Mindy Neff - The Inconveniently Engaged Prince

Vickie, too, had endured her share of hard times, but she hadn’t given up. She’d survived.

When she left her hand in his, he gave a squeeze as if to say thanks. Her heart throbbed in her chest and she suddenly couldn’t think of a thing to say. Life didn’t get much better than this.

Here she was walking through one of her favorite places. And here was this man with gilded hair and laughter in his eyes. A strong, capable man who excelled in the business world, yet remained so humanly, genuinely down to earth.

And he was with her.

“You’ve gone quiet,” he commented. “Are you taking mental notes?”

“Yes.” Just not on the birds. “It’s easy to get caught up in the serenity.”

“The beach is pretty serene.”

“Yes, but that’s the trail that most of the tourists take.” They were at the South Overlook now and she nudged him over toward a pretty clearing by the cliffs.

“Man, look at that,” he said. “You can see clear to Catalina Island.”

“That impresses you? You’ve got an excellent view right off your own deck at your condo.”

“Yeah, but the weather’s not always cooperative, and the island stays hidden.” He lifted their joined hands, pointed toward the south. “That’s La Jolla. See that hill over there?”

She leaned in close, smelled the fresh air scent on his clothes, the subtle hint of spice on his skin. She nearly lost her concentration, then followed the direction of their joined hands. “The one with the mansions scattered on top?”

“Well, yeah. But I never considered them mansions. My parents live on that hill.” He dropped their hands back to his side but didn’t let go.

“You grew up there?”

“Mostly. They bought the house about twenty years ago.”

“Must have seemed like paradise to you. Not that your condo isn’t like a slice of Eden.”

Jace glanced down at her, surprised by the whisper of envy, yet genuine appreciation. He’d taken his homes for granted, rarely saw them through anyone’s eyes but his own familiar ones. He kept forgetting that Vickie had grown up in what she’d termed Hell’s Home.

She was so beautiful. Not like a model or movie star all made-up for the public. She was fresh and wholesome. Her skin was smooth and sun-kissed with a sprinkle of pale freckles. Full lips, lake-blue eyes, a no-fuss hairstyle that left it silky and straight, long enough to brush her shoulders. The kind of hair that made a man want to run his hands through it, feel it tickling against his chest, his…

“Uh, why don’t we sit for a minute.”

“Sure.”

He’d meant to take advantage of the bench, but Vickie moved close to the edge of the overlook, bent down to test the dampness of the ground and sat among the packed dirt and pine needles, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. He joined her on the ground, took a moment to listen to the sound of the sea and chatter of birds, missing the feel of her hand in his.

A gull winged overhead, squealing as he soared and kept an eye out for food treasures in the sea or tidbits left on the beach by careless walkers.

“Do seagulls count as bird-watching subjects?”

“Yes,” she said with an indulgent smile.

“Well, then, we’ve got a front row seat to do some serious watching.” He propped an arm on his bent knee and sifted his fingers through the pine needles strewn on the ground.

“I bet you’ve loved living on the ocean all your life.” Her voice was soft and wistful as she gazed out at the sea.

“It’s the best.”

“Do you sail?” she asked.

“Mmm. I’ve got a little catamaran I take out several times a month. And a sixty-foot Michaelson that’s a honey of a sports fisher. It’s great for weekend trips to Catalina Island, too. Have you ever been over there?”

“No.”

“I’ll take you. It’s also cool to cruise the harbor at night, watch the sunset and look at the lights. We should plan that, as well.”

“Whoa. With all these plans, how do you get any work done?”

“I’m one of those nasty larks you mentioned this morning. I get up early, take care of business when the phones aren’t ringing like mad. Plus, I have an incredibly qualified staff to handle the day-to-day running of things. They’re a great group of people, most of them have been with me from the start of the company. If I decided to retire tomorrow, the company would run without me.”

“Could you just let it go like that? I mean, it’s your baby, so to speak. Wouldn’t you miss it?”

“Maybe. I’ve taken it pretty well to the top, and we’ve been lucky enough to stay there. Sometimes I get an itch to try something different, though. Nothing like a new venture to stir the blood. As you probably know with your studies and plans for teaching.”

“My teaching’s certainly not going to make me millions like your cell phone business obviously has done for you.”

“But you’ll be following your bliss.”

She looked over at him, hugged her bent knees tighter. “That’s a neat way of putting it.”

“It’s true. No matter what you choose to do in life, it should be something you love, something you’re passionate about. I’ve heard that passion in your voice when you talk about teaching, seen your dedication to school and studying. I admire that. If I didn’t think you were into it, I’d be trying to steer you in another direction.”

“A meddler, are you?”

He grinned. “Probably. My sister says so. She’s always buried in her science experiments and I’m hounding her to get out and interact with people more. She’s got great qualities but she isolates herself instead. I guess I can get carried away sometimes putting in my two cents worth, but I like to see the people around me, especially the people who matter to me, be the best they can be.”

Vickie rubbed her hands over the ribbed cotton sleeves of her sweater, watched the enthusiasm on his handsome face as he warmed to his subject. His optimism was contagious. And with regard to her, it was thrilling.

He believed she was the best she could be. The implied compliment touched her more deeply than a bucket of diamonds laid at her feet.

She’d been taught she wasn’t good enough. A gesture here, a cutting word there. Growing up, it had been as though she were invisible, of no consequence to anyone. Just a body taking up space and an extra mouth to feed.

Jace touched her cheek, startled her. “Where’d you go all of a sudden?”

She gazed out at the sea, to the hill scattered with luxury homes, one of them his family’s. “When I was fifteen, I skipped school with a friend. Her parents were at work, so we hung out at her house. We listened to music, mooned over boys, nipped into a bottle of wine and sampled a few other brands of liquor behind their wet bar. I found out pretty quick that mixing various types of alcohol has pretty awful consequences.” She paused and watched as a flock of pelicans took flight from the marsh and landed at the ocean’s edge to wade in the waves.

“Tracy’s mom caught us and drove me back to the group home. I just wanted to curl up and die someplace. Although she scolded us for the drinking, she figured heaving up our toenails was punishment enough. She was gentle with me, amused in a way.”

“I’m guessing the folks at Hell’s Home weren’t so amused?”

She smiled at the way he used her disrespectful name for Helen’s Home. “No, Helen wasn’t amused. She said she’d expected as much from me. That I’d come from trash and would be trash for the rest of my life.”

Jace cursed and put his arm around her. “But you didn’t believe her.”

“Oh, yes I did. For a while at least.” She liked the feel of his arm around her but didn’t like the direction of the conversation. She didn’t know why she’d told him that, could still feel the shame, the hurt, the isolation.