HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS

by Christine Rimmer

  He supposed he had to say something. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  She picked up her fork without saying a word—and then set it back on her plate. “This is the thing, Noah. I happen to agree with Lucy.”

  What? Now she was going to get on his case, too? “Look, Alice, I don’t think you—”

  She put up a hand. “No. You look. Lucy’s a grown woman and she has a right to make her own choices now. You should release her trust fund and help her do what she’s always dreamed of doing. Think about it. Try to see it from her viewpoint. Finally, it’s her turn to have her own rich, full life. And you just keep telling her no.”

  He wanted to shout at her to stay out of it, to remind her good and loud that she had no idea what she was talking about. Lucy wasn’t her sister. But he didn’t shout. He had more self-control than that. “Three years ago she was in Cardiac ICU at UCLA Medical Center. She weighed seventy pounds and her lungs were full of fluid. They said she wouldn’t make it. They’d said that before. I brought in another specialist with a different approach. She survived, barely.”

  “That was three years ago. And then she had the surgery that made all the difference, you said.”

  “Nothing in this life is certain.”

  “Noah. It’s been two years since the surgery. Her doctors say she’s fine.”

  “Do you imagine you’re telling me something I don’t already know? She needs more time at home. I’m not going to bend on that. I can’t bend. I have her best interests at heart.”

  Alice pressed her lips together. For a second he dared to hope she would let it go. But no. “I don’t think you were really listening to her. I don’t think you see how determined and focused she is, how very much like you she is....”

  “Of course I was listening. And I know she’s determined.”

  “If you don’t help her, she’s going to find a way to get the money somewhere else.”

  “She’s twenty-three with no credit and no job history. No way can she afford to relocate to New York by the first of the year without my help.” A really bad thought occurred to him. He pinned the woman next to him with his hardest stare, at the same time way too aware of how much he wanted her, how exactly right she was for him in every way. How sometimes when he looked at her, he found himself thinking that she’d somehow wound herself all around his heart, that he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. But if she betrayed him... “My God. You wouldn’t.”

  She drew in a slow breath. “Don’t think I haven’t been considering it.”

  “Damn it.” The two inadequate words felt scraped from the depths of him. “Don’t do that to me.”

  And then she sighed, softened. “I won’t. I wish I could, but...”

  “What?” he demanded.

  And her eyes went soft as clouds in a summer sky. “I know you would never forgive me. I don’t think I could bear that.”

  It meant a lot. Everything. To hear her say that. He wanted to grab her in his arms and lift her high and carry her back upstairs to bed.

  But he knew she wouldn’t go for that. Not now. She might be unwilling to betray him, but she was firmly on Lucy’s side about the move to New York.

  And when he thought about that, when he thought about his sister, it ruined the mood anyway.

  Chapter Ten

  After breakfast, Alice went up to check on Lucy.

  She tapped on Lucy’s door and Lucy called out in a tear-strangled voice, “Go away, Noah! I don’t want to talk to you.”

  “It’s only me,” Alice said.

  A sob, then meekly, “Alice?”

  “Come on, Lucy. Let me in.”

  Swift footsteps on the other side of the door. And then Lucy flung it wide and threw herself into Alice’s arms. “Oh, Alice, Alice, what am I going to do?”

  Alice took her to the bed and eased her down. She sat beside her and handed her the box of tissues from the nightstand.

  Lucy blew her nose and cried some more and kept insisting over and over, “I’m going. I will find a way. He’s not going to stop me. I’m not missing my chance....”

  Alice put an arm around her and reminded her softly, “He does love you and he thinks he’s doing the right thing for you. You know that, right? He loves you so very much.”

  “Of course I know.” Lucy’s breath hitched on a hard sob. “Somehow that makes it all worse. That he loves me so much and he’s being so stupid and stubborn and wrong....” Another flood of tears poured out.

  Alice hugged her close and made soothing noises and stayed with her until the storm of weeping had worn itself out.

  “I’m okay now,” Lucy said at the end with a sad little sniff.

  Alice smoothed her thick, short, brown hair. “I’ll stay with you for a while.”

  “No, really. I mean it. I’m fine. I think I’ll pull myself together and go to my workroom. Patterns to cut, hems to turn. Working always cheers me up.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. And thanks.” She gave Alice’s arm a fond squeeze. “For coming up, for being here.”

  “Anytime.”

  * * *

  Noah and Hannah were sitting side by side at the top of the stairs when Alice came out of Lucy’s room.

  Hannah got up. “How is she?”

  “Not happy.”

  “I’ll talk to her.” She went into Lucy’s room and quietly shut the door.

  Noah reached up a hand to grab the banister and stood. He looked tired suddenly. Older than his thirty-five years. The sight made Alice’s heart ache. “I know,” he said glumly. “She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

  Alice went to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his broad, warm chest. Slowly, he responded, pulling her closer, resting his cheek against her hair.

  She whispered, “I need to go riding. I think we both do.”

  He made a low noise of agreement, but then just continued to hold her. She lifted her head to look up at him and she remembered that dream of hers, way back at the beginning, before she knew who he really was. The dream of the two of them, longtime companions, riding together, stopping in a meadow of wildflowers just to talk.

  Sometimes that seemed an impossible kind of dream. And then, times like now, as he held her at the top of the stairs after all that awfulness with Lucy, she couldn’t imagine herself ever being able to leave him.

  “Alice...” He bent his golden head and kissed her, a chaste kiss, a warm firm pressure, his lips to hers. “I’ll meet you at the stables.”

  “I won’t be long.”

  He let her go, and she went to her room to change.

  * * *

  Alice let a full week go by without reopening the subject of a visit to his hometown.

  It was a lovely week, all in all. They rode every day, long rides on the eucalyptus-shaded trails and sometimes along the quiet private beach where he’d taken her that first day. There were picnics on that beach, just the two of them, with Altus standing watch. They attended a polo tournament at the club.

  And they had each night together.

  The nights were unforgettable. Alice adored being wrapped up tightly in his arms.

  But there were shadows on the sunny expanse of their pleasure in each other. Alice spent time with Lucy, but Lucy would have nothing to do with her brother. She remained determined that somehow she was moving to New York.

  And Noah wouldn’t hear a word about letting her go. Alice stayed out of it. She’d told Noah how she felt about the situation that Sunday morning at the breakfast table. She wasn’t willing to go against him head-to-head and give Lucy the money she needed, so really, she had nothing else to say about the matter. She left it alone.

  Three times during that week, she called Rhia and cried on her
shoulder—about Noah’s unwillingness to let his little sister grow up and escape his well-meaning control. About love in general. Because she was falling in love with Noah.

  She wanted to tell him so. But she didn’t.

  Her love made her more vulnerable to him. And she’d begun to fear that she wanted more from him than he was capable of giving her. He had his own ideas about the way things ought to be and he was never all that willing to be guided by anyone else. How could they have a partnership of equals if he insisted on believing—and behaving as though—he ran the world?

  She’d said she would give him a few days to get used to the idea that they were going to his old neighborhood. But then he’d had that awful fight with Lucy and Alice had backed off. She ached for him and she wanted to give the man a break, not to push him too hard. Those few days she’d said she’d give him to think it over went by, and she didn’t bring up the subject of visiting his childhood home. She knew he assumed she was letting it go.

  Wrong. She was just waiting for the right moment to try again.

  One really lovely thing did happen that week.

  Thursday morning, early, Dami called. The first words out of his mouth were, “I called to make amends.”

  Both pleased and surprised, Alice laughed. “Do go on.”

  He confessed, “Mother accused me of being a pigheaded ass.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Mother.”

  “Well, of course, she didn’t use those words exactly. But she said that she believed I had it all wrong, that not only are you serious about Noah, he cares for you, too. She said that I, of all people, have no right to judge a man just because he’s, er, enjoyed the company of a large number of women.”

  “Don’t you just love Mother?”

  He laughed then. “Sometimes I find her much too perceptive. Not to mention right. Why does she always have to be so bloody right?”

  “It’s a gift.”

  His voice changed, grew more somber. “I’m sorry, Allie. Noah is a good man, and I was an idiot. I hope the two of you will be blissfully happy together.”

  I hope so, too, she thought. She said, “Thank you. And you are forgiven.”

  “Good. Is Noah there?”

  “He is, as a matter of fact.” Sitting right there in her bed under the covers with her, his pillow propped against the headboard, same as hers. She caught his eye. He arched a brow.

  “Put him on,” said Dami.

  So she handed Noah the phone and sat back and listened to his end of the conversation. He said yes several times and then, “Believe me, I’m on it.” And then he laughed. A real laugh.

  She knew then that it was okay between the two men and she was glad.

  Noah reminded Dami that he was always welcome at the estate. “Come anytime. Now, tomorrow... You know you never have to call. The door’s always open. You can see firsthand that I’m taking good care of your sister.” Dami must have asked about Lucy, because Noah said in a carefully neutral tone that Lucy was fine. They started talking about some business deal they were apparently in on together.

  Alice shut her eyes then and let her thoughts drift away.

  She woke when Noah kissed her.

  “Your brother forgives me for seducing you,” he whispered against her parted lips. “But he’s expecting a wedding, and soon.”

  She lifted her arms and twined them around his neck. “Nice try. But when I marry you, it won’t be because Dami expects it.”

  “When you marry me? I like the sound of that....” He deepened the kiss.

  She sighed and surrendered to the sorcery in his touch. The man had his flaws.

  But when he made love to her, she had no complaints.

  * * *

  On Sunday night, a week after that big argument with Lucy, when Noah joined her in her bedroom as he did every night, she kissed him once—and then she walked him backward to the bed.

  She pushed him down, kicked off the purple flats she was wearing and straddled him.

  He laughed. And then he commanded, “Take off your clothes. Do it now.”

  “In a minute.” She bent over him, nose to nose, grasped the collar of his shirt in either hand and said, “I need to talk to you.”

  A little frown formed between his dark gold brows. “About?”

  “The place where you grew up. I want you to take me there tomorrow.”

  He reached up, wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and kissed her. It was an excellent kiss, as usual. It made her want to go loose and easy, to forget everything but the taste of his mouth, the feel of his hand, warm and firm and exciting, stroking her nape, tangling in her hair.

  But that was exactly his plan, and she wasn’t falling for it.

  She lifted away from him, though he tried at first to hold her close. When he gave in and let her go, she said, “If not tomorrow, then Tuesday. And if you won’t come with me Tuesday, just tell me now and Altus and I will go alone.”

  His eyes had gone flat and his jaw was set. “We already settled this.”

  “Excuse me. We did not.”

  “I told you—”

  “I remember. You told me no. I said I would go anyway. And I will, Noah. Lucy will give me the address of the house you lived in.”

  He growled, “Lucy’s in on this?”

  Gee, this was going so well. She rolled off him and flopped to her back on the bed. “No. I didn’t want to get Lucy involved if I didn’t have to.” She turned her head and met his shadowed eyes. “But I will. If I can’t get the information I need from you, I’ll ask her. It’s that simple.”

  “You would drag my sister into this?”

  “That’s a bit strong, don’t you think? I wouldn’t drag Lucy anywhere. But would I ask her for the address of the house you used to live in? In a heartbeat.”

  “You’re being unreasonable.”

  Was she? And was she pushing this too far? “Why don’t you want to take me there? Why don’t you want me to go there on my own?”

  “It’s the past. It’s got nothing to do with me anymore.”

  She reached across the space between them to touch his cheek. “I think you’re wrong.”

  He caught her wrist. “Leave it. Please.”

  It was the please that undid her.

  And in the end, what was the point of going if he didn’t want to take her there, if he didn’t want her to go? She would learn nothing about his secret heart by driving alone past some house where he used to live.

  She pulled her hand free of his grip and sat up. And for the first time since she’d come to stay with him, she thought of home with real longing. Of her horses, her villa, the life she’d left on hold. Was this whole thing with him just an interlude after all? Just two people trying and slowly failing to be more than a love affair?

  “All right,” she said wearily. “I give up. If you feel that strongly about it, I won’t go.”

  * * *

  Tuesday evening after dinner, when Alice was in her room catching up on her email and messaging with Gilbert about various minor issues at the palace stables, she got a call from Emma Bravo.

  “Come on out to the house,” Emma said in that cute Texas twang of hers, as though she and Jonas and their children lived out on the range somewhere surrounded by tumbleweeds and longhorn cattle instead of at one of the most spectacular estates in the whole of Bel Air. “You and Noah and his sister, too. It’s still warm enough for a swim party and a nice barbecue. The weekend is the nicest. We’ll have all afternoon. How ’bout Saturday at two?”

  Alice said she’d check with Noah and get back to her tomorrow.

  Noah came to join her a few minutes later and she told him about Emma’s invitation. “She said to bring Lucy, too.”

  “Sounds great. I’d love to go
. Who knows? Lucy might even agree to come along.”

  “I hope she will.”

  “You’d better be the one to ask her,” he suggested somewhat grimly. “We’ll get an automatic no if the invitation comes from me.”

  “I will ask her.”

  “Perfect.” He pulled her close and kissed her, a slow, delicious kiss.

  He’d been so attentive and sweet since two nights before, when she’d agreed to give up the trip to his old neighborhood. Alice tried to enjoy his kiss and not to think that it would always be that way with him, that he would stonewall her until she did what he wanted and then reward her for being such a good girl by treating her like royalty.

  Royalty. That was a good one. She chuckled against his mouth.

  He broke the kiss and guided a few stray strands of hair away from her lips, his eyes full of heat and tenderness, his expression openly fond. “Share the joke?”

  “It’s nothing,” she lied. And then she kissed him again.

  He scooped her up high in his arms and carried her to the bed. They made love for hours. He knew just the things to do to thoroughly satisfy her body.

  Too bad he wasn’t quite so willing to satisfy her heart.

  * * *

  Lucy didn’t come to the breakfast table the next morning. Ever since the big argument with Noah a week and a half before, she’d been taking the majority of her meals in her room.

  Around nine, after they’d eaten and Noah had gone to his study to make some calls, Alice went upstairs to invite Lucy to Emma’s barbecue that weekend. Lucy’s empty breakfast tray waited on the floor outside her door, where Hannah or one of the day maids would pick it up.

  At least she wasn’t starving herself, Alice thought with a smile. The only thing left on that tray was a little corner of toast crust. Her door was open a crack. Apparently she hadn’t closed it all the way when she set the tray out.

  From inside the room, there was a burst of happy laughter. And then, “Oh, I’m so glad...Yes...Oh, I can’t tell you...A lot to ask...Hero...And don’t blow me off. You are a hero and I...” There was more, but Lucy’s voice dipped and Alice didn’t catch the rest.