HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS by Christine Rimmer Page B

afternoon. Altus transferred their bags to the car they had waiting and off they went.
    It was a short ride along El Camino Real, less than half an hour from the airport to the gates of Noah’s property in Carpinteria. The black iron gates parted as the car approached and they rolled along a curving driveway, past vineyards and orange trees and an olive grove, up the gentle slope of a sunlit hill to the white stucco villa with two wings branching off to either side of the carved-limestone entrance.
    Even prettier than the pictures Alice had seen of it online, the house was a beautifully simple Italian-style villa, complete with wrought-iron balconies and a red-tile roof. Four wide arches to the left of the entrance framed a front-garden patio centered around a koi pond and landscaped with tropical flowers and miniature palms.
    The coffered mahogany door swung open as Altus stopped the car. A slim pixie-haired young woman in skinny jeans, pink Chuck Taylor high-tops and a pink-striped peplum T-shirt bounded out, followed at a more sedate pace by a taller, older woman with thick black hair parted in the middle and pinned up in back.
    The girl had to be Lucy, and she looked so eager and happy to have visitors that Alice pushed open her door and called out, “Hello.”
    “Alice!” The girl blushed. “Er, I mean, Your Highness?”
    “Just Alice. Please.” She got out of the car and shut the door. “And you must be Lucy....”
    “It’s so good that you’re here.” Lucy ran up and embraced her. Laughing, Alice returned the hug. And then Lucy was grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the older woman. “And this is Hannah. Once she was my foster mom, and now she lives with us. She takes care of us—of Noah and me....”
    The older woman nodded. “Welcome, Your Highness.”
    “Thank you, Hannah. Noah’s told me about you, about how much he appreciates all you’ve done for him and Lucy—and call me Alice, won’t you?”
    “Alice, then,” said Hannah with a warm smile. “Let’s get you settled. Come this way....”
    * * *
    An hour later, Alice was comfortably installed in a large west-facing bedroom suite that overlooked the estate’s equestrian fields and tree-lined riding trails. She could see El Camino Real and the endless blue Pacific beyond that. Michelle and Altus each had smaller rooms above Alice’s, on the third floor.
    Hannah had provided an afternoon snack of cheese, fresh fruit and iced tea. Alice and Lucy sat on the small balcony off of Alice’s room, enjoying the view and the afternoon sun.
    Lucy chattered away. “I’m so glad you’re here. Noah told me all about you, and of course I had heard of you before. Who hasn’t heard of your family? It’s such a totally romantic story, isn’t it? Your mother, the last of her line, visiting Hollywood and falling in love with an actor. I adore the pictures of their wedding, that fabulous dress she wore, all that Brussels lace, the gazillion seed pearls, the yards and yards of netting and taffeta and tulle....” Lucy sighed and pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, my racing heart. Like something out of a fairy tale.” She plucked a strawberry from the cheese tray and popped it into her mouth. “And they still love each other, don’t they, your mother and your father?”
    “They do, yes. Very much.”
    “Wonderful. Perfect. Heaven on earth. My mom and dad were deeply in love, too. But then he died before I was born. And we lost our mom when I was nine—did Noah tell you?”
    “Yes, he—”
    “Ugh! Noah!” Lucy pretended to strangle herself, complete with the bulging eyes and flapping tongue. And then she laughed. And then she groaned. “Honestly, I love Noah more than anything, but sometimes I wonder if he’s ever going to let me get out on my own. I used to be sick a lot—he told you that, didn’t he? Did he also bother to tell you I’m well now? Hello! I am. And that I got accepted to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York