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book, Amanda checked her alarm and then switched out the light. Thank goodness for Michelle, and the push she gave Amanda at the preview event. Otherwise she’d be like her mother, wishing and regretting what might have been instead of remembering a fabulous kiss.
    With a sigh she closed her eyes and let her mind take her back to Xavier’s embrace.
    * * *
    Xavier wore his dress uniform for his talk at the museum. His role as senior security officer for the exhibition called for discretion so he and his men wore black suits with white shirts and a black tie adorned by a tie pin of the Royal Republican Guard crest.
    But for this event the he figured if he was speaking on being a royal guard he should look like one. The pants were navy with a gold-banded red stripe down the outside of the leg; the jacket was stark white with black epaulettes and red braiding looped over the right shoulder. Medals and ribbons earned through the course of duty decorated his chest to the left.
    At home he’d wear his dress sword sheathed at his side. As this was a peace mission, he’d left it locked up in his quarters at home. In its place he’d borrowed one of the simpler weapons from the collection and carried it in a long leather case.
    The Children’s Museum of Art and Science sat on the edge of Golden Gate Park. A two story red brick and towering glass building, it married the romance of art and the clarity of science.
    Inside, a woman seated at the information desk directed him up a flight of stairs and to the left.
    “Oh the kids are going to love you.” She chortled. “I might sneak up and have a peak myself.”
    He thanked her and bowed, earning another trill of delight. The corner of his mouth curled up as he took the stairs. American women were so easy to charm.
    He found Amanda surrounded by children ranging in ages from about six to ten. She sat in their midst holding a copy of the Little Engine That Could, explaining the mechanics of a steam engine.
    The kids were totally into the lesson. And it quickly became clear they were trying to trip her up. But she stayed on point and answered all their questions, patient and in control.
    “Why do they call it a choo-choo train?” One youngster asked.
    Amanda reached down and picked up a large picture of a steam engine. “Well, see in this diagram how the steam vents out into the air?”
    “Yeah,” the kids called.
    “When this valve opens, the steam escapes in a rush of pressure making a choo-ing sound. As the train starts, this piston,” she pointed to the diagram, making sure all the kids could see, “is moving very slowly, but once the train starts rolling the piston gains speed and the exhaust is released faster and faster and each time it goes choo, choo, choo.”
    “Thoo-thoo train,” declared a little boy missing his front teeth.
    “That’s right.” Amanda looked up and spied Xavier.
    Her face lit up, showing her delight in seeing him. His gut tightened as an answering pleasure swelled in him.
    But he had no time to worry over the warmth of his reaction to her interaction with the kids. She was a natural with them, a clear indication she’d make a good mother someday.
    Noticing her attention had strayed, the children followed her gaze to him.
    “It’s Prince Charming.” A little girl gasped.
    Mon dieu . The Lord save him. He supposed he did look a bit like the cartoon character in his uniform. The Lord knew he never wanted the pressure that came with the crown.
    Duty and friendship put him close enough to the Prince to see what he dealt with on a daily bases. The demands—everyone wanted something from him—the politics, the economy, the public appearances...it was never ending, and it all fell on the Prince’s shoulders.
    “He does look as handsome as Prince Charming, doesn’t he?” Amanda saved him. “But Prince Charming is a character in a book. This is Xavier Marcel LeDuc, Commandant of the Royal Pasadonian Republican Guard. He’s a real Royal Guard