Chapter 14

That wasn’t how he meant to say it. He had meant to say something innocuous like I have my daughters with me right now or My living situation had changed or I’m going to be a single parent for a while.

Not My wife abandoned my daughters.

“What?” Mellie asked. She looked shocked.

So did the doughy guy the next table over, who had been watching them all along. Charming glared at him and the man bent his head and started typing on his laptop again.

“I mean,” Charming said, trying to repair the verbal damage a little, “she’s not my wife anymore, but—”

“Are they all right?” Mellie asked. There was concern in her voice and in her eyes. She meant it, and that made his breath catch.

She actually cared about his daughters, whom she hadn’t met.

No one had asked that before, at least not as the first question. They always asked about him—how was he doing?—not about his girls.

“Ella didn’t hurt them or anything,” he said. “I mean, she didn’t literally abandon them, leaving them alone at the house or anything. She dropped them with my parents, and then told me that she didn’t want them anymore.”

Again, blunter than he had planned. Blunt in a way he never was. He didn’t use the diplomatic phrase. He had told the truth.

What was it about this woman that made him want to tell the truth?

“Did she tell the girls that?” Mellie asked with concern.

He nodded and glared at the doughy man who was still watching them. Charming wanted to slam the doughy man’s laptop down on his fingers. Charming was angry. Good heavens, he hadn’t realized how angry he truly was until this very moment.

How dare Ella tell his girls that they were unwanted?

“How old are they?” Mellie asked.

Charming looked at her, saw fury in her green eyes. If Ella came in here right now, Mellie would go after her, yelling with that passion he had seen at the book fair.

She was angry—not for him, but for his girls.

And she didn’t even know them.

“Twelve and eight,” he said.

“That’s the worst time for girls,” Mellie said. “Twelve, not eight. Your twelve-year-old needs her mother right now. She needs to learn how to be a woman. Your ex isn’t giving her a good example right now.”

Then Mellie clapped her hand over her mouth.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said through her fingers. “It’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

He reached over and hooked his fingers through hers, bringing her hand down. He thought he remembered how soft her skin was. But he had forgotten. He had forgotten how wonderful it was to touch her.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You’re the only person who has said what I’ve been thinking.”

“I mean, how selfish can a woman get?” Mellie said, then looked like she wanted to clamp her hand over her mouth all over again.

He twined his fingers through hers. He should let go of her hand. That would be best, letting go of her hand. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. That simple touch was holding him up, calming him.

And she wasn’t pulling away.

“I suppose they’re still with your parents?” she asked.

“Good heavens, no,” he said. “That would be worse than leaving them alone.”

Again, honesty. He never would have said such a thing about his parents—at least not in the Kingdoms.

“I brought my daughters here,” he said.

He tried not to look at their clasped hands, but he couldn’t help himself. Her fingers were long and slender, the nails coated with a red polish that matched her lips.

Even her hands were lovely.

He wanted to put his other hand over hers, but he didn’t let himself.

He didn’t want to scare her off.

“Your daughters are here? In the Greater World?” she asked.

He nodded. “I brought them here a few weeks ago. We’ve been trying to get settled. But it’s not working.”

“I should say not,” Mellie said. “Not only do they have to deal with their mother’s perfidy, they have to deal with a new life in a new culture.”

“I’ve brought them here to visit before,” he said, feeling worried. “Did I do something wrong?”

He shouldn’t have asked that. He never asked that. Princes weren’t allowed to ask that. Royalty was always right.

If his father had heard that question, he’d be screaming right now.

Charming suppressed a shudder. His father would think all of this terrible—the coffee shop, the school, Charming’s hand holding the hand of a woman who was an actual adult, and not some nubile eighteen-year-old suitable for breeding.

“Under the circumstances, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Mellie said. “It’s probably better for your daughters here. They don’t have to deal with the whole inheritance thing, and I assume the whole family is back in the Kingdoms…?”

He nodded.

“That’s probably for the best too.”

Had she met his family? Probably. People went between Kingdoms all the time.

Her hand held his, her fingers wrapped loosely around his, her thumb rubbing gently against his forefinger. That simple movement made his heart beat faster.

What was wrong with him? Was he so lonely that he found a soft and compassionate touch erotic?

He made himself concentrate on the conversation.

“I enrolled the girls in the best school,” he said, “and already people are picking on Grace.”

“That’s the oldest?” Mellie asked.

“The youngest.” His voice broke, just a little.

“Your favorite,” Mellie said.

“You’re not supposed to have favorites,” he said, and realized that was honest too. He had just said yes in the only way he could.

Poor Imperia. Her mother had abandoned her, her father loved her sister better, and she was about to hit puberty in a strange world.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said. “I’ve never raised children before.”

“I have,” Mellie said.

He must have given her a startled look because she added, rather defensively, “I don’t just mean Snow and her brother. I had my own children with my first husband and you never hear about them. They’re doing just fine and they gave me grandchildren, and they’re here in the Greater World and are quite successful. Snow was nearly grown when I met her. And I didn’t do everything right there. But I do know children and I like them and I like to spend time with them.”

He stared at her. She seemed nervous suddenly. Her thumb had stopped moving, and he missed that. Her fingers had tensed. Her entire body had tensed.

Did she expect him to judge her? To hate her for having a life?

Had she thought he believed all that crap about her history with Snow White?

“Look,” Mellie said with a bit of a sigh. “I can’t write, right?”

He opened his mouth, not sure what to say, because he was in a truthful mode, and the truth would be really painful.

“You don’t have to answer that,” she said. “It’s all over your face. I can’t write, and I need to because your idea about the books is a great one. I did all the research and I think you’re right. I think your idea is the way to go.”

His mouth was still open. He started to speak when she added, “But I know children. I know how to build a household. I have references even here in the Greater World. I’ve helped some of the PETA folk when they came over, baby-sitting the children while the adults looked for work. I even started a day care center for a while, although I sold it. But what I’m saying is this. I would be happy to help you. And you don’t have to help me. Maybe you can teach me how to read for enjoyment or something. I mean, I’m not in any hurry on my quest, but your daughters grow a little bit every day. So you teach me how to read for pleasure, and I’ll help you ease your girls into their new life. If-if-if you want me to.”

And she looked at him expectantly, as if she expected him to make a decision right then and there.

She had startled him. He didn’t do well when he was startled.

She startled him a lot, and he froze, and that was bad. He had to somehow overcome that reaction because he didn’t want her to think he wasn’t interested, and he didn’t want her to think he was a doofus, even though he acted like one.

“I can’t teach you how to love reading,” he said. “The theory is that once you read one book, you like reading and you’ll continue to do it. But that doesn’t seem to be true for you, so I wouldn’t know what to do…”

She nodded, as if she expected that. He could tell, just from her body language that she now expected him to blow her off, tell her he wasn’t interested in her at all.

But he was interested. In her, in her advice, even in her damn book. He had only one problem: He wasn’t sure how deeply he could let another woman into his life right now. His girls had been badly hurt. They needed some time to heal, and introducing them to a new woman, particularly one who might not stay, would be a bad idea.

“It’s okay,” she said into his silence. “You don’t have to teach me how to like reading. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” he said. “It’s important to you.”

Her gaze met his, her green eyes filled with compassion. The compassion almost undid him.

“Your daughters are important to you,” she said softly.

He nodded.

“And you don’t want me to meet them,” she said. There was so much meaning in that sentence. She thought he didn’t want her to meet them because of her reputation.

“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s that their mother left them, and they’re so lost, and I’m afraid they won’t know how to react to someone new.”

“You’re afraid they’ll attach to someone, and then she’ll leave, and they’ll be hurt again,” Mellie said.

“Yes,” he whispered, half expecting her to say she would never do that.

Instead, she said, “That’s really wise,” and took his breath away.

No one had called him wise before.

“I’d… um… still like your advice,” he said. “I think I need it. Can we meet here for coffee tomorrow? I’ll find out what kind of stories you like and you can tell me how to handle my daughters.”

“Right here?” she said, clearly stunned.

He nodded. “My treat.”

“Um, sure, yeah,” she said. “That would be great.”

It would be good for him, too. It would be better than good. It would be spectacular.

He brought her hand forward, bent over, and kissed it. He wanted to nibble his way up her arm and nuzzle her neck, and—

He stopped himself before he embarrassed himself. He had just told her that he wanted some distance because of his daughters, and then he starts kissing her.

He kissed her hand again, then gently let it go. She held it up for a moment, as if she wasn’t sure what to do with it. She looked surprised, and a little confused.

He stood. He couldn’t stay any longer, not and have a rational conversation, one good for her and good for the girls.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” he said, and hurried out the door.