laughed lightly. “Let’s just take this one day at a time.”
Her eyes narrowed even more as she studied him. He might be a nice enough guy to save her from embarrassment twice, but he did not want this wedding. He should not be acting as if everything was fine.
“All right. What’s up?”
He pointed at a black Mercedes. “Nothing.”
As he helped her into the car, she analyzed their situation one more time, and realized that maybe there was nothing wrong. He had to look attentive and proper in public or his dad would know he wasn’t taking this seriously. But that really worked in her favor. She could use the four or five hours they’d spend together getting him to like her.
To her surprise, he drove, with bodyguards following them in a big black SUV. Being accustomed to security details in her own country, she didn’t even blink. Instead, she glanced out the window at the scenery. Though she’d viewed most of the island from the air as her royal family’s jet touched down, being close to the thick green foliage and the rocky coastline took her breath away.
She sighed.
He eyed her curiously. “What’s up?”
“Your country is beautiful.”
“It is.”
Okay. Even though it worked in her favor, his being nice to her was getting weird.
She stole a glance at him, running the situation through her brain again. He was so sexy in his scruffy jeans and white shirt that she had to admit she sort of liked the idea of marrying him. Even if his being nice to her was an act for the press, this was her shot. Her chance. She should not be overanalyzing this. She should be using it, engaging him in normal conversation to soften him up for when she experimented with flirting.
“What was it like growing up in such a warm climate?”
He took another quick look at her. “You mean as opposed to being required to wear a parka ninety percent of the year?”
She laughed at his perceptiveness. “Yes.”
“Nice.” He thought for a second. “I loved the beach, but I didn’t like the private area behind the palace. I wanted to be on the real beach, the public beach, with kids my own age. It wasn’t easy, and my bodyguards would groan when I was home from boarding school, but they generally found a way for me to be a normal kid.”
“That’s why I fell in love with America. Most Europeans knew who I was. And if they didn’t, they knew I was ‘famous’ for some reason, so they’d Google me and that would be the end of any casual relationships. But in America, even knowing I was a princess, they’d shrug and say, ‘that’s cool,’ but otherwise, I was just a person to them.”
“Interesting.”
“I’m surprised you never encountered that.”
He sneaked another peek at her. His brown eyes softened when he thought. His lips tilted up just slightly, as if something he remembered made him want to smile.
Tingly warmth filled her. Oh, boy. It would be so flipping easy to fall for that smile. But it wasn’t real. And even though his behavior could only be an act for the press, something felt wrong. Off. Really, really off.
“Stop the car.”
“What?”
She huffed out a breath. “Stop the car. Go back to the palace.”
“We can’t. We’re supposed to be seen in public.”
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