of his mind. No, not thoughts, questions. Would she be willing to stay? She hadn’t jumped at his hint of a job offer—and hiring someone he wanted to date seemed too weird anyway—but there had to be something to keep her here. She wasn’t sure about what to do with her life—couldn’t she be thinking about that here as easily as back in El Bahar? And most important of all, was it too soon to be having that conversation?
He pulled into the driveway and hit the remote for the gate. When they reached the house, he drove around to the garage. Beth got out of the truck and began unfastening the ropes holding the tree in place. Once the tree was untied, they carried it inside. It was only when they were halfway to the garage that Cade realized she was carrying the heavy end.
Beth, being Beth, hadn’t said a word about it. She was certainly strong enough—you couldn’t work around horses the way she did without developing muscle, but still. His mother would slap him upside the head if she knew.
Once they had the tree in the garage, she held it steady while he cut a couple of inches off the trunk, then put it in the tree stand before going into the house.
At the bottom of the stairs, they looked at each other. She smiled.
“I had a really nice time today. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I did, too.”
There was a lot more he wanted to say—like how much he was going to miss her and how he wanted to talk to her about maybe staying. Only the words suddenly didn’t seem all that important, not when he could lean over and kiss her.
Her mouth was soft and yielding. When he drew her close, she sank into him and kissed him back. They stood there at the base of the stairs, holding on to each other, tongues tangling in the soft light of the living room lamp.
After a few minutes, need threatened to overwhelm common sense and he drew back.
“You should go up to bed,” he said, his voice husky. “I’m going to take care of some paperwork in my office.”
Because if he went upstairs with her, he knew exactly what was going to happen.
She stared at him, her blue eyes dark with passion. He read the indecision on her face and knew the right thing to say and do.
“Go to bed.”
She raised herself on tiptoe and pressed a chaste kiss to his mouth, then hurried up the stairs.
He watched her go before retreating to the relative safety of his office. Once he was behind his desk, he leaned back in his chair and tried to figure out what to do next.
Beth was an unexpected complication. Ever since the disaster that was Lynette, he’d avoided entanglements and had kept his relationships short and uncomplicated. Since returning to Happily Inc, he hadn’t dated anyone.
In his head he knew that one day he was going to have to get over what had happened if he wanted to settle down and have a wife and family. In his heart, he’d been unwilling to take a chance. Until Beth...
* * *
“YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL, MOM,” Bethany said as she smiled at her computer.
“I look old and tired,” Queen Liana said. “I usually enjoy a state dinner, but one of my tablemates was especially tedious tonight. International monetary policy has its place, but after two hours, one should learn to speak about something else.”
“I’m sure you tried,” Bethany told her mother.
“At least six times. He was not getting the hint.” Her mother pulled off her tiara and began to unfasten her earrings. “How are you doing, darling? Is everything all right?”
“Rida threw Cade again.”
“That horse. You spoiled him and now everyone has to pay the price.”
“I know. I should have been more firm with him, but he never threw me.”
“Yes, and he’s also not your horse, is he?”
“Ouch.”
Her mother looked contrite. “I’m sorry. That came out more harshly than I’d intended. I’m going to blame the monetary discussion. By the way, I spoke with your aunt Dora yesterday. The University of El Bahar is starting an International Women’s Studies program in the fall that goes through to the doctorate level.” Her mother paused expectantly.
“That is very like Aunt Dora. Tell her congratulations.”
“I did already, but that’s not the point.”
Bethany pretended surprise. “It’s not?”
Liana sighed. “You do love being difficult.”
“I do. Very much. It’s fun.”
“You could come home and go back to college right here in El