The Princess And The Cowboy

by Lois Faye Dyer

  An hour later, Lily waved goodbye as Chris and Amanda pulled away from the park, relieved that her friend apparently hadn’t identified Justin. Still, it was only a matter of time. Lily had to wonder how long before some newspaper reporter spotted Justin with Ava and put two and two together.

  She hoped that day was far in the future. She wasn’t ready to field questions about Justin’s place in her and Ava’s life.

  “There we go.” Justin snapped the latch on Ava’s car seat, kissed her cheek and stepped back, closing the door. “I have to fly to Portland overnight on business, but I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon,” he said as he turned to Lily. “Are you okay with me dropping by to help you with Ava after work?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “We can’t tomorrow night. I have a date.” She hadn’t meant to tell him quite that bluntly, but on the other hand, she was determined not to feel guilty over this. Besides, it was a charity fund-raiser and the man she was going with was a business connection—a lingerie buyer for a string of boutiques located in cities along the Pacific Coast from Seattle to San Diego.

  “A date,” Justin said flatly. He stared at her, his eyes narrowing. The easygoing charm disappeared and he looked suddenly dangerous. “Who’s watching Ava while you’re out?”

  “My next-door neighbor, Mrs. Baker.”

  “Cancel her. I’ll stay with Ava.”

  Startled, she felt her eyes widen in alarm. She hadn’t expected this. “I booked Mrs. Baker weeks ago, Justin. I can’t cancel at the last minute—she’s retired and baby-sits to supplement her social security income.”

  “I’ll pay her whatever her usual rate is, plus a bonus for the late-cancellation.” His mouth tightened, a muscle flexing along his jawline. “Unless you don’t trust me to take care of Ava.”

  “No,” she denied hastily. “It’s not that. I know you’d take good care of her, but…”

  “Good,” he interrupted. “Then we’re set. What time shall I be at the house?”

  “Around eight.”

  “See you then.”

  He strode away toward his vehicle. Lily climbed behind the wheel of her car, still not sure exactly what had happened. She’d expected he wouldn’t be pleased when he learned she was going out. Despite her denial there was anything between them beyond their mutual love for Ava, she had to constantly resist the sexual attraction that pulsed between them. She was fairly sure he felt it, too.

  She hadn’t anticipated he would offer to babysit while she was out. She truly didn’t have any qualms about leaving Ava in his care. He adored her and was fully capable of caring for her, especially since she’d have her cell phone with her at all times and he could call if he had any questions. No, it was herself she wasn’t sure about. She felt oddly as if she was betraying him by going out on a date with someone else.

  She frowned and got into the car, slamming the door closed.

  I have no reason whatsoever to feel guilty.

  Yet she did.

  It was extremely annoying. And disconcerting since there was no reason she should feel any loyalty to Justin.

  The next evening, Justin knocked on Lily’s door at 7:45. He thought he’d wrestled his anger into submission, but when she answered his knock, outrage roared back to life. Which I’ve got no right to feel since she’s not mine, at least not yet, he told himself.

  “Hello.” She wore a little black dress with a scoop neck and tiny sleeves. The hem reached her knees, but the slim skirt had a slit up one side that flashed several inches of pale thigh when she stepped back, holding the door open.

  “Hi.” He walked past her and into the house, his nostrils flaring as he caught the subtle scent of her perfume. Swallowing a growl, he waited for her to close the door and move ahead of him.

  “Is Ava asleep?” he asked as he followed Lily into the kitchen area.

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Yes. I’m afraid she’s catching a summer cold. She’s been cranky and sneezing all day and didn’t eat all her dinner. I gave her children’s aspirin before I put her to bed.” She stopped at the counter and picked up a pen, writing on a sheet of paper. “I’m jotting down the pediatrician’s after-hours number and my cell phone number.” She scanned the note before handing it to him. “The Pink Ladies Society dinner is being held in the Oasis Room at the Sheraton downtown—I gave you that number, too, just in case my cell phone isn’t reachable inside the hotel. If you have any questions or if Ava wakes and you can’t get her back to sleep, please call me. I’ll come home right away.”

  “Does she have a fever?” Justin scanned the list of numbers.

  “She didn’t have one before I put her to bed.” Lily bit her lip, clearly torn. “Maybe I should cancel tonight. I’ve never been away from Ava when she wasn’t feeling well.”

  Much as Justin didn’t want Lily going out with some other guy, neither did he want her to stay home when she was dressed for an evening out. Besides, the function she was attending was a fund-raising benefit for Virginia Mason Hospital. He recognized the name of the event because he’d declined an invitation and sent a donation the week before. Maybe this evening was a business function and not a real date. He didn’t know and he damned sure wasn’t going to ask, but something inside him urged him to soothe Lily’s nerves and reassure her.

  “If she wakes and I have any problems, I’ll call you immediately,” he promised. “You shouldn’t cancel your plans because our little girl has the sniffles.”

  “She can be very high-maintenance when she doesn’t feel well,” Lily warned, clearly worried.

  “So can you,” he said. “Remember the weekend we spent in your apartment when you caught a cold? I fed you chicken soup and we watched a marathon of classic movies?”

  Her eyes darkened and a faint rose tinted her cheeks. “Yes, I remember,” she murmured, her voice soft.

  The doorbell rang, ending the charged moment.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she said with annoyance. “I told Doug not to ring the doorbell. He’ll wake Ava.” She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the room.

  Justin followed, standing behind her when she pulled open the door.

  “Doug—hi.”

  “Hi, Lily.” The lanky man on the porch swept her with one all-encompassing glance, appreciation gleaming in his dark eyes. “You look great.”

  “Thanks. I’d ask you in, but we’re running late so we should probably go. Justin…” She looked over her shoulder and jumped slightly when her arm brushed his shirtsleeve, because he stood within touching distance. “Please call me if Ava wakes and seems worse, especially if she’s running a temperature.”

  “I will.” Justin tucked a wayward tendril behind her ear, his fingers brushing the curve of her jawline. She started, her eyes flaring in surprise. He looked away from her and met the other man’s eyes with a hard stare. “You kids have fun now. And drive carefully.”

  Doug’s expression went from surprise at the possessive gesture when Justin’s hand touched Lily’s hair to speculation. His hand cupped Lily’s elbow and drew her over the threshold onto the porch beside him.

  “Don’t wait up,” he said, his voice bordering on hostile.

  Justin’s smile bared his teeth. Fortunately, he kept from snarling. Just barely. “Oh, I’ll be here when you get back,” he said, his voice dangerously soft.

  “Call me if Ava runs a temp,” Lily said, giving him a threatening, you’re-so-going-to-pay-for-this look.

  He nodded and leaned against the doorjamb, watching as Doug handed Lily into a sleek BMW and they drove away.

  He went inside, restraining the urge to slam the door because he didn’t want to wake Ava.

  Inside the car, Lily drew a deep breath.

  “What was that all about?” Doug asked, downshifting the roadster as they slowed for a stop sign. “Who was that guy?”

  “Justin? He’s the baby-sitter—he’s watching Ava tonight.”

  “That’s not all he’s watching,” Doug commented. He glanced a
t her. “You’re not married, are you, Lily?”

  She stared at him, affronted. “Of course I’m not married—I wouldn’t be going out with you if I were.”

  “You might want to tell your baby-sitter that,” Doug said. “Because he’s making noises like a husband.”

  “I’m sure you’re mistaken,” Lily managed to say calmly even as her fingers squeezed her small evening purse until they left dents in the smooth black satin. “He offered to stay with Ava tonight. She adores him and he’s very good with her, but that’s all there is to it.” Privately, Lily agreed with Doug. Justin was acting as if she belonged to him. She’d have to talk to him as soon as she got home. She knew him too well. If she gave him an inch, he’d take a mile, and she wasn’t getting involved with him again.

  The only connection possible for them was their mutual love for Ava, she told herself firmly. End of story.

  The evening was a complete success—from a business standpoint. Lily made several new contacts, reconnected with a number of current clients and visited with friends in the industry. On a personal level, however, the dinner hour, followed by dancing, wasn’t so successful. Doug worked the crowd with ease, which meant he spent far more time away from her side than with her. Oddly enough, Lily didn’t mind. He’d been asking her out for months and she’d finally agreed, thinking the business function would be a good testing ground for whether she should say yes to a regular dinner-and-movie date.

  She had her answer before the evening was over. When he drove her home and parked outside her town house, she suspected he knew what she was going to say.

  “Thanks for tonight, Doug.” She released her seat belt and turned to look at him. “It was fun.”

  “It was an extension of our workday, only in better clothes,” he said wryly. “And with better food, at least for me. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself—but I’m guessing tonight was a one-time-only deal.”

  “I’m sorry, Doug, my life is…complicated at the moment.”

  “Yeah, I noticed. All six feet of him,” he said, giving her a small smile.

  “You’re being a good sport about this,” she said softly, grateful he was taking rejection so well.

  “I wouldn’t be if I thought I had a chance with you, but something tells me I’m going to have to settle for coworker status.”

  “My work life is in far better shape than my personal life at the moment, Doug, so you’re getting the best of the two, trust me.”

  He laughed and pushed open his door. As he rounded the hood of the roadster, the light over the town house door switched on.

  Doug handed Lily out of the car. He kept her hand enclosed in his and bent forward. “Do you want me to come in with you? I’d be glad to explain to your baby-sitter that we’re just friends,” he murmured in her ear.

  “No, thanks. I appreciate the offer, but I’m good.”

  Doug brushed his lips against her cheek in a light kiss and stepped back, releasing her. “I’ll wait here until you’re inside,” he told her.

  “Spoken like a true gentleman, Doug.”

  He grinned ruefully. “You’ve got my number. Call me if you ever change your mind about wanting more than a business relationship.”

  She laughed and walked away from him up the sidewalk, turning to wave when she reached the porch. He lifted a hand in reply, and as she climbed the steps, she heard the car’s engine turn over. Just as she reached the top step and crossed the porch, Justin stepped outside.

  “How’s Ava?” she whispered as she entered, turning to look at him as he followed and locked the door behind them.

  “She was awake earlier, but she’s sleeping now.”

  Relief washed over Lily. “And her temperature? Did she have a fever when she woke?”

  “No, but her pajamas were damp so I changed her. Then I gave her some water, we sang and walked the floor awhile, and she went back to sleep.” He glanced at his watch. “That was about an hour ago. She hasn’t stirred since.”

  “Thank goodness.” She looked up at him and frowned. “We need to talk. Come into the family room so we don’t wake Ava.”

  The lights in the kitchen area were turned off. Only the lamp on the sofa table and the television glowed, casting fitful shadows into the far corners of the room.

  Lily was too intent on confronting Justin to register the intimacy fostered by the gentle glow. She walked farther into the room, dropped her purse on the ottoman and turned to face him.

  He leaned against the doorjamb, watching her with an inscrutable expression.

  “What was that about—earlier?” she demanded.

  “What?”

  “The way you acted when Doug picked me up.”

  “Oh. That.”

  “Yes, that.” She crossed her arms and glared at him. “He actually asked me if I was married—because you were acting like a husband.”

  “Did he?” Justin shoved away from the door frame and prowled toward her.

  “Yes. And he’s right about one thing—you were being territorial.” She refused to back away from him. He kept coming until only inches separated them and she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. “You have no right to suggest that there’s something between us. Except for Ava, we aren’t connected. We aren’t even casually dating. We aren’t…anything.”

  “We aren’t dating,” he agreed, his voice so gravelly Lily barely understood him. “But we are definitely something.”

  Before she could utter a denial, his arms slipped around her and he yanked her tight against him. His mouth took hers.

  Lily instinctively struggled against the intensity of the unleashed passion in his kiss. She gripped his biceps, pushing him away.

  For a moment, she was afraid he was too out of control to respond, but then he froze, his muscles going rock-hard beneath her hands. She felt the tension in his body as he seemed to struggle to rein in raging emotions before his hold eased and he lifted his head.

  “Lily—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The muttered words were barely intelligible.

  No longer restrained, she was swamped by sensory overload, surrounded by powerful arms that cradled her against his chest, the long muscles of his thighs rock-hard against hers. She caught her breath in an attempt to shore up her defenses, but instead drew in the scent of subtle aftershave and pure male that was unique to him.

  “Justin,” she breathed, aching. I’ve missed you—missed this.

  Need swamped caution and her hands left his biceps and reached for him, her arms slipping around his neck as she went up on her toes. Her lips touched his and he groaned, wrapping her closer. His lips seduced hers, setting off a firestorm of heat that had her heart pounding and temperature skyrocketing.

  A very small section of her brain was still capable of sanity, and allowed her to summon the strength to pull away from him at last. “This isn’t going to happen,” she said, her voice husky with emotion and arousal. “I’m not going there again with you.”

  “Too late. We’re already there.” His voice was raspy with arousal and conviction.

  “No, it’s not too late,” she said fiercely, shaking her head in denial.

  His arms loosened, his hands resting on her waist as she swayed, disoriented, before she found her footing and stepped away from him.

  “I want you to leave.”

  He stared at her silently, frustration evident in the taut line of his jaw. “I’ll go,” he said, his voice a rough murmur. “But let’s be straight about this—whether you’re ready to accept it or not, there’s still something between us. And it’s a lot more than nothing.” He turned and strode away from her, halting at the doorway to look back at her. “I’ll be back to see you—and Ava—tomorrow.”

  He left and she waited, arrow-straight and immobile, until the soft sound of the front door closing behind him reached her.

  Then she wilted, her shoulders sagging as she lowered herself unsteadily onto the nearby sofa.

  I won’t fall for him again
. I won’t. She wrapped her arms around her midriff, her body trembling.

  The potential for heartbreak was all too real. She wasn’t sure she’d survive if he walked away from her again.

  And he would. She was convinced of it. Despite his obvious absorption with Ava at the moment, she was sure he’d grow tired of the novelty of being a father, and when the reality of day-to-day life with a toddler sank in, he’d be gone. Maybe he’d send cards on her birthdays, maybe he’d help with college bills, but Lily couldn’t imagine Justin would sign on for being more than an occasional presence in his daughter’s life. He lived in Idaho most of the time, and even if he visited in Seattle, how long could he take time away from the ranch to spend hours with Ava?

  I just have to get through this initial honeymoon stage he’s in with Ava, she told herself. Then life will return to normal.

  She stood and headed upstairs to her bed. Somewhere deep within, a small voice wondered if maybe, just maybe, this time, Justin wouldn’t leave.

  Chapter Five

  J ustin called himself seven kinds of fool as he drove away from Lily’s town house.

  I shouldn’t have pushed her, he thought. I should have been understanding.

  But knowing she’d spent the evening with another man had wiped out every civilized instinct he had. Some primal need to mark her as his had compelled him to kiss her and replace the other guy’s touch with his.

  He knew he wasn’t being reasonable, but the knowledge didn’t seem to help his reaction to the thought of Lily allowing another man close enough to touch.

  He dragged his hand down his face.

  What the hell’s going on with me?

  He’d stayed away from Lily for two years. Now he wondered if he’d only put all his emotions on hold when he’d left her and they’d been dammed up, ready to spring free when seeing her with Ava opened the floodgates.

  Whatever the answer was, he didn’t see himself going back to the numbed-out state he’d been in over the past months. Not with Lily and Ava back in his life.