Page 11 of The Royally Broke Billionaire
Piper’s natural mothering instincts kicked in as she did her best to shield Liam from the impact, despite being taken completely by surprise by it.
Before he looked up, Cole’s temper flared. “Watch where you’re…”
Cole’s words abruptly stopped when his eyes made contact with Piper’s stunned gaze. “Oh, hi,” he stammered with the first hint of awkwardness Piper had seen him display.
Obviously perturbed, Finn said to the man, “In Isle de Monsail, we drive and walk on therightside.”
Cole’s head snapped back as if he had been slapped. Glaring eye darts at Finn, he said, “In life, it’s generally a good idea to watch where you’re going––especially when you’re escorting a woman and…” Cole paused to glare at Liam as if he was the first baby he had ever encountered, before practically sneering the words, “Small child.”
A mysterious maternal instinct kicked in, causing Piper to cup her hand around Liam’s head to cradle him closer to her. Neither Piper nor Finn bothered to point out to the angry billionaire that he had actually been the one who was distracted by his phone and wasn’t watching where he was going.
Evidently deciding to diffuse the situation with humor, Finn said, “We couldn’t see that you were barreling around the corner in our direction because we don’t have Marauder’s Maps.”
Piper let out a surprised chuckle over the royal steward’s silly joke. When Cole blinked blankly at him, Finn expanded. “This may be a castle, but it’s not Hogwarts.”
Cole was looking at Finn like the steward had grown a second head, which made Piper laugh more. Evidently enjoying her amusement, Finn continued speaking to the confused man. “Harry Potter? The Wizarding World?”
When Cole continued to give him a blank stare, Finn finally gave up. “Oh, never mind.” Guiding Piper around the confused man, he said, “We are heading to a meeting and can’t be late. Good day.”
As they walked away, Piper heard Cole mumble under his breath, “Hogwarts?” The confused question made Piper and Finn grin at each other with shared amusement.
“Muggles just don’t get it, do they?” Finn asked her.
Piper shook her head, silently agreeing that the mysterious language surrounding the Harry Potter franchise would be utterly perplexing to someone unfamiliar with the story.
Their flirtation and run-in with Cole had almost allowed Piper to forget that she was heading to what was bound to be a stressful, tense meeting with the queen.
Once they reached the door to the monarch’s office, it was impossible to ignore the wave of nausea and nerves that made her want to sprint out of the castle and back to her tiny, but comfortable home.
“Are you ready?” Finn asked her kindly, evidently sensing her spiked anxiety level.
Pressing her lips down on her son’s soft, fuzzy head, she took a deep breath through her nose to inhale his delectable scent––a delightful mixture of baby powder and angelic sweetness. Reminding herself that innocent Liam was the reason she was here, she summoned her courage and nodded at Finn that she was ready to face the queen.
12
It was tempting to beg Finn to stay after he announced her arrival to the regal woman, but Piper knew that would be inappropriate. She had managed to get herself into this mess, so now she needed to face the consequences. She just hoped the queen wouldn’t banish her to the palace’s dungeon.Monarchs couldn’t actually do that anymore, could they?
Rather than staring at her from across the massive gold-gilded desk, the queen invited Piper to join her on the fancy settee. Piper was sure the maneuver was intended to make her feel more comfortable and at ease, but being this close to the lovely, dignified woman was still incredibly intimidating.
Piper found herself staring at the woman’s flawless, creamy complexion. She was fairly certain the young queen didn’t even have pores. Her skin was practically perfect, as was her regal posture. Both made Piper feel even more frumpy and inferior.
Needing to avert her gaze, she smiled down at her son. The queen had called this meeting, so Piper was fairly certain that it would be considered rude to speak first.
When the queen finally spoke, her voice was clear, but Piper could hear the strain in her tone. “I considered trying to bribe you into letting Sebastian and I raise Liam as our son.”
Piper’s eyes opened wide in shock over the queen’s bold admission. “There isn’t enough money in the world to make me give up my son.”
Queen Tess nodded. “Yes, I can see that you love him very much. That’s why my next idea was to pay you to go away––with Liam.”
The queen’s eyes scrutinized Piper’s reaction as if she was testing her.
Piper shook her head. “I can’t do that. Liam belongs here, and I won’t take that away from him––no matter how much money you offer me.”
“That’s very noble.” The queen smiled at her, but it didn’t quite reach her lovely eyes. “I had the feeling you might say that, so I had a speech all prepared to convince you that Liam’s claim to the throne would only bring him unnecessary pressure and stress.”
Piper was ashamed to admit––even to herself––that she hadn’t thought much about the downside of Liam’s birthright. She had assumed he would be thrilled to claim the crown, but it suddenly dawned on her that he might not actually want what was rightfully his.
Obviously unaware of Piper’s sudden concerns, the queen went on. “I can’t do that to you, or your sweet baby, though. Being king is an enormous responsibility, but it is also a huge privilege.”
