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Finding it hard to believe that anyone would care whether she waved at them or not, Holly tentatively raised her hand, and the immediate roar of approval from the crowd made her blink in amazement. ‘But I’m just someone ordinary,’ she muttered, and the prince’s eyes gleamed with wry amusement.
‘That’s why they love you. You’re living proof that fairy-tale endings can happen to ordinary people.’
The last of her insecurities faded and Holly gave a bubble of laughter, her mood lifting still further as she saw the smiles of genuine delight on the faces of the people pressing against the barriers.
Flanked by mou
nted guards, the carriage moved slowly down the tree-lined avenue, and ahead of her she was surprised to see Emilio’s bulky frame.
‘But you sent Emilio home.’ Puzzled, she glanced at the prince. ‘He came to say goodbye to me yesterday, and told me that you’d been brilliant.’
‘He insisted on returning this morning.’ Casper gave a faint smile. ‘On such a huge public occasion he refused to entrust your security to anyone else.’
‘Oh, that’s so kind.’ Incredibly touched, Holly gave Emilio a wave. ‘There do seem to be millions of people. What’s this street like on a normal day?’
Casper settled back against the seat. ‘The road leads directly to the palace. It’s a favourite tourist route. Turn to the right at the bottom, and you reach the sea.’
Holly was still smiling at the crowd when she saw a toddler stumble and fall to the ground, his little body trapped against the metal barriers by the sheer pressure of the crowd. ‘Oh no! Stop the coach!’ Before Casper could respond, Holly opened the door of the carriage, hitched her white silk dress up round her middle and jumped down into the road.
Oblivious to the havoc she was creating in the security operation, she hurried across to the bawling toddler and the panicking mum. ‘Is he all right? Oh my goodness—can everyone move back a bit, please?’ Raising her voice and gesturing at the crowd, she breathed a sigh of relief as everyone shifted slightly and she saw the mother safely lift the sobbing child. ‘Phew. It’s a bit crowded, isn’t it? Is he all right? There—don’t cry, sweetheart. Have you got a smile for me?’ She reached out to the child who immediately stopped crying and stared at her in wonder.
‘It’s your tiara, Your Royal Highness, it’s all sparkly, and he loves everything sparkly.’ The woman flushed scarlet. ‘We all wanted to get a good view of you, madam.’
Holly noticed a trickle of blood on the child’s forehead. ‘He’s cut his head on the barrier. Does someone have a plaster?’
‘Holly.’
Hearing her name, she looked over her shoulder and saw Casper striding towards her, a strange expression on his face. ‘Holly, you’re giving the security team heart-failure.’
‘I’m sorry about that, but do you have a handkerchief or something?’ She glanced anxiously back at the toddler who now had his thumb in his mouth.
Casper hesitated and then produced a handkerchief from the pocket of his uniform.
Holly took it and leaned over the barrier to press it gently against the toddler’s forehead. ‘There. It doesn’t look too bad when you look at it closely.’ One of the security team produced a plaster and vaulted the barrier to deal with the child, and Holly suddenly realised that the crowd was cheering for Casper.
The prince delivered a charismatic smile and slipped his arm round his bride. ‘Next time, don’t leave the coach. It isn’t safe.’
‘It isn’t safe for that toddler, either. People are crushing too close to the barriers. What was I supposed to do?’ She knew it was foolish to read too much into his comment, but she couldn’t help it. Would he warn her not to leave the coach if he didn’t care about her?
The cheering intensified, and then there was a yell from the crowd that turned into a chant.
‘Kiss her, Prince Casper! Kiss, kiss, kiss…!’
Holly blushed scarlet but Casper, clearly as experienced at seducing a crowd as he was women, pulled her gently into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers with his usual cool confidence. Stunned by the unexpected gentleness of that kiss, Holly melted against him, stars exploding in her head and her heart.
Would he kiss her like that if he didn’t care?
Surely it was another sign that he finally believed that she must be telling the truth? That he’d been wrong about her.
The crowd gave a collective sigh of approval, and when Casper finally lifted his head there was another enormous roar of approval.
‘Now you’ve charmed the crowd, we need to go back to the coach.’ Amusement in his eyes, he tucked her hand into his arm. ‘And you need to stop jumping out of carriages and behave with some decorum. Not only are you now a princess, but you’re a pregnant princess.’
‘I know, but—’ She glanced towards the crowd. ‘Some of these people have been standing outside all night, even the children—do we have to go in the carriage? Couldn’t we just walk? We could chat to people along the way.’
Casper’s dark brows locked in a disapproving frown. ‘It would be a major security risk.’
‘I know you don’t care about that. When you’re in public you always walk. I read that you have a constant argument with your bodyguards and the security services.’ She bit her lip, suddenly wishing she hadn’t reminded him of her Internet moment, but he simply smiled and took her hand firmly in his.
