Were all Durham men this cryptic? She blinked, breaking the spell his voice seemed to weave over her. "Well, I really appreciate it." The silence stretched between them, an awkward pause that she wasn't quite sure how to fill. She felt drawn to Alex in a way that made her both exhilarated and uncomfortable all at once. "If you'll point me in the direction of the exit, I'll go before I end up breaking a priceless treasure or something. That'd be the perfect end to my day."
He motioned toward the crown jewel exhibit. "You don't want to finish the tour?"
"I think it's probably safest if I don't."
"You deserve your thirty euros worth just as much as the next person. I promise that no one will bother you if you're with me. I'd hate for you to leave without seeing everything."
Dang. She really, really, really wanted to take him up on his offer. But Cedric flashed into her mind, tangled together with the yoga instructor. "It's okay, really. Honestly, it's a relief not to listen to Stan anymore."
Alex stuck his hands in his pockets and chuckled. "He is rather dry, isn't he?"
She laughed, making Kenzie let out a little whine. "That's the understatement of the century."
"So your thirty euros has been doubly wasted then." He motioned to the hallway. "Please let me show you around. I promise not to bore you to death or try to arrest you."
She should definitely say no. This guy's hundred watt smile was dangerous, and she was still vulnerable after Cedric.
"I'll show you parts of the palace no other tourist gets to view," he enticed. "We might even find somewhere to leave your lucky penny that's not dangerous."
She took a step closer, almost against her will. "And you won't get fired or anything?"
He chuckled. "No. My job's safe, I assure you."
She eyed his suit, her mind going all cloudy again at his accent. "So you're, what, a manager or something?"
"Or something," he agreed. "What do you say?"
The offer was too good to turn down. "Okay then. I accept."
CHAPTER FOUR
What was he thinking? Something that felt a lot like panic raced through Alex as he led Libby out of the throne room and quickly through a door leading to the private areas of the palace. Finn must be having a conniption right about now. Alex had invited a stranger-one who'd tripped an alarm-into the secure parts of the palace, where tourists were never allowed to venture. Not even private guests were allowed in without a lot of screening and security checks.
But watching Libby argue with Colin had been beyond adorable. She couldn't be much taller than five feet and the top of her head barely reached Alex's chest. But the fire in her eyes could rival that of a man twice her size, and Alex had found himself inexplicably drawn to her.
She'd seemed so real. Her attitude and spunk were a breath of fresh air after Isla's chameleon personality. When they were dating, she'd been so eager to please. Since the breakup, she'd been so determined to destroy. Libby was just … Libby.
He was pretty sure she didn't know he was the crown prince, even before asking if he was some kind of manager. No spark of recognition had lit her eyes at any point during their conversation. She certainly hadn't treated him like royalty. There'd been no careful language, no downcast eyes or flirtatious smiles. Now he was in the awkward position of casually mentioning he was royalty like some pretentious snob, or keeping his true identity a secret.
They wandered down the silent hallway filled with portraits of ancestors and battles. A guard caught Alex's eye, then quickly looked away in apparent embarrassment.
"This is beautiful," Libby said. Her voice held a reverent quality that Alex couldn't help but admire.
"I've always thought so." As a child he'd loved running up and down this hallway with his sister, brothers, and two cousins racing behind him. "How do you like Durham so far?"
"It's beautiful. Warmer than I expected." Kenzie gave a little grunt, and Libby looked down at her tiny charge with a soft smile, patting her gently on the back. Alex noticed she did that a lot. It seemed that Libby was a natural nurturer. Caramel-colored curls fell over one shoulder and she brushed it back with slender fingers. Her hair looked so soft-totally free of the crunchy products that Isla used to achieve a similar look.
His fingers curled reflexively into his palms and Alex shook his head, trying to focus. "Give it another month or so and it'll start to cool down."
"Are winters here really as awful as everyone claims?"
He thought of Durham covered in snow. The Christmas trees that bedecked the palace. The shop windows trimmed with tinsel and filled with holiday displayed. "Not awful at all. It does get cold, but the snow is beautiful. No one celebrates Christmas like Durham."
"I have that to look forward to, then." Libby smiled, one hand still placed gently on the back of the baby, and for a second Alex's breath caught.
He cleared his throat and looked away. "It'll be a Christmas to remember. I'm positive."
"We always kept Christmas really simple when I was growing up. Not a lot of decorations or presents." She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "I know it's silly, but I always wanted an over-the-top Christmas like in the movies. A horse-drawn sleigh, intricately decorated sugar cookies, elaborate gingerbread houses. The whole shebang."
"Your parents weren't fans of the holiday?"
"No, it wasn't that." Her cheeks pinked, and it was like a punch to his heart. She brushed her hair behind one ear, looking away. "So where are you taking me?"
He didn't push the subject and instead mulled over where he should take her. They couldn't wander the hallways all night, and he couldn't take her to the family's private quarters. Finn would definitely freak out if Alex tried that. Besides, if Libby didn't know he was the prince-and he was ninety-nine percent sure she didn't-that would be a dead giveaway.
He wasn't ready for her to know who he really was. He liked being Alex, the man who saved her from arrest. Libby seemed to like Alex. And since no one liked His Royal Highness Prince Alexander, he preferred not to be him for a while.
"What have you always wanted to see in a palace?" Alex asked, deciding that might be the easiest way to decide where to take her.
"Everyone always talks about the palace gardens like they're amazing," Libby said, her voice enthusiastic. "In books and stuff, I mean. Taking a stroll about the gardens feels very Jane Austen."
The gardens. That was actually a perfect place to take her, because the only staff he'd run into were the groundskeepers, and they were good at making themselves scarce when the royal family went outside.
"Let's go see the gardens then," he said.
"It's not too hot?" She motioned to Kenzie. "I don't want her to get too much sun."
"No, it's really shady this time of day."
"Perfect. I can't wait to see them."
She had a bounce in her step that hadn't been there before, and a surge of pride swelled through Alex. He'd put that lilt in her voice and lightness in her steps. Maybe he couldn't make Durham stop hating him, but he could show Libby the palace gardens and give her a tour to remember.
They turned down a hallway and a maid looked up in surprise, then scurried into a room with her bucket of cleaning supplies in hand. Alex glanced at Libby, but she hadn't seemed to notice and instead was admiring a painting on the wall as they passed by.
"So what's Christmas like in your family?" she asked.
The question caught him off guard, but luckily it was something he could easily answer without giving anything away. "We do a lot of charity work around the holidays. On Christmas Eve we all attend midnight church services, then have a big feast and open presents."
"You must have a close family."
He thought of the way Emma and Charlotte had immediately wrapped him in a tight hug after finding out what Isla had done. How Stefan, Henry, and Oliver had promised to help him through this, whatever it took. The phone call his mother had placed to his aunt in Galia, asking if Alex could come for a visit. The way his father had gruffly told Alex to take some time for himself. "Very close," he agreed. "They're the best."
"Do you have a big family?" Libby asked.
"I guess you could say that."
A rustled sounded up ahead, then the soft click of door closing. Speaking of the devil. Alex barely held back a curse. Charlotte was headed toward them, her head bent low as she read a book.
"This way." Alex threw open a door and tugged Libby into the kitchen. The likelihood of Charlotte looking up from her book was slim, but if she did he'd face a game of twenty questions that he wasn't ready to play.