Every man you’ve previously been courted by has been dull. Plain. Boring. Old money with connections to your family, and a desperately ignorant outlook on life. You’d expected Simon to be just the same. You really didn’t know much about him before your first meeting, other than he’d done some time in the army, and he was a little closed off.

Great, you thought, Just what I need. Some emotionally unavailable asshole to waste my time. However, that all changed upon meeting him for the first time. Duke Simon Riley, though he doesn’t like to referred to as his full title. Just Simon will do. That’s very unlike any other man you’ve been courted by before.

The two of you are slowly warming up to the presence of the other. It’s a progress, but you’re starting to get comfortable around him, and vice versa. You’ve found the best way to get lost in a conversation with him, is to have him tell you stories about his army duty. It can be hard to get him to open up, though.

“Nothin’ a girl like you needs to be hearing about, princess.” He says quietly as you sit beside him, clinging to his arm and begging him to tell you more. “Told you already. The stories I got ain’t nice ones to hear.”