Page 57 of Scandal Queen

Oliver eyed the giant box of Lego again. It wasn’t even about getting it home. I huffed a breath. “That’s going to go everywhere, you know that? And I mean everywhere, under the sofa, in between your toes.”

“But, Mummy, it’s a castle.”

“You guys built one already!”

“Aha! But this one is the Unikitty Cloud Castle.” Oliver’s arms folded across his chest.

“I don’t give a—” GAAAAH.

The sales assistant looked at us, her eyes as wide as serving platters. We were beyond dinner plate eyes now. With a starched white shirt and black smart skirt, she looked like she should be serving food in a high-end restaurant, but that seemed to be the uniform. We weren’t in any old toy shop. No. We were in Harrods. A toy steam train whistled passed us for the hundredth time.

“Okay, listen.” I took a deep breath. “How about we just get something small? I don’t know, a Baby Annabell or something, and then we come back for the castle another day. We don’t really have room at the apartment for this.”

Oliver and Daisy pouted identical faces.

“Oh, do whatever.”

“Yes!” Oliver fist pumped and then gestured for the woman to help him get it to the till. It was too big for one person to carry alone… the man had no brain for sensibilities it seemed.

“We can get a cab,” I suggested.

“No need. I can get Bill to bring a car.”

I scrunched my face. “I think you are missing the point of trying to be normal.”

His lips crept into that curve that could melt my heart and he leant close to my ear. “There’s only a certain amount of normal I’m capable of.”

“I’m seeing that.”

A flurry caught my attention from the door and a woman in a black suit with a gold name badge elbowed her way through. “Your Royal Highnesses.” She swept a bow. It took me a minute to register she’d addressed me along with Oliver.

Oh.

“I do hope we have been able to fulfil your needs this afternoon.”

“Perfectly, thank you.” Oliver gave her his politest, warmest princely smile.

“Excellent. Is there anything else we can do for you while you are here?” The woman’s smile was as wide as the Atlantic Ocean.

“I think I’m in enough trouble for the Lego but thank you.” Oliver laughed with ease and then cast a glance over his shoulder to where staff hovered, seemingly star-struck. “Is it okay if we say hello to the staff?”

“Oh, of course, we would be honoured.”

He slipped his wallet out of his back pocket and took out a card which he gave to the woman who’d been serving us. She deserved a tip for not fainting in my opinion. Then leaving his card with the cashier, he caught my hand and reeled me into his side, planting a kiss onto my cheek. “Come,” he whispered and Daisy and I followed after him like a chain of interconnected links.

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He started shaking hands while the staff in their smart suits bobbed curtseys or dropped bows. They all looked utterly spellbound, which I could one hundred percent sympathise with. He blinded me from the moment I woke until I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

“What’s the best toy in here?” He asked one young red-headed chap whose fair skin scorched a vivid red as he tried to get his brain to work.

“Uh, that’s the Millennium Falcon, Sir.”

“Ah, the Falcon. Daisy, let’s go and look.” He swept Daisy up in his arms and she giggled as she wrapped her little arms tight around his neck. “We should have gone for that instead of the castle.”

Daisy shook her head, her eyes shining. “Castles are better than everything.”

He kissed her cheek, squeezing her tight. “Of course you are right. You are always right.”

I watched them go off to discover the Millennium Falcon, my heart close to exploding in my chest. Maybe this could work.