Page 58 of Not-So-Perfect Princess
Especially Julianna once she let her guard down and opened up.
“Come on, Alejandro,” Enrique cajoled. “You don’t care about Julianna. You want to make sure I marry.”
“With your marriage comes my freedom from royal obligations.”
That was the one thing Alejandro wanted more than anything. Somehow with his growing concerns over Julianna’s future he’d lost sight of that. How had that happened?
Letting physical attraction and friendship get in the way of what he wanted made no sense. Julianna was hot, but she was also a princess. She might enjoy sailing, but she would never walk away from her title or her duty. Not for anything in the world. She wanted to help her brother, her country and her future children. The fact that she was willing to marry Enrique after his treatment of her spoke volumes about her priorities and was a not-so-subtle reminder…
As soon as the Med Cup finished and she married, Alejandro needed to say goodbye. She belonged with his brother, not him.
The truth stung. A sharp pain sliced into his heart. He reached for his wineglass, but it was empty.
“Treat her better.” If Enrique did that, he would give Julianna what she wanted—more freedom, a throne and children.
Especially children.
I’ve always wanted to be a mother. Children will bring me great happiness and joy. I’ll devote myself to being the best mother I can be. That will make me very happy.
Julianna’s words echoed inside Alejandro’s head. He wanted her to be happy. That wasn’t like him. He’d never considered a woman’s happiness beyond the moment at hand. He hadn’t worried about how she felt after. That didn’t make him much better than Enrique who wasn’t considering Julianna’s happiness at all.
The truth hit Alejandro like a sucker punch.
He didn’t want to have anything in common with his brother.
“Do it for yourself, but for me and the island, too.” And Julianna. “Heirs must be your first priority.”
Enrique’s forehead creased. “You want out of the line of succession that badly?”
“Yes.” Alejandro did. But this wasn’t about him anymore. Julianna needed babies to love. He was finally figuring out why this had become important to him.
Maybe if she were happy, he might be happy, too.
Alejandro tossed and turned all night. Images of Julianna flashed in his mind like photographs in a digital picture frame. Her long legs exposed by her short dress. Her playful smile on the beach. Her parted lips as she steered La Rueca. Her passion-filled eyes as she looked at him.
The last one was pure fantasy.
With a grimace, Alejandro tried to fall asleep for the fourth time. But he couldn’t stop the slide show playing in his brain. He kept thinking about her, about wanting to be with her, about wanting to touch her.
Not only touch her.
Alejandro punched his pillow. Maybe if he was more comfortable…
Nothing helped. The harder he tried not to think about her, the more he did. Some of the thoughts were going to require a cold shower if he wasn’t careful.
He didn’t want to take that chance. He jumped out of bed, dressed for sailing and headed to the boat.
That would keep him…distracted.
La Rueca bobbed in the water. This past week, he’d gotten used to the activity of the crew preparing for a sail or cleaning up afterward. Today, she looked lonely tied to the dock with her running lights off and no crew around.
Better remedy that. Alejandro hopped aboard. The boat rocked with the incoming tides. The wind increased, jostling the lines that secured the boat to the dock. Metal clanked against metal. The waves picked up momentum, hitting the hull with more force.
He glanced at the horizon. Orange and red fingers of sunlight poked their way into the dark sky.
Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning.
The nursery rhyme used to predict weather played in his head. A red sky might mean a more challenging sail this morning. That would be a good test for the crew with the race coming up.
Especially Julianna.
He had no doubt she’d rise to the challenge. The more situations she was exposed to, the more experience she could rely upon come race day. He’d have to make sure they came up with a good excuse to explain her absence during the three days of races. Sleeping in late wouldn’t cut it.
