“Despite everything, it seems like you had some really normal moments growing up.”
“Despite everything.” I snorted. “There was a lot of normal in my life. I just also had to learn how to behave when visiting dignitaries stayed at our home.” I shrugged. “Sort of like when other people are on their best behavior because Aunt Beatrice comes for the holidays.”
“Okay, I can see that, I think.” He pointed to a sign leading to the cafeteria. “Our food, madam.”
“Excellent. I was in the mood for cold turkey and day-old salad.” I rubbed my hands together.
“I do aim to please.”
We took our trays from the end of the line and pretended not to notice the people staring at us as we chose our food and drinks. I was used to ignoring everyone, but I could tell David had to work at it. When we reached the cash register at the end of the line, I pulled one of my cards from my pocket, but David stopped me.
“I’ve got it.” He ducked his head so that he could whisper in my ear. “What kind of man lets his date pay for dinner?”
“So it is a date,” I whispered back.
He didn’t respond for a minute, just looked down into my eyes thoughtfully. “Any time I get to spend with you is special.”
My heart clenched and my stomach did this weird flip, but I couldn’t make fun of that compliment. If there was one thing I’d grown to expect from David, it was sincerity, and I knew he meant what he had just said.
I smiled as we walked to a corner table, away from the majority of the people catching lunch or dinner during their break and the sad faces of people waiting on friends or family.
“So tell me about your family. Mine’s no secret but I don’t know much about yours.” I dug into my salad with my fork.
“Not much, huh?” He watched me with a smile.
“Well, you asked Sam about me.” I shrugged.
“True.” He took a bite of his food before starting. “I’m the oldest of three kids. My family still lives in Georgia, which is pretty much slap at the bottom of the states.”
I knew exactly where Georgia was—geography was a necessity in my life—but I motioned for him to go on.
“Our town was tiny and most people didn’t go to college. Lots of farm work in the area, but I had a love of animals and wanted to do more. My youngest sister, Liberty Anne, is eleven, and like me she loves animals. She has a therapy horse that is her whole world.” His eyes lit up. “She is autistic, but it’s as if a light turns on when she’s riding Whipper. She tells us that it’s magic.”
“It’s amazing what an animal can do for a person.” I nodded my head. “Art does that too. It can give a child a way to express themselves that they normally wouldn’t. It’s part of why I’m working on my art program for schools.”
“Yes, and that’s why I want to do something for the animals.” He took another bite of his food. “Liberty helped show me how special, beautiful, and magic they can be. I want to stop the senseless killing. I know that education isn’t the only thing we need, but it will help. No more poisoning or killing birds just because farmers and hunters don’t want competition.”
“A noble cause.” I smiled at him. My family had a long history with animals and it said a lot about his personality that he wanted to protect them. “What about the rest of your family?”
“I have one other sister, Christi. She’s in her third year of school. She’s going to be a fantastic engineer. Numbers just come to her naturally.” He shook his head. “That’s something I was always jealous of.”
“She’s in her third year? So she’s, what, twenty-one?” I dug around on my plate. “You’re pretty spread out in age.”
“A little. I just turned twenty-seven and Liberty Anne is adopted.” He pointed his fork at me. “Was that your sneaky way of finding out how old I am?”
“Maybe.” I laughed. “You’re really young for having a doctorate.”
“I finished early.” He shrugged. “I took advanced classes in high school and didn’t see the point in taking summers off in college.”
“I wish I could take more classes over the summer, but I have to help with engagements. The summer is always extremely busy for our family.” I sighed. “Not that I want to be done early.”
“Why not?” David had almost finished his sandwich.
“I only have so many years to spend at university before I have to take up a more formal position with the family.”
“Being a princess isn’t a formal position?” He laughed.
“I mean more responsibility. I’ll be taking over a lot more duties and my art history degree will mainly be used for charity work.” I shrugged. “It’s not a bad deal. I can accomplish a lot of good stuff.”
“What would you do with your degree if you didn’t have to focus on royal stuff?”
“I’d like to curate exhibits, and I think I’ve found a way I can do that while maintaining my royal duties.”
“That sounds promising.” He pushed his plate away from him and leaned forward on the table.
“We have a ton of art that is kept in the palace. Some of it can never leave, but there are pieces that would be perfect for a traveling show. Plus I could use the funds for charity, which would go toward my school art fund.” I frowned. “I really need a good name for the charity. It might help get the investors more interested.”