What I thought would be a one time thing, has now turned into a daily occurrence.

It's been four days since the crown prince Nicholas of England walked into the bakery, and every day since then, he would walk inside the bakery at exactly 12, like clockwork.

I was starting to think he might be lost, or he had gotten the wrong address to a famous bakery down the street, but he kept coming back.

“Hello Sir, how can I help you?” I ask again today, just like yesterday he eyes the display window and looks at what to buy.

Even though he looks, he would always ask me the same thing.

“What would you recommend?“ He asks, as I smile and look towards the brownies I made for Easter.

“Normally I'd say the cupcakes, but today I'd recommend the s'more brownies, they're just fresh from the oven.” I say to him, as he looks intensely at the brownies.

I had decorated them with small bunnies and chicks with yellow eyes as decoration on top, and given his reaction he was so desperately trying to hide, I couldn't help but bite my lip from laughing at him.

“I'll… take three.” He said, then looked back at me and came over to stand near the register as I packed the brownies.

“Good choice.” I said to him as he watched me pack the brownies. “Come two o'clock these would be sold out.” 

“By children I presume?” He asked and I laughed and nodded my head.

“There's a kindergarten not far from here, they order around this time of the year. 

The decorations were a hit last year, so I kept decorating  them for the kids.” I smiled to myself, as I placed the box of brownies on the counter.

“That's very kind of you.” He smiled as his eyes lingered on mine longer than usual, before he looked away.

“I do what I can.” I rub the back of my neck. “It's a small shop, but we're local so we support the community as much as we can.”

“I think you're doing a great job.” He said to me, before another customer entered the bakery.

“Keep it up.” He smiled that famous celebrity smile at me and then looked away from me.

Nicholas went into his wallet and then again just like all the other times, he handed me a £20 and then left the shop, not before politely smiling at the older woman who came into the bakery.

“Oh my.” The older woman looked out the window with me, watching as the crown prince walked across the road and got into his car.

Just like last time, he waved and I waved back out of habit and then focused on the woman in front of me.

“Do my eyes deceive me young man or was that a member of the royal family?” The older woman asks, as I nod my head.

“Yeah.” I laugh awkwardly. “The crown prince himself actually.”

“What a pleasant surprise.” She happily said, still looking out the window to where the crown prince's car was parked.

“What a nice young man, he will make a fantastic King, don't you think?”

It was a surprise, and as much as I tried to wonder why he'd choose this bakery and not another with better ratings, and famous bakers, the more I started to doubt myself and my own skills.

I knew I wasn't the best there was, but baking had always been my passion, it had cost me everything to open a bakery, even relationships as the girls I dated always told me I wasn't manly enough, because I baked bread.

Still, I was living my dream of having my own shop, what wasn't manly about that?

I had made friends and I was finally happy, even if that meant I spent all my time at the shop.

I had taken a break from finding ‘the one’ as my friends put it, women were hard to please and the dating scene was getting too time consuming, it felt like a waste of time.

I figured if she's out there, I'll meet her randomly in a place I least expected.

Still, it was lonely and I often admired and wished for what some couples had, that intimacy and to have someone to always speak to, to come home to, and to share your life with.

Yet at thirty three I was better off than most of my friends with my own business, and with no debt, I should count my blessings and just suck it up.

I mean, even the prince of England has become a customer at my store, what do I have to be sad about when I have that kind of customer coming to see me?

*****

The next day, I had to close the shop because of an unexpected cold, luckily I lived above the shop so I didn't have to walk far to put a sign up outside to let people know.

I hated days when I got sick, I spent all my time in bed thinking of what to watch, only to rewatch shows and movies I had already seen the past week over.

It was depressing, and all I could think of was how much money I was losing by closing the bakery, and how many customers who now have to go somewhere else for their lunches.

I hated letting people down, but most of all, I hated the quiet.

It was almost 12, so I got out of bed and looked out of my window, not expecting him to show up today as it was also pouring down outside, but like clockwork, his car pulled up across the side of the road.

He came today as well, and in this weather.

I felt awful the moment I saw him get out of his car, put up his umbrella and then start to walk across the road.

He was coming all the way here from the palace, or wherever he lived, to my bakery out of thousands of others, and all I could do was watch from upstairs pitfully.

After a minute, he must've seen the sign because I could see his umbrella walking back to the car, making the guilt inside of me worse.

Before I could think about what I was doing, I opened my window wide and then took a deep breath.

“CROWN PRINCE!” I yell out, as loud as my croaky voice would let me.

The rain was loud, and coming down heavy, but somehow he had heard me and stopped before walking off the path as he turned his head and looked up, moving his umbrella out of the way of his face.

He looked at me, almost surprised as I felt my fever kick my ass from moving too fast, and for talking too loud.

“I-I’m sorry I have a cold, I should be back to work on Monday!” I shout out, feeling the blood rush to my face as he smiles up at me.

“Try not to overdo it, take your time to rest.” He yells back up, as I hear my heart beating in my ears.

“Can I get your number?” He shouts back up, as I stare at him confused.

Did I just hear him right? The pouring of the rain was so loud I didn't know if I heard that properly.

“What?” I shout back down and watch as he goes into his pocket and then pulls out his phone.

“So I know when you're open.” He says, as I freeze for a moment, before moving away from the window to jog over to my bedside table to grab my phone, and then jog back to the window.

I call out my number and watch as he puts every number I call out into his phone.

“What's your name?” He asks me, as a bodyguard next to him holds his umbrella.

“Charlie!” I shout down, watching as he puts in my name. “Charlie Thornfill!” 

I watch as he smiles, typing my name into his phone and then he looks up at me just as my phone dings.

Looking at my phone, I see that I got a text that read;

Unknown:  This is Nicholas, nice to officially meet you, Charlie

When I look back down, Nicholas was walking back to his car with his bodyguards and just like last time before he got inside the car, he looked up at my window and waved with a smile, and then got into the car.

I watched as his car drove off until I couldn't see it anymore, and then my phone buzzed again in my hands.

Unknown: Get some rest, and please let me know when you're feeling better.

His texts were polite, but somehow it made me feel happy knowing that even if he was just being kind, someone was acting caring about me enough to ask for my number.

The crown prince asked for my number…

Somehow I couldn't believe it, and I knew if I told anyone this, nobody would ever believe that Nicholas had asked me for my number, and had cared enough to give him out.

This whole thing was crazy, but for now I'll just accept it for what it was, and save his number under ‘Crown Prince’.

I guess that old lady from yesterday was right, he is a pretty nice guy, and he'd make a really good King.