The Reluctant Prince by Linda Cajio

Author:Linda Cajio [Cajio, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-79904-3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

Eight

Emily felt as if they’d emerged from a warm, safe cocoon and into the cold, cruel world. Jimmy’s place had been a haven, and she and Alex had been able to forget their troubles for a little while and laugh together. Somehow that day of camaraderie was more threatening than this.

“Got your flight bag?” he asked.

“Don’t leave home without it,” she quipped, holding it up for his inspection. He had taken the jewels out the day before and they were back under his shirt. “How long do you think it’ll take to get to the border now?”

“About a day.”

It was hard to believe that by this time tomorrow it would all be over and she’d be on her way home to Pennsylvania. The question of Alex instantly came to mind, and she just as instantly pushed it out. She didn’t want to think that she wouldn’t see him again. Instead she thought of the long walk ahead of them. “I don’t suppose we could have emerged nice and fresh from Jimmy’s truck and still pulled off the poor-souls-without-a-dime-fleeing-back-home routine.”

“We won’t be able to pull it off if you keep babbling in English.”

“Right.” She clammed up and walked dutifully one pace behind him in deference to Mediterranean machismo. The thought of machismo reminded her of sex and men, and that reminded her of their playfulness the day before, and that reminded her of the night before that in the hayloft. The images were so vivid, she could actually feel his mouth on her again, sucking … nipping … driving her into a sensual whirlwind. Desperate to obliterate the memory, she muttered under her breath, “Lions and tigers and bears … oh my. Lions and tigers—”

“And knock it off,” Alex said, glaring at her.

“Right.”

They were nearing the village. Picturesque, Emily thought, eyeing the gray slate roofs, whitewashed walls, and profusion of climbing roses. She could have gone to nice safe Switzerland and seen the same thing. With her luck, though, the Swiss would have rioted over a change in their cheese recipe or something.

As they trudged along, Emily noticed that few people were out, and those who were glanced at them once, then went back inside their homes, closing their doors. By the time they reached the town square, with its three-tiered fountain, the place was absolutely deserted.

She moved closer to Alex and whispered, “Last time I saw something like this, Bela Lugosi was playing the lead.”

“They’re scared,” he said. “A lot of the people in the mountains are superstitious. It’s a simple life up here, like night and day compared to the sophisticated jet-setting style along the coast.”

“I’ll say.” She glanced around at the closed doors of the shops. “You’ll tell me if my hair crinkles up and the sides go pure white, won’t you? If I’ve turned into the bride of Frankenstein, I want to know it before I look in a mirror.”

“And you’ll let me know if I grow fangs and start talking with a weird accent.”

Somehow their hands met, and Emily wrapped her fingers tightly around his, needing the comfort of flesh to flesh.

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