Free HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS by Christine Rimmer Page B

tomorrow. Come and stay with me for a while.”
    She pressed her lips together. “Oh, Noah. I really don’t think that would be a good idea.”
    He wasn’t giving up. Ever. “Why not? You’ll love it there. And I want to show you my world. I want you to meet Lucy.”
    “Noah, really. I can’t just run off with you. Didn’t I just explain all this? I’m trying to be more...discreet. Trying to behave myself for a change. Trying to stop throwing myself blindly into crazy situations.”
    “It’s not crazy. The Santa Barbara area is a beautiful place, almost as beautiful as Montedoro. And my stables are world-class. You can ride every day.”
    “Oh, Noah...” She pulled away from him then. He wanted to grab her and hold her to him, but he knew better. She spun on her heel and raced back up the beach to the blanket again.
    He forced himself to stay behind, turning back to the water, staring out at the horizon for a while, giving them both a few minutes to settle down.
    When he felt that he could deal calmly and reasonably, he turned to her once more. She sat on the blanket, the other blanket wrapped around her, her knees drawn up, staring at him with equal parts misery and defiance.
    He stuck his hands into his pockets and went to her, stopping at the edge of the blanket, not sure what to do or say next.
    She tipped her face up to him and demanded, “What are you after, Noah, really? What in the world do you want from me? Because if I’m just another of your conquests, no thank you. I’m not looking for a meaningless hookup right now.”
    He knew then that he had to go for it, to tell her everything. What else could he do? A clever lie would never satisfy her. “You’re not ‘just another’ anything. You never could be.”
    “Please don’t flatter me.”
    “I’m not. Will you listen? Will you let me explain?” He waited for her nod before he said, “I’ve done damn well for myself.”
    “Yes, you have. But what does that have to do with—”
    “Just go with me here. Let me play this out.”
    She hugged her drawn-up knees a little tighter. “All right. I’m listening.”
    “I’ve done well for myself and I’m proud. Too proud, I suppose. But that’s how it is.”
    She guided a few windblown strands of hair away from that mouth he couldn’t stop wanting to kiss. “Yes, well, I get that.”
    “A few years ago I decided it was about time I got married and founded my dynasty.”
    “Ah. Of course. Your dynasty.” She made a wry little face.
    He forged on. “To found a dynasty, there has to be...the right wife. Someone young and strong, someone from a large family, for a higher likelihood of fertility.”
    She made a scoffing sound. “I don’t believe you just said that.”
    “Believe it. It’s true—and here’s where my pride comes in. I decided I wanted a princess. A real one.”
    Her mouth dropped open. “Oh. You are so bad. Incorrigible, really.”
    He didn’t disagree with her. “How do you think I’ve got as far as I have in life? Not through good behavior and political correctness. I decide what I want and I go after it.”
    “You know this makes you look reprehensible, right?”
    He only gazed down at her, unflinching. “Do you want the truth from me or not?”
    She fiddled with the blanket a little and then hitched up her chin. “Yes. I do. Go on.”
    He continued, “So I started looking. I wanted a special kind of princess, a princess who was different from the rest. No one inbred. Someone beautiful and exciting. If I’m going to be with a woman for the rest of my life, she will damn well not be boring—and my kids won’t be stupid or dull.”
    She made a small snorting sound. “Or, God forbid, unattractive.”
    He asked very softly, “Are you getting the picture here, Alice?”
    Her mocking look fled. She swallowed. Hard. “You...chose me?”
    “Yes, I did. The first picture I saw of you, I knew you were the one. I read about you—everything I could find. All the