Page 31 of Forbidden Prince
"On theboat."
Obviously, but she held back that retort. Instead she came beside him where he parked the bike. "And thenwhere?"
He pointed toward the ocean that seemed dark and unending. "My castle is this way. One day we'll livethere."
Her heart pounded in her chest. Had she misheard him? Her cheeks heated. "We?"
"When you marry me." He guided her to where other passengers sat, his hand warm aroundhers.
She pulled back and stopped him before they walked onto the main part of the ship. The night wind brushed a slight coldness onto her body, but it didn't cool her down. Her heart beat too fast. She held his hand to her chest. "You haven't asked. We haven't discussed anything, like how we feel or what's goingon."
He kissed her fingers. "Wait until we get to the castle." He squeezed her hand and led her to the right side of the ferry. "For now, let's go say hello to the people who live on theisland."
"Okay..." She had no objection to meeting new people, but he couldn’t just assume that they would get married. She hugged his arm to her chest and tried to joke off how she felt, "Guess you got me on a ship after alltonight."
Marco stopped at a couple in their late forties, early fifties, and smiled at them. Keeping her at his side, he said, "Renee, this is Mikel, and Ingrid. They are bakers on theisland."
She held out her hand, but neither of them shook hers. Ingrid curtsied and a moment later, Mikel bowed. Ingrid then said, "We'll send up fresh bread in the morning for you,Princess."
"I'm not a princess." Renee shook her head and elbowed Marco for him to correctthem.
He didn’t. Ingrid shyly smiled and said, "I see the way our prince looks at you. You'll be our princesssoon."
Marco, chuckling at her discomfort, said goodbye to the couple and held her hand near his chest while they walked to meet a younger gentleman about their age. "Don’t be mad, Renee." They stopped in front of the man. "This is Henri, he works in the SouthCastle."
The handsome man with a slight tan could probably get any girl he wanted in the states. He nodded at Marco. "Hello, Your Highness." Then smiled at her. "It will be a pleasure to have you stay with uspermanently."
Marco kept his arm around her shoulder and narrowed his gaze at Henri. "How do you feel aboutAmericans?"
Henri grinned at her. "This one is quite lovely, YourHighness."
Marco rumbled a laugh. "Iagree."
"Thank you." Her cheeks grew hotter. Henri seemed way too at ease to be a servant, though she kept that thought to herself. Maybe that is what Marco wanted in hiscastle.
"This way, Renee." Marco guided her toward the front of the ferry where they could bealone.
She tugged his hand to make him stop. He did, taking her other hand in his, holding them to his chest. His muscles blocked the wind of the night air, but she leaned up and stood on her tiptoes so only he heard her. "Marco, why are we making the rounds to talk to everyone?" Why didn’t he correct them when they assumed she would be hisprincess?
She could feel the beat of his heart. "I want you to see that the people in my parents’ kingdom are kind and pleasant. Every-day folks and nobody to be afraidof."
So, this was about her running. She’d been a fool. She closed her eyes, banishing the panic that had caused her to flee. The note was still in her back pocket. He wanted her to see that she could have a life here, unafraid. But what did that look like? "Marco, I'm a school teacher. How can I help you or yourfamily?
He blinked and stared at her like she spoke another language. "I don’tunderstand."
She nodded at him with encouragement. Where did he see her in his daily life? "I need you toanswer."
He studied her face intently, her hands against his heart. "Why would you need to help withanything?"
She squeezed his palms. The idea of being a guest with nothing to do, no purpose, filled her with dread. "I'm not the type of woman who can just stay home. In a castle, you have people who take care of your cooking and cleaning, and honestly, I can’t even bake—so where do I fitin?"
He tapped her knuckles slightly, his brow furrowed as he considered her words. "You teachhistory?"
"Yes, pretty useless in a country older than America." She shrugged. "But I enjoyworking."
He nodded, then smiled. "I do have this idea, about a touristindustry?"
An industry sounded much larger than managing a class of fun-loving smart teens in an AP class. A voice in her head questioned if she was good enough for something like that, but she quieted it. "So you want my opinion on how to rebuildtourism?"
