HOW TO MARRY A PRINCESS Read Online Free PDF

man had nerves of steel.
    And she couldn’t bear it, to let him stand there with his hand offered and untaken. She laid her fingers into his palm. Heat radiated up her arm just from that first contact. Her breath caught and tangled in her chest.
    How absurd. Breathe.
    With slow care, she sucked in a breath and then let it out as he turned and led her onto the floor. She went into his arms. They danced.
    He had the good sense to hold her lightly. For a few endless minutes, neither of them spoke, which was just as well as far as Alice was concerned. She longed to wave her arms about and shriek accusations at him. Unfortunately, shrieking and waving her arms would attract attention, and that would no doubt land her on the front pages of the tabloids again.
    She caught a hint of his aftershave. Evergreen and citrus, the same as before. It was all too disorienting. She’d thought he was one person and now here he was, someone else altogether. She felt shy. Tongue-tied. Young.
    And at a definite disadvantage. She needed to take back the upper hand here. She had questions for him. And he’d better have good answers.
    The next song began, a fast one. Couples separated and danced facing each other, moving to the beat but not touching. Noah didn’t let her go, just picked up the rhythm a bit and danced them out of the way of the others.
    “You’re angry,” he said at last.
    “What happened to your two girlfriends?”
    “What girlfriends?”
    “That sexy redhead and the stunning blonde.”
    “They’re not my girlfriends.” He kept his voice low, but he did pull her fractionally closer. She allowed that in order to hear him over the music. “They were seated on either side of me at dinner, that’s all.”
    “They seemed very friendly.” She spoke quietly, too. She didn’t want anyone overhearing, broadcasting their conversation, starting new rumors about her.
    He held her even closer and whispered much too tenderly, “Is that somehow my fault?”
    She fumed in silence, refusing to answer. Finally, she demanded, “Who are you, really?”
    “I’m who I said I was.”
    “Noah.”
    “Yes.”
    “Do you have a last name?”
    “Cordell.” He turned her swiftly and gracefully to the music, guiding her effortlessly, keeping them to the outer edges of the floor.
    “ Are you a stable hand?”
    “No. And I didn’t say I was. You assumed that.”
    “And you never bothered to enlighten me. Do you live in Los Angeles?”
    “No. Not for years. I have an estate in Carpinteria, not far from Santa Barbara. I live there most of the time. I also have a flat I keep in London. And a Paris apartment.”
    “So you should have no trouble affording that Akhal-Teke you said you want.”
    “No trouble at all. But it’s a specific horse I’m after.”
    She should have known. “Let me guess. One of mine?”
    “Orion.”
    She drew in a sharp breath. In that foolish dream of hers, he’d been riding Orion. “I’m not selling you Orion.” That was a bit petty, and she knew it. Not to mention a bad business move. Alice bred her horses for sale—to buyers who would love them and bond with them and treat them well, buyers who appreciated the beauty and rarity of the breed. Her pool of buyers was a small one, as she also demanded a high price for her Tekes. She might be angry with Noah, but he knew horses and loved them. She’d be smarter not to reject him out of hand—as a potential buyer, anyway. “I don’t wish to discuss my horses with you right now.”
    “You brought it up.” The next song was a slower one. He effortlessly adjusted to the change in tempo, all the while gazing down at her, watching her mouth. As if he planned to kiss her—a bold move he had better not try.
    She accused, “I brought it up as an example of the way that you lied to me. Not with words, maybe. But by implication. By action. The first time I saw you, you were sweeping the stable floor. Gilbert seemed to know you. What else was I to assume but