Page 67 of Not-So-Perfect Princess
“Trouble?” Alaric’s features hardened. “You have brought disrepute onto our family and country. Pictures of you looking windswept and wild, hardly the way a princess should appear in public, are everywhere. Papers, television, the Internet.”
Jules felt everyone’s eyes on her, especially Alejandro’s. She tried not to cower, but she’d never seen her father so full of rage.
Enrique sneered. “You looked like a boy.”
“It was a disguise,” she explained, cutting him with a quick glance.
“The fact you needed a disguise should have been the first sign this was a mistake.” King Dario patted his forehead with his handkerchief. “You’re the future queen of La Isla de la Aurora, Julianna. This kind of behavior is unacceptable.”
“I’ll say.” Enrique glowered at her. “Your father and I told you not to sail. You’re supposed to be a conservative princess. Not a…wild child.”
Her temper rose. “I wasn’t—”
“You were.” Her father’s voice boomed like a thunderstorm in November. “I watched a tape of the race on the flight. You not only disobeyed me but put yourself in danger. You could have been killed sailing the way you did today.”
Heat stole into her face. Her breath burned in her throat.
“Jules is fine, Father. She saved a sailor’s life,” Brandt said bravely. He’d never stood up to their father before and she was proud he’d found the courage to do that. “It’s my fault Klaus wasn’t with Jules. I partied too much, and he was with me.”
Her muscles tensed, nervous what her father would say.
“This has nothing to do with you, Brandt,” Alaric replied sharply. “Your sister knew what I expected of her. She must accept the consequences.”
Dread shuddered through her. Jules knew what her punishment would be—to spend the rest of her life in Aliestle.
She glanced at Alejandro. Her heart cried. She would never see him again.
“King Alaric.” Alejandro stepped forward. “I am Prince Alejandro Cierzo de Amanecer. King Dario’s second son.”
“You mean, the spare.” King Alaric’s curt voice lashed out. “You’re the idiot who put my daughter’s life in danger.”
Jules drew in a sharp breath at the insult. She couldn’t stand the thought of her father taking out his anger on Alejandro.
“Yes, but Julianna’s safety is of the utmost concern to me, Your Majesty.” The regal air emanating from him made him seem more like a future king than second in line for the throne. “I take full responsibility for what’s happened. Julianna disobeying you was one hundred percent my fault. I took her sailing. I asked her to be part of my crew and race in the Med Cup. I’m the one who should be punished, not her.”
Jules stared at Alejandro, full of pride and…love.
I love him.
Love was the only explanation for her feelings, ones that went far deeper than friendship and future familial bonds. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way he looked at her, kissed her, stood by her side and wanted to take the blame for all of this.
Alejandro had to have feelings for her. Otherwise why would he be standing up for her now? Her heart wanted her to go to him, but too many things needed to be resolved first.
Jules couldn’t allow Alejandro to take the blame. She hadn’t been a dutiful princess. She’d disobeyed. She needed to stand up and be accountable for her actions, not let a wonderful, giving man suffer consequences meant for her.
Joy provided strength. Love gave her courage.
Alejandro embraced his role as a prince tonight to protect her. She needed to embrace her role as a black sheep to accept her punishment and protect him.
“Thank you, Alejandro.” An unfamiliar sense of peace rested in her heart. “But I can’t allow you take the blame for my actions.”
His eyes implored her. “It’s my blame to take.”
Her heart melted. She allowed her gaze to linger, longer than what was considered proper. She loved the gold flecks and the concern she saw in his brown eyes. “No.”
“Yes,” Enrique countered. “All this is Alejandro’s fault, King Alaric.”
