Along Came A Prince by Carlyn Cade

she could speak
her answer out loud, the waiter arrived with menus and crystal water-filled
goblets. “What can I get you to drink?” he asked.
    “A bottle of
vintage wine,” the prince said. “The older, the better.”
    “Yes, sir,” the
waiter replied and left.
    Clay turned his
concentration back to Stacia. “So how long will you be here?”
    “How long do you
want me to stay?”
    He was silent,
then finally spoke. “I think you have to answer my question. You probably
aren’t prepared for my answer to yours.”
    She looked at him
and promptly got lost in his eyes. She could see and feel many emotions there.
She held her breath, not wanting to break the connection. Then she exhaled
slowly and quietly, her emotions volleying back and forth inside her, causing
flames of desire to circulate through her, until a fire burned deep within that
she never wanted to put out. Still, she would not look away. Clay reached for
her hand and caressed it, making tiny circles with his thumb in the center of
her palm. Each circle stroked the fire even more.
    He finally broke
the silence. “I know we have to take this slow, but that’s not easy with you
being so incredibly beautiful. Each second I get to know you more, I realize
you’re as beautiful inside as you are out, which is a wonderful gift to offer, except
I don’t even know if you are offering it. I haven’t felt like this with
anyone before. I don’t know how you feel, or what kind of relationship, if any,
you want with me. I keep remembering how you said we were oceans apart, and
whenever I think about those words, I feel like I’m being doused with some of
that frigid ocean water you spoke of. Can you help me, here? I think perhaps
I’m drowning.” He let go of her hand and leaned back in his chair.
    Realty struck like
lightning, and Stacia sighed. She’d been so busy gazing at Clay that she’d
zoned out the waiter serving their drinks. Evidently he didn’t want to disturb
them because an open bottle of wine sat in an ice-filled bucket on their table.
A crystal-crested wine glass stood at each of their place settings. She
fingered hers, and Clay reached for the bottle and poured the red liquid into
their wine glasses.
    She didn’t know if
he would even like her answer. “I want to be completely honest with you. I’ve
never met anyone like you either, and I do want to get to know you better. And
I don’t want you to drown. Everything you say or do is wonderful. You’re caring
and compassionate. There isn’t one thing I could say about you that was bad.
And I am very attracted to you…”
    “But…?”
    “Yes, there are
several of those. When we first met, I told you my career was the most
important thing in my life right now. I’m getting a huge break being in London
Affair . As much as I don’t want to, I have to put my career first, and I
can’t begin a relationship under those conditions. It wouldn’t be fair to you.
Another but is I still feel we really are oceans apart in our lives. How
could I ever fit into yours?”
    “That’s easy. Look
at Kate and Princess Di. If they could do it, so can you. Besides you’re
beautiful. You’re smart. You’re already a celebrity, and you have poise,
personality and charm. What else is there to want?”
    “But you were born
into your kind of life. It was bred into you. And I’m not princess material
like Kate.”
    “You do have what
she has, if you choose to accept it. You could have a man who would always have
your back and stand beside you at the same time.”
    “Clay, we’re getting
way ahead of ourselves. We have a lot of time to get acquainted, and we could
have a lot of fun doing it. Can’t we just enjoy being with each other? I’m not
ready to go home yet. I feel like we’ve just begun, but that decision is up to
you.”
    Clay gazed at her
for a long moment before he released a soft sigh. “Have it your way – for now,”
he said. Smiling slightly, he raised up his glass. “To London