My Prince by Anna Martin Read Free Book Online Page A

then as his eyebrows shot up. “Wow. That’s… really good.”
    “Thank you. And for you?”
    “Do I get the special treatment too?” Alex said, knowing he was flirting. He was going to test the waters, see what sort of reaction it got from George.
    “Of course. What’s your poison?”
    “Tom Collins, normally.”
    “Got it.”
    Danny turned away again and started mixing.
    “You want to try this?” George asked, pushing the glass at Alex, almost forcibly bringing attention back to himself. Alex felt his stomach jump a little with victory.
    “Sure.”
    He took a small sip and grinned. “Wow,” he echoed. “That really is good.”
    It was a mellow, almost spicy, sour drink that didn’t feel too dragging and alcoholic. It had a faint orangey tang, which Alex liked a lot. His drink—whatever twist on a Tom Collins Danny had come up with—was served in one of those jam jars with the handle on the side. Stuffed full of ice and mint leaves, it was much more fussy than George’s straight-up.
    And it had a straw.
    “This is good too,” he said after trying it. “Elderflower?”
    “It was a risk,” Danny said with a shrug. “I thought you might go for it.”
    “I do,” Alex agreed. “Do you need me to pay now or can I start a tab?”
    “Yeah, we can take a tab, no worries—van Amsberg, right?”
    “Right.”
    “Your table is right over there. Just give me a wave if I can get you anything else.”
    “I will.”
     
     
    “S O , YOU ’ RE a student?” George asked.
    Alex nodded. “Yep. I’m doing my master’s, actually. In architecture.”
    “Oh,” George said, trying to sound like he didn’t know this already. From his not stalking . “That’s interesting.”
    “I think so.”
    “Do you study the theory? Or do you want to do architectural design?”
    “Both,” Alex said, and took a sip of his cocktail. “I love theory, and I love history. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel a fair bit. I love cityscapes—looking at how different people have come together to create iconic skylines.”
    “I don’t know that much about it.”
    “You know more than you think,” Alex said lightly. “I could show you a silhouette right now of London, or Paris, or New York, or San Francisco, or Seattle, or Sydney, or Rome, and you’d likely be able to name them. Because of their iconic buildings.”
    “And that’s what you want to do? Design iconic buildings?”
    Alex laughed. “Sure. What architect doesn’t? My master’s thesis is about iconic skylines, but I expect when I start work, I’ll go into domestic architecture.”
    “How come?”
    “Because I like people,” Alex said. “I really love the idea of working with a family to create a home that they’ll pass down through the generations.”
    “Alex?”
    “Mm?”
    “Can I ask you something?”
    “Sure.”
    “How old are you?”
    Alex grinned. “Twenty-three. You?”
    George winced. “Almost twenty-nine. I feel like a cradle snatcher.”
    “Don’t. I like that. Guys my own age are almost always mindless idiots. Tell me about your family?”
    George laughed and shook his head. “You don’t wanna know about them.”
    “I do!” Alex insisted. “I do.”
    “Okay. Well, I’m one of eight kids—”
    “Eight? Seriously?” Alex interjected.
    “Yeah,” George laughed.
    “Where are you”—Alex waved his hand around demonstratively—“in that lineup?”
    “Second. I have an older brother, Maggie—”
    “Wait, your brother is called Maggie?”
    “Will you stop interrupting me?” George said, poking Alex in the shoulder.
    “Sorry.”
    “His name is Keith. But our last name is Maguire. Maggie Maguire? It’s a nickname.”
    “Got it.” Alex slurped his cocktail loudly, then grinned.
    “Okay, so I’m two years younger than Maggie. Then I have six sisters.” He took a deep breath. “Caroline, Emma, Charlotte, Megan, Luna, and Felicity. And my sister Emma, she has a baby. Lily-Rose.”
    “That’s a lot of