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Eloise grinned, her green eyes sparkling at the mention of her real love. “Go try that last one on. If it fits, then we’re safe for the day.” Eloise looked at the other woman. “And I think it will fit. We’re very close to the same size.”
While Amanda slipped out of the room and changed into the dress, Eloise looked at her brother. “You need her to pretend to be a love interest? What aren’t you telling me...or her?”
James grinned for a moment. “I saw her across the room at the ball last night, and I could only think of her from that moment on. If she’s pretending to be my lady friend, won’t that put us in situations where it will be possible to convince her that she needs to be my queen?”
Eloise’s eyes grew wide. “Seriously? I don’t think you’ve ever met a girl and thought she should be your bride.”
“I haven’t,” James said softly. “She’s...I don’t know what it is about her, but she’s going to be the mother of the next generation of royals.”
Eloise grinned. “Are you twitterpated big brother?”
“Hush,” he told her as the door opened and Amanda stepped out in one of Eloise’s dresses. “Wow.”
Eloise walked over and looked at the fit. “I think it’s perfect for the parade.” The dress was blue with white polka dots. Perfect for a picnic or parade. And Amanda looked beautiful in it. “And we are definitely the same size.”
“Thank you for being willing to lend me your dress. I didn’t think royals wore clothes others had worn.”
Eloise laughed. “Have you read The Princess by Jude Deveraux? One of my all-time favorites, but I was certainly not raised the same way Aria was. Remember that book was set in the 40s. It’s eighty years later!”
Amanda nodded. “Very true. I’ll try not to think of you as I do of Aria.”
“Thanks.” Eloise’s eyes were filled with excitement. “You’ll have to come and read with me soon. I want to know all about you.”
Amanda nodded. “All right. Soon. It’ll have to be whenever fits around James’s social calendar.”
“Don’t you try to steal my bodyguard!” James said to his sister, trying to look menacing.
Amanda laughed. “Thank you for the loan of the dress. I’ll get it back to you in the same condition it’s in.”
“Are you not taking the others?” Eloise asked. “You’re going to need them.”
Amanda nodded. “I’ll take them. Thank you.”
As they headed back to the west wing of the palace, James carried the dresses. It felt odd to have a woman as a bodyguard. It was even odder that he wanted to drop to his knees and beg her to marry him.
He helped her hang the dresses. “They look perfect. All right, let’s talk about a normal day for me.”
Amanda nodded, returning to her spot on the sofa and grabbing her pen and notebook. As he sat across from her, he realized that she really didn’t know how to display manners around royalty, and that was just fine with him.
“I wake every morning at seven, and I usually go for a run even before eating breakfast.”
Amanda jotted down what he said. “Do you leave the palace grounds for your run?”
He nodded. “I like to be able to be in and around my people.”
“Then I’ll run with you each morning...”
Chapter Three
When James and Amanda stepped outside to get in the convertible for the parade, Amanda glared at the car. “We’ll need to ride with the top up.”
James shook his head. “Not happening. My people love me, and they enjoy seeing me up close and personal.”
She bit her lip. “It’s not as safe.”
“Security is placed every hundred meters along the parade route. I’ll be fine. So will you.”
“I’m not worried about me,” she said. “If something happens to me, it won’t send the nation plummeting into chaos. Your death could do that.”
