“Something.”
“God, you’re bitchy today.” I bumped my shoulder against hers. “Did you think I would end up with David that night we were talking in your kitchen?”
“I thought it might happen when you gyrated your hips and told him to take his clothes off.” She laughed while I groaned.
“Did you tell Mom about that?”
“Um, that’s a negative.” She shook her head and turned green.
“Someone did and let me tell you, she was not amused when she thought I had hired a stripper.” I reached out and touched her arm. “Are you going to be sick?”
“No!” She put a hand to her mouth. “I don’t think so.”
“I thought you were going to wait a year before you tried.” I looked down to where Sam had her hand on her stomach.
“It’s almost been a year.” She frowned. “I don’t know. Alex . . . he just talks circles around me sometimes and before I knew it, BAM! First try.”
“Bam, huh?” I laughed loudly, drawing some looks our way, and Sam dropped her hand. No one knew that my brother and best friend were expecting a baby. It was a family secret for now.
“Yes, and now all I want to do is sleep and puke.” She frowned. “Sometimes at the same time.”
“Are you happy?” I leaned close so no one could hear us.
“Very.” She smiled and her face practically glowed. “I’m scared to death but so, so happy.”
“I wonder if you’ll have a boy or girl.”
“Won’t know for a while.” Her hand fluttered to her stomach briefly. “So tell me something.”
“Something. Hey!” I chuckled when she smacked me with her gloves. “What?”
“When are you two going to make things official?” She glanced to where David was sitting. He had finally been saved by one of the other workers and the girls were asking questions instead of just staring at him.
“We’re taking our time.” I shrugged. “Besides, with you making little heirs, I don’t have to rush.”
“I noticed you moved your stuff to Rousseau.” She smiled.
“Well, with you at D’Lynsal it made sense.” I shrugged. “Besides, it’s a long drive in the middle of the night just for a booty call.”
“Tell me about it.” Her laugh was infectious.
“Really, I want to finish school first. Then, we’ll see.” I watched David lean over and place the merlin on the gloved arm of a girl. “We talked about it. I hope we’ll get there someday.”
“Pfft. You’re there, you’re just killing time at this point.” Sam shook her head. “But I get the degree thing. It was painful to give that up when I moved to Lilaria.”
“I want to accomplish something first. Have something that I
earned
for myself, not just something I was born into.” I shrugged. It was hard to explain but I wanted to feel like I had done more than just been a figurehead.
“Uh-oh.” Sam stood up from the wall she was leaning on. “He’s coming and I think you’re in trouble.” She darted away from me quickly as I turned around to see who she was talking about.
“You left me for the vultures.” David leaned close and whispered in my ear.
“Oh, I didn’t know you had those here.” I widened my eyes and tried to look innocent.
“Oh, that is not going to work on me.” He traced my cheek with one finger. “They were just staring at me and didn’t hear a word I said.”
“Well, it’s your fault for being so cute.” I placed my hands on his plaid-covered chest. “The whole lumber jack think really works for you.”
“It did snag me a princess.” His eyes twinkled.
“That is true.” I toyed with the pocket on his chest. “And now that you have one, what are you going to do with her?”
He leaned down so that his mouth barely touched my ear. “I can’t say what I’m going to do because there are too many kids around.”
“Are you sure that said princess will go for your plans?” I raised an eyebrow as he moved his face so that his lips were a mere breath away from mine.
“She did this morning.” Ever so softly he pressed his mouth to mine.
“You know, I always thought I wanted a knight in shining armor.” I broke away from his kiss and looked up at him with a smile. “But I like my dashing rogue much better.”
“Angel, shiny armor just means the knight never went to battle.” He kissed my temple. “And I’d fight dragons for you.”
W
RITING A BOOK
is a bit like raising a child. It’s been said that it takes a village, and in this case, that couldn’t be closer to the truth.
A huge thank-you to my agent, Rebecca Friedman, who has stood beside me through this endeavor and held my hand the whole way. I’m very lucky to have her on my side. I also have to tell KP Simmon thank you for listening to my crazy blatherings and random thoughts. She never once laughed at me.
I’d owe my family an apology for all of the fast food we ate while I was writing this book, but they probably preferred it that way. In all seriousness, I will never be able to thank my husband enough for his love and support while I pound away at this career I’m carving out. His strength and belief in me gets me through the toughest of days.
My daughter is a whopping four years old and she told me the other day that she wanted to write books. While that made me tear up, I’m positive that she will do wonderfully at whatever path she chooses in life—though I will always tell her to take the one less traveled. Thank you, sweet potato, for being so patient while Mommy turned her imaginary friends into characters in a book.
A huge and massive thank-you to my friends and family for supporting me while I was writing this book. My sister, as usual, is my rock and source of confidence. She never lets me down. My mother, father, and stepfather have been my cheerleaders from the get-go, constantly cheering me on from the sidelines. My best friend was there to listen to me cry and laugh, and to lift my spirits or just commiserate.
A big thank-you to the Thorntons, our adopted family, for being a ray of sunshine and constantly pushing me forward. (And for putting up with all the craziness that goes with having a pirate ship in your backyard. Argh.)
Thank you to Tessa Woodward for taking a chance on me and my books. It’s been a fun and interesting journey, and I’m so glad that I get to work with you.
For the readers who have followed me from the beginning, thank you. It’s because of you that I do what I do.
Want to see how it all began?
Keep reading for a glimpse
of Sam and Alex’s story,
Royal Donors Cause Congestion on Campus
—
COLLEGE DAILY
T
O SAY MY
day was not going well, would be like saying the French Revolution had been a bit troublesome for Marie Antoinette. My truck had coughed and sputtered all the way to school. I couldn’t find my gloves, so my fingers had turned into frozen sticks by the time I reached my classroom. Only half of the students in my first class showed up, and then I couldn’t find the tests I had spent the entire weekend grading. My entire day was turning into a bad country song. By the time lunch rolled around I had been more than ready for a break. I snagged a sandwich and ate it on my way to the library. The server for our building was down and I needed to do some research.
Crossing campus, I had to wade through a crowd of people. It was like the entire student body had gathered in the middle of the school for a pep rally. Hordes of giggling freshmen were pushing their way to the front and one of them elbowed me, making me drop the notebook I was carrying. The fraternities and sororities had painted signs and hung them on trees to welcome someone. I grimaced when I realized one of them was actually a sheet that didn’t look very clean. I looked from the signs to the crowd and realized I would never be able to make it up the stairs to the library. Standing in the middle of the steps was a group of people, but my eyes focused on the tall blond man. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him. He was joking with a girl while she batted her eyes and twirled a lock of hair around her finger.
I tried to see exactly why everyone was so excited, but none of it made sense. Donors came to the school all the time and most of the self-absorbed student body never noticed. The man on the steps was attractive enough to be a movie star and that had to be what had brought the mob out.
“Do you see him, Sam? The prince?” One of the girls in my first class pulled on my arm.
“Prince? Yeah, I see him.” A prince? A real-life prince with a crown and throne? No wonder the masses were out in the snow. A royal donor would bring out everyone. Movie stars were one thing, but a prince? That wasn’t something you saw every day. I wondered why royalty would be donating to our school, but standing out in the cold watching some guy flirt was not part of my plans. I only had a little longer before I had to be at the research center and a lot to get done in the meantime.
“He’s gorgeous,” the girl gushed while her friends made noises of agreement.
“Yeah, I guess.” I rolled my eyes.
“Even you have to admit he’s hot.” She laughed at me. What the hell did that mean? I wasn’t blind. Of course I noticed he was hot. What the hell kind of good would that do me? I’d never see him again. He was a freaking prince!
Spinning on my heel, I headed for a side entrance, only to see it was blocked by police. Gritting my teeth, I stomped through the snow to the back entrance. It took forever, because I was dodging mobs of people. I almost tripped on a cord and the news reporter hollered at me. I gave him my best eat-shit-and-die look, but he wasn’t fazed. By the time I reached the back steps I was ready to murder someone.
There was a group of cops standing at the door, but I didn’t care. I marched up and went straight for the entrance.
“You can’t go in there, miss.”
“Why not? I pay tuition so I can use this library.”
“It’s closed right now. Should be open again in an hour or so.”
“I’ll be busy in an hour.” I gave him my best imitation of puppy eyes. “I just need to use the Internet and check out some books. Please? I’ll be good. One of you guys can come in with me.”
“Sorry.”
I took a deep breath, the cold air stinging my lungs, and turned back toward the parking lot. My angry breath caused plumes of fog as I stomped across the pavement. I went straight to my truck, cranked it up, and headed for the center. The stars had not aligned and I wouldn’t be doing what I had needed to, so I might as well throw myself into the other part of my work.
I weaved through the campus traffic, careful to not run over any of the people that seemed to see vehicles on icy roads as anything but dangerous. Thankfully, the closer I got to the wildlife center, the fewer people were out to annoy me. My old truck slid into a parking spot, coughing noisily. Ready to move on to the favorite part of my day, I hurried inside and immediately felt better. Working with the birds brightened my mood. After checking through the cages to make sure there were no problems, I moved to weighing and measuring the birds. When I got to Dover, an owl who had been hit by a car, I cooed softly. She had lost an eye, so tended to be nervous when people approached her mew.
“Hi, sweetheart. Time for some food.” I unlocked the cage door and stepped in slowly. I untied the string that held her to her perch and gave her a good look-over.
Once I had her in the office, I weighed her, careful to note the exact amount in our logs before getting her food.
“Eat up. You know you want it.” I lifted the mouse to her beak but she turned away. “Aw, c’mon, Dover. It’s yummy mouse guts. Your favorite.”
She ruffled her feathers and sighed. Dover was beautiful, but getting her to eat was always a frustrating process. I lifted the mouse to her beak again, making sure she could see the food out of her good eye. Delicately, as if she was doing me a favor, she took a small bite.
“That’s it,” I hummed. “Eat up.”
Slowly she lifted her claw and grasped the mouse. I sighed in relief. She needed to eat to keep her weight up. It was also how we administered her medicine. Dover was a smart bird and I suspected she knew we were putting something in her food.
Once she was done, I took a few measurements and took her back to her mew. I checked the cage quickly and then cleaned up any mess she had made. I checked all our logbooks to make sure nothing had been missed, made a few notes about a Harris hawk with an injured wing, and closed up shop.
I felt much better by the time I was ready to leave. The annoyances from earlier didn’t seem like such a big deal and I was looking forward to getting home. After double-checking the medicines and the food for the next day, I flipped the lights and headed out the door. I fished out my keys to lock the gate as I neared the entrance. No one else would be in until the morning.
“Samantha Rousseau?”
I looked up at the man standing just outside the gate to my research center. Dark pants met with a black blazer and an equally boring tie. The only thing remarkable about him was the expensive pair of sunglasses sitting on his nose and the little gizmo tucked into his ear, complete with a curly cord running down into his shirt collar.
“Yeah?” I finished locking the bottom of the gate and stood up. He wasn’t a very tall man, possibly my father’s age, but he radiated power. Since I tend to have issues with authority, I immediately disliked the guy. He hadn’t really given me a reason to not like him, but people that think they’re better than you or know more than you make me itch.
“Are you Samantha Rousseau?” he asked again. He didn’t introduce himself or make an attempt to appear friendly. No offer to shake hands.
“Who wants to know?” I slung my bag over my shoulder as I headed toward the old pickup I drive. Authority dude followed close behind, making my hackles rise even farther.
“If you are Samantha, I need to speak with you privately.”
I threw my bag into the back of my truck and turned around to look at him. I didn’t bother to keep the annoyance off my face when I realized how close he was standing to me. “Well, if I was Samantha, you’re in luck. There isn’t anyone else around.” I motioned toward the unoccupied parking lot. We were the only two people.