Dashing: A Royal Cinderella Billionaire Story

by Brooks, Sophie

  Finally, she spoke. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I know you might not understand about graduate school, but—”

  Autumn held up her hand, silencing me. She whipped her phone out of her pocket and tapped at the screen. Then she held it up to her ear. “Ford? It’s showtime.”

  An hour later, the three of us sat at the dining room table. Folders and stacks of paper were everywhere along with several laptops.

  Ford showed me his screen. “And here’s a list of all the openings in District 7.”

  “It was updated yesterday, but I’ll look again when we’re through here,” Autumn added.

  They’d done so much work—it was still hard to take in. “But I still don’t understand how you knew I still wanted to be a teacher. I didn’t even know.”

  “You don’t want to be a teacher, Cara, you are one. We just had to wait for you to figure that out,” she said.

  “It doesn’t look like you’ve done much waiting.” On the contrary, they were as organized as generals in a war room.

  “We knew you’d come around,” Ford said. “We’ll keep looking for open teaching positions. You just focus on the applications. We’ll help as much as we can, but there are some things only you can do.”

  “I have your resume here,” Autumn said, indicating her laptop. “You should update it with your time in Falkenberg.”

  An awkward silence fell, and I knew they were waiting to see if I’d fall to pieces at the mention of Nico’s country. Truthfully, it was a struggle, but I kept my voice neutral. “Do you really think my experience as a nanny will help?”

  “It might,” Ford said. “It shows you’re good with children. What have you got to lose?”

  In the days that followed, I applied for every teaching position they found. Most were filling up fast, however. And a sizeable chunk of them were contingent on student enrollment. I had a few interviews for those positions, but they wouldn’t know if they could hire anyone until after classes started. Autumn still held out hope that I’d get a permanent position before that.

  Then I got an e-mail that made me feel more excited than I had in a long time. “It’s for a full-time position at a private school. It’s a boarding school, actually, and they want someone who not only can teach but can also be sort of a residential advisor for the borders. They say that my experience as a nanny was what caught their eye. You and Ford were right.”

  “We usually are,” Autumn said smugly. But she could be downright insufferable and I wouldn’t care. She and Ford had done so much for me.

  “Thank you,” I said. “For everything. If you two hadn’t been poised to act, I’d still be gathering my application materials at this point.”

  “We knew you’d come around. You’ve wanted to be a teacher your whole life. Like the theater, it’s a part of who you are.”

  “Or it will be if I get this job.”

  “When’s the interview?”

  “The day after tomorrow. Most of the students have already arrived, so they need someone as soon as possible.”

  “I hope you get it,” she said, giving me a hug.

  “I hope so, too.”

  And it was really true. Hope wasn’t something I’d felt in a long time, but I felt it for this. Some parts of my life had been forever altered by my time in Falkenberg. Though it had led to a great deal of heartache, I could see now that it had also led me back to teaching.

  There were students out there who needed me, and I wanted to help them more than anything.

  If only someone would hire me and give me a chance.

  38

  Cara

  I looked around the entryway of my new school with satisfaction. For the first time since leaving Falkenberg, I felt hope. Hope that I could still make a difference in children’s lives. Hope that this teaching opportunity wouldn’t turn out like the last.

  The preparatory boarding school was the complete opposite of the high school I’d taught at before. It was on a huge swath of land surrounded by woods and lakes. The equipment and materials in the school itself were top of the line. But it was more than that. It wasn’t just the resources, it was the attitude. The headmaster who’d hired me wanted me to be creative. He wanted me to use my best judgment to how to help my students learn. The first few weeks, I’d felt the need to check in all the time, but now I finally trusted that this school wasn’t anything like my old one.

  I still ached for my old students, though—Teresa especially. I’d tried to find her but only came up with dead ends. Still, the students here needed me. Though most were from rich families, many were international students away from their parents for the first time. My job was to provide comfort and friendship as much as it was to teach lessons.

  “Miss Andrews.”

  I turned to see the Mrs. Croft from the front office. “Yes?”

  “They’re just finishing up some paperwork. They’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  “Thank you for letting me know.”

  The headmaster had asked me to greet two new students who were joining the term late. He wanted me to show them around and help them adjust to the school. I was pleased that he’d thought of me. I’d only been here a month. The fact that he trusted me to welcome new students meant a lot to me.

  Five minutes passed and then ten. Students in dark blue uniforms came and went, heading to dinner or the rec room. The ones who were in my classes stopped to chat for a moment, but even the ones I didn’t know personally smiled.

  I loved it here. The students were amazing, my room was nice, and I was less than an hour from my sister. It all was perfect—or it would’ve been without the hole in my heart. A king-size hole, or I suppose it was actually a prince-size hole. At any rate, perhaps it was like Ford said. Perhaps it just took time. But I couldn’t imagine that wound ever healing. I’d miss Nico and the twins for the rest of my life.

  I shook my head, blinking back tears. That was no way to greet new arrivals. Hmm… they should’ve been here by now. Most of the students had cleared out of the entryway, and there was no sign of them.

  “Cara!”

  I turned at the sound of a girl’s voice, a little surprised. As a whole, the students here were very respectful. None had ever called me by my first name before.

  “Cara!” This time it was a boy’s voice. Something about it caused my heart to speed up as I turned.

  Almost before conscious thought, I crouched down, my arms open wide as Derrick and Elyse flew into them. Shock hit hard even as I hugged them tightly. How could they be here? Was I somehow dreaming?

  Elyse’s dark hair fell on my shoulder as the twins hugged me tightly, nearly knocking me over. I clung to them, unwilling to let go, even for balance. “You’re here,” I murmured. “I missed you so much.”

  “We missed you too,” Derrick said. Elyse nodded, her tears wetting my shoulder. Mine were almost as bad.

  The joy I felt at seeing them almost eclipsed my surprise, but at last I managed to formulate a question. “Why—I mean how… I mean, are you really here?”

  “We’re here for school.”

  “You are? You’re the new students?”

  “We are,” Derrick confirmed. “We get uniforms tomorrow.”

  “And there’s horse-back riding and there’s going to be a play this fall,” Elyse added.

  My mind reeled. “I know—I’m in charge of it. But why are you going to be full-time students? What about—” It hit me then. The twins were eight now. That was the same age Nico had been when the queen sent him to boarding school. My thoughts were jumbled. Were they really ready to be here on their own? And how could Nico stand to have them be so far away?

  And perhaps the most obvious question occurred to me last. “How did you end up at this school?” There were hundreds of private boarding schools in California.

  “They had an in,” a deep voice behind me said. “This is my old school.”

  Time stopped, and I froze, my mind racing in a billion differen
t directions. My muscles wouldn’t respond—except for the trembling in my hands.

  “Cara?” That deep, rumbling voice was still there. It hadn’t been my imagination.

  With difficulty, I got to my feet, my hand on Derrick’s shoulder. But then I couldn’t bring myself to turn around. What if it wasn’t real?

  A warm hand touched my arm, gently tugging me around.

  He was here. In the US. In my new school. Standing right in front of me with a glint in his hazel eyes and a smile on his lips. “Hi,” he said.

  My voice didn’t want to work—something that had never happened before I met him. I tried twice before two words came out. “You’re here.”

  “I’m here,” he said, his hand still on my arm.

  Suddenly, Elyse spoke up. “Derrick, let’s go play with Stephanie.”

  “Who?”

  “We met her earlier.” She pointed vaguely at a group of students walking into the rec room.

  “What? No, we—”

  “Come on,” Elyse ordered, grabbing her brother’s hand and leading him away.

  I watched them go, still dazed to see them, but absolutely dumbfounded that Nico was here.

  “Is there somewhere we can talk?” he asked.

  “You’re here,” I said again. It was all I could manage.

  Nico gave his heart-stopping half-smile. “I’ll find somewhere.”

  His warm hand moved to the small of my back, and I let him guide me down the hallway.

  After two flights of stairs and a half dozen turns, we arrived in a room I’d never been in. It was a light, airy room on the top floor and was obviously used for art class. Easels leaned against one wall and tables were filled with craft supplies.

  Nico led me over to the window where there was a wide, cushioned seat. He sat down, leaning his back against the wall. “Please sit with me.”

  I blinked rapidly, afraid he was going to disappear into thin air. This could be a dream. I’d had realistic dreams before. But usually they involved places I’d been to, not unfamiliar rooms.

  Nico filled the silence as I slowly settled on the cushion opposite him. “This was my favorite classes when I was the twin’s age. The teacher has long since retired, but she was one of my favorites. Mrs. Meyers.”

  All I could do was stare at him. I thought I’d never seen him in person again and I wanted to re-memorize every contour of his gorgeous face.

  When I didn’t respond, he continued on. “At one point, I knew this place as well as I know the castle. It feels strange—but good—to be back.” He fell silent as I stared at him. His hand twitched, as if he wanted to reach for mine, but then it stilled.

  “You’re here,” I said softly for the third time. Then I managed to add to it. “Why?”

  “Because you’re here,” he said simply.

  “But… how? I thought you were never returning to the States.”

  “I thought that, too. For a long time, it was unimaginable.” His hazel eyes never left my face. “But as I said… you’re here.”

  My hands were still shaking, so I clasped them in my lap. Part of me wanted to leap for joy—to leap into his arms, but my mind screamed for restraint. He was probably only going to stay a few days until the twins were settled. He was a busy man with a business and a country to run. He’d hurt me more than anyone ever, and I couldn’t let it happen again.

  But still, even to see him again was amazing. It felt like the hole in my heart had been temporarily plugged. And it just seemed too good to be true that he was finally in the US and that his children were going to attend the school I taught at. Wait a minute—that was too good to be true. “Did you get me the job here?”

  His smile was completely innocent, but the gleam in his eye wasn’t. “Not at all. But as your former employer, I may have written you a stellar letter of recommendation.” He smirked. “What can I say? You’re not the only good writer around here.”

  “I—I didn’t get the job on my own merits?” Even though this was quite possibly the most important conversation of my life, that still stung a little.

  He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I just got you an interview. You got the job yourself. This place cares about its pupils. Do you really think they’d hire someone they didn’t believe in on the whim of some random alumnus? Even royalty has its limits.”

  “It seems like a good school,” I said inanely, while I tried to work out how I felt about his revelation. I loved it here, so I couldn’t be too mad, but still—he had no right to pull strings behind the scenes. Though if Derrick and Elyse were going to be attending school in the US, hell yes I wanted to be there. Even if I never saw Nico again, I’d want to be part of their lives. I was thrilled beyond belief that they were here.

  “It is. It was good to see it again.”

  My heart sank. He was using the past tense—was he already ready to leave? He’d probably just brought me up here to ask me to look after Derrick and Elyse. “How long are you here for?”

  “Just until the twins are settled in.”

  My shoulder slumped. I’d known it, but still, there’d been a small sliver of hope it might be longer. I fought to make my voice steady. “So, just a few days, then?”

  “I was thinking more like six months.”

  What?

  My jaw dropped, but still… I still didn’t know for sure. “You mean the twins will stay here for six months, right?” There’s no way he could be staying that long.

  “Yes. With me.”

  “But… but…” I trailed off, floored by his news. Did he really mean it? Was he really here for half a year? It didn’t seem possible. “But what about—?”

  “I’ve been making plans,” Nico interrupted. “Ever since you left. A lot of my business I can do online. In fact, it might work out better at least in terms of time zones. Many of my corporations’ financial clients are in the US.”

  “But what about Falkenberg?”

  “I’ll fly back whenever I need to. And mother’s going to step up her duties while I’m gone.”

  Out of all the shocking things I’d learned in the past ten minutes, that was one of the biggest surprises. “And she’s… okay with that?”

  “She’s not thrilled,” Nico admitted, “but she knows this is what I truly want. She’s a hard woman, but underneath the position and the crown, she’s still a mother. Moms want what’s best for their kids. So do fathers, actually. That’s one of the reasons we’re here.”

  “I missed the twins so much,” I said.

  “And they missed you. They were miserable after you left.”

  “I’m sorry. I know I hurt them.”

  “Don’t,” he said. “You did the best you could in the situation. I was the one who made you feel you had to leave early. But they weren’t miserable for long. Once we formulated this plan, they put a calendar in the play room counting the days until they could see you again.”

  The tears that had temporarily ceased threatened to resume again. “If I’d known you all were coming, I would’ve done the same thing.” It was slowly dawning on me that this just might be real. Still, I couldn’t help asking questions. If there was a flaw in the plan, I needed to know now before I got my hopes up too high.

  “But where will you live?”

  “There’s an old groundskeeper’s house on the property. It’s being fixed up as we speak: new paint, new carpet, new furniture, and state-of-the-art Wi-Fi.”

  “What about the paparazzi?”

  Nico’s face darkened for a moment. “It’s still a concern,” he admitted. “But the school grounds are private property, so they can’t enter it. Besides, a PTA dad who keeps a low profile isn’t likely to be the biggest news story of the year. It won’t always be easy, but it’s a battle worth fighting. You taught me that.”

  “I did?”

  “You did,” he said with a smile. “I told you that you’re a good teacher.”

  “But… but… it can’t be that simple.” I couldn’t allow myself to bel
ieve it—at least not until I knew for certain.

  “It’s not simple. Not at all. But I’ll fly back when I need to and make adjustments as we go along.”

  “But how will you—”

  “Stop,” he said gently, and he reached out and took my hand. “Since the very first day I met you, I’ve been coming up with reasons we couldn’t be together. Because I worried I couldn’t keep you safe. Because I didn’t want you to throw away your future for a broken man. Because letting myself have feelings for a woman again was fucking terrifying. I’m done with all that now. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll find a way to make it work. Isn’t that what you were trying to tell me all along?”

  “Yes,” I said, my voice shaky.

  “I get it now, and I’m sorry I didn’t before. Prince or pauper, we each only get one life—and I can’t imagine mine without you in it.” He took a deep breath. “I love you, Cara, and I’m so sorry that I let fear get in the way. I’m sorry I focused on what was holding us back rather than what was bringing us together. I promise not to do that in the future if you’ll forgive me.”

  My pulse spiked as I stared at him. I hadn’t heard anything that he’d said after those three words.

  The prince gave a gentle smile at the expression on my face. “Where did I lose you?”

  “Right… right after you said that you…”

  “That I love you?” His eyes bore into me, looking deep inside me. “You’re right… those words are far too important to bury in the middle of a paragraph. Let me try again.” He clasped my other hand and pulled me to my feet. I had to tilt my head back to see him—it felt like it had been ages since I’d been so close to him.

  It had been ages. And far too long.

  He put his hands on my upper arms and looked deep into my eyes. “Cara, I love you.”

  Nico’s hopeful smile was completely sincere. It wasn’t a smirk. It wasn’t sexy or snarky. It was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen. I answered it with one of my own. “I love you, too.”

  “Then we can work it out,” he said as he took me into his arms.

  Time seemed to both slow down and speed up. I could see Nico’s gaze drop to my lips, and I glanced at his in anticipation. There was no five o’clock shadow today, just a smooth, firm jawline descending toward me.