Alex let out a disbelieving snort, the warm memories of the Queen's Garden gone. This was definitely the Libby he remembered from the café. "You've got to be joking."
"Well, why else would you agree to meet me for coffee in a public café? You had to know I'd find out who you were. Those girls wouldn't stop staring."
"Only because you were making a scene."
"Because you lied to me!" Kenzie stirred in her sleep, letting out a whimper, and Libby lowered her voice. "You lied. I felt like such an idiot."
"I didn't plan any of that. It just happened." Alex knew he was letting his emotions get the better of him, but he couldn't help it. "Believe it or not, I have very little experience rescuing damsels in distress."
Libby shook her head, bouncing Kenzie up and down in her arms. "Like I'm going to believe that."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're a prince and you didn't tell me."
"Have you forgotten that I saved you from arrest?" Alex cocked his head to the side, wishing he could read her mind. He'd never seen someone with such expressive eyes. If he could just learn to read them … "If it weren't for me, you'd be sitting in jail right now, branded a terrorist."
"Oh, please. Don't act like you're some hero who swooped in and saved the day."
"I am the hero." He tapped his chest angrily. "I sort of did save the day. What would your employer think about her newborn getting sent to jail?"
"You are absolutely infuriating." She actually stamped a foot, like a toddler throwing a tantrum. "You're a prince. Of an actual country. And you pretended like you were some random curator at the palace or something. I don't know how you do things in Durham, but in America we don't lie to get dates."
He snorted. "I've seen your movies and I don't believe that for a second. Besides, you asked me out."
"Ooo." She yanked the diaper bag off the floor and slung it over one shoulder. "I can tell the next four months are going to be buckets of fun."
As Alex watched her stomp toward the door, sudden fear seized him. Maybe upsetting the woman with the power to make or break his reputation wasn't the smartest idea he'd ever had. He caught her arm just before she exited the door. She glared up at him and he quickly let go.
"You aren't going to make things worse, are you?"
The anger flashing in her green eyes instantly made him regret asking such an obviously stupid question.
"Since I don't have ten million dollars lying around to pay the royal family if I mess things up, no, I'm not going to make things worse. Your precious reputation is safe with me."
She stormed out of the room, leaving a bewildered and confused Alex behind.
CHAPTER TEN
Libby wanted to slam the family room door behind her. It felt like an appropriate move, considering the argument she'd just had with His Royal Arrogance. But the solid wooden door was so heavy that slamming it was pretty much impossible. Besides, she wouldn't want to damage any of the gorgeous carvings on the door casing. It was probably hand carved by blind monks in the 1200s or something. And she definitely didn't want to wake up Kenzie.
"Stupid, arrogant, pretentious … " She trailed off, muttering under her breath as she strapped Kenzie into the stroller parked right outside the living room door in the hallway. Could you call it a living room if it looked like something out of an architectural home magazine?
And she had to date that obnoxious prince for the next four months.
"Let's go," she said to Kenzie, undoing the parking brake with her foot.
Someone cleared their throat and Libby looked up at the guard who stood against the hallway wall.
"Excuse me, Miss Claybourne, but I was told you were meeting with Miss Staten before leaving?"
Crap. Her angry storm-off was officially a flop. If this was what being royal was like, she'd thank her lucky stars she'd been born a middle-class American. "I forgot about that."
"I can radio her for you now," the guard prodded.
Libby stifled a sigh and instead nodded, putting on a pleasant smile. If she was going to date Alex, she'd probably see a lot of the palace staff over the next few weeks. Keeping on their good side seemed like a smart idea. "That would be great. Thank you."
A few minutes later, Libby was in Maggie's cluttered office setting up her new cell phone. It was considerably more complicated than the pay-as-you-go phone she'd bought before leaving Oregon, and Libby was overwhelmed by all the complicated apps, security measures, and features. Two hours later, her head pounded and Kenzie was hungry again. But Maggie finally declared Libby competent in basic technology skills that most modern adults seemed to inherently possess. Libby at least thought she could remember how to get in touch with both Maggie and Alex, which was all she really needed to know.
Libby thought she'd be allowed to take Kenzie home then. But apparently being the crown prince's girlfriend required a makeover.
"We don't want to change you," Maggie said as the stylist eyed Libby critically. "We just want to teach you how to be your best self."
So that's what they were calling it these days. All Libby knew was that the stylist expected her to wear clothes that cost more than she made in a year and enough makeup to paint the Sistine Chapel. But that wasn't the end of it. Libby also met with someone who gave her a crash course in palace protocol-apparently shaking the hand of the queen and king had been a major faux pas. Whoops. By the time Libby was finally escorted home, she'd had to feed Kenzie twice and it was after six o'clock. Her head spun with all the new information.
Could she really do this? Could she date a prince? Libby hadn't even been able to keep the attentions of an unemployed deadbeat like Cedric. And yet now she was supposed to convince an entire country that she and Alex were, well maybe not in love, but certainly in deeply romantic like. And if she didn't manage it convincingly, she was potentially on the hook for ten million. Awesome.
Libby pulled the pram to a stop outside Connie's flat and rifled in the diaper bag for her keys, but the door swung open before she found them. Connie stood there, a sympathetic smile on her lips. "Long day?" she asked, pushing the pram inside.
"You have no idea," Libby muttered, shutting the door behind her. "But Kenzie has been a trooper through it all. She was so good today. Weren't you, sweetie?"
Connie pulled Kenzie from the stroller and dropped a kiss on her daughter's silky head. "I'm grabbing us both a giant glass of wine, and then I think you have a very long story to tell me."
"Don't get too excited," Libby warned.
"Are you kidding? Nothing this cool has happened to me or anyone I know in, well, ever. Let me get Kenzie to bed, then we'll talk."
Libby nodded and collapsed on the couch, too tired to protest. What a day. The next thing she knew, Connie was nudging her awake.
"Wake up, sleepy head." Connie handed her a glass of wine and sank onto the couch beside her. "I had a very interesting visit with a humongous palace guard and overly formal secretary today. I'm dying to hear your side of things."
"Sorry about that." Libby took a sip of wine, then ran a hand over her tired eyes. "I meant to give you a heads up, but there was no time. Did they offer you a lot of money?"
"Yeah, they did." Connie's eyes were wide. "My flat's going to look amazing when I'm done remodeling. I was so shocked by the whole thing that I didn't really ask questions. Are you really going to date Prince Alexander?"
Libby thought of his flashing green eyes and felt her cheeks grow warm. "Yeah, I guess so. Apparently he's got a PR problem that only I can fix."
"This is all so unreal." Connie took a sip of wine, unable to hide her wide grin. "It's like a soap opera or something. At first I thought the whole thing was a prank and I kept laughing and asking who in the office was behind it."
Libby laughed, feeling some of her exhaustion vanish. She was glad Connie was here to talk to. Libby had a feeling she'd need to be talked off the proverbial cliff a lot in the next few months. "You didn't."
"I did. Finally the secretary pulled out her cell phone, and the next thing I knew I was video chatting with the queen. Of Durham. Like an actual honest-to-goodness queen. She told me Kenzie was beautiful and that the whole royal family was grateful for my support during this trying time. I was so tongue-tied I didn't even tell her that I think her son is a total jerk. Part of me wishes you'd torn up the contract and thrown it in his face. He's made his bed. It's really unfair that he doesn't have to lie in it like the rest of us would."