Page 17 of The Royally Broke Billionaire
Evidently having enough sense to realize that his words were irritating her, he said, “I’m just saying that you’re resourceful––it’s a good thing.”
Deciding it needed to be said, she warned Cole, “You can’t say a word to anyone about Liam being Sebastian’s son, until the royals are ready to make an official statement. The royal family will want to put their own spin on Liam being the official heir to the throne of Isle de Monsail.”
“They need to put it out there before it leaks.” He gave her a stern stare.
She glared right back at him before saying, “It’s not your secret to tell.”
Rolling his eyes as if she was being ridiculous, he said, “I won’t tell anyone, but they can’t honestly expect to keep something this huge under wraps for long. They need to get ahead of the story, or they’re going to have a publicity nightmare on their hands.”
She was tempted to point out that the previous royals had managed to keep their son a secret from the world until he was a grown man, but decided not to go there with Cole.
He drew her attention away from thinking about Sebastian and Pierce’s parents’ big secret by saying, “It’s rather impressive that you aren’t interested in selling your story to the press. You could probably make millions between the big reveal and first photos of Liam. With the right representation, you might even get a seven-figure book deal out of the scandal.”
When she shook her head vehemently at the mere idea of selling Liam’s story, he shrugged his shoulders. “Crazy, but impressive.”
Trying to be patient, she nodded her head in acceptance of his feeble attempt at a compliment as she looked out towards the waves rolling in to shore. At the same time as she turned her head, Cole tipped his head down to kiss her. His lips landed awkwardly on her jawline.
“Oh!” Piper was startled by his unexpected move.
Unfazed by missing her lips and surprising her, Cole immediately moved in for another kiss. This time, his lips landed on hers.
His kiss wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, her lips tingled delightfully as he brushed over them. She tentatively reached up to put her arms around his neck as he firmly pulled her closer to him.
She wasn’t sure if the buzzing was from her ears ringing or if she was imagining it, until she heard the man emerge from the path that led to the beach. Quickly pulling her head back from Cole, she looked into the startled, caramel eyes of the royal steward.
Finn stared at the embracing duo for a long moment before mumbling an apology and indicating the drone flying over their head in the distance. “I’m trying to catch that blasted thing and destroy it.”
Piper released her arms from around Cole’s neck and stepped back from him, feeling awkward over the handsome royal steward discovering them kissing. She didn’t know why she cared so much what Finn thought, but there was no denying that his opinion was of the utmost importance to her.
Looking up at the drone as if hearing it for the first time, Cole announced, “It’s probably just paparazzi angling for a shot of me. They are always after me. I barely even notice the intrusion to my privacy anymore. The public is just desperate for any glimpse into my personal life they can get.”
Smiling down at Piper and revealing overly-white teeth, he added, “You’ll be famous, now that they have video proof that you got to kiss me.”
Piper didn’t appreciate the way he referred to her ‘getting’ to kiss him. The man’s vain act would definitely grate on her nerves if they pursued a romantic relationship with each other. She just hoped it was actually a façade and not the way he truly felt. The red warning flags were starting to be a little overwhelming where Cole was concerned, but there was no denying that she had liked kissing him.
She was almost certain that there was more to Cole than his slick surface implied, but she was growing weary of ignoring his flaws as she tried to dig deeper and discover his true attributes.
Her gaze darted to Finn. The strained expression on the steward’s face was indisputable, but she had no idea whether it was due to the audacity of the drone pilot or to Cole’s pompous attitude. A third option that Finn might be upset over finding her kissing Cole jumped into her mind, and, for some reason, she strongly hoped that was the true reason behind it.
When Finn turned back and headed in the direction he had emerged from, her first instinct was to race after him. Cole latched onto her hand and said, “You still have a few more minutes with me.”
Looking at the eligible bachelor, it was obvious that he expected her to be delighted to spend a little more time with him. The moment had passed for chasing after Finn to explain––besides, she wasn’t sure what she would say to him if she found him.
Taking a deep inhale of the fresh, salt-infused air, she did her best to muster a smile and said to Cole, “Lucky me.”
He gave her a condescending smile, obviously not hearing any hint of the sarcasm that she hadn’t been able to keep out of her voice.
18
When Cole had informed Piper that he was free to have dinner with her that evening, she had assumed he meant that he would take her to a restaurant in town, or that they would be dining in the palace guests’ dining hall in the bed and breakfast wing.
Not ready to completely write him off just yet, she had silently nodded her acceptance of his invitation, even though it hadn’t exactly been voiced as a question.
Cole rapped on the door to her suite at precisely the time he had given her, which she appreciated. She couldn’t stand being late herself, so she didn’t abide by tardiness with anyone else.
After kissing Liam goodnight and passing him off to Hettie, the kind, ever-helpful palace nanny, she waited for Cole to acknowledge her son in some way, but that didn’t happen. The warning flags about this man were waving so wildly they were practically slapping her in the face, but it felt too rude to send him away before the meal portion of their date.
Deciding to give him one final chance and trying valiantly to focus on Cole’s positive attributes, she was pleased when he offered her his arm before formally escorting her through the castle’s wide hallways.
