Not-So-Perfect Princess. Barbara Wallace

hated seeing her so distressed. She deserved to be happy, to have the freedom to do what she wanted to do.

      “Not so fast,” he said. “In spite of a few traditional mindsets here, La Isla de la Aurora is a progressive country. That includes our laws. Enrique can’t throw you in prison or lock you away in a tower if you disobey him and go sailing.”

      “This isn’t only about my sailing.”

      “I’m not only talking about sailing. My mother left the island fifteen years ago.” Alejandro had learned an important lesson the day his mother left. Never rely on anyone but yourself. “Separation is an option here, even for royals.”

      “That’s very modern compared to where I come from.” She wiped her eyes. “You see, I’d hoped to use my position as future queen to effect change back home without embarrassing my country and family.”

      Alejandro remembered what she’d told him. “Working within the system.”

      She nodded. “Royals can’t be selfish and ignore the people who look up to them.”

      “That’s noble of you,” Alejandro said. Too bad most royals didn’t feel that way. “But you shouldn’t be too upset. My brother’s pulling one of his power plays with you. He’s done it to me many times and will change his mind. Your life will be better here than in Aliestle. You’ll have royal obligations, but you’ll also be able to do what you want to do, including help your country and sail.”

      Her shoulders remained slumped. “Enrique could annul the marriage if I defy him. I’d have to return to Aliestle.”

      “I don’t see a ring on your finger.”

      “Not yet anyway.” She glanced at her left hand. Straightened. “No ring.”

      “What?” Alejandro asked.

      Her gaze met his. “Maybe Enrique will change his mind about things or maybe he won’t. I can’t change anything that will happen once I marry. But if I go sailing now, I wouldn’t be disobeying my husband since Enrique is only my fiancé.”

      Her tone sounded different. Not as distraught. “You lost me.”

      Julianna’s gaze met Alejandro’s with an unspoken plea.

      Understanding dawned. He leaned away from her. “No. No way. I can’t get involved in this.”

      “You’re already involved.” She scooted closer. “All I need is a boat for one sail.”

      The flowery scent of her shampoo filled his nostrils and made him waver. He leaned backed to put some distance between them. “If you’re caught disobeying your father …”

      “I’ll make sure I’m not,” she said. “You believe Enrique will change his mind, but you didn’t see the look in his eyes. It’s worth the risk for one last hurrah before I get married.”

      “Maybe to you, but not to me.” Alejandro would be in deep trouble. That had never bothered him in the past. But the stakes were higher this time.

      “What do you have to lose?” she asked.

      His chance at freedom. He hated the way Enrique was treating Julianna, but Alejandro didn’t want to cause an even bigger problem between the couple. He needed the two to marry and have children.

      A deep shame rose up inside him. He was thinking of himself while Julianna was trying to do her duty even if it made her unhappy.

      “I’m sorry,” he said. “But I won’t be the reason you get in trouble.”

      Disappointment shone in her lovely eyes.

      “Fine.” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder with a sexy move. “I’ll find a boat myself.”

      She would, too. He pictured her heading to the marina and going out with anyone who’d take her. That could end in disaster. If he helped her …

      Alejandro couldn’t believe he was contemplating taking her out, but he didn’t want to think only of himself. “Sailing is that important to you?”

      “Yes.”

      The hope and anticipation in the one word made it difficult for him to breath.

      “Please, Alejandro.” Julianna stared up at him with her wide, blue eyes. “Will you please help me?”

      A long list of reasons why he shouldn’t scrolled through his mind. But logic didn’t seem to apply in this situation. Or with Julianna.

      He thought about it a minute. Taking her sailing wasn’t that big a deal. “I suppose it would be against my character and ruin my bad reputation if I turned down an opportunity to do something Enrique was against.”

      She leaned toward him giving him another whiff of her enticing scent. “So is that a yes?”

      CHAPTER FOUR

      YES. I’ll take you sailing tomorrow night.

      Jules fell asleep thinking about Alejandro’s words. She woke up with them on her mind, too.

      Sunlight streamed through the windows. Particles in the air gave the rays definition, as if a fairy had waved her magic wand to make the sunshine touchable. She reached out, but felt only air.

      With a laugh, she rolled over in the queen-size bed eager to start her day. She couldn’t wait to go sailing tonight. Of course if she was discovered …

       Don’t think about that.

      She needed to do this. Everything else in her life, from her education to her marriage, had been determined for her. Not out of love, but because of what tradition dictated and what others believed to be best for Aliestle.

      Going sailing tonight was the one decision she could make for herself. She was desperate enough for this one act of disobedience. A secretive rebellion of sorts, the kind she never did as a teenager.

      Jules tossed back the luxurious Egyptian cotton sheet and climbed out of bed. Her bare feet sunk into a hand-woven Persian rug. Only the finest furnishings for the grand palace.

      She entered the large bathroom. Yvette had set out her toiletries on the marble countertop. The gold plated fixtures reminded Jules of every other castle she’d stayed in. Gold might be considered opulent, but didn’t any of the royal interior designers want to be creative and try a different finish? Then again, royalty could never be too creative or different. The status quo was completely acceptable.

      Jules stared at her refection in the mirror. Today she would maintain that status quo. People would look at her and see a dutiful princess. Even if she would be counting down the hours until her first and last taste of …

      Freedom.

      Her chest tightened. She had no idea what true freedom would feel like.

      So far, Jules’s choices in life had been relegated to what she wanted to eat, if it wasn’t a state dinner, what books she wanted to read, if she’d completed all her assigned readings, and what she purchased while shopping. Perhaps that was why she’d become a consummate shopper.

      Choosing what she wanted to do without having to consider the expectations of an overprotective father and a conservative country would have to feel pretty good. She couldn’t wait to experience it tonight.

      Jules had thought about what Alejandro said about the island not being Aliestle, about the legal rights she would have here and about his mother leaving his father. Those things had led her to devise a new plan.

      She would sail tonight, then return to being a dutiful princess in the morning and marry Enrique after the Med Cup. Once they had children, she would work to improve her position, get Enrique to be more cooperative and try to change things.

      Thirty minutes later, Yvette clasped a diamond and pearl necklace around Jules’s neck. “Excellent choice,