“Um, Red?” She could hear the hesitation in his voice, wondering if he had gone too far. “With some practice and may be singing lessons you could probably improve…” he finished lamely, but clearly his heart wasn’t in it.
Lexie couldn’t hold it in any longer. Her shoulders started shaking violently.
“Lexie?” Nic said in alarm.
A burst of giggles escaped from behind her hands. At the uncomprehending look on Nic’s face, she started laughing hysterically, clutching her tummy. He was a sharp one. In a few seconds, he knew he had been had and he started laughing, too. Not only was he drop-dead gorgeous and sexy, he also had a sense of humor. Lexie was in serious danger, the kind that had alarm bells ringing wildly in her mind and heart.
“Did you just snort?” he asked disbelievingly a few seconds later.
Lexie straightened her spine and said in her most imperious manner. “Excuse me? I do not snort. Ever.”
He looked at her again, with a little smile playing on his lips, a smile that seemed…fond. Yes, fond. As if he had smiled at her this way hundreds of times before, in exasperation, in amusement, in disbelief. But always with fondness. But his next words reminded her that they had no shared history. “Could have fooled me, princess.”
“What did you just call me?” Lexie’s tone was sharp. Please don’t break the spell yet. Had he known all along?
Nic stilled at her tone. “I said ‘princess,’” he repeated, wary. “What’s the matter?”
He couldn’t know. She was in disguise. The press hadn’t paid any attention to her in years. In her quest to be the most proper, staid, and well-behaved royal that ever lived, Lexie had managed to stay off the press’ radar since the incident. She had to shake off this paranoia. She was fearless.
Shaking her head, she took Nic’s hand again. “Nothing.”
He gave her a long look. “Okay.” He was letting her off the hook. For now. It was as if she had heard his thoughts.
* * *
Where are you from? Why are you wearing an atrocious wig? Have you ever felt this way about someone before? He thought he had, once, but Nic was an optimist and he was not letting one bad experience color his future. His parents had fallen in love at first sight and married within months of meeting each other. Nic wasn’t hung up on the idea, but it was possible. It could happen. He scanned her fingers. No ring in sight but still, it didn’t really mean anything. Better keep his mouth shut for the moment. He was likely to scare the shit out of her on their first meeting if he bombarded her with questions. The championship was two days away though and he had to leave straight away for Los Angeles for a photo shoot and the Polo Expo. He would have to do some fast convincing to make her recognize there was something worth exploring between them.
“Where did you learn to dance like that?” Nic was burning to ask her a hundred questions but settled for an innocuous one.
“Like what?”
They were still walking aimlessly, past kitschy souvenir stores, sex toy shops, and run-down apartments. She stopped at one of the souvenir stores, surveying the display window.
“You knew how to move,” he shrugged as if that was self−explanatory.
“Years of ballet and jazz,” she tossed out, grasping the door handle. Nic saw her jump back in surprise.
“What is it?” Nic asked, his brow furrowing in concern.
“I got a shock from the door handle,” she said, laughing self-consciously.
“Happens to me all the time,” Nic grimaced in sympathy. “It’s the dry desert air. Give me your hand.”
Lexie did as told and Nic made a show of inspecting it. He swore he felt a different jolt when their skin touched. Then he kissed each finger. “All better?”
She nodded. “But now I’m scared of touching that door handle.”
“Leave it to me.” He approached the door, and he saw Lexie observing what he was going to do. He pulled out the bottom end of the front of his shirt, flashing her inadvertently with a view of his lower abdomen. He wrapped it on the door handle and tugged it open.
Lexie grinned in approval. “Very innovative.”