THEY had shared three magical days in their quiet mountain retreat. Late breakfasts in bed, pleasant hikes by day, and quiet dinners at the Albergo. They had managed to fly under the radar in this tiny village near the Swiss border, often just because Zander wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, which made him look like every other guy.
They even took in a little shopping, as promised.
“I want you to have a special dress,” he said. “Something you’d never buy for yourself.”
Andi laughed. “That’s pretty easy, being that I don’t buy any clothes for myself anymore.”
“But you look so beautiful in them.”
“It doesn’t fit my lifestyle, or my budget, for that matter,” she said with a shrug.
“What if you had a special event to attend?”
“I suppose I’d have to find the funds for it. But I don’t, so I won’t.”
“Let’s just pretend. Humor me,” he said as they walked into an exclusive shop in a larger town nearby.
Andi had never seen such a store in her life. The clothes were custom fit to each customer, and the dresses were ball gowns. Something she would basically never need in her life.
“But Zander, this is a waste of good money,” she said. “There’s simply no reason.”
“Maybe there will be someday,” he said. “In the meantime, let’s just see. I want to see how you look in them.”
Andi tried on a succession of dresses from fluffy meringue-type gowns with full tulle skirts and elaborately beaded bodices to slinky columned evening gowns, like something you’d see on an actress at an awards show.
And then she found one she fell in love with: a deceptively simple, two-piece pink-and-magenta color-block gown. The cropped halter top, which crisscrossed in the back, hugged her body perfectly, contrasting with a flowing wrap skirt that trailed behind her and allowed her to show a little of her long, lean legs. It so perfectly fit her straightforward style: no muss, no fuss, but lent her an elegance that suited her wonderfully.
As Andi stood before a mirror, she held her hands to her mouth in surprise. “It’s magnificent,” she said with a small gasp. “I’ve never worn something so beautiful in my life.”
Zander came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her neck. He looked up and they stared at one another in the three-way mirror.
“Maybe now’s the time to pinch me,” Andi said.
Zander looked at her in the mirror with questioning eyes.
“So I know I’m not dreaming all this,” she said. “This defies all my wildest dreams. Honestly, I never even had very wild dreams until a year ago. Which I can almost thank you for.”
“Don’t thank me,” Zander said, turning her to face him and moving his head closer to hers. “I love that you enjoy living your life to the fullest. It’s no credit of mine. You’re the one who did it.”
“Yeah, but not without your getting me fired.” She smiled and winked at him.
He put his forehead up to Andi’s and whispered. “If getting you fired gets me this, well, then I did myself a big favor.”
Zander asked the sales woman to wrap the outfit.
“Zander, I can’t thank you enough. This is just amazing.”
“Well, you needed something to wear to a royal wedding, didn’t you?”
Andi’s eyes grew large. “Huh?”
“If you’re going to accompany me to my brother Adrian’s wedding, I can’t have you wearing your beat-up old jeans, right?”
Andi covered her mouth with her hand. “Z, I can’t go to your brother’s wedding. I don’t even know him! I don’t even know your parents. I’ve never met anyone. I’m not like you.”
“Maybe you’re not like me, but you like me, right?” he said. “And that’s all that matters.”
He pointed at her. “I like you,” he said, then pointed at himself, “and you like me. And I want you to meet my family. I know they’ll adore you.”
“But—”
“No buts. It will be my pleasure to bring you as my special guest.”
Andi had never been inclined to swoon. Until now. Because it seemed that His Royal Highness Prince Alexander had officially royally swept her off her feet.
~*~
They woke early on the final day of their holiday, wanting to savor the last few hours of their quiet getaway. After making love, then falling back asleep, Zander was awoken by his phone yet again.
Must remember to put that inconvenient thing on “do not disturb mode,” he thought as he reached for his phone. He saw he’d missed several calls, including one from Lorenzo and four from his mother.
“FLYING PRINCE”? REALLY, ALEXANDER? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK? YOU DO KNOW YOU ARE SECOND IN LINE TO THE THRONE. THAT DOES NOT ABSOLVE YOU FROM RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT IN A WAY THAT DOESN’T ENDANGER YOU. AND WHO IS THIS STRANGE MYSTERY WOMAN SUPPOSEDLY “FALLING” FOR YOU. FROM AN AIRPLANE, FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE. THIS WOMAN IS A BAD INFLUENCE ON YOU, ALEXANDER. YOU NEED TO BE WITH SOMEONE WHO WILL MAINTAIN THE DIGNITY OF YOUR ROLE IN THIS COUNTRY. NOT SOMEONE WHO WILL DRAG YOU OUT OF AN AIRPLANE. AND WHERE IS LORENZO? I ASKED HIM TO WATCH OUT FOR YOU!!!!
Zander started punching in a Google search to find out what the hell his mother was talking about. And there he found it, on the cover of Blitz, one of Europe’s more sordid tabloids, a picture of a jumpsuited Zander and Andi, locked in a kiss after their skydiving experience. While Zander’s face was easily discernable, Andi’s remained somewhat shadowed, so not easy to deduce who that “mystery woman” was.
“Crap,” Zander said, leaning over to gently kiss Andi awake. Not the way to end the perfect holiday escape from reality.