Royal Holiday (The Wedding Date, #4)(11)

She walked over to the window and looked out.

“You have a lovely view here, Malcolm. This estate really is beautiful.”

He stood next to her. The window wasn’t that big, so he was so close to her they were almost touching.

“It is.”

His phone rang, and she stepped aside. He glanced down at who was calling and shook his head.

“I don’t have to get that.” He looked at the clock next to his phone and had a jolt. It had been over two hours since he’d left the Sycamore Cottage kitchen with Vivian. How had they managed to talk for that long?

Vivian looked at her watch and took a step back.

“Oh! I didn’t realize how late it had gotten. I’m sorry for taking you away from your work for so long. I should walk back to Sycamore Cottage. Maddie is probably looking for me.” She looked back up at him. “Thank you so much, Malcolm, for the walk and the tour and the conversation. It was a great first morning in England.”

They left his office together.

“I can walk you back to Sycamore Cottage,” he said.

She tilted her head.

“Do you really have time for that?”

He hesitated, and her smile got wider. Finally he gave up and smiled back at her.

“As a matter of fact . . . no, but . . .”

They both laughed.

“I can walk back on my own, I promise,” she said. “Just point me in the right direction, and maybe warn the security guards that a middle-aged black American woman is wandering around the grounds of a royal estate.”

He laughed as they went down the back stairs.

“No need, I told you they know you’re here. But I’m going to take you out the side door—we took the long way up to the house today, because I wanted you to see the whole thing, but it’s faster to get back to Sycamore Cottage from this door.”

She smiled.

“It helps that I know what it looks like now.” She pulled out her phone. “And those pictures I took on our walk here will come in handy to get me home.”

He paused by the door.

“Did you trail scone crumbs, too, so you could find your way home?”

She winked at him.

“See, I knew I was inside of a fairy tale.”

He opened the side door for her, and the cold air rushed in at them.

“Have a safe walk back, Ms. Forest. I’m counting on that trip to the stables tomorrow.”

She grinned.

“Thank you, Mr. Hudson. I look forward to it.”

She walked away and waved at him. He turned to go inside, still with a smile on his face.





Chapter Three




Vivian’s walk back to Sycamore Cottage took only about fifteen minutes. How was that possible, when her walk from Sycamore Cottage to Sandringham House with Malcolm had taken so much longer?

Well, they’d walked the long way around, after all. And that house was enormous. Plus, he’d had to stop and show her things on the way in, like the . . . Okay, she couldn’t remember anymore what he’d stopped to show her; she just remembered how entertained she’d been.

She hadn’t lost track of time like that talking to a man in years. It had probably been since the beginning of her relationship with Ray, which had fizzled out on both sides a few years ago. She knew this couldn’t be the beginning of any sort of relationship—not even a fling, since she was sleeping in a Duchess’s guest room across the hall from her daughter—but she’d missed having someone to talk to. Someone to flirt with. Someone to laugh with. Someone—a male someone—who clearly enjoyed her company.

She had no idea if Malcolm really was going to get in touch with her to show her the stables, but she bet that he would. She’d seen that interested look in a man’s eye enough times to recognize it. If she had even a few more hours of that during her time in England, what an unexpected bonus that would be.

She walked up the front steps to Sycamore Cottage, still smiling, and said hello to the suit who opened the door before she’d even been able to knock.

“Ms. Forest.” He nodded at her.

She smiled at him.

“Good afternoon . . . I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to ask questions like this, but she wasn’t in the habit of letting people open her doors and cook for her without knowing their names. Of course, she wasn’t in the habit of letting people open her doors at all, but she knew the names of all of the cafeteria workers at the hospital, and all of the janitors, too. This guy might wear a suit, but that didn’t make him invisible.

“James, ma’am.”

She nodded at him.

“Good afternoon, James.”

Maddie came into the hallway.

“I thought I heard your voice. Where did you go this morning? You look all smiling and windblown; did you have a nice walk? Are you ready for lunch?”

Vivian unwound the scarf from around her neck, and James took it and her coat from her.

“More than ready. I’m starving.”

Maddie led her back toward the kitchen.

“Great. Lunch is just us. The Duke and Duchess are off doing a family thing this afternoon. I can’t relax for long; I have a bunch of tiny alterations to do that I want to make sure to get right, so I’ll be booked most of the afternoon, if that’s okay.”