Not-So-Perfect Princess: Not-So-Perfect Princess

His strong jawline, high cheekbones and straight nose looked almost chiseled and made her think of the Eos sculpture. But his full lips and thick eyelashes softened the harsher features.

The result—a gorgeous face she would be happy to stare at for hours. Days. Years.

Jules’s heart thudded. “Thank you.”

Warm brown eyes met hers. Gold specks flickered like flames around his irises. “You’re welcome.”

Everyone else faded into the background. Time seemed to stop. Something unfamiliar unfurled deep inside her.

He swooped up a black ball of fur with one hand. The look of tenderness in his dark eyes as he checked the kitten melted her heart. She would love for a man—this man—to look at her that way.

The kitten meowed. As he rubbed it, he returned his attention to her. “You’re Princess Julianna from Aliestle.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” Jules had never believed in love at first sight until now. She hoped their children looked exactly like him. A smile spread across her lips and reached all the way to her heart. Her father had gotten this right. She would realize her dream of marrying for love. A warm glow flowed through her. “You must be Enrique.”

“No.” His jaw thrust forward. “I am Alejandro.”

Alejandro held on to the kitten as confusion clouded Juliana’s pretty face. He was a little confused by his own reaction to this so-called ice princess. She had practically melted against him, and he’d yet to cool down from the contact. The woman was gorgeous, with a killer body underneath her coral-colored suit, long blond hair and big blue eyes a man could drown in.

She smelled sweet, like a bouquet of wildflowers. He wondered if her glossed lips tasted …

Not sweet.

He forced his gaze off her mouth. Julianna’s marriage to Enrique and the children she conceived would remove Alejandro from the line of succession. She was his ticket out of his obligation to the monarchy. He couldn’t think of her as anything other than his future sister-in-law.

That shouldn’t be difficult since she wasn’t his type.

Beautiful, yes, if you liked the kind of woman who knew how to apply makeup perfectly and could give any supermodel a run for her money. But he wanted a woman who didn’t care about the trappings of wealth and royalty. A woman who was down-to-earth and didn’t mind the spray of salt water in her face.

‘Alejandro,” Julianna repeated as if he didn’t know his own name.

He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had mistaken him for Enrique. Polar opposites didn’t begin to describe their differences. But the fact Julianna didn’t know what her future husband looked like surprised Alejandro more. Arranged marriages were still a part of royal life in some countries, but agreeing to marry someone without seeing their photograph struck him as odd. “Yes.”

She stiffened. The warmth in her eyes disappeared. The expression on her face turned downright chilly.

Ice princess?

He saw now why she’d been called that. The change in her demeanor startled him, but he shouldn’t have been surprised. Alejandro had dated enough spoiled and pampered royals and wealthy girls to last a lifetime. This one, with a rich-as-Midas father, would most likely rank up there with the worst. He almost pitied Enrique. Emphasis on almost.

She drew her finely arched brows together, looking haughty not curious. “That makes you …?”

The kitten chirped, sounding more bird than cat. Alejandro used his thumb to rub under the cat’s chin.

Impatience flashed in Julianna’s eyes.

He took his time answering. “Enrique’s younger brother.”

Alejandro waited for her look of disdain. No one cared about the second in line for the throne, especially a woman meant to be queen.

“Oh.” Her face remained expressionless. But royals were trained to turn off emotion with the flick of a switch and not display their true feelings. “I didn’t realize Enrique had a younger brother.”

That Alejandro believed. “My family prefers not to talk about me.”

Ortiz cleared his throat.

“The princess will be family soon enough, Ortiz.” Alejandro would be counting the days as soon as the official wedding date was set. He couldn’t wait to live his own life without interference from his family. Of course, an heir or two would need to be born until he would be totally free. He shifted his gaze to the princess. “She’ll hear the stories. Whispers over tea. Innuendos over cocktails. Nudges during dessert. No sense hiding the truth.”

Tilting her chin, she gave him a cool look. “What truth might that be?”

“I’m the black sheep of the family.”

Julianna pursed her lips. “A black cat for the black sheep.”

“Not by choice,” he admitted. “The cat chose me.”

She stared at the kitten, but didn’t pet him. Definitely ice running through her veins. “Such a lucky kitty to be able to choose for itself.”

“It’s too bad royalty doesn’t get the same choices,” Alejandro said.

He waited for her to reply. She didn’t.

“Eat, sleep, play.” A man in his early twenties with dark, curly brown hair stepped forward. He had rugged features, but his refined demeanor matched his designer suit and Italian leather shoes. “The life of a cat seems perfect to me. Much better than that of a prince.”

“Well, the kitten is a stray,” Alejandro said. “Caviar isn’t part of his diet.”

The man grinned. “It’s only part of mine on occasion.”

Julianna sighed. “Prince Alejandro, this is—”

“Alejandro,” he corrected. “I don’t use my title.”

“Wish I could get away with that,” the other man said. “Though the title does come in handy when it comes to women.”

“That is the one benefit I have found,” Alejandro agreed.

Julianna rolled her eyes. “The two of you can compare dating notes later. Now it’s time for a formal introduction.”

The princess’s words told Alejandro she was cut from the same cloth as Enrique. Both seemed to hold an appreciation for royal protocol and etiquette. Something Alejandro saw as a complete waste of time. The two stuffy royals might live happily ever after.

“Alejandro,” she continued. “This is His Royal Highness Crown Prince Brandt. One of my four younger brothers.”

Brother? Alejandro studied the two. He couldn’t believe they were so closely related. Brandt was as dark as his sister was fair.

“Half brother,” Julianna clarified, as if reading Alejandro’s thoughts.

That explained it. But nothing explained why his gaze drifted to the curve of her hips. A nice body would never make up for an unpleasant personality that was the female version of his older brother. Maybe he’d been spending too much time working at the boatyard and not enough time out partying with the ladies. Perhaps later …