Wedded for His Royal Duty by Susan Meier Read Free Book Online

a glance at him, running the situation through her brain again. He was so sexy in his scruffy jeans and white shirt that she had to admit she sort of liked the idea of marrying him. Even if his being nice to her was an act for the press, this was her shot. Her chance. She should not be overanalyzing this. She should be using it, engaging him in normal conversation to soften him up for when she experimented with flirting.
    “What was it like growing up in such a warm climate?”
    He took another quick look at her. “You mean as opposed to being required to wear a parka ninety percent of the year?”
    She laughed at his perceptiveness. “Yes.”
    “Nice.” He thought for a second. “I loved the beach, but I didn’t like the private area behind the palace. I wanted to be on the real beach, the public beach, with kids my own age. It wasn’t easy, and my bodyguards would groan when I was home from boarding school, but they generally found a way for me to be a normal kid.”
    “That’s why I fell in love with America. Most Europeans knew who I was. And if they didn’t, they knew I was ‘famous’ for some reason, so they’d Google me and that would be the end of any casual relationships. But in America, even knowing I was a princess, they’d shrug and say, ‘that’s cool,’ but otherwise, I was just a person to them.”
    “Interesting.”
    “I’m surprised you never encountered that.”
    He sneaked another peek at her. His brown eyes softened when he thought. His lips tilted up just slightly, as if something he remembered made him want to smile.
    Tingly warmth filled her. Oh, boy. It would be so flipping easy to fall for that smile. But it wasn’t real. And even though his behavior could only be an act for the press, something felt wrong. Off. Really, really off.
    “Stop the car.”
    “What?”
    She huffed out a breath. “Stop the car. Go back to the palace.”
    “We can’t. We’re supposed to be seen in public.”
    “I can’t behave normally at a restaurant or anywhere with you acting like this. It’ll make me a nervous wreck. I’ll look like an idiot.”
    “You’re fine.”
    “No. I’m not. And neither are you. What the hell happened to you while I was getting ready for this lunch?”
    “Nothing.” He laughed. “Just chill. Okay?”
    “Chill?”
    He shifted on his seat. “Yeah, just relax.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “Relax?”
    “My dad wants us out there looking like people preparing to get married. So we’re going out. It’s nothing sinister.”
    “So you talked to your dad?”
    He drew in a long breath as if holding back his anger—or maybe holding back a smart-assed comment, the kind of thing he would have said to her at breakfast. And her suspicions quadrupled.
    “Tell me what your dad said or turn the car around. I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain yourself.”
    * * *
    Alex realized his mistake a little too late. Of course, she was questioning his behavior. That morning he’d pushed her at breakfast then vowed to get out of marrying her. This afternoon, he was being nice to her. She was too clever not to realize something was up.
    “I’m just working to keep up the pretenses for the press.”
    “We’re in a car. No one can hear you. There’s no one to be keeping up the pretense for.”
    “The press has extremely good long-range camera lenses. They can pick up expressions in a car. Even a moving car.”
    Her eyes narrowed and she gave him that fierce silver stare of hers again.
    “Which is exactly why the Alex I talked to this morning would be taking this opportunity to make us look unsuitable.”
    He squirmed on his seat. Damn. She was bright.
    She shook her head. “Okay. Fine. You don’t want to talk? Turn the car around. Take me back to the palace.”
    Her tirade would have been cute, except she was ruining an illusion that she desperately needed in place. He stole a peek at her with his peripheral vision. He’d never fool her for four weeks. No one