Page 13 of A Royal Obligation

“I couldn’t agree more,” she exclaimed. “Working with children is my passion.”

“The world always needs more people like that.”

She looked up at him, and he was drawn in by her dark chocolate eyes. Her cheeks flushed when she noticed him staring. He ran his hand over the top of his hood and shifted his feet.

“I’m sorry I screamed at you. I’m not usually that jumpy, but when a tall man barrels at you full speed and grabs you … I guess I expected the worst.” She stepped forward and shook his hand, bringing back the burning sensation.

“I hope you have a good rest of your day. Nice running into you.” She winked at him, sending his heart racing and making his palms sweaty.

She swung her purse back over her shoulder and continued around him along the exterior of the school. Barrett looked over his shoulder at her only to find her looking back at him. She gave him a shy smile and wave and then turned back around. Barrett sighed and briskly walked back to the car to meet George. He could hear Jackson’s footsteps scurrying behind him.

When he got back to his car, he realized that he had been able to have a full conversation with that woman without stumbling over his words. She had been the first woman to get him out of his head and make him not focus so much on the words he was saying. It was the first time he felt impulsive and carefree with a woman.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He needed to focus on things with Lady Charlotte. But the whole car ride back—okay, the whole rest of the day—Barrett couldn’t get the woman’s bright smile out of his mind.

Chapter Six

Jules

Julessuppressedagiggleas she glanced down. She shook her hand, trying to get rid of the tingling sensation in her fingertips.Why is it that the touch of a mysterious man can have such an effect on me?Her face heated at the memory of how she had reacted to their strange meeting.

She headed toward the front doors of the school and walked in, enjoying the cool wave of air hitting her face. Jules stepped into the front office and caught the attention of the receptionist.

“Hi, I’m Jules Smith. I’m Lady Charlotte’s personal assistant and will be helping with the renovations occurring here soon.”

“We are so excited for what you are going to do for our school,” the receptionist said. “We weren’t expecting you to come until at least next week. I can arrange a tour now if you’d like though?”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. Would you mind if I explored a tiny bit? I worked in schools in Findorra and would love to start getting a feel for what recommendations I would like to make. If not, I completely understand.”

“That should be fine. School let out a little bit ago so only a few children are still here waiting to be picked up. Here’s a visitor pass if you get asked any questions.”

She grabbed the pass from the receptionist and offered her thanks before leaving the office.

As Jules walked through the school, excitement buzzed through her at the fact that she would be able to better the learning environment for more children. It only took a few minutes of wandering the halls for her to get a good idea of what improvements the school needed. Not that she expected her opinion to be necessary, but she wanted to be prepared either way.

There weren’t many differences between this school and the schools in Findorra. Findorran classrooms were a little bit smaller, but that was likely due to the fact that their country wasn’t as large as Wistonia. Findorran schools had a bit more progressive technology, but she was sure that that would be one of the things they updated in the renovation. Otherwise, many aspects of the school were similar to what she had grown up with.

She took a deep breath and could still smell a hint of the stranger’s subtle woodsy scent lingering in the air.What is wrong with me? Since when do I smell people? Keep it together, girl.

Jules returned the visitor’s pass and exited the building. She opted to walk on the cobblestone streets as she headed back to the bed and breakfast she had booked for the night. She loved the feeling of the grooves in the stone through her thin flats as she walked.

She was glad she had taken up the opportunity to come a day early and explore Wistonia. It was more beautiful than she had imagined. The small downtown area gave herGilmore Girlsvibes, and the people were so hospitable.

She stopped at Beans and Books, a coffee shop bookstore duo, before going to the school. When the barista learned she was new in town, she gave her a free apple fritter with her coffee. That kind of hospitality in a town not only drew people into the area but made them want to stay.

Jules felt her cellphone vibrating and pulled it out of her back pocket. She answered immediately when she saw who was calling.

“Hi, Dad!”

“Hi, Pumpkin. Your mom is here, too. How’s our favorite girl doing?”

Jules smiled. Her dad had called her Pumpkin for as long as she could remember. What had once started as an obsession with pumpkin muffins as a child had turned into an obsession with baking everything from pumpkin scones to pumpkin cake and even pumpkin soup.

“I’m doing great! I arrived safely in Wistonia and have gotten to explore the town a little bit. Although this crazy thing happened. I was exploring the school I'm going to help renovate—Brookside Primary School—and I ran into this guy. Er—he ran into me. I thought he was trying to steal from me, so I literally screamed and threw my purse at him.” Jules could hear her parents laughing on the other end of the line.

“Only you, Jules.” Her mother chuckled. Jules could imagine her wiping the tears from her eyes from laughing too hard.

“I know, it’s not like I’ll ever see him again. But how embarrassing, right?”

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