Page 31 of The Royal in Room 3

I squared my shoulders and pursed my lips. “You are very clearly laughing at me, Daddy.”

“No, little prince. I’m laughing at the situation.” He waved toward the microwave, the smoking toaster, the broken eggs, and the blackened toast scattered across the floor. “I have never seen so much dis—err, effort in one kitchen before, and still nothing edible was produced.”

I should have been offended, and a part of me was, but then Jude looked at me with tears from laughter streaming down his face, and a giggle slipped out before I could stop it.

He pointed toward the toaster. “Why would you think it’s okay to put sausages there?”

“It seemed reasonable at the time. It makes things hot, and the sausages were cold.”

That only made him laugh harder. Soon, I was laughing just as much, bent against his chest, while the ruined breakfast surrounded us. The kitchen still smelled awful, egg clung to my shirt, and the toaster might never recover, but the shame loosened a little with every breath.

When we finally calmed down, Jude brushed a smear of egg from my sleeve and looked at me more seriously.

“This is my fault.”

I blinked. “How could this possibly be your fault? I was the one who made a mess.”

“Because I assumed.” He glanced toward the ingredients he had left out. “I knew you hadn’t cooked much based on what you said last night, but I figured you knew the basics. I should have asked what you were comfortable doing instead of leaving you alone with appliances and hoping for the best.”

Before I could argue that it was reasonable for him to assume a grown man knew the ins and outs of a toaster, he slipped his hands beneath my arms and lifted me onto a clean section of the counter.

“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll clean this up.”

I shook my head immediately. “No. It’s my mess. I’ll help.”

Jude studied me, then smiled. “Fine. As long as you promise not to start another fire.”

“I did not start a fire,” I said as I started to hop down, and Jude caught me and slowly lowered me to the floor, our bodies connecting the whole way. Heat flared in his eyes, and I remembered the way he’d gone down on me last night on the beach.

“You came very close.” But there was no heat in his words. I was still amazed that he wasn’t angry.

One broad, calloused hand supported my bare back, and heat crackled beneath my skin.

“By the way,” he murmured, his gaze drifting over me, “you look very good in that outfit.”

“You think so?” Heat crept into my face. “It’s not what I normally wear, but I didn’t have many options.”

He leaned in and planted a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “Once we’re finished here and I teach you how to make breakfast, I’ll take you back to Halo House to collect your things.”

My stomach fluttered. “You still want me here after everything?”

“Of course, little prince,” he said gently. “As long as you are open to learning, I will be patient with you.”

“And you don’t want to do a trial weekend?” When he’d suggested that arrangement, I’d thought it was for me to decide whether I was comfortable with him, but he might be the one who actually needed that trial to see if he could put up with my nonsense.

“I’d say last night proved we’re compatible. Don’t you think?”

His voice had dropped, leaving no doubt he was referring to what we’d done on the beach. I smiled up at him and nodded.

“Everyone says you’re the best Daddy, and I agree. I’m lucky to have you.”

11

JUDE

“See, I’ve delivered him back to you happy and healthy,” I said to Phoenix as I ushered Soren through the foyer of Halo House. “Well, mostly healthy. He did burn himself on the toaster earlier, but I kissed it and made it better.”

It had taken us almost all morning to clean the kitchen and teach Soren the proper way to break an egg and turn on the stove, but we’d done it, and I’d survived to tell the tale. Despite his lack of knowledge about basic things, he was eager to learn, which was already better than some of the subs I’d taken in. It was his interest in doing better that would make all the difference in nurturing him.