Royal Heir (Westerly Billionaire #3)(31)

“I am,” Eric said as he approached the boy’s bed.

“Where’s your suit?” Finn asked.

His mother instantly jumped in to explain how excited Finn was to meet his hero regardless of what he wore. It broke Rachelle’s heart that her brother had disappointed the boy.

“No,” Magnus said, “let Finn speak his mind. I have asked myself the same question.”

“I heard you wanted to meet me, Finn. I didn’t think you really wanted to have a conversation with a man in a spandex costume.” Rachelle wanted to strangle Eric when he added, “You do know that Water Bear Man isn’t real.”

The room fell silent as everyone waited for Finn’s response. His young chin rose. “I know he’s not real, but I like him. He’s strong and brave and he makes me laugh. I don’t care if he’s a lie. I tell my mother medicine tastes good even when it doesn’t, so she won’t cry. Maybe you could lie just a little to make me feel better.”

Tears filled Rachelle’s eyes, and she didn’t know what she would do if Eric refused that brave little boy. She felt Magnus’s hand tense on her back and glanced up at him. His expression was tightly controlled, but fury lurked in his eyes.

With all the charm of the star he was, Eric smiled at the boy. “So if I put my costume on and come back in, we can pretend this didn’t happen?”

Finn reminded Rachelle of a young Magnus when he looked directly at Eric and said, “Only if you visit the other kids, too. I don’t want to be the only one who meets him.”

“You represent Vandorra well, Finn,” Magnus said, and a huge smile spread across Finn’s face.

“Did you hear that, Dad?” Finn turned to speak to the burly man beside his bed.

“I did.” He leaned forward and ruffled his son’s hair.

“Dad, tell Prince Magnus what you said about him.”

The man looked uncomfortable before his prince.

Magnus graciously said, “I’m sure it was good.”

Finn sat up straighter. “He said you’re his hero because you fight for what we need. He used other words, but I can’t say them because my mom’s here.”

Magnus laughed. “That’s a smart choice.”

Rachelle loved the admiration she saw in Finn’s eyes as he spoke to Magnus. Eric excused himself from the room, taking a bag from one of the royal guards as he went.

“Is she your girlfriend?” Finn motioned toward Rachelle.

“Yes,” Magnus said, then winked down at Rachelle. Even though Rachelle knew it was all a show for Finn, her heart was thudding wildly in her chest.

“She’s pretty,” Finn said.

“I think so.” Magnus took a seat beside the boy’s bed. He leaned in and spoke in a conspiratorial voice. “But I have to be careful with her, because when she gets riled up, she puts me in my place.”

Finn’s eyes widened. “How does she do that?”

Magnus wagged a finger and mimicked a woman’s voice. “Magnus, don’t you know better than that?” His voice returned to normal. “She calls me Magnus even though I’ll probably have to throw her in jail for not showing proper respect.”

“Would you really do that?” Finn asked with a gasp.

Magnus turned and gave Rachelle a long look, as if he was seriously considering the possibility. “It would be very difficult to date her if she were in jail, so I probably won’t.”

“What a relief,” Rachelle joked as she fanned her face with one hand.

“Is there someone in here who wanted to meet me?” Water Bear Man, a.k.a. Eric, in a gray spandex suit and cape, boomed from the doorway. The room vibrated with energy, as if an actual superhero had entered.

Finn waved to him. “I did.”

As Eric approached, he took up more of the room, and his acting was so convincing that it was easy to forget that just moments ago he hadn’t wanted to do this. He really is talented. Eric made Finn laugh with a story of being late because he’d overshot Vandorra and accidentally ended up in Italy. With his chest puffed up and his voice dramatically deep, Eric announced that it’s a crime to visit Italy without having a meatball. And no one could have a meatball without pasta. And who could have pasta without a loaf of bread? He gave his flat abs a pat, claiming that he’d had to fly around the planet three times to burn off all those calories.

Magnus gave up his seat to Eric and returned to Rachelle’s side. Finn laughed at everything his hero said.

Finn’s father and mother came over and thanked Magnus. Both had tears in their eyes. The father said, “Your Royal Highness, you don’t know how much this means to my family. Finn has been strong for so long, but he was losing his fight. You gave him someone to believe in again.”

“Water Bear Man,” Magnus said.

Finn’s mother touched her husband’s arm. “No, you. We’ve always told him that your father feels like our father. He watches over us. We told him that one day you will do the same. To children, something like that can be difficult to imagine, but you’ve shown him that he’s important to you. He’ll carry that gift with him for the rest of his life. As will we.”

Magnus shook both of their hands as if they were friends of his, and Rachelle fell a little in love with him as he did. Here was the strong boy in the painting, the man who’d offered to save her when he’d thought she was trapped in an immoral profession. This man would one day be an amazing king.