PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(4)

The flowers were as large as her head. Violets, pinks, and oranges passed by, close enough for her to reach out and grab one. Maybe she would be able to get her portfolio painted this summer. She’d been on the island for five minutes and was absorbed in the colors around her, like nothing she’d ever seen before. The vast array of shades and hues were new to her, because in Nebraska, everything was wheat and corn, yellow and brown. Dull.

“Have you ever traveled?” he asked. She realized he had no accent. His father did, but not him.

“No… I mean just around the Midwest,” she clarified. “Where’s your accent?”

“Why? Would I be sexier with one?”

Olivia’s mouth fell open for a second until she realized he was joking and laughed with him. “No, just curious.”

“My mother was English, so I was raised a native-speaker. I learned French more as a second language. My accent sort of fell away between the two, I guess. Every now and then it comes out,” he said with a half shrug.

“Like when?”

The Jeep slowed to a stop, idling in the road, waiting for him to choose a left or right turn. Olivia looked both directions before meeting his eyes. He was staring at her.

“Usually when I’m very passionate about something.”

She swallowed hard as he looked away and turned to the right. Olivia was so focused on his face and his words that she hardly noticed when the trees disappeared and the Jeep came to a stop again. The wind blew a bit harder, messing up her hair. He unbuckled and hopped out, nodding to the other direction when she questioned him.

“Look for yourself, princess.”

Olivia turned and gasped. Hands moving on their own, she unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped down from the Jeep, her flats crunching in the stones and sand. They had driven to the top of a cliff that overlooked what must be the entire island. It stretched out before her in beautiful shades of bright cerise and chartreuse, coral and amethyst, and every shade in between. Each house that popped up here and there was colored, standing out from the fauna around it as they led to the heart of the island.

A large stone structure jutted up in the center of the island, but it didn’t look cold. Instead, the stone was sand in color and beautiful as it stood sentient over the city. The building wasn’t terrifyingly large as she’d feared, but it fit the island and blended into the natural beauty as if some giant had built the castle out of sand. She turned a bit and felt her heart leap at the sight. There was the ocean she’d been longing to see, with its white beaches catching each wave. This high up, she could hear them come in one after the other, crashing like thunder in the distance. She could only imagine what it would be like down there, feeling that water wash over her feet and smelling the crisp salt on her skin.

“You like the view?” Olivia jumped. She’d forgotten she was not alone. Quincy stood beside her, hands on his hips. “Have you not seen the ocean before?”

“Not until today. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“Of course. Now then, I’m afraid we must head into the city, but I promise your feet will be in that sand. Come,” he promised and held out his hand. Olivia took it without thinking, and both of them paused. His hand tightened around hers for a breath before he let go and cleared his throat.

They strode back to the Jeep in silence, and Olivia tried to keep her eyes off the man who was going to become her stepbrother.





Chapter 2


After driving Olivia to the palace, Quincy let the servants show her to her new room. She still wore that dreamy look on her face, and he felt himself growing fond of this woman very quickly. He’d noticed her straining to see the ocean while he drove and had thought she’d enjoy the view from the cliff. He didn’t realize how much he’d enjoy seeing such a look on her face.

Quincy tossed the Jeep keys to the valet and went inside as well. His rooms were down the hall from Olivia’s. His parents had always hoped for more children to fill them, but they’d been unlucky in that area. Quincy was an only child and had been alone with his father since his mother passed away when he was ten, a dark time. Quincy had turned into a bit of a rebel, and his father retreated into himself—until Melinda suddenly appeared in his life. Quincy still remembered seeing his father’s face after the first day he’d spent with that woman. He hadn’t seen a look like that in the king’s eyes for years, and that woman had done it in one afternoon.

When they’d first been introduced, Quincy had meant to tell Melinda how thankful he was that she’d appeared in their lives, but he’d never got the chance.

“Ah, sir, there you are,” Pascal, his personal servant and friend, said as Quincy entered his grand rooms. “I trust the ladies of the palace are settling in nicely?”

“Guess so. The soon-to-be princess is down the hall,” he told him as he stretched, grabbed a fresh mango from the bowl on the nearby table, and headed out to his balcony. It overlooked the courtyard of the palace and the central fountain made of glass tiles that caught the sunlight. Palm trees swayed gently in the island breeze, and the scent of the fresh blooms hit his nose. His gaze slid to another balcony to the right of his and at an angle. Olivia’s balcony. Sadly, her doors were closed, as were the curtains.

“Something the matter, sir?”

“Hmm? Oh no, nothing. Just wondering what this summer will be like.”