny and bright and beautiful. The trail was not marked. It was one of his own making.

She followed along, and he had to slow his pace because she wanted to stop and look at everything. Every rock, every overlook. She poked at ice and made snowballs.

He was surprised to find himself not the least bit frustrated with her constant stops. It was pleasurable to watch her get such enjoyment out of the most simple things.

“Do you always inspect every little thing when you hike?” he asked when she threw one of her little snowball creations and it landed a little too close to him. He turned and gave her an arched eyebrow to get her to laugh.

She didn’t. She didn’t even meet his gaze. “I haven’t been hiking much. My outdoor time usually consisted of finding a hidden away reading spot in the gardens at home.”

Lyon frowned. He’d known she’d been hidden away after a fashion with Zia being the heir and her not, but he hadn’t considered how much that might extend toeverything. He’d simply thought it meant events and whatnot. Not actual...life.

“You werealwayskept in the castle?”

She paused, then focused very steadily on a new small sphere of snow in her palm. She took her time responding, as if considering what to say. “It was my father’s belief that if I did not show myself in many places, that no one would ask about me. That as long as Zia sparkled, and it seemed as though I did not exist, no one would connect those childhood...tantrums, as he called them...with the monarchy. So, I spent most of my time in the castle.” Then, she hurled her little snowball over the edge of the trail. It landed with no sound at all, everything hushed in the snow.

Something in her expression seemed disappointed, and he did not want to see that, feel it twist inside of him like his own disappointment. So he kept walking. “You seem well-equipped to deal with the world for someone kept so isolated.”

“Reading opens worlds, even when you don’t have any.”

He supposed that was true, but he’d never had to put it into practice quite so starkly. And it made him want to...do something for her. He didn’t know what. Whatever he offered her had to fit in with the mold he’d created for the perfect princess. The perfect wife of Divio.

But there were little things, he supposed. “Speaking of, I have begun to read one of your romance novels.”

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