He’s still here. It’s almost midnight and he hasn’t left yet which is making it super hard for me to concentrate on my work. I do my best not to look over at him but that doesn’t mean I’m not completely aware of him the entire evening. Seriously, he’s the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.

I went over a couple of times to ask if he and his bodyguards want anything. They took me up on some paninis around eight o’clock, and some pie at ten. I keep expecting him to leave but he just sits there, studying and smiling at me every so often.

The place is dead now so I grab a bucket and cloth and start wiping down all the tables, starting at the far end of the café from Henry. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so self-conscious in my life in front of anyone. I can’t stand him seeing me doing this type of work—something I know he’s never done before himself. When I make my way to his table, he packs up his books and moves them onto the bench beside him.

Ringing out the rag, I wipe his table, feeling very silly.

“You’re a very hard worker. Rachel should really treat you better.”

“That’s not how it is when you’re one of the little people. You take what you get and you don’t get upset.” I lean over him while I wipe, catching a whiff of his expensive cologne. “I bet that’s a foreign concept for you. To have to accept anything less than what you want.”

“You’d be surprised actually. I was born being expected to accept my position in life without question.”

“What are you, a prince or something?” I say with a light chuckle.

“Yes.”

I stop moving and stare at him for a second, trying to determine if he’s just joking around.

“Have you heard of Tanovia?”

“No.”

“Few people outside the U.K. have,” he says. “I’m their next king.” He doesn’t say it like he’s boasting about it, or even happy for that matter. Suddenly Gabriel’s words come back to me. The weight of the world.

I plop myself into the other side of the booth out of shock. “So what are you doing here?”

“Escaping my family for a year.”

“Before you go back and be a king.”

“Well, that won’t happen for a long time hopefully. My father is quite healthy. But as Crown Prince, I have many obligations and a long period of…internship in the family business.”

“I see. You don’t look very excited about that.”

He gives me a small smile. “I suppose I’m neither excited nor upset by it. We’re all born into our place in this world. My place just happens to be a palace that requires its owner to devote his entire life as master.”

I suddenly find myself feeling a little sorry for him. It sounds kind of sad when he puts it that way, but how can I have pity on one of the rich people? And yet, I do. Glancing at the clock, I realize it’s closing time. “I should close up. It was nice to meet you Prince Henry.”

“Oh, just Henry, please,” he says, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Okay, Just Henry, I should close the café.”

Standing, I take my bucket and rag, then walk back behind the counter to cash out. After a moment, I feel him standing in front of me again.

“How will you get home?”

“I’ll walk.”

“At this hour? Alone?”

“Yes,” I say, taking the twenties out of the tray and starting to count them.

“That will never do. It’s not safe for a woman to walk alone at night.”

I lose track and stop counting. “And yet, I manage it every night.”

“Not any more. What nights do you work?”

“Every night except Saturday.”

“Then I’ll be here to walk you every night except Saturday.”

I raise one eyebrow and stare at him. “You’ll be here or you’ll send your ‘friends’?”

“Me,” he says. “Well, they’ll be there, too, I suppose.”

“Huh. That’s very kind of you, but I think it’s a little too big of a commitment, wouldn’t you say?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out his game. “Listen, I’m fine, I promise. We bumped into each other, you didn’t knock me over. I’m not going to sue you now that I know you’re rich. You had me taken care of and you really don’t owe me anything.”

“What if I want to walk you home?”

“What is this? A charity thing?”

Henry wrinkles his nose in confusion. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I mean, I don’t know why you’d want to even talk to someone like me, let alone offer to walk me home, but whatever it is, you don’t have to do it. I’m a big girl with a long history of taking care of myself.”

“Is it so hard to believe that I’d want to spend some time with someone like you, as you put it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, believe it.” His gaze is so intense, I can’t stand to look at him.

“Believing things gets you hurt,” I say, going back to counting.

“Not with me.”

“With everyone.”

“What happened to you to make you so skeptical of the world?”

I sigh, not wanting to tell my life story to a freaking crown prince. “Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly born into royalty and my parents weren’t what you’d call reliable. So if you don’t mind, I’ll go back to not relying on anyone—including you.”

“I do mind, actually,” he says in a firm tone. “I’ll tell you what. You let me walk you home every night and I’ll show you that you can trust someone other than yourself in this world.”

“Sure,” I say, my tone sarcastic. “But for now, I’ll need you and your friends to leave so I can lock up. I’m not allowed to have anyone here while I do the cash out.”

“Fine. We’ll be outside waiting.”

***

Fifteen minutes later, I set the alarm, let myself out, then lock the door. The air has turned chilly now that it’s late but I’m not cold like I usually am. Instead, I feel flushed and my stomach feels like it’s filled with butterflies because Henry and his bodyguards are waiting, just like he said they’d be.

“All ready?” he asks with a charming smile.

Oh, that voice could melt a girl’s panties. No, Addison! Stop thinking like that. He’s not for you.

We start walking, Johan and Gabriel falling in line behind us. About a block from the café, I stop at the bank to make the night deposit. I take the key out of my coat pocket, and then pull the heavy bag out of my backpack. Unlocking the overnight deposit box, I toss the bag in, close it and pocket the key.

“So you actually walk to the bank with a bag of cash every night at midnight alone?” Henry asks.

“Yes. It’s a normal person thing to do.”

“And you don’t worry about getting robbed or assaulted?”

“I have a can of pepper spray on me at all times.”

“Really?”

“No, not really,” I say with a little grin up at him. Narrowing my eyes, I say, “But I probably shouldn’t tell you that, should I?”

“Don’t try to change the subject. You’ve been engaged in some seriously risky behavior and I think we should address it.”

“Seriously risky behavior,” I say, imitating his accent. I turn and grin at him.

“I’m not joking.”

“I don’t think you have a very good grasp on seriously risky behavior,” I say, then start listing things, counting them off on my fingers. “Mobster, drug dealer, crack whore—those are seriously risky behaviors. I’m a barista at a campus coffee house. I deal in caffeine and sugar, not cocaine and heroine.”

“But anything could happen to you. Some psycho could be watching you, learning your patterns, waiting for his chance to follow you to the bank. Or home, for that matter. Is someone at least waiting for you when you get there?”

“I don’t think I should answer that.” I start toward my apartment with him next to me.

“Why not?”

“Because you could be the psycho…” I say, bumping his arm with mine. “Relax, Henry. I’m a big girl. I know how to take care of myself.”

“But you shouldn’t have to,” he says, his voice gentle.

“Well, not every woman has a team of bodyguards or the bank roll to fund it.”

“I know that. I just…” his voice trails off and he runs one hand through his thick, slightly messy hair.

“Just what?”

“Just don’t like the thought of anyone…hurting you.”

Stopping in my tracks, I say, “But we just met. Why would you even care?”

“I have no idea, and yet, I do.”