Just Harry

Why the hell is my alarm going off at four thirty in the morning? I groaned and rolled over, hitting the snooze on my phone. Then the memories of yesterday hit, memories of a certain red headed royal, and I sat up with a yelp.

“Oh my God. I hung out with a prince yesterday and I am going to again today.” I murmured. “this is not real life.”

I dressed quickly in taupe breeches, a black polo and my usual short boots and half chaps, which are pieces of leather that wrap around your leg and secure under your boot and go to your knee to protect your leg from chafing. I took a moment to put on makeup, accenting my blue eyes with eyeliner and mascara. I rarely wore makeup, not having the time for it, but hell, I was about to be one on one with a prince, a prince who happened to be extremely handsome. I stood in front of my mirror and ran a hand through my snarled curls, sighing at the hopelessness of it. I decided to leave them down, because of lack of time, and ran out the door.

My Jeep waited outside in the gravel drive behind the great house. Did I mention that my crappy job included a not so crappy private apartment in the basement of that huge mansion? It was pretty posh, with marble floors and huge rooms, a monster four poster bed in each of the two rooms and a cozy sunroom off of the living room. I adored it, my home away from home, cozy and purely mine.

I cranked my bright blue Wrangler and started off down the drive as the clock ticked to 4:45. As I pulled into the polo fields, Harry was just rounding the corner, trotting in on Georgiana again, this time ponying a gray mare behind him. I tried unsuccessfully to keep the foolish grin from my face, then wondered to myself how close his barn must be for him to be able to ride to the fields. It would have to be as close as mine, for him to be able to ride there. That blew my mind, I had been living just down the road from a prince for years. I shook my head and, after checking myself one last time in the mirror, tried to get out of my tall Jeep as gracefully as possible.

“Good morning Miss Martino,” Harry greeted me as I walked to meet him, a wide, friendly grin overtaking his face, making him literally shine in the early morning. He swung down from his horse and leaned in to give me a very classy cheek kiss, that nevertheless caused me to flush from head to toe.

“Good morning Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor.” I replied evenly, nodding curtly, trying to keep my emotions in check, "And actually, it would be Dr. Martino," I added in an childish attempt to make myself seem more important.

He laughed, surprised. “Why, i had no idea! Beg your pardon, Doctor," his eyes sparkled with mirth, his dimples showing adorably.

“Indeed, I am a Doctor of Pharmacy Medicine," I tried to make my title sound better, but hey, compared to a prince anything sounds lame.

Harry grinned at me, “You keep getting better and better,” His eyes sparkled with something I couldn’t place, but something crossed his face and he shook his head then changed the subject, “Okay, this is Camisado. She is a lovely horse, she is one of my favorites. She will serve you well."

Harry handed me the reins to the mare and I instantly cooed and introduced myself to the lovely horse, instantly dubbing her Cami. She had a delicate face, and I detected a hint of Arabian in her bloodlines. She nibbled softly on my sleeve, her muzzle like velvet against my arm, and I instantly fell in love. With the horse, of course.

This time we started to work with the mallets and balls. After my ‘warm up’ of going through the paces without my stirrups on the floaty gaits of Cami, then jumping the nearby cross country course, I was ready for ‘real work’ according to his highness. Harry handed me the mallet and proceeded in showing me the various moves one might make with the mallet, showing me how to properly swing it and how to go forward, backward and sideways hits, then had me gallop down the field and hit any ball he threw, from a variety of directions and speeds. This went on for quite some time, until I was sweating and sore and close to passing out from the exertion.

“Stop,” I huffed, leaning against Cami’s neck, exhausted. “I just need a little break.”

Harry instantly cantered over to where Cami and I stopped, concern chiseled into his face, and pulled Georgiana up next to me, then leaned over, rubbing my back gently. “Are you alright?”

i tried to dispel the shivers running down my spine at his touch, so close, so intimate, “Yes, quite. Just my body just isnt't used to such abuse,” I joked, smiling at him. those eyes, so intent a moment ago now softened, the color shifting to a lighter hue, almost teal. "Do you have any water?"

He instantly produced a water bottle out of his saddle bag and presented it to me, which I took willingly. As I sipped, I watched him over the top of the bottle. He was so handsome, way more than any magazine i had ever seen could do him justice. He was very comfortable in his own skin, confidently looking out over the fields and to the woods beyond, the reins held firm but gentle in his hands. He wore jeans tucked into Parlanti’s, my favorite brand of show boots, and a striped polo that hugged his broad chest in all the right places. His red hair was dancing in the wind, and he stopped for a moment to look over at me and give me a soft little smile, one that crinkled his eyes and lit up his face. All in all, he was perfection. Stop Gaby. Any relationship with him will end in heartbreak. He is a prince; you are an investors daughter, and an American. You could have no future together. My head argued with me, but my heart retaliated. First of all, it’s the twenty first century; he can marry whomever he pleases, especially since he is the second son. And his brother married a commoner!! My head snapped, Well you don’t even know if he likes you. He has dated models, partied with duchesses and princesses; you are just something to take up his time. You are simply going to get thrown away when he tires of you. My head had a point.

I sat up, capped the bottle and handed it back to him, our fingers touching briefly before i wrenched mine away. “What now coach?” I asked, trying to shake the thoughts out of my brain, but they still danced there, along with the torturous images my brain conjured up of he and I together.

“Now we relax,” he consulted his watch, “We still have like forty five minutes until you have to be back, would you like to see my place?”

His house was a huge, sprawling Victorian plantation house with white siding and black shutters, something right out of Gone with the Wind. My inner Southern Belle sighed, thinking about parites on the lawn, rocking chairs on the wrap around porch. I shook the images aside once more. We clomped up the cobblestone drive to the rear of the house, behind which sat the barn. Barn is too crude of a word to describe it, truly. Huge, with deep mahogany wood, gorgeous stonework and decorated eaves, it looked like a beautiful home more than a stable. We rode silently through the open entrance doors, my mind still trying to encompass all of the splendor around me, and the cobblestones turned to gleaming wooden floors, with stall mats down the middle at regular intervals, between crossties. It was a twenty horse barn, and most of the stalls were occupied with sleepy polo ponies, which reached their heads out and nickered at their comrades.

Walking to a pair of crossties, I followed Harry’s lead and began to un-tack Cami. The process was soothing, something I could do in my sleep, I had done it enough. I loosened and removed the sweaty girth, then pulled the martingale and reins over her head and removed the bridle. Cami stood patiently as I hung the bridle on a nearby hook and accepted the leather halter Harry handed me, giving him a smile. I slid the worn leather over Cami’s face, pulling her ears through gently and adjusting her forelock to steady my fluttering heart. Her halter had a name plate on it that read Camisado Coup De'tat, Owner: Prince Harry of Wales. this was way to real. Hooking the crossties to the halter, I proceeded to remove the saddle, tossing the girth over top as I did so. I pulled the heavy leather saddle into my arms and as I turned, I ran smack into Harry.

“Let me take that, Gaby.” Harry murmured in that soft, husky voice, arm extended.

“No, I can get it!” I protested, wanting to prove I was capable of something.

“I won’t let a lady carry something when I can for her,” Harry insisted, and I sighed surrendering the saddle to him, hhe slid his arm under it, brushing alongside mine, lifting it from me and placing it over one arm, the other occupied with his saddle. He flashed me that jaw dropping smile and proceeded to the tack room.

I retrieved the bridles and trotted after Harry, calling, “You know, I could easily have taken the saddle. It's not that heavy.”

Harry didn't respond to my comment, and entered the tackroom with me on his heels, hung the saddles on two vacant racks, wordlessly taking the bridles from me and hanging them on the bridle hooks corresponding to the saddles. Then he abruptly turned to me, capturing me by the shoulders, his strong hands gentle as he lightly kneaded my shoulders. His eyes were a diferent color then I had seen yet, an almost grey blue. I forgot how to breathe, we were so close I needed to just step forward to kiss him full on the mouth. That lovely, perfect mouth opened and Harry spoke, a smile in his voice,

“You obviously aren’t used to being treated like a princess, Gabs. You're with me now, so you better get used to it."

Then the Prince of Wales leaned forward, kissed my forehead, pulled back and flashed me a smile, and left to attend to the horses, leaving me breathless and confused, thoughts of him swirling through my brain.