Page 27 of The Royally Broke Billionaire
He offered one to Piper, too, so she stood with Liam in her arms while the assistant arranged it for her. Once she was resituated, Piper was amazed by how much more comfortable she was than she had been when sitting directly on the hard concrete. There was no denying that some of the cushy royal perks were tantalizing.
The queen smiled as she gently sprinkled some water droplets on Liam’s pudgy feet. The baby beamed up at her and kicked his feet, delighted by the sensation.
“He really is adorable,” the queen said to Piper. Picking at an imaginary piece of lint on her smart business skirt, she added, “It seems that I overreacted a bit.”
Piper was beyond stunned. She had to force her mouth closed as she openly gawked at Queen Tess. Royals were notorious for never admitting they were in the wrong––even when they obviously were. The queen hadn’t exactly apologized for ousting Piper and Liam from the castle, but she was taking ownership that her strong initial reaction had been extreme.
Respecting the monarch even more for her ability to admit fault, Piper quickly let her off the hook. “You had every right to react the way you did. Until you figure out who leaked the story, everyone is a suspect––especially me, since I’m a newcomer to the palace.”
“Thank you for your easy forgiveness,” the queen gave her a warm smile, “But I know in my heart that you weren’t the source of the leak. With some time to think it over and a bit of sage counsel from my husband, I quickly saw the error in my rash decision to have you removed from the palace. I almost came to knock on your door in the middle of the night, but I didn’t want to awaken Liam.”
“Your faith in me is much appreciated, Your Highness.” Piper still sounded and felt awkward around the powerful woman, despite her kind words.
Proving that she sensed Piper’s discomfort, the queen said, “Please, call me Tess.”
Piper felt humbled by the honor of having permission to call the monarch by her first name. Very few of her subjects were permitted to do so. It was a long-standing protocol that the royals were to be addressed by their titles, in order to show them the proper degree of respect.
Awkwardness threatened to overwhelm her, but Piper managed to say the words, “Thank you, Tess.” She stumbled a bit over the queen’s first name. As a lifelong citizen of the island, it was physically difficult for her to refer to the ruling monarch in such a casual, informal manner.
Seeming lost in her thoughts as she stared down at the glimmering water, Tess said in a quiet voice, “You make it very hard to dislike you, Piper.”
“Umm, thank you?” Piper wasn’t at all sure how to take the queen’s words.
Giving her a friendly smile, Tess clarified. “It’s a good thing. My possessive instincts tell me that I should be jealous of you and bitter about Liam, but my heart just isn’t in it. You are too likable, and this sweet cherub is far too adorable to snub.”
When Tess reached out to lightly tickle Liam’s chin, the baby beamed up at her with a wide toothless grin.
“Sebastian feels guilty about your interlude, of course, but I can’t bring myself to blame him for something that happened before we even met. The logical person to blame is you, but I can’t seem to do that either.”
Unsure what to say, Piper merely nodded and remained quiet. The queen seemed to be enjoying getting this off her chest, so Piper felt it was wise to let her have the floor.
Holding up her pointer finger, Tess added, “I am very bitter with you about one thing, though.”
Icy liquid chilled Piper’s veins as her nerves kicked into overdrive. She wasn’t able to keep her voice from sounding like a squeak when she encouraged the queen to elaborate by asking, “Oh?”
Nodding, but smiling, Tess revealed, “You got to choose an adorable name for Liam. I, on the other hand, am being told that royal protocols insist that I name my child a stuffy, dated name that runs in the royal family. If I have a daughter, some of my limited choices include Agnes, Maude, and Olga.”
Piper covered her mouth with her hand, trying to contain her giggles over the queen’s predicament.
Pretending to be outraged, Tess widened her eyes and said, “It’s not funny. My options for a son are even more unfortunate. I could go with Archibald, Eugene, or Humphrey.”
Thinking back to her lessons in royal history class, Piper quipped, “I don’t think we’ve had an Adolphus or Octavius for a while…. Or you could always go with Warwick.”
“Ah, yes, sweet baby Warwick has a lovely ring to it, doesn’t it?”
Piper locked eyes with the friendly, funny queen and returned her warm smile. For the first time, she felt like she was truly bonding with the other woman. They were unlikely allies, but it was beginning to feel like they might actually be able to become friends.
Abruptly changing subjects, the queen asked, “So, tell me… What is the latest scoop on the hottest love triangle in the land?”
Piper shook her head, pretending to be confused––even though she had a good idea what love triangle the queen was referring to.
“Don’t pretend like you aren’t aware that the most eligible billionaire bachelor in the world and our very own royal steward are both vying for your attention,” the queen lightly chastised her.
“Oh, I don’t think…” Piper started to deny it, but Tess interrupted her by saying crisply, “I do.”
Unable to object further when the queen had made such a firm statement, Piper lowered her gaze in a gesture of deference.
Seeming to enjoy herself, the queen said, “On one hand we have handsome, wealthy Cole.”
