He called the palace collect and asked for Isabella. Though Alex felt distant from his three siblings, he felt the strongest connection with Isabella, probably because she was the closest in age and she didn’t stand on ceremony with him.
“Where are you?” she asked without preamble. “Jake called this morning and said you hadn’t arrived.”
“You haven’t mentioned this to Father.”
“No, but I would have if you hadn’t called in another hour. Jake asked where you were, then he rudely ordered me to keep my mouth shut. Your friend is—”
“—Jake’s an American, and he was right to ask you to keep quiet.”
“He didn’t ask,” she stiffly informed him.
Alex shook his head. This would have been easier if he could have talked to his longtime assistant, Max, but Max was in Tibet. “That’s beside the point. I’m on Pirate Island, North Carolina. I had some—” he paused only a second “—transportation difficulties. It’s a remote area. No media. They don’t even know who I am.”
“Sounds enthralling. When are you going to Jake’s?”
“I don’t know.” He looked around the simply furnished room and finally repeated his impulse out loud. “I was thinking of staying.”
Complete silence followed his statement, which was rare for Isabella. “You’re joking,” she finally said. “You wouldn’t last a week without your adoring servants.”
That nettled him. “I’ve handled tougher conditions than this.”
“But everybody always knew you were Prince Alexander Ferdinand Merrick de Moreno.”
True. That was what he loved and hated about Isabella—she always told the truth.
“Alex, face it. You’re a prince. When you take the throne, you’ll be a king. You’re good at being a ruler. It’s your identity.”
Familiar dissatisfaction rolled through him. He loved his country and took seriously his role as leader, but even leaders needed an occasional break. That was the purpose behind this monthlong vacation. A dozen practical objections to his staying on Pirate Island came to mind.
The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be just a man, though, won out. In that instant he made his decision. “Call Jake and give my regrets. He’ll understand. Have the rental car picked up in Charles City. I’ll see you in a month.”
“I don’t believe this. You’ll never last.”
Alex knew Isabella couldn’t resist a bet. “Shall we wager?”
“What?”
“If I don’t last a month, I’ll persuade Father to let you go to Monte Carlo with your wild friend Lucinda.”
“She’s not that wild,” Isabella corrected.
“If I stay, you make the same kind of trip—sans title.” While Alex wore his title like a cloak, Isabella used hers as a shield to get out of sticky situations.
“Deal.”
“Not a word to Mother or Father.”
“My lips are sealed. I’ll be too busy thinking about Monte Carlo.”
Alex smiled. “Just remember my nickname, dearest.”
“Prince of Steel? Ah, but even steel melts, Your High and Mightiness.” She paused, and her voice softened. “Take care. Au revoir, Alex.”
“Make that Al. Al Sanders.”
“Au revoir.” She hesitated. “Al.”
Twenty minutes later his new identity was firmly in place. From the tight fit of the borrowed jeans and T-shirt brought to him, Alex concluded the mechanic weighed about twenty pounds less than he did. He learned that Chad and Katherine’s uncle Jasper owned the campground but had recently experienced a heart attack. Katherine was nearly overwhelmed with the responsibility of the busy tourist season.
He also learned despite Chad’s stuttering and stammering that Katherine expected Alex to vacate the premises as soon as possible.
Alex, however, had other ideas. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to be a nonprince.
After all, it might never come again. He needed to be just a man. Katherine needed help. The solution seemed simple to him. And in the back of his mind, he wanted to learn more about the tough and tender lady with the rose-petal mouth.
Alex picked up a map of the resort complex and set out to make himself indispensable.
At nine o’clock that evening Katherine glanced up to find Al Sanders propped against the door of her uncle’s office. He should have been gone hours ago. Instead, he’d entertained some difficult customers by taking them sailing. The disgruntled couple had been charmed, the woman nearly melting into the cracks of the pavement.
Katherine couldn’t blame her. When Al looked into a woman’s eyes as though she were the only female in the world, he dissolved defenses more effectively than the Patriot missile. And those breathtakingly tight jeans could surely earn him a spot in the buns-of-steel calendar. Add in his hundred-dollar smile and masterful air, and Katherine was surprised women hadn’t started throwing their lingerie at him.
She was pretty sure Al Sanders was a con artist down on his luck, and she wanted him gone before he caused any trouble. The fact that he unsettled her and she couldn’t put her finger on why only added fuel to the fire.
It would have been much easier to kick his incredible derriere off the island if he hadn’t sold helium balloons and skipped dinner to sell cotton candy, she realized.
Remembering his injured head, she felt guilty. She motioned for him to sit and offered him some packaged bologna sandwiches and a soda. Maybe if she fed him, she wouldn’t feel so bad about sending him off.
“How’s your head?”
“Fine.”
But he looked a little green. She set some aspirin in front of him.
“Thank you.”
Katherine took a deep breath and sat in her uncle’s worn captain’s chair behind the old walnut desk. Her least favorite thing in the world was firing people. And although technically, she’d never hired Al, the process was still the same. Her palms were sweating.
She thought of how her uncle would handle this situation, pretended she was six feet tall instead of five foot three, and tried to forget that she was much more comfortable teaching first graders than managing this camping resort.
“Al, I appreciate how you’ve pitched in today. And I’ll be glad to pay you for your services,” she began, and twined her fingers together.
“That’s unnecessary. I wanted to thank you for your kindness last night.” Al glanced down at the sandwich. “This meat is unusual. It’s very good.”
Katherine blinked. “It’s bologna.”
He looked thoughtful. “I’ll have to remember that.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You have an accent. Are you from England?”
“I’ve spent some time there.”
“Do you have a green card?” she asked, hoping for an easy out.
He stiffened. “I don’t need a green card.”
His manner was so cold and affronted, she had to resist the urge to apologize. Such pride, she thought. It was surpassed only by his confidence. She’d always resented tall, confident people.
Katherine tried the