Her Christmas Prince (Love in the Keys) (12 page)

“
I
really appreciate you coming. It's taken a lot of pressure off me.
My mom's actually been kind of pleasant since we saw her at the Clam.
I've been praying it continues. It's nice.” Henry smiled.

Their
meals arrived and Henry and Callie both settled in to eating since
t
hey were both starved.
Both enjoyed their food and the ambiance. When the waiter asked if
they wanted dessert, Callie answered yes. Henry deferred to her
judgement and they both had Cuban style flan. It was homemade at the
resort and quite delicious.

As
they were finishing dessert and coffee, Callie paused. Just for a
second, she thought she heard Brian's voice. She shook it off, it
was completely unlikely. But then she heard it again. She must
have looked alarmed, because Henry noticed.

“
What's
wrong? You look
like you've
seen a ghost.”

“
Not
seen one, heard one. Brian's here.”

“
Brian?
The Brian? Here. Well well well. This could be fun.”
Callie realized that because of their location on the pier, they'd
have to pass right by him on their way out. Henry signalled for the
bill and paid in cash.

“
Are
you ready?” Callie nodded.

“
Please
don't do anything. Or say anything. If we're lucky, he won't even
notice we and we can just slip out.” Henry listened to her
and despite a desire to do otherwise, he tipped his head in
agreement. He rose, stood behind her, and helped her out of her
chair. He gave her a quick but strong kiss, then took her arm and
led her out along the pier.

Callie
just kept thinking
please
don't let him see me
as
they approached Brian's table, where he
was sitting with a beautiful woman. They had just passed them when
Brian's companion got up and touched Henry's arm.

“
Excuse
me, your ...”

“
Henry.
Yes, it's me, Henry. Hello, Amalia. Fancy running into you in
Florida.”

Henry
could not believe his luck. Amalia von Trachter was the daughter of
a baron and a high society maven. She was the last person he would
have expected to find in Key West and the worst possible one to run
into. His cover was blown.

“
May
I introduce my companion, Brian. He's working with daddy on a new
resort complex here in Key West.” Brian held out his hand but
immediately took it back when he saw Henry's expression. It was only
at that moment that he noticed Henry's companion.

“
Callie?”
Brian seemed shocked that she should be in Key West. Did he think
she was home, crying her eyes out over him? Arrogant jerk.

“
Hello,
Brian.” Callie was civil but polite.

Amalia's
eyes lingered over Callie, sizing her up. And looking surprised that
she wasn't part of their usual crowd. “And who is this
charming lady with you?”

“
I'm
Callie. Pleased to meet you, Amalia.” Callie extended her
hand and gave the woman her hand. She shook it weakly. It made
Callie think of something her father said, to never trust someone
with an anaemic handshake. She certainly didn't trust this woman;
her gut instinct told her she was trouble. How appropriate she was
with Brian.

Brian
was about to say something, when Henry authoritatively cut him off.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we're in a bit of a rush, we're
expected elsewhere tonight, we just stopped in for a quick bite. As
always, a pleasure, Amalia.” He said nothing to Brian. He
gave them a quick wave, as did Callie, and they continued on their
way out. When Callie snuck a look back, Brian looked fit to be
tied. And Amalia looked like she was plotting.

Henry
led Callie back to the car and they got in before he said anything.

“
Are
you OK?” He looked at her.

“
Yes,
I am. It was a bit surprising to see him but I'm fine, actually. It
was great to see the look on his face. Like he thought I'd be
housebound eating ice cream after he dumped me.” Henry
laughed. She was right, he did look somewhat put out. “Who
is Amalia?”

“
Well,
she's someone I know socially. She's one of those people who lives
off her parents. She's only started doing interior design the last
year or two because her father told her she had to get a job, and
she's working in his company.”

Callie
nodded. It made sense now. If she had money and her father had a
big real estate company, Brian would be interested. What did you
call a male gold digger? Whatever it was, he was it.

“
Did
you ever date her?” Callie wasn't sure why she thought so,
maybe Amalia's open hostility, but she had to ask.

“
No.
She's really not my type. But she's let it be known on more than
one occasion that she was interested.” Henry wondered if
Callie was jealous. It made him kind of happy at the idea that she
was.

Callie
breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his response. She didn't
think that Amalia seemed like his kind of girl, but it made her feel
better to hear Henry say it.

They
headed back to Sunnyside Key, with Jimmy tailing them the entire way.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

December
25
^th
,
Christmas Day

Henry
finished the last of his packing and had everything ready to go. He
had come back to the boat last night and put in a call to Biggs.
They discussed his running into Amalia and decided it would be best
if he returned home on Boxing Day. He'd planned to stay in Sunnyside
Key a few days after Christmas, but the risk of discovery was too
high now. Amalia was indiscreet and could gossip for all of Europe
and it was only a matter of time before her chatter got him on the
paparazzi radar, or worse.

He
didn't know how he was going to tell Callie. They hadn't really
discussed anything beyond Christmas, but he felt a pull to stay in
Sunnyside a little longer. While this whole thing might have started
out as an impetuous good deed, he was more and more enamoured of
Callie as they spent time together. And there was no denying there
was a connection. He just wasn't sure what to do about it.

He'd
purposely been taking things slowly because he was worried she still
had feelings for Brian. But last night proved him wrong. And now
that he'd met Brian, he wasn't worried any more. He wasn't
impressed.

The
other troubling issue was his parents. How did he bring up the fact
that he wanted to date a girl who baked cookies for a living from
Florida? He was concerned they'd be against it, because she wasn't
from Laurenia and because she was not titled. He'd have to make the
Kate Middleton argument. Henry knew his mother, in particular, would
like nothing more than to see him married and starting a family. But
until this point, he'd never met anyone he thought he could spend a
lifetime with. The question was, could she endure the public nature
of his life and embrace it? And how would she take the news that he
was actually a prince?

Callie's
alarm went off at 7 a.m. , and she got out of bed with a grin. It
was Christmas, and she loved this quiet time in the morning before
the family craziness began. She went into the kitchen and made
herself a caffe mocha. While it was cooling off, she grabbed her
Bible and read the Luke 2 and took a moment to reflect on the
Christmas story before starting her day.

She
reached under her tree and picked up Erin's gift. She sat down and
opened it, and it was a beautiful beaded necklace. It would go
perfectly with the dress that Callie had planned to wear for
Christmas day. Erin knew her taste so well. It was a thoughtful
gift.

She
finished her coffee and went to shower and change. She left her new
pajamas on the bed. Her mother had always bought new pajamas for
them for Christmas E
ve and
she'd kept this tradition herself.
T
his year's were a Snoopy and
Woodstock print, with the two cartoon buddies doing Christmasy things
like decorating the t
ree.
She hadn't been able to resist them when she's seen them.

She
was dressed and ready when Henry buzzed. Callie had had the
forethought to carry down the two boxes of pies and leave them at the
concierge desk. She could see Henry loading them into the SUV as
she exited the elevator and she smiled. She also had a bag
containing the gifts for Henry and her cousin Rayna, and a big box of
cookies to take to church.

Henry
took her parcels and placed them in the back seat of the SUVs with
pies. He gently took her face between his hands and kissed her.

“
Merry
Christmas, lovely.” Callie smiled. She felt warm and glowing
from the kiss.

“
Merry
Christmas to you, too.”

They
got into the SUV and Callie directed him to her parents’ home a
few minutes away. They had a rancher, a single level long and wide
bungalow on a large lot overlooking the canal. Her father had
strung the lights and they had a beautiful nativity scene on the
front lawn. For as long as Callie could remember, this was how the
house looked at Christmas.

“
Very
festive.” Henry admired her father's handiwork. Not overdone,
simple and well thought out. He liked it. It was a far cry from the
crazy displays they'd seen in Key Largo or even on the boats in Key
West the night before. Much more his style.

Henry
easily carried the boxes of pies to the porch of the house, then came
back to collect his own bag of goodies, which included gifts, the
champagne he'd promised Milly, and a seasonal bouquet of roses,
evergreen and holly.

He
and Callie walked to the house arm and arm, and stopped at the front
door.

“
Ready?”
he asked.

“
I
am if you are.”

“
Let's
do it.” Callie reached out and knocked on the door loudly
before opening the door and letting them in.

“
Merry
Christmas, y'all!” A chorus of reciprocal greetings met her.
Her mother and aunts were in the kitchen, while the men were outside
setting up the Big Green Egg in preparation for the turkey. Callie
dropped her parcels and handbag on the hall table, and guided Henry
to the kitchen with the pies.

“
Calista!
And Henry! Merry Christmas.”

Henry
presented her mother with the bouquet of flowers and the bottles of
champagne that Callie had carried in for him
.
And Milly positively beamed.

“
Are
those the pies? I'm so glad you had time to make them, you always do
such a nice job.” Callie was surprised by her mother's
praise. Her aunts immediately descended on Henry, who was his usual
charming self. Auntie Jolie, who was her youngest aunt and more a
friend than an auntie, gave her a big thumbs up behind Henry's back
and Callie blushed.

“
Thanks,
mom. Happy to help. Is there anything I can do?” She took in
the hive of activity in the kitchen.

“
I
think we're good, honey. We're getting everything ready to go into
the oven. Why don't you introduce Henry around and get ready for
gift opening? We'll be in shortly.” She nodded at her mom and
motioned for Henry to follow her down the hall.

She
quickly made the round of introductions with her uncles and cousins.
They seemed to take to him right away, but Henry did give off a
certain alpha male authority.

“
Welcome
to our home, Henry. So glad you could join us.” Jackson
Meyers shook Henry's had enthusiastically and offered him a mimosa,
which he took.

They
chatted amiably with Callie's relatives for a few minutes and then
the aunties and her mother began to file in.

Jackson
took his place beside the tree. He always handed out the gifts, and
put on his red Santa hat in preparation.

“
Henry,
perhaps you'd be good enough to assist me.” Henry was up out
of his seat and at Jackson's side without being asked twice.
Unusual, her father had never asked for help before. She wondered
what he was up to.

Auntie
Jolie took his spot and whispered in Callie's ear. “That's the
cutest elf I've ever seen. Good going, girl!” Callie
giggled. Her aunt was incorrigible.

“
Where'd
you find him?”

“
At
the Happy Clam.” Her aunt looked at her skeptically. “Henry's
a friend of Tom's, they served in Afghanistan together.” Her
aunt nodded understanding.