Finding Chris Evans: The Royal Edition by Jennifer Chance Page A

But she doesn’t want to let anyone down—especially her father and grandfather, who aren’t even still living but who loved this inn and everything in it.”
    “I see. And what would you say to her, if you thought that by saying it, she would leave that little town and come fly away with you?”
    “I…” Cristopoulis’s eyes widened as he watched the first swan lift off the water. No sooner had it spread its wide wings than a second swan launched beside it, then the smaller swans lifted up as well, each of them stretching to embrace the stiffening breezes sweeping off the lake. Would they all fly away, he wondered, migrating to another lake? It seemed like the next natural step in their lives, the one thing they most needed to do.
    If they could do it, why couldn’t LeeAnn?
    Belatedly he realized the queen was still waiting. When he spoke again, his voice was rusty, as if he’d never used it in quite this way before. “Well, I would tell her—”
    “ Stop ,” the queen commanded. “Wait to tell me everything the day you bring her to me. For now—go find her.”
     

Chapter Seven
    LeeAnn had made her way to the back porch of Swan Cottage, but a glance inside told her that nothing had changed since she’d reviewed the property two days ago. Now she sat on the porch swing that looked out over the small pond and the wide sky beyond.
    She knew she should call Mr. Prentiss. Even more importantly, she knew she should call the inn to get someone to cart her and the bike back down to the mountain. But she could wait a little while longer, she thought. No one was expecting her anytime soon, and with Cristopoulis leaving, the inn would seem quieter than ever.
    Another hour passed as she sat on the bench, hugging a Werth Inn cushion to her stomach, making mental lists of everything she needed to do. She was feeling almost human again when the sound of a car turning into the driveway made her straighten.
    The inn, she thought, probably sending out a rescue crew when they couldn’t find her. She smiled despite herself. They were a good staff, all of them still left from when her father had run the place, some of them holdovers from her grandfather’s time. She was lucky and she knew it. Signing away her life for five more years would not be the hardship she was making it out to be.
    She just needed to convince herself a little more of that, then she’d be set.
    “LeeAnn?”
    She’d expected the interruption but not the voice, and she scrambled off the bench to her feet, dropping the cushion.
    “Cris!” she said, resisting the urge to straighten her hair. Her tears had long since dried but she’d scrubbed off her makeup. She knew she once more looked like she always did—a small town Minnesota innkeeper.
    Well, one thing being an innkeeper had taught her was to fake her way through the worst of news with a calm smile and a cheerful manner. She would do it with Mr. Prentiss when she called him later, and she could do it with Cristopoulis Matretti now.
    She took the offensive. “You’ll be the talk of the soccer team for the next year, you know,” she said with a bright smile. “Some of the kids might even start calling it football if we’re not careful.”
    “They’re good players, and they love the game, which is the most important part,” he said, his smile as easy as hers. He leaned against the banister of the back porch, not coming too close. “How did the bike run for you?”
    She wrinkled her nose. “Terribly. It gave out right before I reached the cottage, and I had to push it the rest of the way. I don’t have the money to fix it—well, I do, but it’s not top on the list.”
    He laughed. “I don’t think you’ll need to fix it. It should be tuned up by a mechanic is all, but the buyer can do that.”
    “Right, I need to get on that too.” She added it to her mental list. “It will help as we get the paperwork in place for the inn, that’s for sure. Thank you very much for letting me