Recklessly Royal (29 page)

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I brushed the hair out of my eyes and glared at mini-Alfred. “Just go ask her.”

“Miss Rousseau, this is a very respectable restaurant. I suggest you leave and not cause a scene. I will call security if I need to.”

“I suggest you go ask the duchess if she’s expecting me, or go ahead and call security and you can expect a scene. Then when she sees you escorting me out of the restaurant, you can explain why you sent me away.”

“I’ll go. This once.” He eyed me for a long moment before sighing heavily. “If it turns out you are not an invited member of their party, I will be returning with security.”

“And you can apologize when you get back with your tail between your legs.” Operation Pissed was coming into play. I had a hard time holding my tongue when I got into that mode.

The man sniffed again and I was tempted to offer him a tissue but bit the inside of my cheek instead. “We’ll see.”

He walked away from the little podium and the blond hostess took his place. She ignored me as if I wasn’t there, and that was just fine by me. I slid closer and looked at the sheet in front of her. Just before she covered it with her arm, my eyes landed on my name.

“Oh, now that’s just rude.” I turned away and quickly followed the old man to a table in the center of the room. Those petty jerks were trying to keep me out because they thought I didn’t belong? Because of my truck or my clothes?

My furious stride made quick work of the space between the door and the table Alfred was standing next to. I caught up to him in time to hear the last of his words.

“She looks rather questionable.”

“The ‘rather questionable’ woman is standing right behind you.”
You stupid little dildo.
I glared at his head, barely registering the people at the table until they stood up.

“I was told the Parallel, and I would assume its restaurant, was used to hosting dignitaries and royalty.” The woman’s voice was calm and cool. “Your tone would be embarrassing no matter who you thought Lady Rousseau was.”

My eyes jerked to the woman and I wondered if the duchess was losing her mind. Perhaps it was appropriate to address people by Lady or Sir in their country. Her mouth twitched in amusement as she watched the man grovel and I decided she must be teaching him a lesson. She might be my hero.

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea. . . .” The Alfred wannabe was sputtering apologies and it took all my willpower to keep from rolling my eyes.

“No, don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Lady Rousseau.” Her eyes twinkled when she looked at me.

“My apologies, Miss—I mean, Lady Rousseau.”

I bowed my head a little. “Accepted. Perhaps you shouldn’t be so quick to judge next time.”

“Yes, my lady. May I take your coat?”

I shrugged out of my coat and that’s when I felt his eyes on me. Looking up, I realized Prince Yummy had indeed come for the dinner. Jess and the undergrads had been wrong. He wasn’t yummy, he was delicious; a feast to be savored. Dark blond hair hung a smidge too long, eyes so blue it was like looking into the heart of a glacier. Built like the statue of David; the contours of his suit hugging every delicious muscle. Laugh lines around his mouth and eyes brought him into the realm of humanity, and gave him a personality. As his eyes ran over my face and down my body slowly, heat washed over my skin. When I handed the jacket to the maître d’ I felt naked. There was something about his bright blue eyes that left me feeling exposed.

“Thank you, Alfred.” I mumbled the words, feeling completely off guard by the look I’d just received. The man left without a word, and I really hoped he didn’t do anything nasty to my jacket.

“Alfred?” The prince’s mouth quirked on one side, revealing a dimple, and I wondered if a dimple could kill a person. It was possible I was having a heart attack right now. “Is that his name?”

“Oh, you know. He looks a bit like Batman’s butler, but without the wicked sense of humor.” I winced. I was speaking to a prince, a real live prince, and my first interaction was describing a comic-book character. At least I wasn’t a slobbering mess looking at him.

“I vaguely recall something about Batman and his butler.” The prince’s eyes glittered mischievously. I felt my mouth twist a little, relieved he had gotten my ill-timed sense of humor. “I would have pegged him more as Jarvis. Slow, annoyed voice.”

“Samantha, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The duchess held her hand out for me, and for a brief moment I panicked, not sure if I was supposed to bow over it or shake it. I decided if she was in America I was just going to shake it. Her fingers were dry and warm, her grip surprisingly tight. “I’m Rose.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Jesus. I should have read that article myself. I had no idea what to say or how to act.

“This is my nephew, Alex.” I turned toward the outstretched hand and hoped my palms weren’t sweaty.

“An honor to meet you.” As soon as the words had left my mouth, I regretted them. Why had I said that? Why didn’t I just say it was nice to meet him? Surely it hadn’t sounded like a come-on. I was just being paranoid. How had I lost control of this evening already? Who was I kidding? I’d lost control as soon as that weirdo Duvall had approached me.

“The honor is mine. Trust me.” Instead of shaking, he lifted my hand to his mouth and his lips brushed across my knuckles gently. They were warm and full, and my body tingled at the contact. I stopped breathing for a moment and had to remind myself that oxygen was important. When he lowered my hand, his thumb ran over my knuckles. He knew how to affect a woman, that was for sure. Stepping around me, he pulled my chair out. I don’t think anyone has ever pulled a chair out for me. It was weird. What did I do with my feet? The stupid heels caught on the floor and almost came off, so I just lifted them up until he was done.

He moved around to his aunt and helped her into her chair as well. She was watching me with bright, intelligent eyes and I wondered what she was thinking. I felt a bit like she was measuring me. She motioned to the waitress standing off to the side and I was offered a glass of wine. I took it, but only to be courteous. I was already feeling out of my element.

“I apologize for that terribly inappropriate behavior, Samantha.” Rose frowned.

“It’s okay, Duchess. I’m sure he was just trying to keep people from bothering you.” I was being generous. I was mentally debating egging the hotel.

“Please, call me Rose.” She smiled at me and I smiled back.

“Thank you, Rose.”

“Are you ready to order?” The waitress was back, her white button-up shirt was undone a bit and she stood close to the prince. The question had been addressed to him and only him. Rose looked at me and winked as if amused, but when I noted his uncomfortable expression I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. His face had transformed from friendly and thoughtful to stony.

“Actually, I haven’t had a chance to look at the selection.” I cleared my throat and picked up the large red menu.

“I’ll give you a little more time.”

“Could you turn the heat up a little?” The waitress started to turn, but his voice stopped her. His blue eyes locked on mine and for a minute I wondered if my clothes had caught on fire. Or maybe his accent had managed to make it hotter without turning up the heat. “I noticed your hands were cold.”

“No, no. I’m fine really.” It was cold in the restaurant, not that I noticed right this minute. Or maybe that was just the dress I was wearing. It wasn’t exactly designed for winter wear, but it was the nicest dress I owned. When my mother passed, it was one of the things I had made sure didn’t disappear. I wasn’t much of a fashionista, but I loved the vintage Chanel.

He looked at the waitress and smiled. “The heat, please.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” At her use of his title, the corners of his mouth twitched down briefly and he looked back at his menu.

“Thank you, but I really was fine.” I looked at him and narrowed my eyes. I didn’t care for men that ordered food for their women and picked out their clothing. Even if he was hot as hell.

“No reason to be uncomfortable.” He smiled, his eyes moving back to my face. I felt heat creep into my cheeks and I looked away. Squinting, I stared at my menu, not really seeing the words, and tried to crush the odd effect he seemed to have on me. This was a business meeting and it needed to stay professional.

I could feel his gaze like a hot touch. It had been a while since I had been with a man, but that was fixable. They made toys to replace men. However, I had a feeling Prince Alex could do things that would make my toy wholly inadequate.

“Have you been here before, Samantha?” Rose’s voice drifted to my ears and I was glad for the distraction.

“No, this is the first time I’ve eaten at the Parallel, but I’ve heard the food is wonderful.” I smiled over my menu at her. Sometimes there’s a feeling when you meet someone, a sense of understanding and connection. I felt it with Rose. “Dr. Geller comes here occasionally for business lunches. Speaking of Dr. Geller, I wasn’t able to get in touch with him before coming to dinner, so please forgive me for being unprepared. I’m not sure what exactly we’re discussing tonight.”

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.”

How to Lose a Royal

—
PERRY TALKS

“M
Y 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.”

“No, I can’t say I know much about your homeland.”

“Let me tell you a bit about it. We control a rather large portion of Europe’s oil resources, which brings a great deal of wealth to our citizens, but it also brings trouble. In the late eighteen hundreds, a royal family of the name Malatar felt it was time for a change; however, they didn’t want an outright war. You see, they didn’t have many supporters. The country was flourishing and the people were happy.” Rose looked at the waitress, who seemed to be taking longer than needed to deliver Alex’s plate. With annoyance, I realized she was buttering his roll while pushing her cleavage into his face. I don’t know why I cared, but it bothered me. Here we were trying to have an important conversation and this chick was acting like a dog in heat. He didn’t look exactly happy about it, but also looked like he wasn’t sure how to stop it without a fuss.