Alex pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He rubbed at his temple. He looked entirely uncomfortable in his skin.
He was fidgeting again. He’d just been outed as a do-gooder benefactor and not a bad boy royal. He was Clark Kent unmasked.
“In any case, my dear, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The Marquis took Jan’s hand again, planting a chaste kiss on her knuckles. “Welcome to the family. I’m excited to get to know the woman who has finally tamed our wayward prince.”
And with that, Omar crossed the street to the other large building, the nightclub she supposed he would be opening in tandem with their restaurant. Jan turned to Alex.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the food co-op or the hydroponics or even the bus stop food market?”
“It wasn’t an important part of the story.”
“It’s the most fascinating part of your st
ories,” she insisted. “Except, of course, for the chapulines.”
He threw his head back and laughed. All signs of fidgeting were gone, and he was his relaxed, confident self again.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like that,” she said. “Something where I could give back to the community using food. I’ve always wanted to tackle school lunches. Show kids that healthy food can be tasty and fun. Teach them how to prepare tasty snacks that don’t come out of a plastic bag.”
“I think that would be brilliant in the school system here.”
“Really? You think we could do that? Later, of course. After we get the restaurant open.”
“You could do it now in the role of my fiancée.”
Jan didn’t like the idea of that; the idea of doing it herself. Alex had built them up as a team. She wanted to keep it that way. “Why not both of us?”
“It can be both of us. But you’ll be the face of it. I told you, whenever I try to do good, it gets turned around. Best if I stay in the shadows.”
“But no one will see the real you if you keep the real you in the dark.”
He reached up and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “The people who matter will.”
She wasn’t sure how they came to be holding hands. She wasn’t sure how they came to be standing toe to toe. Just as she wanted to partner with him in the business, and stand next to him with the school lunch venture, she wanted Alex by her side for as long as she could keep him there.
“We should probably have a look inside,” she said.
He nodded, but he made no motion to move forward. His gaze dipped to her lips. There was no one around, which meant there was no need to pretend kiss.
Still, he came closer. Looking to her lips and then her eyes, clearly asking permission.
She didn’t shake her head no. She didn’t nod her chin in a yes. She held still.
No. She was moving closer. In minute, barely perceptible increments just like him.
First, their knees knocked as they pressed into each other’s. Her free hand found its way into his palm. The top of her shoulder brushed against his chest.
She tasted a whiff of his breath. He’d had chives for breakfast. The smell brought her mind out into a field of bulbous green onions; garlic, leeks, scallions. Those would work perfectly as the base of a sweet corn cheddar pie.
Jan gave herself a mental shake. She needed to stay present if Alex was going to kiss her. Then she realized, she really wanted to be kissed by him.
His lips were nearly on hers when a flash blinded them both. Instead of pulling away from her, Alex wrapped her up in his arms. He shielded her, pulling her face into his chest and turning to seek out the danger.
His chest was firm and soft at the same time. There was a clear definition beneath his cotton shirt. But also a space to rest that was comfortable. Jan wanted to nuzzle.
“They’re gone now,” he said. “They got what they wanted.”
They? Her brain was slow to make out his words. The flash had obviously come from a camera. Not a tourist camera by the strength of that bulb. It had been the press.