Page 48 of Not-So-Perfect Princess
“Chatting on Facebook can wait until after the Med Cup, mate.” A bleach blond with a tanned face stepped forward. Friendliness and warmth emanated from his wide smile. “I work the bow. Sam’s the name. From New Zealand. Welcome aboard, J.V.”
She smiled at him, feeling a little strange that no one could tell she wasn’t a boy. Okay, she didn’t want to be recognized, but it made her wonder. Were her features that masculine? Was that the reason her father had such a hard time marrying her off?
“Dude, I’m not talking about Facebook,” Mike said to Sam. “This girl I met at the club last night is so hot. She’s interested, too.”
Sam laughed. “In getting away from you.”
“Yeah, right. That’s why she gave me her number,” Mike countered. “I’m texting her as soon as we finish practice. Talk about an amazing rack.”
As a red-haired, Irish-sounding guy asked to see the woman’s picture, heat rushed to Jules’s cheeks. She turned her face away so no one would notice. Her brothers didn’t talk like that in front of her. Not even Brandt, who probably considered admiring “racks” a pastime.
“No pics right now, Cody. We’ll finish the rest of the introductions later,” Alejandro said. “Let’s take advantage of the wind and have J.V. show us what he can do.”
Jules swallowed around the anchor-size lump lodged in her throat. If she messed up…
No, she shouldn’t imagine making any mistakes.
The other crewmembers took their positions.
Alejandro had put his faith in her. She couldn’t let him down.
With her insides shaking, Jules boarded La Rueca. She removed Brandt’s sunglasses from her pocket and put them on. The dark lenses would protect her eyes from the rising sun, but also hide them.
She was a world away from the life she lived, but her training would help her today. A helmsman needed to be cool, calm, calculating. Just like a princess.
Shoulders back. Chin up. Smile.
Jules did all three. As her fingers tightened around the wheel, she widened her stance. The position felt familiar, comfortable.
“Ready?” Alejandro asked.
She would prove to the crew Alejandro hadn’t made a mistake by giving her the helm. “Ready, skipper.”
Her smile widened. She sounded like a German. Maybe she could pull this off.
Julianna had done it. Pride filled Alejandro. She’d proved her worth as a helmsman with some world-class sailing.
The three hours on the water went by faster than anyone expected. No one wanted to return to the dock. But Julianna needed to get back to the palace before anyone realized she wasn’t asleep in her bed as they thought.
Standing on the dock, Alejandro picked up a line. He glanced at the cockpit where Julianna studied one of Phillipe’s charts. With her sunglasses on top of her hat, she looked every bit a teenager. No one suspected differently. Maybe people only saw what they expected to see. The disguise made her appear younger, but nothing could hide her high cheekbones, lush lips or smooth complexion.
Alejandro could watch her all day long and never get bored.
“Skipper,” Sam called from the bow. “Toss me the line.”
Alejandro did.
“The kid’s good.” Sam hooked the end around a cleat. “Quiet, but he knows what he’s doing. The way he maneuvered around that buoy. Sweet. It’s like he’s got a sixth sense when it comes to wind shifts.”
“Told you.”
Sam nodded. “But J.V. seems a bit…soft. We need to take him out. Harden him up. Make him drink until he pukes.”
Alejandro’s muscles tensed. Having Julianna out here without a bodyguard was bad enough. Granted, he could protect her. No doubt his security detail wasn’t far away given his sneaking out of the palace hadn’t been necessary this morning. But he wouldn’t put her in harm’s way, not even for a little hazing by the crew. “J.V. is young. He lives with his overprotective family. If we have some fun with him like that, he won’t be allowed to sail with us.”
“Okay, but he’s wound pretty tight. Maybe a woman—”
“Leave the kid alone,” Alejandro interrupted. “That’s an order.”
