Dating the Prince(16)

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."