Page 115 of Loyally, Luke
And no matter how charming she thought him, Luke wasn’t a prince.
***
A buzzing sound pulled Luke awake. He blinked the room into view. A weight on his shoulder turned his attention to find his dream turned into a reality. Princess Elliana St.Clare lay beautifully asleep against him, her hair falling in tangled curls around her face.
All dry.
He touched a hand to her cheek, all warm and pink.
No wonder a guy would feel compelled to kiss a sleeping princess, especially if they looked anything like her.
And he didn’t even cringe at the thought as it invaded his brain.
He kind of liked it.
The buzzing happened again, and he looked over at the side table where his phone lay. A series of texts lit the screen. Careful to keep his movements to a minimum so as not to wake Ellie, he reached for the phone.
Five unread messages?
From Gordon?
Gordon:You can’t go runnin’ off with a princess, lad. Nessa’s been trying to contact Ellie for the past hour with no response.
Luke looked up at the window. Pale light shone a later hour than he expected. How long had he slept? He checked his phone and pinched his eyes closed. He should have had Ellie on the way to Crieff a half hour ago.
He read down the other messages.
Gordon:We can’t get to you. Trees are down all over the mountain.
Luke shifted a little and sent a text.
Luke:I’m just seeing this, Gordon. Sorry. A situation happened that I’ll explain later. What do you need me to do?
Gordon:There you are, lad. Are you and the princess all right?
Luke:We are, but the cabin’s power is out. We’re safe and warm otherwise, though.
Gordon:I’ll let Cam know. He’s a wee bit furious at us fortaking her up the mountain, but he’ll be happy to hear you’re all fine.
Ellie stirred at his side and her eyelids fluttered... and he forgot what he was going to text next.
“Hey.” She pushed her hair back from her face.
“Hey,” he murmured, watching the way all those curls fell right back into place.
“You make a really nice pillow.”
“I’ve been called worse things, so I’ll take that.”
She smiled and looked around the room.
Luke hated to ruin the moment, but waiting would only make it worse. “I just got a few texts from Gordon that Nessa has been trying to contact you.”
Ellie’s eyes widened and she looked up at the window, probably making the same assessment he’d made a minute earlier. She pushed back the quilt and stood, stumbling as she did, so he steadied her.
“The banquet. Luke. I can’t miss it. It’s imperative that I show my support to this.”
“I know.” He showed her his phone. “We’re trying to figure it out.”
