Page 56 of The Prince Who Loved Me

“I’ll keep that in mind if it happens again.” Hiding her unfamiliar emotions, Brandi finished dumping everything in the trash and then washed her hands. She steeled herself to face him, to pretend some semblance of normalcy. “Let me go tell the second waves.”

In addition to Sebastien, the second wave consisted of an older couple celebrating their anniversary and a group ofvacationing women whose faces mirrored Brandi’s the morning after a night of heavy drinking.

Well, okay. On a typical day, she’d hop over to Sebastien to wish him a good morning. And since everything was normal, she did just that. Along with a cup of coffee. Because coffee was normal, too.

“Hey, there,” she said.

His blue eyes searched her face, but he fixed a natural, normal expression on his face. “Ooh, coffee delivery. What did I do to deserve this?”

“What? Nothing. I do it all the time.”

The woman from the couple waved her hand. “I’d like some too, please.”

Oh, right. She didn’t do it all the time, and this was why. “Coming right up.”

The group of women joined in the ask for coffee. Brandi pressed her lips together. Eulalee still needed a body in the kitchen.

Sebastien stood up, a strong hand on her back. “I got this.”

“No, you’re—”

“If you tell me no because I’m a guest, I’m going to frown with royal displeasure.”

Brandi laughed, helping her relax. “Okay. You know where the mugs are. Let me know if you run out and I’ll brew more.”

She made her way back to the kitchen, her determination not to think about him rapidly diminishing. Or about the kiss. It had been great. Natural, as if it should be an everyday occurrence.

But this was Sebastien, who could have multitudes of women surrounding him at the snap of his fingers. Who graced the covers of magazines under headlines like Most EligibleBachelor and The Single Prince Charming.

Who was also her friend. The one man who never expected anything from her.

By the time breakfast was done, Wendy had returned from her morning errand, and she and Rob were in the kitchen, helping put food away and cleaning the dishes. Brandi sat on a chair next to the island while she ate some leftover eggs and peach chutney, a lump in her throat on their easy camaraderie and obvious love.

She could have that, too.

Once everything was done and Brandi filled Wendy in on any guest comments during breakfast, she went back to her room to get ready for Belle’s. The package waited for her on her bed.

Scissors, scissors, scissors. There, in her desk.

She cut through the string and peeled back the wrapping, revealing three books. She took the first one off the top of the pile.

“This isn’t right.”

The book laid out what was needed to do to start your own business. She checked the title against the list from Jordan. It wasn’t on there.

Neither was the second. Ten Steps to Creating a Kick Ass Business Plan. That sounded like one she’d actually want to read.

And the third on discovering your strengths. This one she had ordered.

So maybe Jordan had sent them? But why would she send information about creating a business when Brandi had asked only about hiring practices?

Thanks for the books, she texted.

The response came back after Brandi had changed into her green Belle’s shirt.Which ones did you get?

You didn’t get them for me?Brandi listed the titles.They came in a brown paper package.

All tied up with string?Jordan sent a musical note emoji.Ask Sebastien.