Page 3 of The Duke's Virgin

Rolling my eyes, I said, “Don’t start.”

“I’m just asking.” His lashes swept low, all but concealing his pale gray eyes, although not the mischievous sparkle. “I’m always on the search for my princess, you know. Maybe she’s eating dinner with you now.”

“Ha, ha.” I made a face at him. “I take it your mother is after you to settle down and get married too?”

Our mothers were sisters, and one more thing we had in common was our mothers’ obsession with seeing us settled down and married, producing offspring one after the other. In his mother’s defense, it was a familial obligation. A prince needed an heir and all that shit.

“It’s what they do, right?” He shrugged, some of the humor slipping from his eyes. “But I didn’t call to talk about our annoying parents. Listen…are you doing anything this weekend?”

“Ah…” I blinked, scanning my mental schedule, although I shouldn’t have bothered. It was blank. “Nope. Other than the usual. Sleeping in, taking care of groceries, that sort of thing.”

He cocked his head thoughtfully. “I’ve never had to take care of the usual. I’ve had a more normal life than some people in my position, I know, but I’d be lost in a grocery store. Where do you even start?”

“With a list.” I grinned at him. “I figured it out. You could too.”

He gave me a look that was a mix of speculation and panic, and I had a sudden image of him wandering around one of the mega-sized grocery stores here in the United States. Granted, those weren’t predominant over in Europe, but the image of my royal cousin getting lost in the aisles of Walmart or a Super Target was mildly entertaining, and I wondered what his parents would think.

“If you decide to go on such an adventure, let me know so I can record it for posterity,” I told him.

“Your drink, ma’am.”

I looked up at the sound of the server’s voice. “Thank you.” I tapped an item on the appetizer menu. “Can I get an order, please?”

She nodded and disappeared as quickly as she’d appeared, leaving me alone to my conversation. Picking up the Manhattan, I took a sip and smiled at Aeric. “It’s past midnight there. What has you calling me?”

“You know me. I’m a night owl.” He faked a big yawn. “Up at all hours, partying.”

I cocked a brow at him, grinning. “That is sonotyou.”

He laughed. “True, true. Well, if you’d look at your phone’s call history, you’d notice I’ve called a couple of times today…I’d almost swear you’ve been avoiding me.”

“You…I…” Scowling, I checked the call log. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I saw that I had, indeed, missed a few calls from him. “Sorry, Aeric. I’ve been dodging most calls the past two days. Mom is at it again. Last week, she was all set on fixing me up with the son of a banker she knows.” I made a face at him. “The guy is a total douche. He went to Oxford, graduated a year before I did and has an awful reputation, but when I pointed that out to my mother, I got the standard line…‘boys will be boys.’”

“Shall I point out to her that you shouldn’t settle for aboy, but a man?” Aeric offered a polite smile, but there was a glint in his eyes.

The protectiveness he felt toward me warmed me.

The two of us had a closer relationship than I had with my own parents, a fact that saddened me even as it comforted. At least Ihada good relationship with somebody I was related to, but at the same time, it was pathetic that I relied on somebody besides my parents to be there when I needed someone to lean on.

“I already told her that I’d rather not get involved with somebody who was still falling back on the ‘boys will be boys’line to excuses shitty behavior in his twenties.” Taking a sip of my drink, I added, “She didn’t have much of a response to that. Bonus, she left me alone for a few days.”

“Then you didn’t just win, you scored extra points.” He tipped an imaginary hat. “But we’ve digressed. I was actually calling to see if you wanted to join me for the weekend. I’ve got an engagement party to attend, and I need a companion.”

In the middle of taking another sip of the cocktail, I paused, then lowered the glass. “Are you hard up for company, Aeric?”

“No.” He snorted. “But you know as well as I do that things can get…sticky for a man in my position.”

“Poor prince.” I gave him a faux pout.

“Poor little rich girl,” he retorted. “And don’t act like you don’t know what I mean. I don’t have an excess of casual female acquaintances. You understand the reason. If I ask some woman I hardly know, the press will have a field day, and it could set that woman up for rampant speculation. But with you…”

Rolling my eyes, I finished his sentence for him, “We don’t have to worry. I’m not that recognizable in European society, or even among American society since I prefer to hide away and cultivate myIce Princessreputation. If I go with you, I’m in and out, and people can just speculate away. Do I have it right?”

“You’re a smart one. Have I ever told you how much I admire your intelligence, Stacia?” Aeric flashed a brilliant, blinding smile at me.

“Whatever.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “So…an engagement…who is getting engaged?”

“A friend. You might know him. He went to Oxford. Geraint Hahn from Luxembourg. I’m friends with his brother.”

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