Her Christmas Prince (Love in the Keys) (5 page)

“
Sounds
like a plan.”

Henry
again walked her to the passenger side and made sure she was settled
in before moving around to the driver's side of the SUV. A girl
could get used to this! But, she'd better not. Henry certainly
wouldn't be here forever. Which was a shame, because she was
starting to like him more and more as the minutes went by.

He
pulled up behind her car at the Beach Buzz and stopped her when she
tried to get out. Henry exited, opened her door, and walked her over
to the driver's side of her car. Once she was safely inside, he
leaned down to speak. The night breeze gave her a whiff of his scent
and she felt a little tingle in her spine. Darn it, but didn't he
smell good.

“
Do
you want me to follow you home, to make sure you get there safely, or
are you OK from here?”

“
No,
I'm good, thanks. My condo has security so I'll be fine once I get
there.”

“
If
you're sure.” Henry didn't seem
convinced but he also didn't want to overstep. “Well, Miss
Callie, I had a lovely evening. Unexpected but lovely none the less.
I'll come by tomorrow and we can continue our chat. Sound good?”

Callie
nodded yes. She was about to say thanks for the twentieth time when
he leaned in and silenced her with the tiniest of kisses on her lips.
It was a whisper, but it packed a wallop. She wasn't sure what to
say.

“
We
have to get used to being physical if we're going to pull this off,
Callie. I hope that was OK.” It was more than OK It was
exhilarating. She nodded her agreement.

Henry
moved away from the car and waited curbside while she drove away,
waving goodbye and wishing her sweet dreams. Callie went home, and
tried to process the highly unlikely events of the day.

CHAPTER
FIVE

December
22
^nd

Henry
was up bright and early. It was his custom, and even though he was
technically on vacation and had no agenda, he couldn't seem to break
it. He made some coffee and climbed up on deck to watch the sunrise
while contemplating the day. He also enjoyed some peanut butter on
toast. He could see why it was so popular in America, and wondered
why it hadn't caught on at home. I
t
was delicious.

When
he'd first arrived in Florida, he'd checked into a hotel. But he
soon realized the potential to be discovered was higher that way.
It wasn't easy to travel on your own and unobtrusively when you were
a prince. It helped that he could travel solo. Despite palace
protests, he was on his own. He'd been trained as a combat expert in
the military and was well able to look after himself. He conceded to
allow two bodyguards to remain in Miami and they would re
join
him when he returned to his homeland.

This
is one of the reasons Henry had reached out to Tom, his old friend
from Afghanistan. Tom had helped him rent a boat to live on and a
car to drive incognito. Tom was also pretty skilled defensively and
was like having a bodyguard around. But mostly, he really was glad
to be catching up with his friend and seeing the part of the world
Tom called home at long last. Tom had described it to him and Henry
had thought he'd been exaggerating, but every word was true. The
Keys were unlike any place Henry had been before. The area had its
own unique charm and mood. H
e
could see why Ernest Hemingway had made it home, and why it had
inspired him.

Tom
and Henry, though from different countries, had both served together
in Kandahar, and had gotten to be friends. He'd always liked Tom's
down to earth nature. H
e was
one of the few soldiers who hasn't treated him differently because of
who he was, and they'd stayed in touch after their military service.
Tom was one of the few people outside his family that Henry c
ould
count as a true friend. And despite their different upbringings,
their friendship was strong.

He
considered the events of yesterday. And his impetuous actions.
Much as he hated to, he'd actually planned to honour his family's
wishes and go home for Christmas and had been scheduled to leave the
Keys in a few days' time. But there was something about Callie.
She was feisty yet vulnerable at the same time. And she'd looked so
sad sitting there watching the sunset, it made his heart break. When
her mother came in and gave her such a hard time, he just couldn't
bear it. He wasn't normally one to interfere in family matters, but
it was obvious she needed someone in her corner. And he was it.

“
Permission
to come aboard?” Tom called up from the dockside.

“
Of
course, mate. Any time. You're up and about early for a Saturday.”

“
Thought
I'd go see if the fish were biting this morning before it gets too
crowded. Wanna come with?”

Henry
pondered Tom's question. Could be his last chance to fish in the
Keys before heading home. “How long are you staying out? I
said I'd drop by and see Callie later.”

“
Ah,
Callie. Yeah, we should talk about that, huh? Just a few hours.
I have to work later, too. If we go soonish, we could be back by
lunchtime.”

“
Then
count me in. Do we have time for another cuppa?”

“
I
was starting to think you'd never ask! I'd love one, sure. Black,
please.”

Henry
went down to the cabin of the well-appointed cruiser that he was
renting. The kitchen was small but modern and met all his needs
while living aboard. He poured two cups of coffee and headed back up
to the deck.

“
Cheers,
mate.” Tom took the steaming mug that Henry handed him and
took a seat. “It's going to be a beautiful day. Let's hope
the fish think so, too.”

“
Indeed.
So ... Callie ...”

“
Dude,
I could not believe what happened last night. That was crazy. I get
where your heart is and it's good. I've known Callie since we
started school and she's good people. She takes a lot of heat from
her mother, not sure why. Her mom's always just been that way. But
what are you going to do about Christmas? Thought duty called and
you were pulling out on the 21
^st
.”

Henry
shifted in his seat. “That was the plan. But plans change. I
called home this morning and told them I wouldn't be home ‘til
closer to new year.”

“
Ouch.
I bet that went over well. Not.” Tom had been to the palace
once to visit, at the end of their tour. He's experienced the
formality and the rigidity of it first hand.

“
Not
so much. But there's less pressure now. I'm not even the spare any
more, I'm fading into the background. It's not a bad thing being the
fourth of four. Especially now with the baby.”

Henry's
oldest brother and his wife had just had a baby who was just over a
year old. He was the joy of the family and the nation, and the press
had been focused on the new heir. Which was fine by Henry. It put
him much further down the line of succession and made his life easier
in many ways.

Even
the
press didn't much bother
with Henry anymore, unless he was on an official function. Or in one
of those ghastly and stories about him being a playboy bachelor and
on some eligible man list. But Henry had learned from his older
brothers, who'd been mercilessly snapped at bars and discos. Having
a normal life, at least in his own country, wasn't possible. He'd
deliberately chosen to attend university abroad, and to join the
military and serve overseas so he'd be away from the glaring eye of
the press. And it seemed to have worked. T
hey
didn't find him too interesting anymore. A few times in Afghanistan
they'd wanted to trot him out for publicity purposes but he'd always
managed to avoid it, giving the glory to his fellow unit members
instead.

“
Just
tread lightly, man. I know you're cool and you wouldn't do it
intentionally, but I'd hate for
Callie
to get hurt again. She really got a raw deal with that Brian guy.
I'm glad he's out of the picture. It looked like it was getting
serious. And between us, I never liked him.”

“
Why
not?” Henry was curious to get Tom's take on it all. He
thought Tom was usually a very good judge of character.

“
Mostly,
I didn't like how he treated her. Kind of patronizing-like. And
he's one of those guys that always ogled other women, even when she
was around. I don't like that. It's disrespectful.” Henry
nodded his agreement. He and Tom held the same views on many things
and were both true gentlemen.

“
How
come you and Callie never got together? You obviously get along, and
she seems great.”

“
Oh,
she is. And we dated for like a week in high school. But we've
known each other since we were five. It was like dating my sister,
it was kind of weird. We decided way back then we were better off
friends and we've stayed that way ever since.”

“
I
do remember you talking about her in Afghanistan. Was it her who
sent you those marvellous care packages with the cookies? I still
remember those cookies.”

Tom
laughed. “Figures you'd remember the cookies ... you are all
about the food. Always. Yup, it was Callie. She always had a gift
for baking, culinary school really took it to a new level, though.
She could work in a big place if she wanted, but she likes having her
own place. It's a small cafe but she does good business and her
customers love her. And she can pretty much call her own shots.”

Callie
had told Henry about some of the volunteer activities she was
involved in. Seemed like a job in a prestigious restaurant, though
more lucrative and fame-inducing, would prevent her from doing the
things she loved at the food bank and the animal shelter. She
really seemed to have her priorities in line. It was unusual. And
really appealing.

In
the society circles that Henry frequented, women were often a bit
shallow and somewhat frivolous. It was nice to see someone
comfortable in her own skin, not obsessed with fashions, and movie
stars, and who genuinely seemed to care about other people. He
hadn't expected to meet someone so interesting in a little place like
Sunnyside Key. It was proving to be a trip full of surprises.

“
OK,
time's wasting. Let's get out there and catch some fish!” Tom
led the way down to the main deck and they headed further down to the
marina to his boat. “He who catches the least buys lunch!”

They
boarded Tom's small but pristine boat and motored down the coast to a
quiet spot. They stopped just shy of four miles off the coast of
Sunnyside Key to a reefy area. Tom, a master fisherman and guide,
knew the waters well and anchored the boat so as not to disturb the
reef.

Once
they were anchored, they two men worked silently to set up the
fishing rods.

“
What
are we after today, captain
,”
asked Henry.

“
I'll
tell you in just a second.” Tom opened his tackle box and
chose a brightly coloured lure, attached it to the rod, and cast off.
He vertically jigged the lure up and down and after a few minutes,
a few good sized fish began swimming around. Tom pulled the lure up
and added some cut shrimp to the end of his. He then pulled out a
similarly colourful but different lure for Henry's rod and also added
cut shrimp. He looked at Henry and smiled. “You're lucky,
boy. It's a red grouper day. And they're biting.”

Working
together, mostly in silence, the two men managed to catch three red
grouper between them, the largest weighing in at 22 pounds. Henry
was impressed by Tom's prowess in reading the water and tide. It was
a side to his friend he hadn't seen in Afghanistan, yet another
hidden talent.

“
Well,
I guess lunch is on me since you caught the big boy. Well done,
mate. What will we do with them?”

Tom
smiled. “Nah, I was just kidding about lunch. Come back to
the Clam, we'll see what's on special today. Why don't you take one
of these bad boys home to Callie? She'd appreciate that. Maybe
she'll even cook it up for you for dinner.”

“
Tommy
boy, I like how you think. Champion idea. Shall we head back?”
They cleaned their fish, packed up the gear, and had a leisurely
cruise back to the marina. It was a great morning to be out on the
water and to spend time with a friend.

They
wandered back to the Happy Clam after they'd secured the boat at the
marina, which was conveniently right next door to the Clam. Tom's
mother, Annie, was there to greet them.