A Royal Mess and Her Knight To Remember

Sally took in all the mess, then Tim prone on the floor with Natalia all cozied up to his side, her hand still on his chest. “Uh-huh. Accident.”

Tim sat up and rubbed the back of his head, eyeing his sister. “You’re not feeling the need to start another mud-wrestling match, are you?”

“No, I’m feeling the need to load the shotgun and have you put out of your misery.” She walked up to Tim, swiped a finger over his cheek and inspected it. “Do I want to know why you’re covered in chocolate?”

“No.”

“I miss all the fun.” She stuck the finger in her mouth. “Hmm.”

“Good?” Natalia asked.

Since their little tussle, there had been a definite shift in his sister’s bad attitude toward Natalia. It was almost as if she was forcing it now, as if she wanted to hide the fact she’d accepted Natalia. Respected her. Even…she’d probably deny this to her dying day…liked her.

“It’s…okay,” Sally decided.

Natalia shook her head. “Liar.”

“Hey, it’s okay.”

“It’s perfect. Or it would be if wasn’t on the floor.”

“Stop acting like such a princess.”

“I am a princess.”

“Whatever.” Sally rolled her eyes at Tim and took another lick.

Natalia came to her feet and cocked a hip. “Why do you keep eating it if it’s only okay?”

Sally took another finger swipe. “Well…maybe it’s slightly better than okay.”

“It’s way better.”

“It’s better than the stuff Seth supplies me with, that’s for sure.”

Tim quickly stood, not ready to explain to Natalia how they were all slowly starving to death, not when she’d actually forgotten she was mad at him. “Sally-”

“Seth’s supply?” Natalia asked very quietly.

“Yeah. Make more of this and I might not feel the need I’ve felt all week to supplement my meals with outrageously priced candy bars and junk food.”

Oh, damn, Tim thought, and turned to Natalia. “Nat-”

“What are you talking about?” she asked Sally.

“Oh…nothing. Right, Tim?”

With four eyes on him, Tim could have cheerfully strangled Sally. He didn’t want to lie, but how could he tell the truth without purposely, cruelly hurting Natalia?

“Tim?” Natalia turned and looked at him.

“Did I mention I hear my horse calling me?”

Natalia stared at him, then reached for a sponge. “And you guys think I’m crazy.”

“Yeah.” Sally grabbed Tim’s hand and pulled him toward the door. “Don’t get too close. It’s contagious.”

NATALIA FOUND herself watching Tim often. And though she didn’t catch him at it, she felt him watching her back.

He did nothing about the yearning shimmering between them, which was fine. She could resist him, too, and still enjoy being here. And enjoy it she did. Cooking was her greatest pleasure.

To her shock, Sally had come back into the kitchen after the dessert fiasco, right after Tim had left. Without a word, she’d helped clean up.

Then, casually as she pleased, had asked about Natalia’s family and background. This time, as Natalia talked about her father, the Crown Prince, and her sisters Annie and Lili-both princesses in their own right-Sally didn’t scoff or scorn.

Now Natalia sat on the porch swing watching Tim feed his menagerie of pity pets by moonlight. He’d had a long, long day, and still he didn’t stop, not until everyone and everything was taken care of. She knew he had to be tired. Misty, the horse, kept drooling on him while Pickles knocked him flat trying to get to his food. And Mrs. Pig… she stood at Tim’s feet and put up a fuss, bouncing as high as she could on her three good legs, looking like a Mexican jumping bean.

Natalia couldn’t figure out what the thing wanted until Tim scooped her up and held her like a puppy, stroking her belly.

In ecstasy, the pig’s head rolled back.

Propelled by a force she didn’t try to fight, Natalia got off the swing and walked to the gate. “You don’t have to feed them,” she said.

Surprised at her voice, he looked up. Then smiled a smile that warmed her. “I’m late. They’re starving.”

“No.” She shrugged, embarrassed to have been caught in a chore that had been pure pleasure. “They looked hungry, so…”

He put down Mrs. Pig, who promptly started wailing at his feet. “So…you what, Princess?”

Oh, wasn’t he ever so smug. “I go by Your Serene Highness, thank you very much.”

His grin widened, and damn him but he looked good enough to eat. “You’re changing the subject. What did you do with the animals?”

“You know what I did. I fed them. I admit it, I feed them when you’re not looking.”

He picked Mrs. Pig back up, who immediately stopped her ruckus. “Why?”

“Because they’re there, okay? Because I’ve…” Lost my fear. Somehow. I’ve become attached.

God, it was going to hurt to leave. Maybe she should rethink these extra few days and hightail it out of here right now. Right this minute, in fact. She had enough for her bus fare. But she’d given up on that idea from the moment she decided to forgo the wedding in order to have this adventure.

She should still leave. All she had to do was pick up the cell phone and call Amelia, and she’d be out of here within the hour.

But she was afraid of the strange, and oddly new, tugging on the strings of her heart.

Texas-the huge, wide-open place-had grown on her. So had the people, and the wonderful ranch hands who were so hardened on the outside, but sweet as kittens on the inside. Even Sally, the tough female cowboy she’d never forget.

But most of all it was Timothy Banning; also rough and tough, and able, and…staring at her with a heat in his eyes and a three-legged pig in his arms.

10

“WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?” Natalia whispered by moonlight, her eyes large and luminescent.

“You,” Tim said, and once again set down Mrs. Pig.

When he straightened, Natalia took a step back.

It made him smile grimly, for he knew exactly how she felt. She didn’t want to feel anything for him any more than he wanted to feel something for her. But it didn’t seem to matter. They’d tried to ignore it, but this…this thing was far bigger than that.

“Stop it,” she said. Since it was dark all he could go by was the tone of her voice, which was saying “back off” loud and clear.

But he knew her now, or at least he wanted to think he did. She was scared, and he of all people understood that, too. He’d never really felt this way about a woman, had never worried about getting her out of his system. The women in his life had always washed him out of their systems first.

Natalia didn’t seem eager to wash him out of her system.

It was incredibly arousing. She was arousing.