by Ava Devlin
"May I tuck Brendan in?" she asked without turning to look at her mother.
"If he is still awake, perhaps," Heloise Laughlin answered, reaching out to stroke her daughter's hair. "What story will you tell him?"
"The Princess and the Stable Boy, of course," Callie answered, tossing her mother a derisive roll of the eyes over her shoulder. "You know that it is his favorite."
"Is it his favorite or yours?" Heloise teased, chuckling at her daughter's scoff of indignation.
Callie ran ahead of her mother, eager to get into the house and to her brother's bedroom before the little bug could drift off to sleep. She had promised him, after all, that she would tell him stories tonight.
"What's the hurry?" her father exclaimed as she flew past him on her way to the staircase. "No greeting for me?"
"Papa," she groaned, turning and giving him a quick, tight squeeze around the middle. "I have to hurry to Brendan, before he goes to sleep."
"You might already be too late." Callum Laughlin laughed, releasing his child so that she could continue her mission. "He was drowsing over dinner more than an hour ago."
Callie did not say so, but she would wake him if he had already drifted off. He wouldn't mind.
She heard her mother and father greeting one another behind her and the smack of a greeting kiss. There was low murmuring about boring adult matters and their upcoming trip to London to see Uncle Alex and Aunt Glory. Brendan did not want them to go, but Callie was looking forward to staying at Somerton for a few weeks, being close to her grandparents and cousins.
It would be great fun.
She pushed open the door to the nursery and smiled in relief at her three-year-old brother sitting upright, waiting for her. He had their big, brown mutt, Cleo, at the foot of his bed.
Cleo had no interest in stories over the embrace of sleep and did not even lift her head in acknowledgement, choosing instead to keep snoring.
Callie gave her a scratch between the ears anyway, dropping a kiss on her head before looking up at her brother.
"I heard you," he said by way of explanation, yawning behind his hand. "Story?"
"Yes, of course," she whispered, planting another kiss on his mussed hair and sitting on the side of the bed. At eight, she felt impossibly mature next to her little brother, and loved playing the part. "Where did we leave off?"
He yawned once more, blinking up at her with his green Somers eyes. "The knight was going to come home," he said, "and the princess was living in the village with the little princess."
"Ah, yes," she nodded, urging him to lie down and pulling the blanket up to his chin. "The knight arrived during a blizzard, and had to fight his way north to find his princess. Once he reached her, there was a great fire in the kingdom, forcing them to rescue the townsfolk before they could be together again. The princess was very mad at the knight for leaving, but she loved him still, and could not resist when he began to woo her again."
"What's woo?" Brendan asked.
"Being nice and sweet," Callie answered, though she was not entirely certain.
"Did she forgive him?" he asked, his forehead wrinkled up with concern.
"Well, he brought her flowers and wrote her poems until she trusted him again. Then she let him meet the little princess, and they got married, and lived happily ever after, but I'm not there yet. I'm only to the fire."
"Okay," her little brother sighed in relief. "The fire ..."
Callie nodded, closing her eyes and dredging up the image in her mind. "It was a grand adventure," she whispered. "I will tell you all about it."
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading! As an up-and-coming indie romance author, reviews can make or break my future as a writer. If you have a moment, please consider leaving me a review on Amazon, Bookbub, or Goodreads. It would mean the absolute world to me!
The Somerton Scandals has been an incredible journey. While this trilogy is complete, I promise that the Somers clan will pop up from time to time in later books. If you read The Scoundrel and the Socialite, you are already primed for my next trilogy, which will focus on Eleanor Applegate and Nathaniel Atlas and is coming to Amazon in Spring 2020.
Stay tuned for updates!
I also love to hear from my readers! If you have feedback, questions, or ever just want to say hi, you can reach me at [email protected]
Free eBook!
Discover the Scandal that Started Them All …
Lady Heloise Somers has always been wild, despite the best efforts of a dozen governesses, a posh finishing school, and her exasperated brother.
Callum Laughlin is the son of a housekeeper, whose dreams have always been of greatness—riches, glory, and, most of all, a red-haired hellion born far above his station. He would give anything to have Lady Heloise at his side and in his bed.
As the summer sun blazes over Yorkshire, Callum and Heloise can't resist the heat that draws them together, no matter how forbidden their passion may be. Secret trysts, rumbling storms, and dreams of something more weave together this sweet and steamy prequel to The Somerton Scandals, sparking the romance that changed House Somers forever.
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