Page 29 of Cooper

“Good morning, ladies.” Erik comes in looking rakishly handsome. He’s not put together for the day, wearing sweats and a T-shirt, with his hair tousled from some sort of exercise.

I’m not attracted to my king, but it’s impossible to miss how good-looking he is, especially in a casual setting like this. He’s normally in a suit with his hair slicked back. Seeing him walking around his home barefoot, it hits differently.

“Daddy!” Levi runs to his father, wrapping his arms around his legs and babbling something about breakfast.

“I’m sure you’ve already had breakfast,” Erik replies, scooping him up and setting him on his hip. “But if you would like to havesecondbreakfast with me in Daddy’s office, we can do that. I have to shower first.”

“Second bek-fist!” Levi pumps his fist in the air triumphantly.

“Erik.” Casey gives her husband a dour look. “Someone, who isn’t me, will be cleaning up after him and delivering him to his preschool if you insist on that.”

“I’ll take him to preschool,” Erik says defensively.

Preschool is here in the palace, set up in a room on the ground floor close to the new playground. A teacher comes in three days a week to work with the toddlers who live here. It’s not a large number, just four or five kids, but it’s good for them to have some semblance of normalcy, according to Casey. And it allows their mothers to have a little freedom.

It’s interesting to me, because Casey can afford as much help or as many nannies as necessary, but they keep it simple. It’s one of many things I admire about this new style of royal family.

“Then we’re going into the city,” Casey says to me. “I need to pick up some things at the music store. What do you say we go incognito? I really don’t want a whole entourage to pick up strings and a new flute I had specially carved by a woodworker.”

I nod.

“Give me ten minutes to prepare the car,” I say.

There are always multiple steps involved in outings, but if we’re going what we call incognito, it’s easier. Casey wears a cap and glasses to disguise herself a little, I shed my official Royal Protector uniform to match her level of casual, and we take a special car that doesn’t look like the usual royal limousines or SUVs.

“We’ll just be here prepping for second breakfast,” Erik quips.

Casey rolls her eyes, and I laugh.

ELEVEN

Cooper

Livingat the palace is interesting. That’s the only word I can come up with for it. I haven’t done much, and I’ve only been out of bed two days, but it’s a weird combination of intense and casual. The Royal Protectors are hardcore. I have mad respect for their process and now Natalia’s training—and the very specific skills Sandor asked me to work on with her—makes a lot more sense. It’s not about turning her into a marine or even a soldier. It’s about safety and stamina and both physical and emotional fortitude. She’s working on both, but I saw glimpses of her courage and strength in Iraq.

Here, I see much more.

She’s a total badass, despite the issues she’s been working through. She’s up early and goes all day, non-stop. From working out to security briefings to their actual duty assignments, it’s a long-ass day. Much longer than most of my shifts, other than in Iraq.

They do take time for fun, though.

There’s always someone tossing a basketball or soccer ball, playing pool, or flirting with one of the maids.

And there is a lot of staff working here.

From maids and cooks to teachers and guards.

From the Royal Protectors to the royal family to live-in assistants and all their children.

I don’t know how anyone keeps up with the kids.

I’ve enjoyed wandering around and taking in the beauty and elegance of the palace too. Joe explained that a lot of the original decor and furnishings have been replaced with replicas because of the many attacks on the palace, as well as the greed of the king before Erik. There are still some fantastic tapestries dating back to the 1300s as well as a stained-glass window that takes my breath away.

I don’t miss the irony of me wandering around like a tourist while everyone around me is working their asses off, but I need this time to recover. My brain hates admitting that, but my body has been very clear that there are going to be some limitations on what I can and cannot do.

And nothing is more poignant than the fact that I haven’t yet been able to make love to Natalia.

I want to, but not only has she kept her distance in that regard, I’m not sure I have the stamina right now. I could lie back and let her do all the work, but it feels like we need to re-establish our connection before we do anything like that. She works hard and the Protectors are short-staffed, so we don’t spend much time together. I got up with her this morning and hung out while she worked out. Then we had breakfast, and she was off and running.

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