The Prince and Me

Chapter 8

I was tasked with making sure the care boxes were in a nice and neat order. Was it hard? Not at all. Did William's presence make it even more awkward and weird? Heck yes.

William and Mrs. Gina decided that one hundred boxes filled with the items stacked on the tables would suffice for each child at the orphanage.

I was on my last one, carefully arranging the box so it can close properly and handing it to William's friend Philip to load onto the hauling trailer.

"Finally finished?" A voice asks behind me.

I nod, looking over at William as he leans against the staircase. "I am," I tell him. "No thanks to you. All you and Henry did were talk with Mrs. Gina and eat all the pastries in the closet."

William chuckles and comes over to me, standing next to me and looking at the remaining books and toys. "Well, thank you. For all of this. I appreciate the help."

I give him a nod and gently elbow his side, smiling at him.

He tosses me a smile and looks out the window at the waiting crowd and his security. "Well, I suppose we'd better get going." He says.

"Yeah. Have fun." I tell him, grabbing my purse.

"Oh, don't you know? You're coming with us." He says.

I blink, turning to look at him. "Excuse me?"

Prince William grins and walks toward me. "You're coming to the orphanage in London with me, right now. And you can pout and cry and yell, but it's happening. Once you get there, you'll understand why I wanted you to come."

I take a deep breath, meeting his eyes. "Fine. I'll go. "

He smiles and steps back, then brushes his fingers down my arm and walks over to find his brother and the guards.

As I stand there clutching my purse and looking after William, Mrs. Gina and Henry walked over to me and she taps my shoulder, wiggling her brows at the two brothers standing by the door.

"They're both quite handsome, aren't they?" She says.

I scoff and swallow hard when William looks over and his eyes lock with mine before he returns to his conversation.

"Hardly," I remark, looking toward her.

Mrs. Gina laughs and pats my back. "Well, you've both been talking to each other and givin' the side glances." I stare at her, an eyebrow raised.  "Oh, child. I'm old, not blind. I can see that you two have a real connection. Almost as if you two have met before."

The air around me became almost too heavy and I quickly excused myself, walking to the back door and out.

I take deep breaths and let them out slowly, looking around. The trailer's we hooked up to the SUV's and William and Andrew's guards were getting ready to ride off.

The door opened behind me and the princes walked out, Andrew giving me a polite nod and a smile as he went to the second car, getting in and William stopping by my side.

"Are you ready to go?" he asks, looking at me. "Oh, are you alright? You look pale."

I shake my head, giving him a small smile. "I'm fine. Let's get going."

William looks at me for another moment before nodding and leading the way to his car, let me get in first before he settles in and tells the driver where to go.

As we pull away from the store, Mrs. Gina and Henry come to the front and wave us off. I smile at the sight and lean back against my seat.

William's leg bounces slightly as he looks out the window. I take a moment to really look at his golden features form the side. The way the muscles in his jaw tick as he grits his teeth, the simple move of his tongue as he licks his soft, pink lips. His knuckles are sharp and prominent as his hand clenches and unclenches.

I clear my throat and look away from him, focusing on the seat in front of me.

"William," I say quietly, "Why did you ask that I come with you?"

The prince stops moving beside me and slowly turns his head to face me, his eyes looking me over before slowly reaching my face.

"Honestly? I wanted to see you..I thought that this would be a great chance to get to know more about you." he confesses.

I raise a brow. "Really? You couldn't call, or come see me. You invited me to a charity event that I know nothing about? And to an orphanage of all things."

William shrugs, looking away from me and down at his lap. "Look, Rhett. I don't know how I'm feeling right now. I know we've only known each other for a few days, but I want to get to know you better. To be a better...friend." he says, barely getting the last word out.

I swallow hard and look away from him.  "Right," I whisper.