The Lost Princes of Ambria 06 - Taming the Lost Prince by Raye Morgan Page B

be done.”
    She stared at him. Yes, it had to be done. And he’d done it. He was a man who went ahead and did things. He didn’t wait to see how the wind might blow. He made things happen. Suddenly, her heart filled with affection for him. So he stole a horse—so what!
    “And you …?” she asked.
    He shook his head. “I never went back. It was time for me to go anyway.”
    She took a deep breath and sighed as though she’d just been through something important. “Wow. You were a hero.”
    “No.” He shook his head and appeared pained. “It was my fault the horse was taken in the first place. I should have been more obsequious to the minister. I don’t ever seem to be able to learn that lesson.”
    “And I don’t suppose you were much of a hero to the Mercurian regime, were you?”
    He gave a short laugh. “Hardly.”
    “So by the time you left, they already had a pretty deep grudge against you.”
    “So it seems.”
    Their tea was getting cold and the first round of sandwiches had arrived. Luckily, they were delicious and Kayla began to relax. It was wonderful what a little bit of tea and some yummy finger food could do. She was feeling so much better about everything.
    He had reasons for taking the plane and reasons for stealing the horse. Surely he also had an explanation for the historical artifact. Whatever that was. But she wouldn’t bug him about that right now. All in good time.
    She definitely wouldn’t let herself get caught up in so much worry about it any longer. She had work to do. She was supposed to mold him into a prince in a week. It was time to get going on that little job.
    “We’ve got to get back to the essential things we’ve been tasked with,” she told him between bites of a watercress delectable. She gave him a significant look. “Prince lessons.”
    He rolled his eyes but didn’t balk. “I’m game,” he said with resignation. “What do I do next? Cut my hair in a pageboy?”
    “Nothing so old-fashioned as that,” she assured him. “But I think we ought to make a list.” She pulled a notebook out of her huge purse. She’d brought it along just for this sort of thing.
    “A list?” His look was wary.
    “A list of all the things the modern nobleman must be.”
    He gave her a crooked grin so endearing, she felt something move in her chest. He’d grinned at her with just that look before. She had a quick flashback to a day on the beach down on the Mediterranean, a day so bright and beautiful, it made her think her world had been enchanted. Max and Eddie were competing to see who could build the best sand castle. And she was just sitting to the side, watching them and laughing at their silly macho banter. The sea was turquoise blue, the sand was sparkling, the sun was liquid gold.
    A perfect day. A perfect time. A bittersweet sense of nostalgia swept through her and she had to hold back tears. Nothing would ever be so special again.
    She pulled herself back into the now and Max was still making fun of her list.
    “I’ll see your modern nobleman list,” he teased her. “And then we’ll raise the stakes and make a list of everything the non-noble should know before attempting to play the royal game. That one I might be able to shoot for.”
    She shook her head. “Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean you have to absorb everything all at once. It’s more of a wish list.” She wrote on the top of the page, The Attributes of the Perfect Prince.
    “Perfect?” He groaned. “Might as well toss it right now.”
    “Will you stop it?” she said, raising her pen to her cheek as she thought things over. “I know. We’ll start with physical appearance.”
    He seemed surprised. “You don’t think I’ve got the looks for the job?”
    She flashed him a satirical glance. “As far as the basics, you’ll do. But there’s more to it. There’s a certain way that a prince carries himself.”
    He grinned. “Arrogance and disdain? I think I can handle that.”
    She pretended