Prince and Single Mom Read Online Free

mother.
    “Won’t you join us for breakfast, Mr. Cross?”
    “Oh, well, now Catharine, maybe Alex has…” her mother sputtered.
    “Alex, please,” he replied to Catharine. “And I would be delighted to join you.”
    Catharine felt herself grinning like a fool, but the very fact that her mom knew Alex by name this morning told her volumes of what had gone on the night before, and even some of what her mom had been pre-occupied with earlier.
    Catharine thought it indicative of excellent training that the staff of the dining room quickly made accommodation for another person at their table. “Where are you from, Alex?”
    “I am a native of Boisdemer, Mademoiselle Jones. My family has been here many generations.”
    “And what do you do for a living?”
    “Catharine!”
    Catharine appreciated this grand moment of role reversal, with her mother looking mortified as they waited for Mr. Cross’ answer. Then Alex smiled at her mother, and touched her hand gently. “It is all right, Hannah. Since you will be spending the day with me, entrusting your safety to my abilities as a sailor upon the water, your daughter has a right to assure herself that you will be in good hands.”
    To her, he said, “I have an administrative position with the government. My sailboat has sufficient room if you and your son would like to join us?”
    Catharine knew at that moment if she accepted Alex’s invitation, he would be nothing but gracious to them all—despite the fact that his plans for the day would certainly have been ruined. A tiny part of her worried about her mother being alone with a strange man in a strange country. But the fact that the waiter had just delivered Alex a cup of espresso without being asked told her he was known here. And she thought it would be wonderful for her mother, who hadn’t dated at all in more years than Catharine could remember, to have the chance to go sailing with a handsome, sinfully sexy man.
    “Thanks, but Jamie and I are going to join the Children’s Club today.”
    The waiter chose that moment to deliver their breakfasts. Catharine grabbed the syrup before her son could, pouring a judicious amount on his waffles.
    “We’re going on a bus ride to a place where they have horses!” Jamie announced. Catharine smiled because her son’s excitement about the pending excursion overruled his usual fuss about the syrup restriction.
    “Do you like horses, Jamie?” Alex asked.
    “I sure do. Grandma took me horseback riding in June and we had so much fun! My horse wasn’t as big as Grandma’s, but if I take lessons then when I’m ten I can ride a bigger horse, too.”
    “So you ride as well,” Alex said to Hannah. “Dressage?”
    “No, I use a real saddle—a western one.”
    Alex’s warm chuckle had a definite affect upon her mother, and Catharine thought she had never seen anything nicer than her mom’s schoolgirl blush. The sparkle in her mother’s brown eyes when she looked at Alex decided Catharine on her course.
    “It seems like a grand day for sailing. I’m sure you’ll both have a wonderful time. I thought that after Jamie and I finish with the Children’s Club, I’d rent a car, and the two of us would see what we can of this beautiful country.”
    “There is a medieval fair set up just north of Cardinia. No more than a half-hour’s drive from here. I think you would enjoy it immensely.”
    Catharine smiled at Alex. “I read about it in the brochure in our suite, and thought we’d check it out.” Actually, she’d thought it would be something her mother might enjoy, too.
    Checking her watch she saw it was time to go. Jamie fairly bounced out of his seat, but she knew that had more to do with the impending visit with his favorite animals in the world than it did the sugar he’d just consumed.
    Hugging her mother, she whispered, “I like him,” and was delighted to hear her mother’s equally soft, “So do I.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Philip de la Croix felt his tension