Page 559 of Summer Heat
I brought my knuckles down on the door, three sharp taps, before gripping the handle and pushing it open. I immediately see Lennon sitting on the edge of his massive bed, his hands tunneled into his short dark hair, his attention on the ground.
I left the door open as I came in, not speaking to him because I know my place.
I didn’t make eye contact either. “Good morning Prince Lennon.” I set the tray down on the table off to the side, gave a slight bow, and turned to leave.
“Daisy?”
My entire body stilled, the blood rushed through my veins, pumping harder, faster. I turned around, keeping my hands behind my back, my posture stiff.
“Your highness?” My throat was dry, tight.
For long seconds he didn’t say anything, just stared at me, watched me with this stoic expression. It makes my heart beat erratically. I want to go to him, just want to admit how I feel, how I have felt for so long.
Know your place.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice low, deep.
He kept staring at me, his blue eyes intent, knowing almost. I felt this chill race my spine, and my entire body reacted just from that look.
“You're welcome, Your Highness.” I forced myself to turn away, to leave the room, but I wanted to stay there. I wanted to have him keep looking at me, keep making me feel like I was special. My thinking was irrational, but it was unavoidable.
I’d felt this way for years, and even if I was only twenty-two years old and a servant, the only thing I wanted was Lennon.
But that was a fantasy, and I needed to realize that my reality was far less glamorous
* * *
Lennon
She thought I didn't notice her, or see the way her bright blue eyes were constantly locked on me.
But I did notice her. I'd noticed her for a very long time but hadn't been man enough to actually tell her how I felt.
Even if I was a prince my life was far from ideal. I had my own emotions, my own doubts. I was lonely, even if people surrounded me constantly. This wasn't the life I wanted, but had been born into. The only saving grace was the fact I wasn’t first in line for the throne. Thank God my brother Ashton had to deal with that.
The tabloids, the whispers that there was something wrong with me, that maybe my melancholy attitude and lack of following my traditional upbringing, were always splashed across the tabloids. This was how it had always been, how it would always be.
My thoughts went back to Daisy, about how I did want her even if my family probably wouldn't approve. She was a trusted employee, the Royal staff, but that didn't mean my mother and father would say it was okay for me to be with a “commoner”.
But I wasn't better than her. In fact she was too good for me. She was light, bright, and always inquisitive. I on the other hand let my inner emotions, and the fact that I had nothing and no one despite the riches that surrounded me, bring me drown.
The very idea of Daisy by my side, of having her as mine, only mine, had this feeling of life washing through me. It had this hope that I didn't have to live this routine life, consuming me, making me think there was more than I had ever imagined.
I wanted to break away, to live outside of this traditional box.
I just wanted to be with Daisy. And one way or another I’d have her. I’d make her mine. And fuck anyone who stopped me.
Chapter Two
Daisy
I took off my shoes, tossed them into the corner, and made my way to the couch. My home was small, just a one bedroom apartment that I shared with my cat. In all essences of the word I was a loner, choosing to be that way.
With my parents all but nonexistent in my life, and only a couple of friends that I would consider close. It suited me well enough to just be alone.
Maybe that's why I felt like I knew Lennon so well, that I could relate to him. I felt like he and I were one in the same, that we shared this emptiness that could be filled by the other.
But no matter how many thoughts I had, how many times I did envision just going up to him and explaining how I felt, I knew the truth. I knew I could never be with him, that I could never actually be truthful and admit my feelings.
