Victoria Chancellor - The Prince's Texas Bride

She handed him an envelope from the truck stop and a pen that had been chewed on the plastic end. “Would you make it out to Charlene Jacks, please?” Kerry asked, peering at the paper he held as though she didn’t trust him to give a proper autograph.

He smiled. “Of course. Are you going home now?” he asked, to make conversation while he worded an appropriate message.

“No, I’m on my way to Galveston.”

“Galveston!” He looked up, remembering the island from his check of the map before his trip to Texas. “Surely not in—”

“Now, don’t say anything rude about Delores,” Kerry admonished with a grin. “She may be old, but she’s been real good to me for the past eight years. We’ve been through a lot together.”

“Really?” Alexi wondered if any of those memories involved the back seat of the aging vehicle, but a quick glance inside confirmed his suspicions. The back seat was too small for any decent-size man.

“I don’t want to demean Delores, but perhaps you should reconsider driving all that way. Surely you’re not going alone?”

“I am. My mother is working and my sisters are busy. I have to be back on Saturday for my college graduation ceremony, but I’m going to see my aunt and uncle. I’m getting my aunt’s mother’s car. It’s in real good shape—only twenty-one thousand miles and not a dent or a scratch.”

“I see.” College graduation? How old was Kerry? She’d appeared several years older than an undergraduate. “What type of degree?”

“My bachelor’s in business. It’s taken me ten years, but I’m finally finished.”

Alexi breathed a sigh of relief. At least he hadn’t been lusting after a twenty-one-year-old. Kerry was at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight—just a few years younger than his age of thirty.

“Your Highness,” Gwendolyn said, warning him she was serious by the use of his title, “we really must be going.”

“Lady Gwendolyn, I’ve just learned this young lady is driving all the way to Galveston by herself in this rather questionable automobile. Surely I can’t let that pass.”

“Surely you must, Your Highness,” she insisted.

Alexi laughed. “How far is this trip of yours?”

“In hours, I’d say around six or so.”

“Six hours in Delores,” he said, turning to Gwendolyn. “That seems rather unfortunate, don’t you think?”

Gwendolyn tugged on his sleeve. When he leaned down, she whispered fiercely in his ear. “So buy her a bloody ticket on an airplane and let’s be on our way!”

Alexi laughed. “You can’t solve everything with money, Gwennie.”

“Alexi Ladislas,” she whispered, reverting to the tone of voice she’d used when she was peeved with him, “forget any idea that might be forming in your head.”

“I can’t imagine what you’re talking about.”

“I can see you’re busy,” Kerry said with a sigh. “Thanks for the autograph. My mother will be so proud.”

“Just a moment, Kerry,” Alexi said.

“Alexi, no!”

He smiled down at Gwendolyn. “This is fate, don’t you think? If that soft drink hadn’t exploded. If we hadn’t stopped in this particular place.”

“Fate is sticking to your schedule. Who knows what momentous events await you in San Antonio?”

“I’ve never been to Galveston.”

“You’ve never been to San Antonio, either!”

“Yes, but Galveston has a beach.” He turned to Kerry. “It does have a beach, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” she answered, obviously confused. “Galveston is actually an island.”

“Ah, you see, an island. You do remember how I love the islands. Besides, all my important meetings are complete. Relax for a few days, Gwennie. You need a holiday as much as I do.”

“Alexi, don’t!”

“I must, dear Gwendolyn.” He turned to Kerry. “As a gentleman, I cannot allow you to make the treacherous trip alone. It would be my honor to accompany you to Galveston in your faithful steed, Delores.”

KERRY COULDN’T BELIEVE she was driving State Road 46 toward Interstate 10 with a genuine prince. He was sitting on the passenger side, his backside resting on her Wal-Mart imitation leopard-print car seat cover, looking as though he were having the time of his life. The wind blew his brown hair across his forehead and plastered the Western shirt he’d bought in the truck stop to his chest. His really nice, impressively muscular chest.

She was usually a good judge of character, but Prince Alexi had poleaxed her from the moment she’d kissed him, so she might not be thinking straight.

She almost moaned aloud. Jeez, she’d kissed a prince! She still couldn’t believe she’d done that. The only explanation she could come up with was that today was her last day as a waitress. She’d said goodbye to her fellow waitresses and regular customers, all emotional about this change in her life, including her college graduation on Saturday. Then a prince walked into her life. And not just any prince, but one who was so good-looking he made her eyeballs hurt.

She wanted to watch him instead of the road, inhale his scent instead of the dusty highway breeze, and most of all, she wanted to kiss him again. Which was crazy. She had to keep reminding herself that he was a prince.

Why was he sitting in her aging Toyota? If he’d wanted to see Galveston, why hadn’t he hopped on a jet or into his fancy Land Rover? Why would he care if she drove there in Delores when he didn’t even know her?

“What kind of music do you like?” he asked, reaching for her radio.

“Almost everything but rap,” she replied. “It might be hard to pick up a station between towns, but I have a CD player. CDs are in the back seat, in that black zippered case.”

“You have a CD player?”

She glanced over at her passenger. “What, you don’t think Delores deserves a nice stereo?”

“I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

“The new CD player and stereo radio was a gift from my mother two years ago. I spend—spent a lot of time commuting from home to school to work.”

“Where is Ranger Springs?” he asked as he reached for her CDs.

“West of the truck stop, about twenty-five minutes.” She grinned. “In Texas, we often give distances in the minutes it takes to drive rather than the actual miles.”

“I only visited Dallas. I have some business contacts there.”

“I thought you were in the business of being a prince.”

“I have some other interests.”

“Really?” She glanced over and saw him flipping through her CDs. Garth Brooks, vintage Bee Gees, the music from Phantom of the Opera and a half-dozen other groups.

He sighed as if he didn’t want to talk about himself. “Some investments of my own.”

“Ah. So you’re not just another pretty face with a crown.” Maybe if she joked about his good looks, she wouldn’t keep thinking about how interested she was in him as a man.

He laughed. “Thank you for the compliment, I think. I suppose that is the view of royalty, especially in Texas, where everyone values their independence.”

Kerry nodded in agreement. “We’re big on independence, but fascinated by everything bigger than life. Rich folks. Movie stars. Royalty. My mother is one of the biggest fans of the British royals, but she doesn’t discriminate. When I give her your autograph, she’s going to be doing the happy-happy dance all around the living room.” Kerry chuckled as she imagined her mom squealing in delight. “As a matter of fact, I may have to keep that car seat cover just because you sat on it.”

“Maybe you should bring me home and really make her day.” He slipped one of her favorite Dixie Chicks CDs into the stereo.

Kerry shook her head. “I’m not sure her heart could stand it.” Maybe her heart couldn’t stand it, either.

“Is she ill?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.

Kerry chuckled again. “No, she’s as healthy as a horse. And she’s not that old, either. She just turned fifty. I was exaggerating.”

“That’s another trademark of Texans, isn’t it?”

“Only when we’re talking to Yankees.”

He laughed and turned up the volume on the CD player. “I’m having a good time, Kerry Lynn Jacks.”

“I’m glad….”

“Call me Alexi.”

“That seems kind of wrong. I mean, just because you and I are on a road trip, you’re still a prince.”

“Can you put that aside for a couple of days?”

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “I can try.”

“Please, try,” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She tried not to react, even though her skin felt suddenly overheated…and not from the warm May temperature. “Okay.” She passed a pickup truck heavily laden with bales of hay as she thought about forgetting that the man beside her was a prince. The name Alexi sounded so foreign. Maybe if she had a nickname for him, she wouldn’t think of him as the prince. And what about when they stopped, or got to her aunt and uncle’s house? She couldn’t call him by his real name without alerting everyone that the prince was slumming around Texas with a truck stop waitress he’d just met.

“What’s your middle name?” she asked as the Dixie Chicks sang about women striking out on their own. What appropriate music. Kerry was just getting ready to start her new life. A professional life in which she would never have to wear a uniform again. And she’d have an apartment all her own. She could stay out late without anyone worrying. She could sleep late on Saturday morning and only wash dishes when she felt like it.

“Which one?” Alexi asked, breaking into her fantasy. “I have several.”

She made a face in his general direction. “Just tell me, okay? I need to call you something besides Alexi, or Your Highness, or whatever else is appropriate, because people are going to be a bit suspicious. They’ll either think I’m crazy as a loon for calling Hank a prince, or that you’re crazy for running off with me.”

“My full name is Alexi Karl Gregor MacCulloh Ladislas.”

“Wow.”

“My sentiments exactly. While attending college in Boston, I rarely used anything but my first name, usually shortened to Alex. And I found the computer forms weren’t understanding about more than one middle initial.”

“All your names sound real European except MacCulloh. Where did that come from?”

“My mother is English. Her grandfather was from Scotland and honored him by giving me his surname.”

“That’s nice, and it’s also perfect. Can I call you Mack? Anyone who hears us talking will think that you’re Hank McCauley.”

“Ah, yes. The man who looks like me. Tell me, now that we’ve spent some time together, do you still think we resemble each other that closely?”

She glanced over at him again. “Yes, you do, although your expressions are different. Hank’s more…well, I guess you could say he’s spontaneous. He’s also a big tease, and he’s a Texan through and through.” He also didn’t make her heart race with just a smile.

Alexi was silent for a moment. Kerry glanced quickly at him and noticed he was frowning. Finally, he asked, “What does he do for a living?”

“He trains cutting horses now, but he used to be a champion bronc rider. He’s retired.”

“Retired…at what age?”

“I guess he’s thirty-one now. Around your age, I suppose.”

“You cut me to the quick,” he replied with mock indignation. “I’m a relatively young thirty.”

Kerry chuckled. “Sorry. I wouldn’t want to add a whole year.”

“I was dreading my thirtieth birthday enough. I can’t imagine the next one.”