“It’s very beautiful, right on the Arabian Sea. The people are warm and friendly and the country is progressive.” She added salad to her plate. “I do work in the royal stables and I have a nice apartment nearby.”
Which wasn’t technically a lie. The palace was close to the stables.
“My mom and I moved there when I was nine. She was hired to be a math teacher at the American School. She met a man and fell in love, so we stayed.”
“What about the princes?” Wynn asked. “I’m not sure I’m up for a real relationship but a fling with a prince sounds nice.”
Bethany shook her head. “I’m sorry to have to say that the king’s oldest son is only a teenager and the king’s brothers are married.”
“Foiled again,” Wynn said. “Please tell me someone brought dessert.”
Everyone laughed.
Conversation moved on to more neutral topics. Pallas talked about an upcoming wedding and how she and Nick were heading to Italy in a couple of months. Carol mentioned her sister, Violet, who had just moved to England with her fiancé. Natalie’s car was hanging on by a thread and she was hoping it held out until she could afford a new-to-her replacement.
Bethany listened more than she talked. She liked the easy friendship between the women and the way they included her. Sure, it was only one lunch but she had a feeling she was going to miss a lot more than just Rida when she returned to El Bahar.
* * *
CADE SAT ON the fence watching Beth canter Rida around the ring. His attention was neatly torn in two. The male part of him appreciated how she moved with the horse and how good she looked doing it. That side of his brain was remembering their kiss and wanting more.
The rest of him coveted her relationship with the stallion. He wanted that easy communication and trust. He’d always had an affinity for horses—why would it be different with Rida?
She eased him into a walk, then directed him to the fence.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said as she brought the horse to a stop. “I guess it’s going to have to happen eventually.”
Cade’s gut tightened. “What are we talking about?” he asked, keeping his voice light. He doubted his luck was good enough for her to be thinking sex.
“You want to ride him. I can tell.” Her expression was doubtful. “We’ve had trouble with him before, just so you know. But he’s your horse and I guess this is as good a time as any.”
So not sex, he thought as he jumped to the ground and approached the horse. But a close second.
He stroked Rida’s neck, then shoulder. Beth slid to the ground and moved to Rida’s head.
“I need you to be a good boy,” she murmured. “Cade’s your new owner. You’re going to have to get along with him eventually.”
Cade adjusted the stirrups to the right length, put his left foot in one and swung onto the saddle. He found his seat immediately and kept a light but firm hold on the reins.
Even standing still, Rida was powerful. He could feel the controlled energy, the potential. Running flat out with him would be—
One second he was comfortably seated, the next he was flying through the air. The ground rushed up to meet him and he landed flat on his back with a thud. Rida casually trotted to the far side of the ring while Beth hurried to Cade’s side.
“Don’t move,” she said as she dropped to her knees. Concern darkened her blue eyes. “You’ve had the wind knocked out of you. It’s going to seem like you can’t breathe, but you’re fine. Just take it slow. Let your body relax for a second, then inhale. Shallow at first but deeper with each breath.”
While the words were designed to be comforting, this was not his first rodeo. He waited until he’d caught his breath to say, “I’ve been thrown a time or two.”
He shifted on the ground to make sure all the moving parts were still working, then sat up and looked at the horse.
“I didn’t see that coming.”
She sighed. “I had a feeling.”
“You didn’t want to warn me?”
“I told you we’d had trouble with him before. What do you think that meant? That he’d been pouty?”
Cade felt himself start to smile. “You have some attitude on you.”
“Well, yeah. I’m not the one who was just thrown by a horse. How are you feeling?”
“Nothing’s broken and you only have one head, so I’d say I’m fine.”
She scrambled to her feet and held out her hand, as if to help him to his feet. Seriously? Of course it was an excuse to touch her, even for a second, so he took it and stood.
She released him, but stayed close. “Still okay?”
“Never better.” He glanced at Rida. “Although he and I are going to be having a conversation, man-to-man.”
“Good luck with that.”
She whistled. Rida’s ears perked up, then he turned and walked directly toward her.
“Show-off,” Cade grumbled.
“I know. I can’t help it.” She reached for the reins. “He’s really sorry.”
“No, he’s not. Does he let anyone ride him but you?”
“My father’s been on him and he wasn’t thrown.”
“Good. I just need to know I stand a chance.”
Rida would have to get used to multiple riders. It might take a while, but Cade knew the horse could be trained. He was intelligent and had a good temperament, and both would work in Cade’s favor.
He returned his attention to Beth. “You know what you’re doing. Let me know if you’re ever looking for work.”
Her eyebrows rose as a dozen different expressions chased across her face. “You’re offering me a job?”
“Would you take it if I did?”
“I would be tempted, but it’s...complicated.”
What did that mean? Her family in El Bahar, or was there a man waiting for her? He considered the latter, then decided that Beth wasn’t the type to kiss him while involved with someone.
“How about dinner?” he asked impulsively. “Tonight.”
She smiled. “That I can say yes to.”
* * *
BETHANY WOULD MAKE a point to thank her mother when next they spoke. The box of clothing she’d sent contained a couple of dresses from Bethany’s wardrobe, including a pretty pale pink sleeveless A-line dress that had always been one of her favorites.
Her mother had sent along high-heeled sandals, a curling iron and plenty of makeup and hair products, all taken from Bethany’s bathroom. She was too grateful to be exasperated. Plus it was her own fault—she was the one who hadn’t moved out of the palace.
Not that she wanted to. She liked living close to her family. She spent a couple of afternoons a week with her brothers and had dinner with her parents just as often. She had independence and yet was still with her family. It was great—only every now and then she wanted something more. Something of her own.
She was nearly twenty-seven. Shouldn’t she have a life plan in place, or at least some goals? Her family situation was, as she hinted to Cade, a complication, but she was starting to think the bigger problem was that she was using it as an excuse. And if so, shame on her.
She checked her appearance in the mirror. Her hair had curled nicely and she liked how the dress fit. She slipped on her sandals and picked up her small clutch, then went downstairs to meet Cade.
He was standing in the living room, looking out the window. He’d put on khakis and a light green, long-sleeved shirt. When he turned and looked at her, she felt her heart give a little flutter. The flutter increased as his eyes widened.
“You look great,” he told her. “No one would ever guess you can carry a hundred-pound sack of grain with the best of them.”
She laughed. “I’m more comfortable with forty-pound sacks, but I can lift a hundred-pound one in a pinch.”
They walked outside to the truck. Cade looked concerned when he spotted her shoes, but before he could say anything, she stepped expertly on the running board and eased into the passenger seat.
“I’m a girl,” she told him primly. “We’re all multitalented.”
“I see that and I won’t question you again.”
Cade drove them to a steak house in town. He put his hand on the small of her back as they walked inside. His mother might not approve of Bethany but she’d raised her children well. Cade had excellent manners.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked as they were shown to a table by the window.
She waited until they were seated to say, “I was just thinking your mother raised you right. You take charge, but in a polite way, yet you must have a wild streak. You told me you left home when you were eighteen.”
“I have my moments,” he said. “It was an easy decision when I didn’t have any responsibilities. It would be more difficult now.” He hesitated, then added, “I’m buying into the ranch. Every year I earn ten percent ownership. I want to expand the breeding program, which is why Rida’s so important to me. I’ve been talking with my old boss in Texas and we’re going to work together. Right now I have to run a lot of the big decisions past my grandfather, but once I’m the majority owner, it will be on me.”
She saw the passion in his eyes, along with determination and confidence. “You can’t wait,” she said.
He raised a shoulder. “I like working with Grandpa Frank, but yeah, I’m ready to be in charge. You’ve been around horses enough to know that you have to take the long view of things. It can take years to know if a gamble is going to pay off. I’ve learned to be patient. I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me and I’m going to make it all happen.”
“I don’t doubt you for a second. You never would have been happy in the family bank.”
“It took a while for my mom to figure that out, but she’s finally stopped asking me to reconsider my career choices.”
“What about your dad? You never mention him.”
Cade’s expression tightened. “He died when Pallas and I were kids. He’s the one who first brought me to the ranch. We were close.” He hesitated. “When I was little, I idolized him. As I got older, I began to wonder if he’d married my mom to get an in with my grandfather and the bank.” He shrugged again. “I can’t know for sure without talking to my mom and that’s not a conversation I want to have with her.”
An unexpected confession, she thought. “I’m sorry you have to deal with that. Is it why you’re so conscientious? Just in case?”
“Probably. I want to make the right decisions and not screw up. But every now and then it all comes tumbling down.”
“Tell me about it. I had a horrible experience with a guy in college. I was devastated and went back to El Bahar.” She grimaced. “That’s when I started working in the royal stables. While I love what I do, I can’t see myself staying there for the next twenty years. Yet I have no idea what else I want to do.”
“No room for advancement with the king?” he asked, his voice teasing.
“Not really.” She supposed she could use some of her trust to simply buy a horse ranch of her own, only somehow that seemed like cheating. She didn’t want to step into a position of ownership, she wanted to earn it. Or at least feel she was a part of it.
Their server stopped by the table and told them about the specials. They each ordered a glass of wine.
Conversation flowed easily. Before she knew it, they were done with their meal. She’d had a great time and didn’t want the evening to end. There was something about Cade, something that made her wish their circumstances were different. That she could...
What? Date him? Why couldn’t she? It had been forever since she’d been this attracted to a guy. From everything she’d witnessed so far, Cade was totally honorable. Why not explore the possibilities?
Bethany told herself if she wanted something, she had to be brave enough to go after it, so she took a deep breath and asked, “So why isn’t there a Mrs. Cade Saunders?”
Cade studied her for a second, before smiling. “That’s direct.”
“I’m curious, so I asked.”
“It’s a long story.”
“We could order coffee.”
“Okay.” He reached for his water glass, then drew back. “I always had girlfriends in high school,” he began. “When I moved to Kentucky, I started dating the daughter of the owner of the ranch where I worked. Lynette was different from anyone I’d ever known. More sophisticated, I guess. She had a cute accent and knew exactly what she wanted from me.”
Bethany wondered if she’d made a mistake, asking for details about his past.
“The chemistry was instant,” he continued, “and we both fell hard. Or so I thought. She worried about what her parents would say, so we kept our relationship secret. I missed her when she traveled with her friends or her family, but then she’d be back and it was as if she’d never been away.”
Bethany drew in a breath. She already knew the story wasn’t going to end well.
“We’d been together nearly two years when Lynette came back from one of her trips with a fiancé.”
“Oh no.”
He grimaced. “I was surprised, too. And pissed. The guy was a jerk, but rich. When I confronted her, she told me that I was fun to play with, but that we were never going to get serious and I was only good for sex. She needed to marry someone from her social circle. Or as she put it, I was a workhorse and she was a Thoroughbred.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut.
“It got worse. I was mad—she got scared I was going to say something to someone, and she told her mother I’d attacked her. Her family had a lot of influence in town, so I was arrested and charged. Two days later, her father returned from a business trip. Turns out he knew all about our relationship and confronted his daughter.”
Bethany couldn’t believe it. Who would do a thing like that? If she’d ever tried to pull anything like that, Malik would have killed her. Okay, not killed, but she would have been in big trouble.
“The charges were dropped,” Cade said. “I was released, and then fired.”
“How could he do that?”
“How could he keep me around? He helped me get a great job in Texas and told me to stick to my own kind. I didn’t like the message, but I knew he was right. I packed up and left without looking back.” He offered her a humorless smile. “The kicker? Lynette got in touch with me about four months later and wanted to know if we could get together. I told her no. I’d learned my lesson. Next time I’ll fall for a good-hearted, honest woman who knows exactly who she is and exactly who I am.”
Bethany did her best to keep breathing. Her chest was tight but for once not because of her attraction to Cade. Instead she was fighting a sickening realization and doing her best not to bolt from her chair and keep running until she found her way home.
Then the sensation faded and all she could think was that life was incredibly unfair. If Cade didn’t want any more Lynettes in his life, he sure wouldn’t want anything to do with her. A princess from El Bahar was going to be way worse than some heartless, rich man’s daughter.
Worse, she’d lied about who she was and if he found out... Well, she didn’t know what, but it would be really, really bad.
“Beth? Are you okay?”
She swallowed and looked at him. “I’m sorry. My stomach just turned on me. Must be the combination of the rich food and hearing about your horrible ex-girlfriend. I’d say you’re lucky to be rid of her, but you already know that.”
His expression turned to concern. “You look pale.” He waved over the server and asked for the check. “Give me a second and we’ll head back to the ranch.”
“I’d appreciate that.” She tried to smile. “I’m sorry for messing
up the evening.”
“You didn’t. It’s fine. I had a good time.”
“Me, too.” Right up until the end when she’d discovered that hoping for anything like a relationship with Cade was never going to be possible.
CHAPTER SIX
BETHANY SPENT THE night tossing and turning only to end up where she’d started—knowing that she was totally to blame for her current situation. While it would be nice to say it was someone else’s fault, it wasn’t. She could have sent someone else to get Rida settled—the royal stables was filled with excellent, caring workers who would have gladly accompanied Rida, but she’d insisted only she could do the job. Given how easily he’d settled into his new home, she knew now she’d been ridiculous.
Maybe it was more than the horse, she realized sometime before dawn. Maybe she enjoyed the drama of her situation a little too much. Maybe she’d been putting off having to make some hard decisions about what she wanted to do with her life. Regardless of which or all of the reasons, she was now stuck in a difficult situation and she had no idea how to fix things.
Telling Cade the truth made the most sense. It was the mature thing to do. The right thing to do. Only she didn’t want to. For one thing, she knew everything would change. While she was pretty sure he liked Beth Smith, he would have nothing but disdain for Princess Bethany. He would see her as Lynette-like, judge her and dismiss her, which would be devastating, because the even-bigger problem, at least to her, was she had feelings for Cade.
He was so funny and charming and capable. She liked how he respected her job and made her laugh and was easy to be around. She liked how his kisses made her feel. She liked pretty much everything about him. Which meant lying to him had been beyond dumb.
She got out of bed and went to the window. As she saw it, she could go one of two ways. Come clean or not. If she told him the truth, she would lose everything they had. If she continued to lie, she betrayed him and everything they had. It wasn’t much of a choice.
By the time she’d showered and dressed, she’d decided to come clean. She would accept whatever consequences there were with her head held high.
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