Suddenly Royal

“I thought you weren’t cold.” He dipped his head so his breath tickled my ear.

“I’m not.” My voice sounded a little breathy and I swallowed to wet my throat. “I mean, it’s cooler closer to the door.”

“Hm.” As we neared the door, he dropped his hand from my back and smiled at the hostess. “Our coats, please.”

“Of course.” She batted her eyes and I had to fight to not roll mine. When she brought our coats back, she practically threw mine at me and I had to scramble to not drop it. Alex swooped down and grabbed the coat before it could touch the floor and held it open for me. Carefully I shrugged into the ugly jacket and let him help shift the shoulders so it sat correctly. After pulling on his coat, he led me outside and motioned for the attendants. The young man who had given me my ticket earlier waved at me before running off toward the parking garage.

“Samantha, I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I hope you consider what my aunt has offered. Our country would benefit from another forward-thinking member on the council. And our healthcare rivals the best. Your father would be well seen to.” Alex stepped close to me, buffering the strong winter wind.

“This is something I’m going to have to think about.” I shook my head—his eyes were almost hypnotizing. And he smelled scrumptious. Clean, delicious man. The longer I spent time with him, the harder it was to ignore how attractive he was.

“Of course.” He looked away from me for a minute, his eyes trailing over the traffic before turning back to me. “I know what it’s like to have your life turned upside down. Especially when you’ve worked as hard as you have at your education.”

“I have no idea how to be a royal. I can’t even speak Lilarian.” Thinking about it was overwhelming. “It’s a lot of responsibility. I don’t even know what a Duchess does.”

“We wouldn’t throw you to the wolves.” He dipped his head down so that he was looking me in the eye. “I wouldn’t throw you to the wolves.”

Not sure how to respond to that, I just nodded my head. His eyes starred down into mine and I felt entranced. There was some kind of emotion swirling behind that ice that I didn’t understand. I had the feeling he wouldn’t have promised to just anyone.

“Miss!” The parking attendant jogged toward us, my keys in his hand. I groaned when I realized what that meant. “I’m sorry ma’am, but I can’t get her to start.”

“Not again.” I closed my eyes for a brief moment. “Okay. Where is it parked?”

“It’s on the third deck. I can take you to it, but I popped the lid and checked the battery and I don’t think a jump will do it.” The young man held the keys out to me and I took them from his hand.

“It’s probably the starter.” Turning toward Alex I smiled ruefully. “Thank you for dinner. I’ll be in touch with your aunt about what we discussed.”

“How are you going to get home?” Alex stepped closer and touched my shoulder when I started to turn.

“Well, I’m going to go check to see what’s wrong, and I guess I’ll call a cab.” I winced slightly at the thought. A cab home from downtown would cost a small fortune.

“Let me call a car for you and I’ll have someone take care of your truck in the morning.” Without waiting for my response he looked at the attendant. “Will the vehicle be fine where it is for now?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very well. Please call us a car.”

“No, thank you, but I can take care of my own business.” I narrowed my eyes at Alex. He definitely was used to being in charge. Too bad I wasn’t used to people making my decisions.

“Samantha, I’m not going to let you run off into a dark parking garage to take care of a broken vehicle.” He shook his head. “What kind of man would I be?”

“One from the twenty-first century.”

Alex threw his head back and laughed. The sound drew the eyes of pedestrians and other people waiting on their cars. “Samantha, the century doesn’t dictate chivalry.”

“Of course it does. Women have proven to be just as capable as men.”

“Oh, I have no doubt you are quite capable.” His eyes raked over my body in a way that made me hot all over. “But I’m still not going to let you walk into a dark parking garage in the freezing weather when we know your car is already refusing to start. Let me see you home, and we’ll get your car to you tomorrow.”

“For the love of… Fine. I can take a cab.” My mind went over the contents of my purse. Maybe I could take a cab a couple of blocks to a coffee shop and call Jess and Bert.

“Samantha, I’m seeing you home. I want to make sure you get there safely.” His mouth pulled up into a cocky grin that was both irritating and sexy. “Besides, I can see the wheels spinning in your head. You’d likely take the taxi around the block and come back to work on your truck.”

“I wouldn’t…” An exasperated burst of laughter flew out of my mouth and I looked away from Alex and bit my lip. “Okay, you got me. I’ll let you take me home.”

“Thank you.” Alex reached down and captured my hand with a quick squeeze. “My chivalrous heart appreciates it.”

“I’d hate for you to lose sleep over my safety.” His thumb ran across my knuckles and I felt my heart rate increase.