‘‘Absolutely.’’ She glanced around at the nearly empty restaurant. ‘‘I wish I’d had a place like this nearby when I was growing up.’’
Mitch finished his last mouthful of steak, then wiped his mouth on the paper napkin. ‘‘No Ruby’s by the palace?’’
‘‘Not one.’’
‘‘Did you go to a regular school?’’
‘‘For a few years, but mostly my sisters and I had tutors. We traveled a lot as teenagers, and the tutors came with us. That allowed us to continue our studies without interruption.’’
‘‘So even as a child you attended official functions?’’
‘‘Of course.’’
He shook his head. Nothing about her life made sense to him. ‘‘I can’t imagine it.’’
‘‘I can’t imagine this,’’ she said, motioning to the diner. ‘‘Except now that I’ve been here, I’ll remember it always. When the pressure of my world gets to be too much, I’ll think of blueberry milk shakes and dinner with you at Ruby’s.’’
Her voice, with its lilting accent, still drove him crazy. But now he knew her well enough to see past the attraction to the woman inside. Her tone was light, but he heard the sadness underneath.
‘‘When does your world get to be too much?’’ he asked.
‘‘More often than I would like. There are so many responsibilities.’’
‘‘Keeping the tiara on straight?’’ he teased.
‘‘That, too.’’ She hesitated. ‘‘That’s what makes it so complicated about finding my brother.’’
‘‘I don’t understand.’’
‘‘Wynborough law currently states that the heir must be male. But my parents only had one son and he’s been presumed dead for years.’’
‘‘What’s complicated about that? Wouldn’t the throne just go to the next male heir? A cousin or something?’’
‘‘It would, except there aren’t any male heirs. Not without going outside the immediate family to a very distant relative. No one wants that. So there’s been some talk in the palace and parliament about introducing a bill to change the law.’’
Mitch knew what she was going to say. It was the next logical step. But he couldn’t believe it. ‘‘Change the law how?’’
Alex met his gaze. ‘‘There have been proposals to make the legal heir to the throne be the oldest child, regardless of gender.’’
‘‘Which would make you…’’ His voice trailed off.
She looked faintly uncomfortable, then raised her chin in that damn regal way she had. ‘‘That would make me queen.’’
Chapter Nine
Mitch felt his mouth drop open. He consciously closed it, but that didn’t stop the buzzing in his head. Alex kept on talking as if she hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary.
‘‘I’m not sure if the bill would pass,’’ she went on. ‘‘But the feeling is that it would.’’
He felt as if someone had just shaken his world good and hard. Only this wasn’t something as insignificant as an earthquake. ‘‘Queen,’’ he said, although the single word was tough to speak.
‘‘Yes, similar to Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain. I can only hope I would do as good a job in leading my people. I suspect the uncertainty about the succession is one of the reasons my parents haven’t pressed me to marry. If I am to be monarch of Wynborough, then my choice of husband becomes even more important.’’
Mitch turned that information over in his mind. ‘‘But he wouldn’t be king.’’
‘‘Exactly.’’ She shrugged. ‘‘It would take a very special kind of man to handle the pressure of being the consort—someone married to the queen, but without any of the power. Most men would have problems being the one in the background.’’
He couldn’t believe they were actually having this conversation. He also couldn’t believe that he hadn’t really gotten it before. Alexandra was really a princess. She wasn’t just some beautiful, single woman who happened to be living with him—she was royalty. She might one day rule her country.
