Dating the Prince(18)

Alex shook his head, resisting the urge to wipe his damp palms on his  tan slacks. What was he nervous for? He'd been on dozens of dates and  never felt like this. And today wasn't even a real date.

It was just because he needed this to go well. This had nothing to do  with Libby. Yes, she was gorgeous and sassy and intriguing. But it was  merely the situation putting him off his game. Isla had shaken his  confidence, and having his parents pay a woman to date him hadn't  helped.

"She's over there, Your Highness," Finn said quietly from his place  beside Alex. His steps were nearly silent despite the noisy gravel path,  an impressive feat for a man Finn's size.

"I see her," Alex said. She wore another sundress, this one in a deep  plum with white lace accents. It seemed the style was somewhat of a  signature look for Libby. Alex's heart positively galloped in his chest,  like a deranged horse. He needed to get his emotions under control and  fast. Thank heaven she'd brought the pram. It would look odd to not hold  her hand if it was free, and right now he wasn't sure he could handle  the close contact.

He lifted his hand in a wave, and Libby smiled and nodded, acknowledging  that she'd seen him. The motion caught the attention of a passing  jogger, who did a double take. Alex had to fight the urge to duck his  head and try and hide from the scrutiny. Today they wanted to be seen  and photographed.

"Sorry we're late," Libby said, pushing the pram to a stop right in  front of him. "Kenzie spit up right as we were getting ready to leave  and I had to change her."

"She has a knack for timing," Alex said. He summoned his courage and  bent down, dropping a kiss on Libby's cheek just as Maggie had  instructed him. Libby's arms wrapped around his waist, warm and somehow  familiar. He'd never been this close to her before. She smelled like a  beach resort-coconut and an ocean breeze mixed with something that drove  him absolutely mad.

A man in the distance lifted a camera, and Alex felt a surge of  adrenaline. It seemed at least one reporter had answered Maggie's call.

"It's good to see you too," she murmured, but he heard a sarcastic bite  underneath the words. He doubted anyone else would notice though.

"I was worried you were going to stand me up," he said, keeping his own  tone bland. "I guess I should know by now that you're always running a  little late. But the final results are worth it. You look beautiful  today."

She clenched her jaw, and the fury he saw in her eyes gave him a thrill of satisfaction.

"Thank you." She pushed the pram down the walkway, toward the reporter.  Good. "I know how much you love a heavily made-up woman."

Now it was his turn to clench his jaw. "Careful, Libby," he murmured.

They were within earshot of the reporter now. His camera was raised  toward a tree as he adjusted the telephoto lens, but Alex wasn't fooled.  Time to stage the conversation.

"Let me push the pram for you," Alex said, placing his hands on the  handle. His arms brushed against hers, sending his nerves tingling. "You  must be exhausted."

"Thank you." She stepped aside as though she'd been burned. "I am a  little tired. Kenzie didn't want to take a nap today and screamed every  time I tried to set her down. I guess she just wanted to go outside for a  while."

"She wanted to see me," Alex said. The reporter's camera was pointed in their direction now and he heard the click of a shutter.

"I guess so," Libby said. "She's been perfectly happy since I put her in  the stroller. We've got about an hour until I need to get her home to  her mommy."

Alex was reluctantly impressed with the skill at which she'd woven the  information into their conversation. He heard another shutter click. No  doubt the reporter had overheard. But just in case …  "And how is Connie  doing?"

"Good. Just really tired. She still won't let me help out at night. The  adjustment to working mom hasn't been easy. I think she's wishing she  could stay home with this one all day instead of hiring me to do it."

"Well, she hired the best," Alex said. "You'll make an excellent mother someday."

"You think so?" Libby said, a flirtatious tone in her voice.

Alex pulled the pram to a stop and stared deeply into her eyes. "Yeah. I do."

She blinked, then inhaled sharply and looked away. "Uh, I brought some  birdseed to feed to the ducks. I thought it might be fun."

"Sounds great," Alex said, turning the pram down the path leading to the  small pond where wildlife often congregated. "Kenzie will love that."         

     



 

"I thought so."

They continued toward the pond in silence as Alex scrambled for  something to say. Maggie had warned them to avoid unnatural stretches of  silence. Couples in new relationships weren't usually quiet for very  long when together.

A couple already stood near the pond, tearing chunks off a slice of  bread and handing it to their toddler, who threw it in the water with a  yell that had the birds flapping their wings.

"Why birdseed?" Alex asked

"Huh?" Libby's brow crinkled in confusion.

"You said birdseed. Why aren't we feeding the birds bread?" He pulled  the pram to a stop and set the brakes and Libby lifted Kenzie into her  arms.

"Bread is like junk food for ducks. It doesn't really hold much  nutritional value and too much of it can make them sick. The birdseed is  in the undercarriage. Can you grab it please?"

"Sure." Alex crouched down and pushed aside a diaper bag, blanket, and a  pile of pennies-those made him smile-before locating the small cloth  bag of birdseed. "I didn't know bread was bad for ducks. Now I feel bad  about all the times I fed it to them as a child."

"Not many people know." Libby held Kenzie in one arm and she kicked  wildly, letting out a squeal. Alex untied the bag and held it out to  Libby, who took a handful and tossed it into the water. A few of the  ducks deserted the bread and swam over with loud quacks, then dived for  the seeds.

"I wonder how deep the water is?" Libby asked.

"I'm not sure. Fairly deep, I think. Maybe ten or twelve feet." He  squinted, as though he could see through the murky water to the bottom  of the pond.

"Dang. It's so tempting to take off my shoes and wade in the water for a while."

"You'd regret it on the walk home."

She inclined her head to the side. "Maybe. I was starting to believe  you'd lied to me about the weather, but it finally felt pleasantly warm  instead of miserably hot on the walk here today."

Alex laughed, taking a handful of birdseed and throwing it into the  water. A duck with bright green feathers bobbed for seed rapidly,  letting out an angry squawk every time another duck got his food. "Look  at that one."

Libby laughed, bouncing Kenzie up and down as she pointed. They were  right at the water's edge, almost close enough to touch the ducks if  they reached out. "See it, Kenz? He must be starving."

"Poor duck," Alex said.

"We'll have to come here regularly until it gets cold. I go down to the  ocean and feed the seagulls at least once a week in Oregon."

Alex could imagine Libby sitting on a jagged rock, her hair blowing in  the ocean breeze as she tossed birdseed to a flock of hungry seagulls  who battled for every morsel. She'd smile softly, a serenity to her  countenance that he could never hope to replicate on his own. "It must  be nice to have such a quiet life. So free of responsibilities and  worry."

He knew immediately that he'd said the wrong thing. Libby stiffened  beside him, her grip tightening on Kenzie. "Oh, sure. I live this  perfect life where I just flit around all day singing songs and going  wherever the wind blows me. That's how all hippies are, right? Because I  live on a commune I must not know a thing about real life or real  problems or real responsibilities."

"That's not what I meant," Alex said, his face heating. Out of the  corner of his eye, he saw Finn take a step closer while the reporter  clicked away.

Libby angrily tossed a handful of birdseed into the water. "I have real  problems too, Alex. I might not be running an entire country, but my  parents are about to go bankrupt. They're talking about divorce. Do you  have any idea what that's like? I bet you've never had to worry about  whether to pay the doctor or pay for electricity."

"I didn't mean-"

"That's the problem with you royals," Libby said, her voice rising.  "Just when I think we have something in common, you go and say something  like that and ruin everything."

Alex gripped her arm, lowering his voice. "Libby," he said, his tone warning.

She yanked her arm free. He hadn't expected the move and it upset his balance, making him stumble on the uneven ground.

For one frozen moment, he knew he was in trouble. Libby's eyes widened and she reached forward as his arms pinwheeled wildly.