Christmas With Her Secret Prince. Nina Singh

nodded. “Precisely. And in the process, we can do the two-birds-killing.”

      She was beginning to suspect they both had some kind of brain trauma. Then his meaning dawned on her. He was misstating the typical American idiom.

      “You mean kill two birds with one stone?”

      He smiled again, wider this time, causing Mel’s toes to curl in her slippers. “Correct. Though I never did understand that expression. Who wants to kill even one bird, let alone two?”

      She had to agree.

      “In any case, you help me meet some of these local business people, and I’ll make sure you stick your ex-husband.”

      She couldn’t help it. She had to laugh. This was all so surreal. It was like she was in a completely different reality than the one she’d woken up in yesterday morning. “You mean stick it to.”

      “That’s right,” he replied, responding to her laugh with one of his own.

      For just a split second, she was tempted to say yes, that she’d do it. But then the ridiculousness of the whole idea made her pause. It was such a harebrained scheme. No one would believe Mel and someone like Ray were an actual couple. An unbidden image of the two of them dancing close, chest to chest, flashed in her mind. A curl of heat moved through the pit of her stomach before she squelched it. What a silly fantasy.

      They clearly had nothing in common. Not that she would know with any real certainty, of course. She didn’t know the man at all.

      “What do you think?” Ray prompted.

      “I think there’s no way it would work. For one thing, we’ve barely met. You don’t know a thing about me and I don’t know a thing about you. I have no idea who you are. How would we even begin to explain why we’re at such an event together?”

      A sly twinkle appeared in his eye. “That’s easy to fix. We should spend some time getting to know each other. Can I interest you in breakfast? I understand there’s an excellent eating establishment very nearby. Right downstairs, as a matter of fact.”

      Greta seated them in a corner booth and handed him a large laminated menu. The giant smile on the older woman’s face gave every bit the impression that she was beyond pleased at seeing the two of them at breakfast together. Though she did initially appear quite surprised.

      Well, Ray had also surprised himself this morning. He’d had no idea that he’d intended to ask to take her to the mayor’s ball until the words were actually leaving his mouth. Saleh would want to throttle him for such a foolish move. Oh, well, he’d worry about Saleh later. Ray’s reasons were sound if one really thought about it. So he’d exaggerated his need to meet local business leaders, considering he already had the contacts in Boston that he needed. But Mel didn’t know that or need to know that. And what harm would it do? What was so wrong about wanting to take her to the ball and hoping she’d have a good time there? Between the terrible accident yesterday and what he’d found out this morning about her past history, she could definitely use some fun, he figured. Even if it was only for a few hours.

      Why he wanted to be the one to give that to her, he couldn’t quite explain. He found himself wishing he’d met her under different circumstances, at a different time.

      Right. He would have to be a completely different person for it to make an iota of difference. The reality was that he was the crown prince of Verdovia. He’d been groomed since birth to be beholden to rules and customs and to do what was best for the kingdom. He couldn’t forget this trip was simply a temporary respite from all that.

      This ball would give him a chance to do something different, out of the norm, if he attended as an associate of the royal family rather than as the prince. After all, wasn’t that why he was in the United Sates? For one final adventure. This was a chance to attend a grand gala without all the pressures of being the Verdovian prince and heir to the throne.

      He asked Mel to order for them both and she did so before Greta poured them some more coffee and then left their booth, her smile growing wider by the second.

      “All right,” Mel began once they were alone. “Tell me about yourself. Why don’t you start with more about what you do for a living?”

      Ray knew he had to tread carefully. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he had to be careful to guard his true identity. Not only for his sake, but for hers, as well.

      “You said something about acquiring real estate for the Verdovian royal family. Does that mean real estate is your main focus?” she asked.

      Ray took a sip of his steamy beverage. He’d never had so much coffee in one sitting, but the Boston brew was strong and satisfying. “So to speak. I’m responsible for various duties in service of the king. He’d like to expand his American property holdings, particularly in metropolitan cities. He’s been eyeing various high-end hotels in the Boston area. I volunteered to fly down here to scope out some prospects and perhaps make an agreement.” Technically, he was telling her the complete truth.

      Mel nodded. “I see. You’re definitely a heavy hitter.”

      That wasn’t an expression that made immediate sense to him. “You think I hit heavy?”

      “Never mind. Do you have a family?”

      “My parents and two younger sisters.”

      “What would you tell me about them?”

      This part could get tricky if he wasn’t careful. He hated being on the slim side of deceitful but what choice did he have? And in the overall scheme of things, what did it hurt that Mel didn’t know he was a prince? In fact, he’d be glad to be able to forget the fact himself for just a brief moment in time.

      “My father is a very busy man. Responsible for many people and lots of land. My mother is an accomplished musician who has studied the violin under some of Europe’s masters and composes her own pieces.”

      Mel let out a low whistle. “Wow. That’s quite a pedigree,” she said in a near whisper. “How’d you end up picking such a high-profile career?”

      He had to tread carefully answering that one. “It was chosen for me,” he answered truthfully.

      She lifted an eyebrow. “You mean the king chose you?”

      He nodded. Again, it was the complete truth. “There were certain expectations made of me, being the only son of the family.”

      “Expectations?”

      “Yes. It was a given that I would study business, that I would work in a career that led to the further wealth and prosperity of our island kingdom. Otherwise...”

      The turn in conversation was throwing him off. Mel’s questions brought up memories he hadn’t given any consideration to in years.