Along Came A Prince (18 page)

Kiss me. Kiss me, please.
She thought she might explode if he
didn’t. What was she supposed to do with this sudden burst of desire except to
kiss him and savor the results?

Clay put his hands on her cheeks and gazed into her eyes. “Yes,” he said.
“Luscious and tempting.” He cupped her shoulders with his hands and bent his
head to plant a kiss on the cave of her neck. Then he slowly kissed his way up
to her mouth where he lightly touched his lips against hers. “If I start, I’ll
never finish, and Sam won’t have any moral support for the evening.” He stopped
talking and let go of her as the car door opened.

As Helen and Sam stepped inside, Stacia tried to calm the wild desire
overwhelming her senses.

“Helen, this is Clay,” Sam said as soon as the couple were seated.

“Thank you for inviting me this evening.” Helen extended her hand to
Clay.

“I owe you a debt of gratitude,” Clay said, “for not only helping Stacia
and me out, but for agreeing to spend time with this guy here.”

“I have nothing but good memories in my thoughts of the Sam I used to
know. I’m glad to renew our friendship.” Helen smiled warmly at Sam as if they
shared a secret.

“Then we should all have a great evening – I know I’m planning on it,”
Clay said enthusiastically. “I thought we’d start out by having dinner at The
Belvedere. I understand they serve southern California cuisine, if that’s
agreeable with you two women.”

Stacia and Helen nodded in reply.

“The Belvedere, in case you don’t know, is located in the Peninsula
Beverly Hills Hotel where Sam and I have the presidential villa, complete with
a private terrace. Therefore, you ladies decide. We can eat at The Belvedere on
their terrace, or in their dining room, or we can eat the same food on our
terrace. It’s your choice.”

“Anything’s fine with me,” Helen said.

“What good did it do to convince these two chaperones to come with us if
we don’t take advantage of our original plan?” Stacia asked. “I’m for living dangerously
and eating in the restaurant. Tonight, I don’t even care how many pictures are
taken of us.”

♥♥

With Stacia’s carefree attitude toward the evening’s agenda, they visited
several nightclubs until they found one whose atmosphere and music appealed to
all of them. As the evening waned, the orchestra music became slower and more
romantic, and Clay started holding Stacia closer and closer to him. When she
glanced over at Sam and Helen, it appeared he was doing the same thing to her.

“Do you think we gave Cupid a shove?” Stacia asked, nodding her head
toward the older couple.

“Possibly,” Clay said. “But they’re both strong people and used to going
after what they want. Apparently their minds are on the same channel on this
one. Maybe
we’ll
have to start chaperoning
them
.”

“They do make an attractive couple, and I’d love to see them get
together, although I guess that’s premature. I hope that’s what they both want
though.”

“And you, Stacia, what do you want?”

“Right now? Just to do what we’re doing.”

Clay held her closer to him and hummed in her ear.

“I don’t recognize that song. Do you write music too?” she asked.

Clay chuckled. “I’ve been known to dabble in it a little.”

Stacia shook her head. “You keep on surprising me with all your talents. Is
there anything you can’t do?”

“Well, you’ve set up some unattainable boundaries.”

Embarrassed, she was glad the music had ended so they could leave the
dance floor. She walked ahead of him back to their table where Helen and Sam
joined them.

“How about tomorrow?” Clay asked. “Anyone got any ideas?”

“I do have one commitment that just came up today. It’s a dinner party at
my brother’s house,” Stacia explained. “Ryan got engaged last weekend, and he
wants to have a small surprise party for his fiancée. He invited all of you to
come.”

“Count me in,” Clay said.

“Personally, I’d feel a little uncomfortable going. It sounds as if it’s
a very personal time meant for family alone.” Helen looked at Sam as if waiting
for a response.

“I agree with Helen,” Sam replied.

“We still have tomorrow morning and afternoon, which we can work out
later.” Clay put out his hand to Stacia. “In the meantime,” he said, “how about
one last dance before we leave?”

Once again Stacia was in Clay’s arms. The evening had been a success, and
this was the best way to end it – in his arms. She snuggled closer to him, put
her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He responded by drawing her even
nearer to him, and she couldn’t think of a person she wanted to be with more…with
or without boundaries.

...Dean guided
the car down the road from the restaurant toward his grand-mère’s house. A path
alongside the road showed up in the headlights, and he pulled into it and shut
off the motor. The couple found themselves in the spotlight of the moon’s glow.

“This is bad
timing, and I shouldn’t do this, but I can’t go another minute without giving
you a kiss.” He gathered her into his arms. “Forgive me,” he said as he began
to kiss her.

Victoria
responded by kissing him back, and soon the passion they both felt raced
between them.

“Tell me to
stop, and I will,” Dean said, breathing heavily.

“I never want
to stop with you,” she replied.

He kissed her
again.
..

♥♥

The next morning
and afternoon flew by as the two couples toured the Los Angeles area. Stacia
realized immediately that no imaginary bout existed between SwissDen and
California. Each was uniquely different, and Clay was equally at home in each
area. She could tell his interest was genuine.

Before she knew it,
the day had escaped, and they were in her car on their way to Ryan’s for dinner.

“This will be a
first for you, I’m sure,” she said as they neared her brother’s home.

“In what way?”
Clay asked.

“Well,
this dinner will be very much like the kind we have in Wisconsin, except we had
a more or less tradition of eating on TV trays in front of the television at
home. That way we could all be together, eating and sharing whatever happened
to us during the day, as well as watching our favorite programs.”

“Believe
it or not, we did the same thing.”

“Except
you ate
exotic
dinners prepared by your chef. We ate mostly beef, pork
and chicken from what we raised on the farm. And Ryan hasn’t strayed far from
that way of life. I’m sure tonight the menu will be T-bone’s charcoaled on his
grill with baked potatoes and sour cream to go with them.”

“And
you think I won’t like that?”

“Will
you? Would you admit it if you didn’t?” Stacia took her eyes off the road and glanced
at him.

“Steak
happens to be one of my favorite meals.”

“I’ll
bet you’re used to it being prepared as a main ingredient smacked down in the
middle of a plate of caviar and washed down with vintage wine, right?” 

“I’ll
have to remember that recipe to give to my chef,” Clay teased. “They serve
steak dinners
plain
in restaurants all over the world, and I’ve had my
share of them. Let me ask you something. Did you enjoy the dinners that were
served to you at SwissDen?”

“They
were beyond delicious.”

“In
that case, why do you think
you
can enjoy foods in my country, but
I
can’t
here in the U.S.?”

He
was right, of course
, Stacia thought, feeling embarrassed. Instead of him
being a snob because he was a prince, she must come off as the snobby one. She
was going to have to forget his heritage and dwell on the man himself who, ever
since she’d met him, had been doing everything right. She was glad she was on
the street where Ryan lived, so she didn’t have to answer his last question. She
parked her car a few houses away to throw off Josie when she came home.

“We’re
here,” she said, feeling more relaxed than she had since Clay came to
California. Probably because her big-city detective brother was still very much
the country boy at heart, and her roots were joined with his, so visiting him
was like going home.

“Hi, sis,” her
brother said when he answered the door. “And welcome to you, Prince –”

“Call me Clay,” the
prince said and shook hands with Ryan.

“Josie just called.
She’s on schedule and should be home in about fifteen minutes.” Ryan walked
over to his portable bar in the dining room. “What can I get you to drink,
Clay?”

“I’ll have
whatever you’re having.”

“A beer it is then.”
Ryan took two beers from the refrigerator.

“I understand
congratulations are in order.” Clay took a drink of his beer.

Stacia wondered if
she should get him a mug. He’d probably never drank beer out of a bottle.
Stop
it!
she reminded herself. How was she ever going to control her thoughts
about him not being royalty, but just a great guy?

“Maybe you’ve
already seen my wife-to-be. She’s on a TV sitcom,
Beginning Tomorrow
. Her
name is Josie Sommers?”

“I do know who she
is. Your fiancée’s beautiful.”

“She’s more than
that,” Stacia said, scooping up some taco salad on a tortilla chip. “She’s also
very talented and very concerned with the environment and animal rights.”

“Yeah, she’s been
known to walk in a few demonstrations,” Ryan contributed.

“She’s also good
at exploring the psychic world,” Stacia said. “She believes strongly in soulmates
and is sure Ryan is her twin flame. Her mother is a hypnotherapist and a
psychiatrist and specializes in regressing people to help them understand their
past lives, and why they act like they do in this lifetime.”

“Reincarnation,
right?” Clay inquired.

“Exactly. Though Josie
says meditation is what has really made a difference in her acting. Getting to
know her inner self helps her to focus on her role, improves her breathing,
plus she also gets the well-known benefits of meditation – relaxation and stress
reduction.”

“Sounds like
everyone should try it. Does she give lessons?”

Stacia laughed. “She’s
been trying to convert me, but although I’m interested, I just don’t have the
time. Someday though, I’d like her mother to hypnotize me and regress me.”
And
maybe she can explain why I keep having this recurring dream.

“Why don’t you two
go into the kitchen,” Ryan said, “so Josie doesn’t see you? I’ve turned off the
lights in there. Then when she gets here, you can come out and yell,
surprise
or
congratulations
...or...you’ll think of something.”

Stacia and Clay
headed for the kitchen. Once inside the darkened room, she fought an
uncontrollable urge to walk into his arms. Another thing she needed to stop,
she reminded herself. She’d already played the temptress scene, and she wasn’t
about to try that again.
So how do you turn off desire?

All of a sudden two
arms were around her. “I wanted to see how you felt in the dark,” he whispered
in her ear.

She looked up at
his shadowy face. “I didn’t know there was a difference between dark and
light,” she whispered back.

“You really are
inexperienced.” He stopped talking and kissed her. And kissed her again.

The kitchen light
flashed on. Josie came bursting in and let out a loud scream. “What are you two
doing in here? You scared me to death.” She put her hand over her heart.

“Surprise!” Stacia
said weakly, and pulled away from Clay.

“Did you forget
our plan?” Ryan asked. “I kept waiting for you to come into the living room. Finally,
I couldn’t keep Josie out of the kitchen. She wanted to check on dinner.”

“We sorta got
distracted,” Stacia replied, trying to regain her composure.

“Sorry,” Clay
mumbled. “At least we surprised her.”

“And I’m sorry
I’ve forgotten my manners. I’m Josie, and you must be Clay?” 

“Good guess, Josie,”
Ryan said.

“And why were you
two hiding in my kitchen?”

“Surprise, babe,”
Ryan interjected. “I wanted to have a little party to celebrate our
engagement.”

“Oh, Ryan, I love
you.” Josie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

“So what’s for dinner?”
Stacia didn’t know what else to say, so she went for the obvious.

“T-bones for the
three of us, and a veggie burger for Josie,” Ryan remarked casually.

Stacia gave Clay a
smug look. “And baked potatoes with sour cream too?” she asked.

“How’d you guess?”
Ryan walked over to the refrigerator and took out a plate of meat and a large
bowl filled with salad. “The grill is ready, and I have the table set out on
the patio. Grab that bowl of rolls on the table, will you, Stace?” He walked
out the kitchen door and put the steaks on the grill.

When they got
outside, Stacia noticed Ryan had set up a candlelit table, draped with a white
tablecloth. Two white china plates, each holding a long-stemmed rose, were set
next to two other empty plates. White cloth napkins, silverware and glass
goblets also adorned the table. A bouquet of white roses nestled in baby’s breath
served as a centerpiece and reminded Stacia of a bridal bouquet. The two women
walked over to the table.

“Ryan, it’s so
beautiful,” Josie exclaimed.

“I didn’t know you
knew how to do this,” Stacia said, pleased that her brother could set up such
an enchanting dinner party.

Patio lights were
strung between two trees standing as sentinels at either end of the picnic
table. Together with the candles Ryan had placed around the yard, the whole
effect, including low dinner music, was softly romantic.

“You did a great
job,” Clay complimented.

“Everything’s
perfect, Ryan. Mom would be proud of you,” Stacia added.

“Thank you. Now, how
about sitting down? I have to check the steaks and get the potatoes. You can
start dishing up your salad.”

“Stacia and Ryan
were telling me about your interest in the psychic world,” Clay began.

“Yeah,” Josie said.
“I’m one of those New Age chicks.” A grin crossed her face, which turned
serious with her next question. “Do you believe in reincarnation, Clay?”

“I haven’t thought
about it one way or the other, although the idea is intriguing.”

“So have you ever
had a psychic experience?” Josie asked.

“Not that I’m
aware of.”

“Don’t get Josie
started,” Ryan inserted as he returned carrying the potatoes, “or she’ll have
you buying a ticket to Sedona.”

“Sedona?” Clay
asked.

Stacia laughed. “Sedona,
Arizona. That’s Josie’s favorite place with all the New Age stuff there.”

“Don’t forget the
vortexes,” Josie added.

“Vortexes? Never
heard of them,” Clay said.

“You’ll learn lots
of new words if you’re around Josie long,” Ryan remarked.

Josie grinned at
her fiancé before turning her attention to Clay. “As I started to say, most
people do have psychic experiences at one time or another. But until their
minds are opened to the wonders of spirituality, both inside and out, they tend
not to recognize what is blatantly in front of their noses...or their minds and
eyes, I guess would be better to say. It’s much easier to look the other way
and deny the presence of anything metaphysical.”

“And how does
someone change this?”

“The first step is
meditation. It heightens your awareness to what’s going on around you and
inside you. Then start noticing coincidences in your life, except there is no
such thing as a true coincidence when you’re dealing with the Universe – there’s
only synchronicity. After you do all this, study, read and research. That’s the
easy part. There’s so much hidden inside of you. It’s challenging and extremely
fulfilling to discover the keys to unlock those mysteries.”

“I’d like to give
it a try, but I leave tomorrow.” Clay glanced at Stacia and smiled at her. “But
perhaps you can teach me more, Josie, if Stacia lets me come back, that is.”

“You already know
how to focus,” Stacia said. “It has to take tremendous concentration to create
your ice sculptures.”

“That’s true,”
Clay admitted. “I like to keep on growing, so I’m curious about this, and I’ve
read the millennium has heightened everyone’s sensitivity to the psychic
world.”

“I believe that
from all the TV programs, movies, books, etc., that’s around now,” Stacia said.
She thought about her recurring dream. Was that a psychic experience? She
wondered what Josie would say if she told her about it. She certainly didn’t
want to discuss any of this in front of Ryan and Clay tonight. There would be
time at a later date, or maybe the dream would stop soon, and then she’d never
have to mention it at all.

♥♥

On the way back to
Clay’s hotel, a gloom similar to what they’d experienced when they were parting
in London, hung over them. “I’ve had a great time these last couple days,”
Stacia said, letting her mind skim over everything they did together.

“Me too,” Clay
agreed. “I can come back in a couple weeks, but you’ll be busy shooting your
picture.”

“I’d like to see
you, but I don’t think I’ll have any free time. I’ll be working twelve to
sixteen hours a day, if it’s like normal.”

“What about
weekends?”

“I’ll be
memorizing my lines.”

“Can I call you?”

“Sure.”

“How long will it
take before you’re finished?”

“Since this is a
new procedure, I couldn’t even guess.”

“From what you’re
saying to me, I’m finding it hard to believe you
want
to see me at all. You’re
finding a lot of excuses to prevent it, instead of thinking of something to
make it happen.”

What had she said
to herself before? She wouldn’t see him again after this trip. Is that what she
wanted to happen? Now was her chance. She could stop any future plans from
taking place. Right here. Right now. All she had to say was,
You can always
see me on the movie screen
. But the words stuck in her throat. He had
become so important in her life that she
had
to see him again. “You can
come back anytime you want. I just can’t promise how much time I’ll be able to
spend with you. After this picture is finished, I have a contract for another
one.”

“So you do
want
to see me again? Say it, Stacia. If it’s true, say it.”