The Princess Problem (7 page)

With a growl he reached up, pulled her off the mattress and into his arms, he lowered his head and kissed her, his firm lips claiming hers in a slow, fierce, devastating kiss.

“Whoo hoo!”

“Go for it, Highborn.”

“My goodness!”

The catcalls in the background slowly penetrated Alicia’s awareness. When he broke away and looked into her eyes, his brimmed with an emotion she didn’t recognize.

“What did you do that for?” she asked softly.

He lowered his gaze and helped her stand upright. “I thought you wanted the romance.”

She struggled in his grasp. “So you grabbed me like a caveman?”

One of the female employees sighed. “I thought it was romantic.”

“Me, too,” said Willa.

The way Alicia’s heart was pounding, apparently it agreed.

Jonas sucked in another breath and released her. “Well, I guess you have this well in hand. You can, of course, do what you want. I bow to your expertise.”

Still feeling stunned, her heart still pounding, Alicia watched him go. Yesterday the love-at-first-sight rose, and now a kiss? He was doing a great impression of a guy who believed in fairytales and happily ever afters. She blew out a breath and shook her head. “Okay everyone. Time to get back to work.”

* * *

Later that afternoon, Jonas opened the glass doors and headed inside. He’d been at the factory most of the day where there was always plenty to do, but the entire time he’d fought the urge to come back to the store. He had to admit he hadn’t gotten much work done.

Which was Alicia’s fault, of course. She had incredible drawing power. He couldn’t seem to stay away from her.

He could see that she and her crew were still working hard, and considered joining them. He wanted to go see what they were doing, but didn’t want to interrupt and knew he’d be a distraction, so he headed upstairs to his office instead.

He walked to the window overlooking the store. They were gathered around a laptop, watching something, Alicia using her hands to get a point across, her animated face visible as she talked to the others. A minute later a makeup artist retouched her face, then Alicia stood beside the bed and walked through a shot with the prince, who was indeed, wearing tights.

Jonas grimaced. He might not agree with Alicia’s vision for the project, but still, he had to admire how hard she worked. Her enthusiasm was still going strong, even after a long day on the job. He turned away. She was too attractive for his peace of mind and he wasn’t acting normally. He shouldn’t have come back here.

There was a knock on the door and his mother stuck her head inside the office. “Hi. I saw you come in.”

“How’s the commercial going?”

“Great.” His mom walked in, then sat in the chair across from him. “We’re almost done with the filming. It’s really coming together.”

“Well, as long as you’re happy with it.”

“I am. We all are. We went over to the house for a few hours today and took some shots of Alicia in the rose garden for the magazine ads. She looked beautiful surrounded by my roses.”

“Oh? Well, that’s good.” Jonas wondered what Alicia had thought about the rose he’d given her the night before. He wondered if she’d looked up its meaning.

“Son, I need to take you to task for something.”

“Am I in trouble?”

She took a breath. “Yes, you are, young man. And you need to make it up to me.”

Jonas eyed his mom. He knew when she was upset and when she was only acting upset. This definitely fell into the later category.

“Okay. What did I do this time?”

“You know very well what you did. It was completely inappropriate to make fun of Alicia’s ideas this morning, and to kiss her like that.”

He managed not to laugh. He knew good and well his mother didn’t mind him kissing Alicia.

“Did she complain?”

“No. But then she wouldn’t, would she? But still, I think you need to make it up to her. I think you’d better take her out to dinner tonight so the two of you can learn to get along. You need to clear the air.”

Jonas hid a smile. “Isn’t dinner a little much?” He pretended reluctance to tease his mother. “Can’t I simply apologize? Do I really need to take her out?”

His mother smiled. She knew when he was acting, as well. “She’s nice, isn’t she?”

His lips quirked up on one side. “Not to me.”

“Well, regardless, it was out of line to kiss her and you know it.”

“She really didn’t say anything about the kiss?”

“Not a word.”

Well he’d certainly thought about it all day. Maybe she had, too. “You’re right, Mom. I may have crossed a line today.”

Her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“I’m not sure she’ll even say yes, but I’ll ask her out to dinner.”

With a smile, his mother reached forward and patted his hand. “As your father always said,
nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

“I remember.”

She stood and headed for the door. “Wait until everyone leaves. There’s no need to put her on the spot twice in one day.” She turned back and gave him a smile. “But I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

Unable to sit still, he stood, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked to the window. He hoped so. He really did.

Chapter Seven

It had been a long but exhilarating day. Alicia just wanted to go home, get something to eat, and crash. As soon as she finished straightening everything so it was ready for tomorrow, that was exactly what she planned to do.

Other than the employees who worked at the store, she was the last one there for the night. After she’d changed, Willa had taken the dress to the dry cleaners so it would be ready in the morning, leaving Alicia to finish straightening up. She heard footsteps approaching, and a quick glance told her it was Jonas and her pulse sped up without her permission.

He stopped a few feet away. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she said, a little breathlessly. She admitted to herself she was happy to see him, and that maybe she’d dawdled a bit, hoping he’d appear. She shot him a quick glance as the growing silence between them became awkward.

He cleared his throat. “So, I was wondering if I could talk you into going out to dinner with me tonight?”

Her throat tightened. “Dinner?”

“Yes. But first I want to apologize for my earlier behavior.”

Remembering how angry she’d been, she hunched a shoulder as she shuffled some photos into a pile and put them in an envelope. “For tearing apart my ideas this morning? Or for kissing me?”

“For tearing apart your ideas.”

She finally looked at him. “What about the kissing?”

He shrugged. “I’m not really sorry for that. But did you want an apology, anyway?”

Alicia’s mouth parted, but she couldn’t help it. She laughed. When he grinned down at her, she realized that, against her better judgment, she was really starting to like the guy. It probably didn’t hurt that he was gorgeous and that she felt addled and dazzled whenever he was around.

Maybe sitting across from him and having a normal conversation was just what she needed to keep the butterflies in her stomach under control. She wasn’t the kind of girl who bickered and quarreled with others. She usually didn’t like to fight, and it sort of worried her that she enjoyed fighting with Jonas so much. So, yes, maybe dinner, where they could practice acting like two civilized adults, was exactly what they needed.

She lifted one shoulder. ‘Sure, why not? Dinner sounds nice.” She set the envelopes in a neat pile on the makeshift desk. “Do you want me to follow you to the restaurant in my car?”

She raised her gaze to find his locked upon her mouth and realized she was having trouble getting enough air.

He sucked in a breath. “Let’s take my car. Then we can ride over together, and I’ll drop you back here after.”

She fumbled for her purse. “All right. Let’s go.”

* * *

Once outside, they walked slowly to the parking lot.

“This way.” Jonas led her to his BMW, unlocked it, and held the door.

“Wow.” She bent over and slid inside. “What a gentlemanly thing to do. I’m going to have to give you a point.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jonas chuckled. “I’m back on the point system? What happens when I get enough points?”

Alicia gave him a half-smile and glanced up at him through her lashes as she settled into the seat. “Something good, I’m sure.”

“Hmm.” He grinned down, one hand on top of the car, the other on the door, boxing her in. “You know, I think you’re onto something here. I actually work really well with a reward system in place.” One of his brows arched. “So if I’m really good tonight, do I get, say, a kiss when I drop you off at your car?”

Alicia’s skin prickled under his slow perusal, the sensation spreading until her whole body tingled. “You didn’t apologize for the last one yet.”

“If I do apologize, then do I earn a point and a kiss?”

She should just shut him down, tell him no, but instead she was trying to hold back a smile. She wanted another kiss, too, preferably without an audience this time. Just to see if it was really as good as she remembered or if she’d built it up in her mind. She lifted a shoulder. “For one measly point? I’ll have to think about that.”

His lips curved. “Hold that thought.” He shut the door, rounded the car, and slid inside. “Okay.” He buckled his seat belt and started the car. “Thinking is good. But just for clarification, exactly how many points would I need to earn? I mean, I have one now for opening the door, right?”

“Yes.” She crossed her legs and sighed. “But I’m taking away that point for the earlier kiss.”

He glanced at her legs, took a deep breath, and pulled out of the parking lot onto the main road. “That’s a little harsh, but okay. So I’m starting at zero?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“No, that’s okay. I just don’t want to find out later there are minus points I didn’t know about.”

“Well, I certainly could add some minus points for other things, but for the sake of making this easier, we’ll start with zero.”

His lips quirked. “That’s very generous of you.”

She grinned. “I thought so, too.”

“Okay. So how many points would it take for a kiss?”

“Let’s say…five? But I reserve the right to minus points for pretty much anything, so…” she shrugged.

He glanced at her. “So be on my best behavior?”

She straightened in her seat and tried to look nonchalant. “Only if you think the reward will be worth it.”

He looked at her lips for a long moment, before turning back to watch the road. “Oh, it’s worth it all right. I intend to stun you with my best behavior.”

She shivered. His words, the way he kept glancing at her, looking at her lips, had heat rising in her cheeks. No doubt she was an idiot or a glutton for punishment. Hadn’t she decided to go to dinner with him so they could learn to act like normal people around each other? She hadn’t planned to flirt with him, but couldn’t seem to help herself. She didn’t doubt for a moment she was playing with fire. He was simply too attractive. One kiss in a day from Jonas was enough of a danger to any girl’s heart, and the way hers raced let her know she definitely wasn’t immune.

The question now was, would she award him the five points? Or would she chicken out by the time he dropped her at her car? Even she didn’t know.

* * *

“What sounds good for dinner?” Jonas asked. “Mexican? Italian? Burgers? Salad?”

“Italian sounds good.”

“Good choice. Matteo’s is just down the road.” A few minutes later Jonas pulled into the parking lot, switched off the car, and turned toward her. “Don’t move a muscle.” He jumped out, rounded the car, and opened her door. He took her hand and helped her out of the car, one warm hand clasping hers, the other cupping her elbow, his actions making her feel treasured and leaving her breathless.

As he ushered her inside, his hand, big and warm, settled on her lower back and goosebumps ran up her neck, then down her arms. She shivered, glad for the lightweight jacket she wore. They were immediately seated and the hostess lit the candle on the checkered tablecloth and handed them their menus before leaving.

After they’d both studied the menu and ordered, Jonas eyed her across the table, his expression slightly predatory. “This is romantic.”

She raised a brow. “How would you know? You’re not a romantic.”

“I never said that.”

“You said you didn’t believe in happily ever afters, remember? Anyway, you don’t like fairytales.”

“I like fairytales just fine.”

“Oh really? Then admit that The Princess and the Pea is a brilliant idea for a mattress advertising campaign.”

“It’s growing on me.”

Her lips curled into a grin. “You just earned yourself a point.”

Jonas straightened in his chair. “It’s really,
really
growing on me.”

Alicia laughed and he smiled at her, looking pleased. He was so unbelievably good-looking it almost hurt to look at him. His eyes were a hypnotic blue, his features flawless. Dark stubble covered his wide jaw, and his thick dark hair was slightly tousled. Gorgeous. But it was the way he was looking at her that made her light-headed. Her gaze dropped to the flickering candle, but she could still feel his fixed stare, and it made her giddy. She took a breath. “Your mother tells me you’re thirty?”

“My mother tells me you’re twenty-six, and that you grew up in Spokane. Tell me more about yourself.”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I did. My family is still there. I went to Eastern Washington University right after high school and lived at home for a while. Then my mom wanted me to spread my wings a bit and I went to the University of California in San Diego. It was a fantastic experience. I still keep in touch with all my college roommates. After that I went to film school for two years. What about you? Have you always live here?”

He nodded. “I grew up here, but I went back east for college. Then to Berkley to get my MBA before coming back to take over the running of the mattress factory so my dad could retire. Not that he ever actually did, but that was the plan.”