Page 31 of Falling for the Queen Mother

"What do you think you'd like to do when we arrive? Do you have any favorite beach activities?" She took a bite of her own snack.

"I'm not really much of a beach person. Keep in mind that I grew up in Eastern Novigradia. Our beaches are a little different than the ones you have."

A delicate shudder flowed through her. "I've been there. Even in the summer, it's chilly."

"It is. Swimming isn't our national pastime. In fact, water sports in general aren't very popular. There are a few diehards who will, but not as much as you might think for an island nation." He ate the last of his snack.

"It's different here. We have a lot of surfing, wind surfing, wakeboarding, anything you can think of." She closed her eyes again as the sun and the breeze washed over her.

"What's your favorite activity?"

She couldn't see him, but Alaina sensed he was watching her. "This. Just sitting in the sun."

"I think that sounds wonderful. I wouldn't mind trying some of the water activities, though. Maybe not this trip, but sometime. I'm not sure I have trunks with me."

"There's plenty of extras at the house. We keep a wide variety there." The entire place would be well-stocked. As soon as it was determined she and Nathaniel would be visiting, it would have been stocked with fresh food, cleaned again - though it was never very messy to start with - sheets changes, things of that nature. They would have ensured extra clothes of all kinds were available to them.

"Can you give me a tour of the boat later? I've never been on anything like this."

"Of course."

She felt the warmth of his hand cover hers before he spoke. "And before long, we need to talk."

11

Even though she didn't say it out loud, Alaina hadn't wanted to talk. Nate knew from the moment he said it, but it still needed to happen.

He didn't push, though.

"Will you want to watch the interview when it airs?" It wasn't a complete change of subject, but a little bit.

"We could. We can get a summary of it later if we don't." She settled back a bit further with her eyes closed as the sun warmed both of them.

Nate wasn't sure which he would prefer. "At least if they summarize we won't have to actually see ourselves being interviewed."

Alaina shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"For you, maybe. I've never been interviewed like this before. A couple of comments here and there on a story about antiquities, but nothing more than that."

"We can watch if you want to, but it's up to you. I don't particularly care one way or the other."

He wasn't sure if he truly believed her or not. "It would be interesting to see what, if anything, she's discovered about who might behind all of this." He wanted to know what was going on and why someone might want to set them up.

"It would." She opened her eyes long enough to look at her watch. "We've got a few hours. If we go straight to the house, we should be there before it airs."

"We're not going straight there?"

"We can, or we can take the long way and enjoy the time at sea. We can watch it out here or we can go inside." Her eyes had closed again.

"Won't there be a glare out here?" He could see the screen, but it had the sun reflecting off of it.

She shook her head. "There's an awning thing that opens up so it will be in the shadow."

Of course. They'd though of everything.

"Do you want to go to the house, or would you rather stay on the boat until this evening?"

Nate turned the options over in his mind. "I kind of like being on the boat," he admitted. "I know the home is secluded and well-protected, but the idea of being unfindable sounds nice too."