Free Her Christmas Prince (Love in the Keys) by Caroline A. Godin Page A

you'll join us for Christmas. dI’d
best make the rounds and check in with everyone. Take care, Callie.”
Pastor Ed made his way over to the people sitting under the shade of
the trees and began chatting.

    “ He
seems like a nice guy.”

    “ He's
great. He's really become part of the town. You'd never know he
wasn't a Conch.”

    Callie's
parents were making their way over to speak with them. Normally,
this would set Callie on edge. But after their conversation this
morning, Callie was hopeful. And her smile was genuine as they
approached.

    “ Hey
mom, dad.” She hugged each of her parents and stepped back.
When she did, Henry took her hand.

    “ Henry,
how are you, son? Catching anything?” Her dad greeted Henry
warmly and gave Henry a slap on the back.

    “ I'm
well, sir, thanks. Yes, Tom and I got a few snapper yesterday. We
did pretty well. I'm planning to cook one up for dinner tonight.”

    “ Well,
isn't that great. Maybe we'll get out after Christmas and try for a
few more. Let's plan on it.”

    “ Sounds
good to me, sir. I look forward to it.” Henry smiled at her
father. He genuinely liked Jackson Meyers. He was a kindly man, who
obviously doted on Callie. “Mrs. Meyers, how are you today?”
He turned to include Milly in the conversation. S he'd
been quiet thus far.

    “ Fine,
thank you for asking, Henry. We're looking forward to seeing you for
Christmas.”

    “ And
I appreciate you having me. Can I bring anything to help?”
Milly seemed surprised by the question. “I know Callie's
already bringing pies, but could I contribute wine or a salad or
something? I'm not much of a cook but I'd like to help if I can.”

    “ Well,
that's very good of you to offer. We do usually have mimosas with
breakfast ... would you mind bringing some champagne?”

    “ No
problem at all, happy to do it. We usually have mimosas with my
family, too, so I'll feel right at home.” Milly gave him the
tiniest of smiles. Was she warming to Henry at last? That might be
a blessing or a curse, time would tell.

    “ So
what do you kids have planned today?” Callie looked at her
mother, and then at Henry.

    “ Well,
I haven't run the idea past Callie yet, but I have a beautiful snapper that I caught yesterday,
and I thought we might spend the afternoon at the beach and have a
cookout on the beach for dinner.”

    “ The
beach and you're cooking? Count me in!” Callie laughed and
Henry leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Her mother took
notice, but passed no comment. “We best get going, then.
We're losing the best part of the day.”

    Callie
and Henry made their goodbyes and headed for her car. What they
hadn't noticed was Jimmy the paparazzi, taking photos of them the
whole time since they'd left Callie's apartment.

    Jimmy's
assistant had nosed around, pulled in some favours, and found out
that Prince Henry had not had any public engagements for over a
month. He was officially on leave from the military and not expected
to return to active duty. And no one had seen him in Laurenia.
This, coupled with the fact that one of his best friends apparently
lived in the Florida Keys, pretty much confirmed to Jimmy that the
man he'd seen was, in fact, Prince Henry of Laurenia. The final
proof was in one of the photos Jimmy had taken the night before.
When he'd looked closely and zoomed in, he had gotten a shot of the
royal signet ring that Henry wore. He was definitely on the trail
of a prince. And as far as Jimmy could tell, he was the only one who
knew Prince Henry was stateside.

    CHAPTER
NINE

    Callie
always kept a beach bag in her car, so she was ready to go. She
waited while Henry packed his bag and they drove down coast to a nice
calm bay. She would have expected more people out, but maybe because
it was the last Sunday before Christmas, chores and shopping kept
them from leisure time. Aside from two families on either side of
them, they had the beach to themselves.

    Henry
cut a handsome figure in his