Not-So-Perfect Princess (5 page)

Disappointment settled in the center of Jules’s chest, but she didn’t allow her shoulders to slump. Being here was still better than Aliestle. “So I’m only allowed to sail on lakes and rivers?”

“I’ve seen what sailing has done to my brother. The sport killed your mother. Once we are married, I do not want you to sail again.”

The air rushed from Jules lungs. Tears stung her eyes. She clutched the railing. “But I’ve always been able to sail. Just not on the ocean.”

“That was your father’s decision. This is mine.”

No! Her chest tightened. This was so much worse than she imagined. It wasn’t only the sailing. The tone of Enrique’s voice told her she would be exchanging her controlling father for a controlling husband. Her freedom would be curtailed here, too.

“Don’t look so disappointed,” Enrique chided. “This isn’t personal. I’m not trying to be cruel.”

“What are you trying to do then?”

“Be honest and help you,” he said. “It’s time for you to grow up and put childish things aside, Julianna. You may believe sailing is good for you, but it’s been brought to my attention that sailing brings out a wilder side in you.”

She drew back. “What have I done?”

“Kissed Prince Niko.”

“One kiss. We were engaged at the time.”

“There have been other reports,” Enrique said calmly, as if they were discussing business and not her life. “Such a pursuit is inappropriate for a future queen. You must embrace the bigger duty you’ll now have.”

Jules forced herself to breathe. Carving a new life for herself and helping Aliestle would be an uphill battle. She would be constrained here on the island, too. “What is to be my role here? My bigger duty?”

“You are to be my wife. You will provide me with heirs.”

Both of those things she’d known about. Accepted. But she doubted that was all Enrique would want from her. “And?”

“You will be a conventional princess and queen the people can respect. It’s in your best interest to do what I say and not bring any embarrassment to our name.”

Her best interest? What about their best interest? Enrique seemed to want to tell her what to do, not have a real relationship with her. How could love grow out of that?

Emotion clogged her throat.

What was she going to do?

Returning to Aliestle in disgrace and marrying a nobleman would be the worst choice for her, Brandt, her country and her future children. Doing something more drastic didn’t appeal to her, either.

Other women might run away. But if she turned her back on her responsibilities she would be exiled. Her father would keep her brothers from seeing her. Not only that, her father would also denounce her. Conditions would worsen for the women in her country. She couldn’t give up on everything she’d sacrificed her whole life for and her family.

That left one choice—going through with the wedding. Her stomach churned.

Think of the bigger picture, the future, others.

Jules would be able to help Brandt and Aliestle. Her children would have a better life and more choices on the island. Those things would make up for everything she was giving up. In time, Jules would see she made the right decision.

But right now, it still…hurt.

In an apartment on the ground floor, Alejandro tried to relax. But being back at the palace made him antsy. So did something else. Someone else…

Julianna.

Maybe she wasn’t as bad as he originally thought. She seemed different tonight, warmer and more genuine. But if that were the case, he couldn’t understand her icy facade earlier.

Not that he should be thinking about his brother’s fiancée at all.

Alejandro sat on the floor and used a laser pointer to play with the kitten. This was the same room he’d had as a teenager, though the furniture had been replaced, the floors refinished and the walls painted. The decor wasn’t the only change. Back when he’d been a teenager, a guard had always been stationed outside the back door that led to the beach path to keep him from running away. Not that a guard had been able to stop him. At least his father hadn’t posted anyone there tonight.

The kitten sprinted across the hardwood floor after the red dot, pawing and pouncing until he plopped onto a hand-woven rug and purred. His eyes closed.

As Alejandro moved from the floor to a chair, a flash of blue passed outside the window. The same blue as Julianna’s gown.

He stood to get a better look.

Silky fabric and blond hair billowed behind her as she hurried down the path leading to the beach, making her look almost ethereal with the starry night sky as her backdrop.

Not his type, Alejandro reminded himself.

He glanced at the clock. Eleven o’clock. A little late to go beachcombing. Not that what she did was any of his business.

But no one seemed to be with her. Not Enrique. Not her bodyguard.

That didn’t sit well with Alejandro.

She shouldn’t be alone. It was dark. She could lose her way.

On a lighted path, an inner voice mocked.

Something could happen to her. Alejandro ignored the fact that he could find his brother and send him after Julianna.

Alejandro stepped outside onto the patio. The tile was hard beneath his bare feet. Planters full of fragrant flowers lined the edge. Lanterns hung from tall wrought-iron poles.

Maybe Julianna wanted a closer look at the water, or to dance on the beach under the moonlight…or skinny-dip.

As his blood surged at the thought, he quickened his pace. Now that he would like to see. Ice princess or not.

The lighted path stopped at the beach. Alejandro’s bare feet sunk into the fine sand. Thanks to the moonlight, he saw Julianna standing at the water’s edge holding her high heels in one hand. The hem of her gown dragged on the sand. Wind ruffled her hair and the fabric of her dress. Waves crashed against the shore, the water drawing closer to her. She didn’t move.

Mesmerized by the sea or thinking? About him?

He scoffed at the stupid thought. She would be thinking about Enrique. Her fiancé. Alejandro should leave her alone.

Yet he remained rooted in place, content to watch her.

Being here had nothing to do with the way her dress clung to her curves or the slit that provided him with a glimpse of her long, smooth legs. He was here for her protection. Even though this strip of white sand was private, reachable only from the palace or by water. He didn’t see any boats offshore, only silver moonlight reflecting off the crescents of waves.

Still he stood captivated by the woman in front of him. The individual, not incarnations of women she would become. Future sister-in-law, mother of his nieces and nephews, queen.

He longed to go to her, pull her into an embrace, taste her sweet lips and feel her lush curves pressed against him.

What the hell was he thinking?

Disgusted with the fantasy playing in his mind, Alejandro turned to leave. Julianna moved in his peripheral vision. He looked back. She sat on the sand, resting her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook as if she were crying.

A sob smacked into him. His gut clenched.

The instinct to bolt was strong. Tears made him uncomfortable. He’d been in enough short-term relationships to know crying women were to be avoided at all costs. He never knew what to say and feared making a situation worse.

Yet he walked toward her anyway as if pulled by an invisible line. Compelled by something he couldn’t explain. “Julianna.”

She didn’t look up. “Go away, please.”

Her voice sounded raw, yet she was polite, always the proper princess. He saw her behavior wasn’t an act like his brother’s. His respect inched up for her. “I’m not going away.”

“I’ll pretend you aren’t here then.”

“It won’t be the first time that’s happened.” He plopped onto the sand next to her. “I’ve been becalmed many times. Having the boat bob like a cork while waiting for wind to return used to drive me crazy, but I’ve learned to enjoy the downtime.”

She remained silent.

As waves broke against the shore, Alejandro studied the stars in the sky. He drew pictures in the sand. A boat. A crab. A heart. He wiped them away with the side of his hand.

Julianna raised her head. “You’re still here.”

“Yes.” Tears streaked her cheeks. The sadness in her swollen eyes reignited his desire to take her in his arms and kiss her until she smiled. “I may have some of the same stubborn streak shared by other members of my family.”

She sniffled.

He wished he had a tissue for her. One of those handkerchiefs his brother and father carried in their pockets would come in handy. “When you’re ready to talk…”

A new round of tears streamed down her face. She looked devastated, as if someone she loved had died.

Her vulnerability clawed at his heart, made him feel useless, worthless. He couldn’t sit here and do nothing.

Alejandro turned toward Julianna and lifted her onto his lap.

She gasped. Stiffened.

A mistake, probably, but he’d deal with that later. He needed to help Julianna.

The moment he wrapped his arms around her something seemed to release inside her. She sagged against him, rested her head on his shoulder and cried. He rubbed her back with his hand, the same way his mother used to do whenever he’d been hurt by something Enrique did or his father had said.

Julianna’s tears didn’t stop, but that didn’t bother Alejandro. She felt so perfect nestled against him. Her sweet scent enveloped him. He would have preferred to be in this position under different circumstances, but he knew that wasn’t possible. She had a fiancé—what she needed tonight was a friend.

He could be a friend. That was all he could ever be to her.

Her tears slowed. Her breathing became less ragged.

“Thank you,” Julianna muttered. “I’m sorry for inconveniencing you. This is so unlike me.”

Alejandro brushed the strands of hair sticking to her tearstained cheeks. “You’re in my arms and on my lap. Formalities and apologies aren’t necessary.”

She stared up at him. Even with puffy, red eyes she was still beautiful.

But she was almost family. She would be his sister-in-law.

Julianna scooted off his lap. “I’m better now.”

He missed the warmth of her body, the feel of her curves against him. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

She looked at the water. “It’s nothing.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

A beat passed. And another. “Did you hang around after Enrique joined me on the terrace?”

“No.” Maybe Alejandro should have.

She took a slow breath. “I thought coming here and marrying Enrique would be so much better than staying in Aliestle. I believed things would be…different.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s difficult to explain. Do you recall at dinner when you asked if we sailed, and Brandt answered?”

Alejandro nodded. He’d thought that odd.

“Brandt spoke because he knows how much sailing means to me, and I would’ve gotten carried away. I love it. I’d rather sail than do anything. Being on a boat is the only time I can be myself. Not a proper princess or a dutiful daughter and sister.” She gazed at the water. “It’s heaven on earth for me.”

The passion in her words heated the blood in his veins. The longing for independence, for a freedom from all the expectations of being a royal matched the desire in his heart. This perfect princess was as much a black sheep as him. She just kept the true color of her wool hidden. “I know exactly how you feel.”

She studied him. “I thought you might. My father has never allowed me to sail on the ocean due to my mother dying during a race. That’s why Enrique turned down your invitation to go sailing. My father said once I married, Enrique could decide whether I could sail or not.”

“You’ll be living on an island,” Alejandro said. “Why wouldn’t you sail?”

“That’s what I thought. After you left the terrace, I asked Enrique about being able to sail.” Her lower lip quivered. “He has forbidden me to sail. Not only on the ocean, but ever again. He says sailing brings out a wildness in me that’s not appropriate for a future queen. I’m to be a conventional wife and princess.”

Tears gleamed in her eyes.

Damn Enrique. His brother was a complete moron. A total ass. As usual. “He has spoken without thinking.”

“He was quite serious about his expectations of me.”

“My brother might be a cad, but he isn’t a monster. He’ll come around.”

Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. “I don’t think he will.”

Alejandro’s chest tightened. “I’ll talk to Enrique. Make him see how much sailing means to you.”

“No,” she said. “He might change his mind about marrying me.”

Not likely given her dowry. But Julianna was so much more than the money she brought to the marriage. She might act like a cold, dutiful princess, but underneath the perfect facade was a passionate woman looking to break free of the obligations that came with her tiara and scepter. La Isla de la Aurora deserved a queen like Julianna. Too bad Enrique didn’t deserve a woman like her.

“Ask to be released from the marriage contract.” Alejandro couldn’t believe those words had come from his lips.

“I can’t.”

“You won’t.”

“If I don’t marry Enrique, I’ll be sent home to marry one of the sons of our Council of Elders.” The way her voice cracked hurt Alejandro’s heart. “In Aliestle, it’s against the law to disobey your husband. I’d rather raise my children in a country that is more progressive. At least in principle. This is my fate. I must learn to accept it.”

Alejandro hated seeing her so distressed. She deserved to be happy, to have the freedom to do what she wanted to do.

“Not so fast,” he said. “In spite of a few traditional mindsets here, La Isla de la Aurora is a progressive country. That includes our laws. Enrique can’t throw you in prison or lock you away in a tower if you disobey him and go sailing.”

“This isn’t only about my sailing.”

“I’m not only talking about sailing. My mother left the island fifteen years ago.” Alejandro had learned an important lesson the day his mother left. Never rely on anyone but yourself. “Separation is an option here, even for royals.”