The Royal Contract

But the engine brooming continuously through the night seemed to be music to her ears as she slept soundly. Amelia could not help but think that maybe she was comforted subconsciously by his father’s favorite hobby.

“Sleep tight, our little princess.” She mumbled sleepily, turning the tablet off and returning to her room to lie down for a few more minutes before the sun was up.

She tried to return to sleep as she closed her eyes tightly. She even placed a pillow over her head to block the light from her window. But it was a losing battle as her thoughts remained wide awake.

She pulled the covers off her body and proceeded to get some water. Once in the kitchen, she ended up making coffee too. It was already morning. There was no more point in sleeping as she peeked outside the window to watch the sun come out from behind a building.

It was majestic scenery until.

“What a beautiful sight.” A familiar voice startled her, not expecting anyone would be up this early morning. She almost jumped out of her skin in fright. Luckily, she was not holding a glass, or she might have dropped it.

.....

However, it was not just anybody. The man behind her was not supposed to be there. When she turned around, she could not believe he was standing before her with more flowers in his hand, just like he had promised.

What was he doing here this early? It did help that he owned his plane. So, flying might be convenient for him. But still, it was too early for him for their dinner date.

Besides, she could not remember accepting to go out with him since she only decided last night. She did not have the time to reply to him, not yet. She was contemplating going around texting him during breakfast about it.

“Evan, what are you doing here?” She blurted out of surprise, holding on to her chest as her pulsed quickened. But it slowed down quickly, seeing that he was not a threat.

“I am sorry. I did not mean to startle you. I thought you might have heard the door open when I entered.” Evan quickly dropped the flowers on the kitchen counter, grabbed a glass of water, and handed it to her.

“I could not sleep last night, so I decided to catch an early flight. You did not respond to any of my messages, so I thought of asking you personally, hoping you would take pity on me.” Evan stated, hopeful.

He stood before her, just a couple of feet away, staring down at her face as she took a few sips of water to calm her nerves down. It was not his intention to surprise her. He expected that everyone would still be asleep when he arrived.

However, he was not sorry to be standing in the same room as her. He would do anything and even everything to win her back, even if he had to take a few flights a week to be with her, not minding waiting until she was ready to forgive him, no matter how long it would take.

“That is ok. You just caught me by surprise.” Amelia responded, stepping away from him. She hastily went to the coffee maker, seeing it was about ready. “Do you like some coffee?” She offered, needing some excuse to busy herself and distract her from his presence.

“Sure.” He accepted the coffee, thinking he had to take this slow. He did not want to scare her away again. He should be glad she was still talking to him. He sat on the counter, content to watch her as he waited for his coffee.

It did not take long before she approached him with two steaming cups. He did notice that she was still slightly shaken, but she was trying hard not to show it. He doubted it had anything to do with the shock from earlier but more about his presence.

“I got two tickets for an opera show, a gift from some clients.” He started, taking a sip of his hot coffee while watching her reaction from his peripheral vision. “I thought we should see it first before going to dinner if you are up for it.”

He knew he was assuming that she was going out with him, but he would not have been successful in life without being bold and taking risks. At the moment, it was the only thing that he had going. If she shut him down, he would have to try again with another tactic, but he was not giving up.

“I...” She had no idea what to say. She wanted to say no, feeling that he was going too fast again, but at the same time, she also liked the idea of spending time with him.

“Why don’t you say yes to the show and the dinner?” Eida suddenly walked into the room, feeling refreshed. “Thanks for letting me sleep last night.” She walked over to her friend and gave her a gentle hug on her shoulders.

Then, she moved on to grab herself some coffee. “Good morning, Evan. And you can both thank me later.”

“What is going on in here?” Angela also joined them, with Bea following close behind. Goliath was also not far, barking when he saw Evan in the room.

Evan picked him up and cradled him in his arms, playing with the dog as if he had missed him. “Good morning, Grandmama. I am sorry for barging in early and unannounced.” Evan let go of Goliath and kissed his grandmother while helping her with a seat.

“Evan just invited Amelia to an opera show, plus dinner,” Eida answered Angela with a wink. “And Amelia is just about to accept.” She turned to Amelia, raising her brows, remembering what her friend said last night.

Before Amelia could say anything, Angela also seconded Eida’s suggestion. “That is a good idea. You need some fresh air and different scenery.” She pointed to Amelia, making it hard for her to say no.

“I guess that is a yes.” Amelia reluctantly answered him, feeling ambushed by her two friends. But, of course, she also wished to go out with him, not that her friends could force her if she did not want it. She just needed a little nudge.