“You,” Zain smiled lovingly down at her. “You’re all I want, Mila.”
Mila didn’t know she had started to cry until Zain wiped a tear away with the pad of his thumb. He reached down to the bed and pulled the hand-sewn quilt around her shoulders. Mila shook her head. “I don’t know how it happened, but I fell in love with you, too. All little girls want to marry a prince, but I wanted to be a superhero. I saw long ago that princes were not the stuff of fairy tales. They were those demanding men my father always seemed to be bowing down to. But you aren’t. You’re just Zain, and I love you, too.”
Zain’s lips came down onto hers and he kissed her breathless. “Then why are you crying, love?”
“Because I’ve never been happier.” Mila swiped at her tears. “Oh, Zain, what do we do now?”
Zain gave her such a roguish smile that she started to laugh. “We enjoy being in love, Mila. We will work together on everything else from now on. No secrets. Complete honesty. And together, we’ll live and love.”
Mila looked up and knew he meant every word. Tonight was a night to celebrate their love. Tomorrow would be soon enough to worry about their future, but just knowing they had one filled her heart. She didn’t care if he was a prince or a horse farm worker. Their hearts knew it was time to take a chance on love.
Mila pushed the quilt from her shoulders and enjoyed Zain’s surprised look. “Maybe we should just snuggle tonight until you’re more comfortable,” he said as he struggled to keep his eyes on her face.
“We can do that later, but now I’d really like to make love to the man who holds my heart.”
Zain’s kiss was slow and worshiping as he pulled her onto his kneeling lap. Mila wrapped her legs around his waist, entwined her fingers in his short hair, and deepened the kiss. She felt Zain shift as he reached for the condom. When he slid into her, she knew she’d love him forever.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Zain awoke with Mila halfway on top of him. He enjoyed the feel of her before having to open his eyes and leave in the early morning light. His heart was full of love and promise as he stroked the hair flowing down her back. Today he would allay her worries. He would ask her what she wanted, what her fears were, and he would find a way for them to be together. Even if it meant moving to Washington. With a plan in his mind, he opened his eyes and came face-to-face with a pair of beady eyes staring at him.
Zain jerked and Mila groaned. “No, don’t get up yet,” she mumbled as she threw a leg over his.
The eyes blinked rapidly as he looked from Zain to Mila. Zain moved to pull the quilt over Mila, but she kicked it off. “Stop, it’s hot up here.”
“Mila, move slowly,” he whispered.
“Why would I move slowly?” she asked as she sighed against his chest. “Oh, do you want to make love again?”
Zain kept his eyes trained on the beady black eyes blinking at him. Someone didn’t tell little Zain it was the wrong time. He instantly became hard at Mila’s words, and he rolled his eyes. As if they hadn’t been up most of the night together.
“I don’t want to alarm you, but we’re not alone.”
Mila stiffened and her eyes popped open. She went to scream but Zain pressed his hand over her mouth. “Do you want the whole B&B crowd storming up here again? And this time, I refuse to dive naked under the bed.”
“Zain, there is a squirrel sitting next to you,” Mila whispered. “And why is it wet?”
Zain chuckled softly as he kept his eye on the small squirrel curled up on the quilt next to his chest. “I see the squirrel, and I have no idea why the little thing is wet or why it’s staring at us. Move slowly so we can get out of bed without sending it running. Then I’ll try to catch it in the pillow case and take it outside.”
It took over a minute, but slowly they made their way off the bed while the squirrel kept his eyes on them. When they finally could stand, Zain tossed Mila her robe and stepped into his pants. He was about to grab the pillowcase when the squirrel stood up to stare at them.
“He must be a baby,” Mila said with her voice softening.
“His foot is injured. Look at how he’s holding it. I’ll call Wyatt and see if he can do anything,” Zain said as he pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a picture of the squirrel to text to Wyatt.
“Who’s he?” Mila asked as she looked around the room.
“He’s Sydney’s younger brother and a veterinarian. His mother, Katelyn, is also a vet. And you’ve seen his father, Marshall. He’s the sheriff of Keeneston,” Zain told her as he sent the picture and a text to Wyatt.
“The poor thing must have come in through the open bathroom window and fallen into the bathtub. I forgot to drain it last night. He’s lucky he didn’t drown. I wonder if that’s when he was injured?” Mila moved closer and the squirrel stopped to stare at her.
“I don’t know. He’s so small. He could have been injured while running from a predator and used the open window as the only means of escape.” Zain’s phone vibrated and he read the text. “Wyatt said to bring him in if we can. He can splint the leg if it’s injured and can care for it until healed if we can’t.”
“Of course we can. The poor baby. Look at him. He’s adorable and he trusts us. He came to us for help and we’ll take excellent care of him. We just need to find a basket to put him in. I’ll ask Poppy.”
Mila hurried around the room getting dressed as Zain shook his head. “Love, we’re not going to ask Poppy. We’re going to put that little guy in the pillowcase and I’m going to sneak downstairs and take him to the vet. Let’s meet in the secret room after you finish the farm tour and before the meetings start. I’ll give you all the updates Wyatt has given me. Sound good?”
“Damn. I forgot about the farm tour. I have to get going. It starts in an hour. Aren’t you giving it?” Mila asked as she looked for an outfit to wear that could be used for both the tour and a full day of meetings.
Zain shook his head. “No, the Belles are doing all the farm tours this week. It’s still a working farm so it’s hard to pull the amount of people we need to conduct these tours away from their work. So the Belles, a local charity group, are playing hostesses. I think Veronica said fifteen tours have been given to the media already, seven to staff, and they have six scheduled this morning.”
Zain slid a pillow from the case and slowly approached the squirrel. “Come on, little guy. Let’s get you looked at.” The squirrel blinked its eyes and sat still as Zain scooped him up in the case. “Can you hold him while I get dressed? It’s getting late. I hope no one is up yet.”
He handed the pillowcase to Mila. She instantly held the tiny squirrel like a baby and started rocking him. Zain got dressed quickly, stuffed his phone in his pocket, and headed for the door in the floor. He bent down to open it and froze. Voices. Lots of them. He stood up and quietly walked back to the bed.
“There are people down there,” he whispered.
“Then how are you going to leave? You’ll have to wait until we all do.”
Zain shook his head. “I can’t. I have to get home and prepare for today after I drop Squirrel off at the vet.”
Mila took a deep breath. Her cover was about to be blown. “Then there’s nothing left to do. We’ll have to admit to the affair.”
Zain headed to the window and raised it up. He stuck his head out and looked around in the early morning light. “No, there’s another option.”
“You are not climbing down that tree!”
“I climbed up it. I can climb down it. It’s an old tree with big sturdy branches. I’ll be fine. Once I get out, hand me Squirrel and I’ll tie the pillowcase to my belt.” Zain didn’t give Mila a chance to stop him. He straddled the windowsill and then stepped onto the branch he’d used the previous night. “Okay. Give me Squirrel.”