HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS by Christine Rimmer Page A

me.”
    She turned her head and pinned him with an unwavering look. “You keep leaving out love.”
    He made a low growling sound. “You make me be honest, and then you want me to come on with hearts and flowers.”
    “No, I don’t want you to come on with hearts and flowers. I truly don’t. I want you to be exactly who and what you are. I like you. A lot. Too much. I find you smoking hot. If I wasn’t trying to be a better person, I would be rolling around naked on this blanket with you right now.”
    He shut his eyes and hung his golden head. “Great. Tell me in detail what you’re not going to do with me.”
    “Stop it.” She leaned toward him.
    His head shot up and he wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her close. “Alice...” His eyes burned into hers.
    She whispered, “Please don’t....”
    With slow care, he released her.
    They sat for a minute or two without speaking.
    And then she tried again. “For me, right now, running off to Santa Barbara with you tomorrow seems like just another crazy harebrained stunt. I would need a little time to think this over.”
    He slid her a glance. “So you’re not saying no.”
    “Not yes, either,” she warned.
    “But you’ll think about it.”
    She nodded. “And you should do some thinking, too—about how you’re hoping I’m going to learn to trust and count on you.”
    He scowled at her. “You’re getting at something. Will you just say it, whatever it is?”
    “Fine. If we can’t talk about love, we can at least talk about monogamy. Because that’s a condition for me. If you ever want me to marry you, your days as a lady-killer are done.”
    He said very slowly, the words dragging themselves reluctantly out of him, “I haven’t been with anyone for months. And I can’t believe I’m admitting it to you.”
    “Good. It’s a start.” She stood. “I want to go now.”
    He didn’t argue that time. Apparently he agreed that they’d said all they were going to say for one night. He got up, shook out the blanket and tucked it under his arm. She turned and led the way up to the car.
    The ride to her villa took only a few minutes. They were very quiet minutes. To Alice it seemed she could cut the silence with a dull knife.
    When they pulled up at the curb, she turned to say good-night to him, to thank him for a wonderful evening. Because it had been wonderful, even the rockiest parts. Wonderful and true and difficult. And real.
    He only reached for her and covered her mouth with his. She swayed against him, sighing, and he wrapped her up tight in his powerful arms.
    It was a great kiss, one of the best. So good she almost said yes, she would go with him after all. Anywhere he wanted. To the ends of the earth.
    If he would only kiss her like that again.
    But instead, she took a card from her jeweled minaudière and pressed it into his hand. “Home and cell. Call me.”
    Gruffly, he commanded, “Come and stay with me soon.”
    She leaned close, pressed her cheek to his and whispered, “Noah. Good night.” The driver pulled her door open.
    She grabbed her shoes and her wrap and jumped out before she could weaken. Then she stood there on the walk, barefoot in her gold dress, and watched his car drive away.

Chapter Five
    N oah slept on the plane, but only fitfully. His car and driver were waiting for him at the Santa Barbara Airport when his flight touched down. He’d have one night in his own bed and then in the morning he’d board another plane to San Francisco for meetings with a media firm seeking investors for a TV-streaming start-up.
    At the estate, Lucy came running out to greet him. She grabbed him and hugged him and said how she’d missed him. It did him good to see her smile. She seemed to have boundless energy lately. He was pleased at how well she was doing.
    They were barely in the front door before she started in on him about college in Manhattan.
    He took her by her thin shoulders and held her still. “Lucy.”
    She looked up