Page 47 of Redemption of a Prince

Eventually, he even took his coat off, though he left the work gloves and knit cap on.

Boots crunched behind him, but Zeke didn’t turn around until he’d thrown his last limb on the trailer.

Nikki stood there with a disposable coffee cup. She held it out to him. “I made you some hot chocolate.”

“Thank you.” He pulled his glove off and took it from her.

“There wasn’t any whipped cream in the fridge.”

“It’s fine.” He took a sip. “This tastes fantastic.”

She crossed her arms in front of her. That’s when he noticed she wasn’t wearing a coat.

Zeke picked his coat up from where it hung over the side of the trailer. “Here.”

Nikki slipped her arms in the sleeves. “Thank you.”

“You haven’t worked up a sweat. You need it more than I do.”

She stared at the ground. “I’m sorry I wasn’t out here helping.”

He took another drink. “I don’t blame you. I know you were upset and needed time to sort out how you felt. I’ve done everything I’m allowed to do out here.” He put his free arm loosely around her shoulder, and they started for the house.

“Thank you for giving me the time I needed.”

They reached the house without slipping thanks to the clean up the rest of the staff had done before he was allowed outside. Zeke held the door open for her.

“I’m not going to ask what conclusions you came to,” he told her as she handed his coat back. “But I do have an activity for us to do together.”

“What’s that?” She sat in one of the chairs with her own mug of hot chocolate.

“It’s a surprise, but I need to go get some things from a storage area.”

She stood back up. “I’ll go with you.”

Zeke shook his head. “That’ll give it away. I’ll be back in a few minutes, maybe half an hour depending on how long it takes to find everything.” He smiled at her. “Actually, why don’t you do something relaxing? A hot shower or a bath? I’ll let you know when you can come out.”

This time she gave him a small smile back. “That sounds nice.”

After giving her a soft kiss on the cheek, Zeke left the flat and headed for the storage area. It was on the same generator as the flat so the lights worked, and it wasn’t too cold.

He found a hand trolley. It took him a minute to figure out how to maneuver it so it unfolded into the four-wheeled horizontal position. Once he did, he placed the longest box on the bottom and piled the rest of the boxes and plastic tubs on top.

When he finished, Zeke carefully pulled the cart back to the flat. It took more skill than he expected and half the stuff fell off more than once as he tried to round a corner.

Once in the living area, he rearranged the furniture, unloaded the hand truck and started setting everything up.

He stepped back, put his hands on his hips and looked at his work. Not perfect, but good enough.

“Nik,” he called. “Whenever you’re ready to come out, I’m ready.” He browsed through his phone as he stood near her door, leaning against the wall across from it.

“Be right out.” A few minutes later, he heard her walking toward the door.

When it opened, he pushed off from the wall and held out a hand. She took it. “Close your eyes.”

She gave him a cautious look but did so.

Zeke led her into the living area and positioned her just right. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Open them,” he whispered.

---