Rose smiled at me for a minute as if amused. I looked over at Prince Yummy—dang it, Alex—and frowned. His eyes were moving back and forth between me and his aunt, a small smile playing along his delicious lips. They both looked like they were hiding something.
“Let’s order and then we’ll talk about it. I’m starving.” Rose set her menu down, so I quickly looked through and picked something to eat. Something weird was going on here and I was going to figure it out. I looked for the waitress and smiled, hoping that would bring her to the table a little faster so we could get down to business.
She glared at me as she sauntered back to us and I wondered why the staff here seemed to hate me so much. What on Earth had I done? Shown up to dinner with the duchess and the prince— Oh. The prince. She was glaring at me because I was eating dinner with Prince Yummy. Sheesh. It wasn’t like we were alone. Who brings their aunt on a date?
The thought brought heat to my cheeks—again. I was never going on a date with Alex. We were from different worlds. He wore expensive suits and probably never got his hands dirty. I wore blue jeans and flannel shirts. My hands were always dirty. Okay, not always dirty. I washed them, but I never met a bird that hadn’t at least thought about pooping on me.
“You’re ready?” The waitress once again turned her body and ample cleavage toward Alex and leered.
“Ladies first.” Alex leaned forward so he could look around the waitress. “Samantha, what would you like?” My name spoken in that accent made it sound much sexier, but it was the glint in his blue eyes that made my skin burn.
“I’ll take the chicken, please.” There were no prices on the menu, but I was certain that had to be the cheapest thing on there. Chicken would certainly fall under lamb or duck. I hoped.
“Got it.” If the waitress had been chewing gum she would have popped it in her mouth at me. I was torn between laughter and being offended. She smiled at Rose, though. A disgustingly sweet expression that made her look sick. Or maybe it just made me nauseated. “And for you, Duchess?”
“I’ll have the same thing Lady Rousseau is having.” Rose pushed her menu toward the waitress, but the girl didn’t notice. She was looking at me with a worried expression. I shrugged, not sure what to say. A deep chuckle made me sit up straighter in my seat and look at Alex. He was watching me, an amused gleam in his eyes as if he was in on a secret.
“I’d like the rib eye, please. Rare.” He handed his menu to the waitress without looking at her and leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of him, and smiled at me. “Samantha. Are you from here?”
“I’m a transplant. My family moved here ten years ago for a job. Thankfully, the college I wanted was nearby.”
“Is that so?” Alex leaned forward and looked at me intently. “I would think most people going off to college would want to get as far away from home as possible.”
“My mother passed away and I didn’t want to leave my father.” I didn’t like where this conversation was going. He seemed almost too interested. Like in my private life there were secrets that he had to know.
“How is your stepfather? I understand he’s been sick.” Rose’s eyebrows drew together. “I can’t say I care very much for the way that health care is handled in the States.”
“He’s handling everything very well, thank you.” I guess my outburst with her lackey earlier hadn’t gone unreported. “But we’re not here to discuss my family. What kind of questions do you have about the center and our program?”
Rose leaned forward. “Actually, your family is exactly why I am here.”
THREE
How to Lose a Royal
—PERRY TALKS
“MY FAMILY?” I felt my eyebrows rise and tried to control my expression. What the hell was going on?
“Why did you decide to keep your mother’s maiden name when she married your father?” Rose folded her hands in front of her and her eyes bored into mine.
“I’m not sure why that would be any of your business.” I looked at Alex, but his face gave nothing away. “I thought I was here to discuss the raptor program for Dr. Geller.”
“Yes, I realized that earlier. However, I was hoping to discuss something else.” Rose leaned back as the waitress and several helpers delivered their food to the table. “I was hoping to discuss you.”
“I can’t imagine why.” Shaking my head, I leaned back so the waitress could set my plate in front of me. “Thank you.”
“Do you know much about Lilaria?” Rose took a sip from her glass before picking up her fork and knife. “We’re a small but proud country.”