Her Christmas Prince (Love in the Keys) (10 page)

“
No
problem at all, happy to do it. We usually have mimosas with my
family, too, so I'll feel right at home.” Milly gave him the
tiniest of smiles. Was she warming to Henry at last? That might be
a blessing or a curse, time would tell.

“
So
what do you kids have planned today?” Callie looked at her
mother, and then at Henry.

“
Well,
I haven't run the idea past
Callie yet, but I have a beautiful snapper that I caught yesterday,
and I thought we might spend the afternoon at the beach and have a
cookout on the beach for dinner.”

“
The
beach and you're cooking? Count me in!” Callie laughed and
Henry leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Her mother took
notice, but passed no comment. “We best get going, then.
We're losing the best part of the day.”

Callie
and Henry made their goodbyes and headed for her car. What they
hadn't noticed was Jimmy the paparazzi, taking photos of them the
whole time since they'd left Callie's apartment.

Jimmy's
assistant had nosed around, pulled in some favours, and found out
that Prince Henry had not had any public engagements for over a
month. He was officially on leave from the military and not expected
to return to active duty. And no one had seen him in Laurenia.
This, coupled with the fact that one of his best friends apparently
lived in the Florida Keys, pretty much confirmed to Jimmy that the
man he'd seen was, in fact, Prince Henry of Laurenia. The final
proof was in one of the photos Jimmy had taken the night before.
When he'd looked closely and zoomed in, he had gotten a shot of the
royal signet ring that Henry wore. He was definitely on the trail
of a prince. And as far as Jimmy could tell, he was the only one who
knew Prince Henry was stateside.

CHAPTER
NINE

Callie
always kept a beach bag in her car, so she was ready to go. She
waited while Henry packed his bag and they drove down coast to a nice
calm bay. She would have expected more people out, but maybe because
it was the last Sunday before Christmas, chores and shopping kept
them from leisure time. Aside from two families on either side of
them, they had the beach to themselves.

Henry
cut a handsome figure in his board shorts, his tan had deepened since
he'd been in the keys, and the sun had brought out the highlights in
his hair. And Callie didn't look too bad, herself. She favoured a
brightly coloured swim dress style that not only looked tropical, but
emphasized her womanly curves without being too revealing. They were
both very aware of each other physically in a way they hadn't been
before today.

After
they swam they
shared a gigantic order of fries and shrimp from the snack shack on
the beach. Henry had never tried the local Key West Pink shrimp and
liked it. They were smaller than Gulf shrimp, but sweeter. After
lunch, they settled in to enjoy the sunshine, Henry reading the
newspaper and Callie a recipe magazine. An hour passed in
companionable silence, with the occasional exchange to point out an
interesting article or to ask a question.

Just
after 3 p.m., Henry suggested they pack in, and Callie agreed. She'd
enjoyed her afternoon but was feeling salty and was itching for a
shower. She dropped Henry back at the marina with a promise to
return within the hour for a grilled snapper dinner.

Callie
went home and washed the salt and sand away. She changed into capris
and a light blouse. She took some cookies of the freezer and placed
them in a tin to take over to Henry's. She guessed he hadn't
thought about dessert. And she always kept a
secret stash of Christmas cookies on hand for just such an emergency.

Callie
gathered up the cookies, her bag, and a book she and Henry had
discussed that she thought he'd enjoy, and headed for the marina.
When she arrived, Henry had the grill going on the top deck and was
waiting on Callie to arrive. He watched her walking down the dock
toward the boat.

“
Henry,
quick, come down!” There was an urgency to her voice. Her
ran down and jumped off the boat, anxious to see what was wrong.
Instead, he found her grinning and awwing.

“
What
is it? Are you all right?” Henry seemed concerned.

“
Yes,
I'm fine, sorry to alarm you. But look, there's a manatee in the
marina! Have you seen one yet?”

“
No,
Tom filled me in about them, but no.”

“
Well,
come see. They're amazing creatures.” Henry joined her and
watched as the gentle creature floated close to his boat. It was
amazing, and he'd never seen anything quite like it.

“
Pretty
cool, right? I did a project on manatees in senior year. I can
tell you all about them.” Callie grinned.

“
So,
tell me.”

“
Well,
they're mammals. Scientists think they can be relational in the same
way dolphins can. They make these neat sounds. And they're mostly
herbivores, and a manatee can eat ten percent of its body weight a
day in plants.” She grinned like she's just won first place
at the science fair. Henry bet Callie had been a good student in
school.

“
Impressive.
They are spectacular. Are they always this slow moving?” He
watched as the manatee hovered just below the surface, bobbing with
the tide and looking at them through the clear water.

“
Yes,
that's why they're called sea cows, I think. They're sort of slow
and lumbering but so charming. They're my favourite animal. My
cousin Rayna works with the vet in town, and sometimes I help them
when they do marine mammal rescues. I don't really know what I'm
doing, but often they just need extra hands to help lift and carry
and fetch things.” This didn't surprise Henry
to hear.
Callie had a heart for people and animals alike.

They
watched the manatee for a few minutes more, until he lumbered out of
the slip
and out into open water. Henry reached over and gave Callie a quick
kiss on the lips. She was surprised. But not disappointed.

“
Thanks
for sharing that with me. It was special. More so because you were
here. Are you ready for dinner?” She nodded yes and Henry
took her hand and they walked back to the boat and climbed up to the
top deck.

Henry
had everything ready to go and in a few short minutes, a delicious
dinner of snapper, asparagus and corn were done to perfection on the
grill. They ate in silence, enjoying the food and the sunset. And
each other. Though the conversation was minimal, their connection
was as palpable as the banana wind.

“
Thank
you for a delicious dinner. It's a real treat not to cook. And much
more fun eating with someone.” Callie smiled at Henry,
appreciatively.

“
Delighted
you could join me. Truth be told, I don't cook much and I quite
enjoy it. And grilling isn't really cooking, is it? Speaking of
which, I'm afraid I don't have any dessert to offer. I couldn't
think of one to make on the grill.”

“
Well,
good thing I know a thing
or two about dessert, then, isn't it?” Callie reached into her
bag and produced a metal tin covered in holly and ivy and handed it
to Henry. His eyes lit up. Men and their cookies. “Think you
can manage some coffee to go with those?”

“
Absolutely!
You are a superstar. I can't wait to see what's in that tin.
Coffee's coming right up.” Henry went below deck and came back
shortly with two steaming cups. He'd barely sat down when he opened
the tin and began sampling. He'd eaten three cookies before he
realized he hadn't offered Callie one yet. Where were his manners?
His mouth was full, so he proffered the tin to her.

“
No,
thanks, I'm good. But I'm glad to see you enjoying them. That's one
of the things I love about baking, it makes people happy. I feel
good about that.”

Henry
smiled. “Well, it's certainly making me happy. These are
outrageously good. Thank you, so much.” He ate one more
cookie, then purposefully put the lid back on the tin.

Callie
picked up her back and looked at her watch. “It's bedtime for
me, I'm afraid. I should go. I'm opening tomorrow.”

“
I
was wondering if you were open, it being Christmas E
ve
and all.”

“
Just
a half day. W
e'll
close at one, so Erin has a chance to get to her family stuff. And
it's pretty dead the last half of the day, anyway. P
eople
have places to be.”

“
And
where will you be, the rest of the day?” Henry hoped that
whatever on his agenda might include him.

“
Well,
I have a few errands and things to get done. But then I was going to
head to Key West to check out the lights and to see the lighted boat
parade. It's sort of a tradition. Would you like to come with me?”
He would, but Key West was a bit riskier than Sunnyside. More
chance of being recognized.

Callie
took his pause as a rejection. “It's fine
if you have other plans, don't worry about it. I just thought you
might like seeing Key West.”

Henry
took her hands in his and looked in her eyes. “Callie, yes,
I'd love to come. I'd like nothing better.” He leaned in and
kissed her, a full and proper kiss. When he released her mouth, she
felt like she was floating. He was some kisser, she'd give him that.
He leaned down again, kissed her forehead, and then released one
hand and lead her down to the marina. He walked her all the way to
her car and as he'd done before, settled her in and wished her sweet
dreams before waving her off.

The
night's events had been captured by Jimmy the paparazzo, who went
back to his hotel to check out the footage and to figure out his
strategy. It seemed Prince Henry had a girlfriend. And it looked
serious.

CHAPTER
TEN

December
24
^th
,
Christmas Eve

Jimmy
had been up all night, checking out the shots he had of Prince Henry
and the girl. This was a first for him. He'd been waiting his
whole career as a photographer for an exclusive sale. And as far as
he could tell, he was the only person who was on to this story.

He
had literally hundreds of shots. Prince Henry and the girl in her
car. In his car. At a local church. Having lemonade on the church
lawn. Talking to people who he thought might be her parents. And the
minister. Spending the day at the beach. And having dinner on a
boat. It would make an amazing pictorial.

But
his gut told him if he waited a few more days, got some more shots,
and did a little digging, he could really score. So that's what he
was doing. He had everything catalogued and ready to go when the
time was right, and had had his assistant come down from Miami with
his good cameras and lenses.

This
morning, he was going to go and check out the coffee shop in
Sunnyside Key. I
t
seemed like there was a tie in there.

Callie
and Erin were having a great morning at the Beach Buzz. All their
locals were coming in. They had told everyone if they brought a food
donation to the food pantry at the church, the coffee was free on
Christmas Eve. And their customers had supported their efforts.
Instead of bringing one item, many had brought sack of groceries. It
did Callie's heart good;
her neighbours were amazing people. If you asked for help, they gave
it.

Between
customers, Callie filled Erin in on her day yesterday. And Erin was
thrilled.

“
Callie,
I hate to say I told you so, but ...”

Callie
cut her off. “Don't say anything. We're just hanging out.
Nothing more. I expect he'll be gone shortly after Christmas.”

“
Did
he say so? “

“
Not
in so many words, no, but he must have to be back home by January.
He has work.” The thought made Callie sad. Even though she'd
only known Henry for a few days, it felt like longer. She'd never
felt such an instant click and such a sense of compatibility. She
knew intellectually they weren't really going out, but sometimes, it
felt like they were. She was going to miss him.