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She rested her hand on his knee, smiling. “I’d love to go pick roses and have a picnic with you.”
Something hit him in his chest, so hard that for a moment he thought he’d been shot. But there was no blood on his shirt. Slowly, he reached out, cupped her cheek, and said, “You’re the most beautiful person, inside and out, that I’ve ever known, Alicia Forkes.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she lowered her lids, hiding her soft eyes from him, but not before he saw something flash across them. Something that looked a lot like fear, which didn’t make any sense. She bit down on her lip and shifted away from him slightly. She still smiled at him, but it looked forced. “Ready to go have some fun?” she asked.
“It wasn’t what I planned, but those kids…”
She nodded. “Those kids.”
Without another word, he opened the car and got out. She slid out behind him, and the teacher closest to them froze, jaw hanging, and quickly curtsied. “Your Highness.”
He inclined his head. “Hello, Miss…?”
“Grant. Ms. Grant.” She curtsied again, her gaze wandering toward Alicia with curiosity. “I hope you were aware of our plans to be here—?”
“Of course,” he said, glancing quickly at Alicia, not quite sure how to introduce her. “This is a business consultant from America, Alicia. Alicia, Ms. Grant.”
Alicia stiffened, but smiled. “Lovely to meet you.”
The other woman inclined her head with respect. “Likewise, miss.”
“We saw the children having fun and simply couldn’t resist stopping.” He gestured back to the car. “We have our own food, of course.”
Alicia blinked at him.
“Of course.” Then Ms. Grant gestured for the children to come closer. “Children, line up! The prince is here.”
They all fell into perfect rows, looking far too serious for such a young age, standing at attention like little soldiers. All but one of them, that was. He knelt down in front of the child, a little girl with long blonde hair. It wasn’t a far stretch of the imagination to picture Alicia as this child—restless, adorable, and spunky.
“What’s your name?” he asked her, smiling.
“Fiona,” she answered with a slight lisp, dipping down into a clumsy curtsy. “Your Highness.”
“Perfect curtsy,” he said, standing and bowing to her.
She smiled. “Perfect bow, too, Your Highness.”
Alicia made a strangled sound and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Indeed.”
“Are you having fun?” he asked, grabbing her tiny hands and squeezing them, smiling at the rest of the children.
“We are,” Fiona said.
“Do you like roses?”
The little girl nodded enthusiastically.
Leo snatched two pink ones off of the nearest bush. “A pretty rose for a pretty lady,” he said, offering one to the child. Then, he turned to Alicia, holding out the second bloom. “And for another pretty lady.”
She licked her lips, reaching out with an unsteady hand to take the flower. When her fingers brushed his, for the first time ever, she didn’t immediately recoil. If anything, her touch lingered. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He smiled, bowing. “You’re welcome.”
The teachers hurried the children back to the paths, and Alicia stood beside him, clutching her rose and staring at him with an almost resigned expression. She watched him with a warmth in her eyes that made him think maybe, just maybe, she didn’t hate him after all. “You look like you have something to say.”
She nodded once, opening her mouth then closing it. She opened it again, shook her head, and then said, “You continue to surprise me is all, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
“You know what I think it means?” he asked softly, cupping her cheek and stepping into her personal space, but not so close as to spook her.
