“He did, but you took too long getting ready, so he went ahead and rode into town to a meeting at the medical facility. They will be deciding what new additions will be made. He wants you to meet him in an hour at the children’s ward, so hurry and eat your breakfast.”
As Clarissa stuffed the scones and fruit in her mouth, her mother explained how the children’s ward was getting an extension. Clarissa was pleased to hear this news. Before leaving for her cousin’s, she had spent a few days a month visiting the children at the medical facility. It was clear even then that they needed a new wing and updated tools.
Immediately after breakfast, Clarissa slipped into her cloak and hurried outside to mount her horse, Moonbeam. Four of her father’s guards were there to ride into town with her. One man, almost as tall as her father, stood by the horse and held out his hand. Without really looking at him, she offered him her arm, and he assisted her onto the horse.
“Welcome home, Princess.”
She glanced at him and nodded, not really paying attention to her escort for the day. It wasn’t until she turned away that a nagging recognition gave her pause. She turned back to face her tall guard who had dark hair and astonishing brown eyes.
“Princess?”
“Ryder Grey?” She gasped. “Is that you?” She peered closer at him. He was built much more like a lumberjack—with the trimmed goatee and all—than a king’s guard. He wore the traditional red and gold guard’s jacket with the mandatory white trousers that molded to his muscular legs. “No, you couldn’t possibly be the boy I remember growing up with.”
He smiled widely and nodded. “Yes, Princess, it is I.”
How had she forgotten about him? Years had passed, and they had gone their separate ways, but now her childhood friend was back. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
The question was, would the school-girl crush resurface? She wasn’t a child any longer.Then again,though Clarissa, glancing appreciatively at his well-fitted attire,neither is he.
Her stomach fluttered with excitement...and anticipation.
TWO
It was strange to thinkClarissa had spent an entire year with her cousin, and none of the men she’d met in that kingdom made her heart skip a beat. But now, mere hours after returning home, it was fluttering like a fairy flapping its wings in flight.
She raised her hand to block the sun from her face as she looked into the dreamy eyes of her childhood friend. “If I recall, the last time we saw each other was the summer before you left for Woodmist University.”
His smile stretched, making his brown eyes twinkle. “You have a perfect memory, Princess.”
“When did you return?”
“You had just left for Greenville when I came home.”
Perhaps that was why she hadn’t seen him. “So tell me, Mr. Grey, why did you decide to become a guard instead of seeking employment in your chosen profession? Surely a man of higher learning could procure employment wherever he wishes?”
He smiled. “Perhaps this was where I’d left my heart.” He shrugged. “And my father wanted me to continue in his footsteps.”
