Free HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS by Christine Rimmer

edge of a sheer cliff with the sea spread out beyond. He could hear the waves on the rocks below. He caught her eye over the roof of the car. “It’s beautiful here.”
    She grinned as though she’d created the setting herself. “I thought you might like it. There’s a path down to a fine little slice of beach. A private beach. Is there a blanket or two in the boot?”
    There were two. Talbot got them from the trunk. He handed them to Noah and then got back in behind the wheel to wait until they were ready to go.
    She’d left her wrap and bag in the car, but her gold sandals had high, delicate heels. Noah eyed them doubtfully. “Are you sure you can make it down a steep trail in those?”
    “Good point.” She slipped off the flimsy shoes, opened the car door again, and tossed them inside. “Let’s go.”
    Going barefoot didn’t seem like a good idea to him. “Alice. Be realistic. You’ll cut up your feet.”
    She waved a hand. “The trail is narrow and steep, yes, but not rocky. I’ll be fine.” She gathered her gold skirts and took the lead.
    The woman amazed him. She led the way without once stumbling, without a single complaint. Halfway down they came out on a little wooden landing with a rail. They stood at the rail together, the breeze off the sea cool and sweet, the dark sky starless, the moon sunk almost to the edge of the horizon now, sending out a trail of shifting light across the water toward the shore.
    She said, “We all, my brothers and sisters and me, used to come here together, with my mother and father, when we were children. The observation point above, where we left the car, belongs to my family. The only way down is this trail. The high rocks jut out on either side of the beach, so intruders can’t trek in along the shoreline. We’ve always kept it private. Just for our family, a place to be like other families out for a day by the sea.”
    “Beautiful,” he said. He was looking at her.
    She waved a hand, the diamond cuff she wore catching light even in the darkness, sparkling. “But of course, now and then, the paparazzi fly over and get pictures from the air.” She sounded a little sad about that. But then she sent him a conspiratorial glance. “Come on.” And she turned to take the wooden stairs that led the rest of the way down.
    The beach was sandy. He took off his shoes and socks and rolled his trouser legs. They spread one of the blankets midway between the cliffs and the water and sat there together. The breeze seemed chilly now that they were sitting still, so he wrapped the other blanket around her bare shoulders. He put his arm around her and she settled against him as she had in the car, as though she belonged there. For a while they stared out at the moon trail on the water.
    Eventually, she broke the companionable silence. “I think I like you too much.”
    He pressed his lips to her hair. “Don’t stop.”
    She chuckled. “Liking you—or talking?”
    “Either.”
    She laughed again. And then complained, “You’re much too attractive.”
    “I’ll try to be uglier.”
    “But that’s not all. You’re also funny and irreverent and a little bit dangerous. And a heartbreaker, too, just like Dami said. I really need to remember that and not go making a fool of myself over you.”
    He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to him. “I have no intention of breaking your heart. Ever.”
    She wrinkled her fine nose at him. “I didn’t say you would intend to do it. Men like you don’t go out to hurt women on purpose. They simply get bored and move on and leave a trail of shattered hearts behind them.”
    He was starting to get a little defensive. “From what I’ve heard, you’ve broken a heart or two yourself in the past.”
    She groaned. “I should have known you would say that. After all, I have no secrets. My whole life is available, with pictures, lots of pictures, in the pages of the National Enquirer and the Daily Star. ” And then all at