The Prince She Never Forgot

For a few seconds she thought there was a strange group of men behind her—all in black, with earpieces. But seconds later they’d vanished and she forgot about them.

By the time they reached Avenue George V the street was still busy but the crowd was gradually beginning to thin out. There were a number of open restaurants and cafés still serving customers. Alex hesitated a second outside of the door of the Four Seasons, then pulled her over to one of the other nearby restaurants with tables on the street.

He pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down. She rubbed her hands together and smiled at his good manners. It had been a while since she’d met anyone who’d pull out a chair for her.

‘Are you cold? We can sit inside.’ He pointed at her fingers.

‘No, it’s fine.’ The restaurant looked claustrophobic, packed with people. It was strange, but outside seemed more private.

A waiter appeared quickly and nodded to Alex.

‘What would you like, Ruby? Wine? coffee?’ He picked up a menu. ‘Food?’

She smiled. ‘I’ll have a cocktail.’ Her eyes scanned the menu. ‘I’ll have a Royal Pink Circus—and the biggest piece of cake they’ve got.’

Alex grinned and reached forward and grabbed the menu. ‘What is that? Hmm...vodka, champagne, raspberries and violet syrup. Interesting choice.’

He turned and spoke in rapid French to the waiter.

Under the warm light from the restaurant she got a clear view of the man she’d just kissed. Under dim lights he’d been gorgeous. Under street lights...wow.

She couldn’t help but smile. No phone. No camera to record the moment. Typical. Her friends would never believe this. His blue eyes stood out even from across the table, complemented by the lightly tanned skin she hadn’t noticed before and the shadow along his chin.

‘So, what plans do you have?’

She shrugged. ‘I don’t have my phone so I can’t contact my friends.’ She waved her arm. ‘But it’s fine. I know where I am from here. I can find my way back to my hotel.’

She gestured towards the Four Seasons.

‘For a second I thought you were going to take me in there.’ She glanced down at her red wool coat, jeans and boots. ‘Somehow I don’t think I would have got inside.’

He gave a little shake of his head. ‘Oh, you would have got inside.’ He reached over and took her hand. ‘But I wasn’t talking about right now. How long are you in Paris?’

Mysterious Alex was getting better by the second. He actually wanted to know if she was staying.

‘Just another two days. We go home on Friday. What about you?’

‘I don’t really have a fixed timetable. I can go home any time. Do you want to do some sightseeing for the next two days? See a little more of Paris before you go home?’

Her heart gave a little leap. She was here with a group of friends, but Polly wouldn’t mind if she spent some time with a sexy French guy—in fact after this last year she’d probably encourage her.

She nodded as the waiter appeared. ‘That sounds fun.’

He set down the raspberry cocktail in a sugar-frosted glass. She took a tiny sip. The alcohol was stronger than she’d expected and the bubbles from the champagne flew up her nose. She choked and laughed.

‘Wow! This Royal Pink Circus is a doozy!’

‘What does that mean?’ asked Alex as he took a sip of his beer.

‘You know—extraordinary, spectacular. A doozy.’

Next came the cake. If it could even be described as that. This was no delicate petit-four. This was honest-to-goodness the biggest piece of cake in the universe. Seven layers of sponge, cream, raspberries and sauce.

She picked up her fork and took a bite. ‘Oh, wow...’ She leaned back in the chair. It had been hours since she’d had dinner. Alex was smiling at her again, with a twinkle in his eye. ‘Would you like a piece? This is to die for.’

He shook his head. ‘Don’t let me deprive you. I’m getting enough pleasure seeing the look on your face.’

‘Didn’t you order anything?’ She waved at the empty space in front of him, poising her fork above the cake again.

‘I did, but I asked the waiter to bring your cake first.’

She swallowed another heavenly spoonful, ‘I could get used to this kind of consideration, you know.’

Something flickered across his face that made her wonder if she’d made some kind of dreadful faux pas.

But Alex just nodded in agreement. ‘And I think I could get used to Ruby Wetherspoon, who knows how to eat a piece of cake.’

She licked her fork. ‘What? Do the people around you not eat?’

He lifted his eyebrows as the waiter reappeared and put a plate down in front of him, with the biggest BLT and portion of French fries she’d seen in a long time. She reached over and grabbed a fry.

‘Not like you,’ came his amused reply.

She shrugged. ‘They certainly don’t skimp on portions here. I’ll need to remember this place. What’s it called?’ She looked at the name and screwed up her face. ‘Too difficult. I’ll just need to remember it’s next to the fairytale hotel.’

‘The fairytale hotel?’ He’d started to eat and was making short work of the fries.

She nodded her head sideways. ‘Yeah, next door. Isn’t that the hotel every little girl wants to stay in when she comes to Paris?’

‘I thought that was Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland?’

‘Yeah, well. I’m older now. Tastes change.’ She eyed her cocktail again. ‘You know, you’re going to hate me. But this is going straight to my head. Do you think I could order a coffee instead?’

He gave a wave of his hand and ordered her a coffee.

The cocktail might be a little strong, but the cake was perfect. The restaurant was perfect. The ambience in the street was perfect. And Alex...? Even more perfect.

‘Have you been up the Eiffel Tower yet?’ he asked.

She nodded, then leaned across the table and whispered, ‘Don’t tell anyone, but I thought I was going to be sick. It was okay looking into the distance, but when I looked down...’ She made a swaying motion in her seat and shook her head. ‘Bad idea.’

He laughed. ‘And have you be

en to Versailles and the Louvre?’

She nodded. ‘I queued for ever to see the Mona Lisa.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘What did you think?’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘Honestly? Smaller than I expected—and a bit dark. But do you know the strangest thing? I still wanted to reach out and touch it.’

‘She mesmerised you. Just like she did Leonardo. What about Notre Dame? Have you been there yet?’

She nodded again.

He held up his knife and fork. ‘How long have you been here?’

‘Just a few days. We’ve tried to cram in as much as possible.’

‘Is there anywhere you’d still like to see?’

‘Of course! This is Paris.’ She counted off on her fingers, ‘I still want to visit the Sacré Coeur and Montmartre—oh, and the Père Lachaise cemetery.’

He took a drink of his beer. ‘So, I offer to take you sightseeing and you want to visit dead people?’

He slid down in his chair a little—he seemed to be relaxing more and more as their conversation continued.

‘Well, I guess I bring out the best in you.’

She laughed. ‘It’s supposed to be beautiful—enchanting. Haven’t you ever walked around a cemetery before? In the summer it can be so peaceful. I actually quite like wandering around and looking at the inscriptions in the gravestones. There’s a few in our local church that have a skull and crossbones on them, showing that people had the plague. It’s fascinating.’

His smile spread from ear to ear. ‘Ruby, every time I think I might know you a little you say something else that surprises me.’

‘Is that bad?’

He shook his head. ‘No, it’s good. Very good.’ He reached over and took her hand. ‘I’m sure I can find some things in the next two days for us to visit.’

‘But today’s New Year’s Day. Everywhere will be closed.’

‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll work something out.’

She was so wrapped up in him—in the way he was smiling at her, the way he was flirting with her—that she almost didn’t notice the men in long black coats until they were almost on top of them.

One of them put a black-gloved hand sternly on Alex’s shoulder, bent down and spoke quietly in his ear. She couldn’t make out a word.