“It would be so cool if we had a waterslide,” Sabrina says, doing twirls in the water.
“A waterslide?” I question.
“Yes.” She swims over and climbs up me until I’m holding her in my arms with her little legs around my chest and back. “A giant one that spins around and around.” She mimics the motion with her hands.
“I want a waterfall,” Phaedra states, getting in on this. “But it has to have a secret grotto behind it.”
I chuckle, shifting Sabrina in my arms so I can brush some of the water back from my face. “How do you know what a grotto is?”
“Mommy and I read it in a book, and she told me what it was. It sounds magical, and I want one. If Sabrina gets a waterslide, I want a grotto.”
“What about you, lad?” I ask Zayer, giving his floaty a push that sends him spinning in circles. “What do you want in the pool?”
“I want more swimming.”
“And you, Arthur?” I question teasingly.
“He wants more swimming too!” Sabrina answers for him. “And the waterslide. He really wants that.”
“I think those are all excellent choices,” I say to them. I give Sabrina a kiss on her forehead and drop her back into the water. “Sebastian, your children are asking for some improvements to be made to the pool.”
He glances up at me, his eyebrows raised, but there’s an amused smile on his lips. “Oh, are they? And what sort of things are they asking for?”
One by one, they start to shout their demands.
Sebastian throws me awhat the fuck are you getting me intolook, and all I can do is shrug at him. The pool area is a bit boring. It was built for swimming laps, featuring two diving boards, one high and one standard height. But that’s it. And ifthis is where the children will spend most of their days during summers, I don’t think their requests are beyond reason.
“Come now,” I say to him. “I think a waterslide and a waterfall with a grotto would be incredible.”
“Personally, I wouldn’t mind adding in a spa with therapeutic jets.”
Sebastian quirks a brow at Althea, but the woman has never asked for anything in all her years, so if she wants a spa, I think she should have a spa.
I pull myself up and out of the pool, water running down my body and causing gooseflesh to prickle my skin. My hands drag back through my hair, pushing it off my forehead, and I rub the excess water from my eyes as the back door opens and Marcella comes out.
Our eyes instantly lock, but hers don’t stay on mine for long. They move down my body, noting my wet chest and abs, continuing south to my trunks that are clinging to me. Cold or not, if she keeps looking at me like that, I’ll be hard in a second with no way to hide it. A blush stains her cheeks, and she quickly clears her throat and averts her gaze.
For some reason, it drags a smirk to my lips. Glad to know I’m not the only one affected here.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty,” she begins, coming over to Sebastian. “I was cleaning your study and saw your phone. It buzzed when I picked it up and felt you should have it immediately.”
Sebastian stands, shock all over him. “Thank you. I can’t believe I left it in there.” He takes it from her hand. “Shit,” he hisses. “Bellamy texted twice, and the prime minister rang.”
“Go tend to all of that,” Althea declares. “Rowan and I will stay out here with the children.”
Sebastian nods and briskly heads inside.
I grab a towel from the caddy in the corner and wipe myself down. “Marcella, tell us what you think.”
“Sir?” she questions, turning to me before she can escape back inside. Why can’t she call me Rowan? And why do I care so much that she doesn’t? Because I made Ella call me that. It’s all I can come up with. I never correct the other staff. I’ve never asked them to call me by my first name.
“Sabrina wants a waterslide, Phaedra a waterfall with a grotto, Zayer simply wants more swimming, the good lad that he is, and my lovely aunt would like a spa with therapeutic jets.”
Marcella tilts her head, even as her gaze stays glued to the top of my head. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t think I understand.”
I wrap my towel around my waist and fold my arms over my chest as I move to stand before her. “Do you think we should make these changes to our boring old pool?”
She blinks, perhaps surprised I’m asking or simply uncomfortable with the question. Either way, I want to watch her squirm a bit and see how she reacts.
