Mila looked doubtful but she complied. Zain slid the top of the pillowcase under his belt where she noticed a gun and then tied it in a knot. Mila leaned out the window. Zain leaned forward and kissed her quickly on the lips. “I love you, Mila.”
“I love you, too. Be careful.”
Zain sent her a wink and started to slowly descend from the tree. He moved from branch to branch and soon was able to hang from the last branch and drop to the grass below. He looked up and saw Mila watching him. He blew her a kiss and she smiled before ducking back into her room to get ready for the day.
Zain was about to turn around when water jetted against his back. “Oh, dear me. I’m so sorry!” The water turned off and Zain turned with water dripping to see Miss Lily standing on the porch with a hose in her hand. “I was just watering my roses and I didn’t even see you there. I mean, why would I be looking out for a prince dropping from my tree?”
“Yet you saw me dropping from the tree and sprayed me anyway.” Miss Lily blinked innocently and Zain shook his head. “It’s not what it looks like. I was rescuing a squirrel.”
Miss Lily snorted. “Your father should have thought of that excuse when I caught him coming down one of my trees. I just can’t keep you Ali Rahman men out of them.”
“What does my father have to do with this?”
“Nothing, dear. I’m sure you think your father and mother are just old and boring.”
Well, yeah. He made a mental note to ask his dad about this. He untied the pillowcase and held it open for Miss Lily to look into. “No, really. I was rescuing a squirrel.”
“Oh, poor dearie. And every squirrel needs a pair of red panties to keep him warm,” Miss Lily said before going back to water her prized roses.
Zain snapped the bag back and looked inside. Shit. When he’d scooped up Squirrel, he’d also scooped up Mila’s panties. “Don’t say anything, Miss Lily.”
“Humph. As if I would say anything.”
“You could get her fired if anyone found out.”
Zain saw Miss Lily wince and hoped he’d made his point. “I promise. I won’t say a word.”
Zain stepped up onto the porch and bussed her paper-thin cheek. “Thank you, Miss Lily.”
Zain hurried from the old house and up the street to where he’d attempted to hide his car. Instead of finding it parked alone as he’d left it, he found Abby leaning against her car parked next to his.
“Long night?” Zain asked pleasantly. Abby was pissed. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she stared at him.
“Very long thanks to you running off like that. I had to search for you.”
“No, you didn’t,” Zain said as he unlocked his car.
“Okay, I didn’t. I just followed the SUV’s GPS. But I did have to stay up all last night watching the B&B. And now I’m tired and hungry. What are you carrying?” Abby finally asked.
“A squirrel.”
“Don’t be an ass.”
“No, really, a squirrel,” Zain opened the pillowcase and Abby looked in.
“Why is your admittedly cute baby squirrel wrapped up in red panties?”
Zain felt himself blush. Abby was like his sister, and he did not talk about his sex life with her.
“Oh, eww. I didn’t need to see that,” Abby complained when she saw him blush. “But, for the record, I like Mila. A lot. Which means I’ll kick your ass if you muck this up.”
“I’ll try not to. Now, I have to meet my father. Can you take Squirrel to Wyatt’s?”
“No, but I can have someone meet us at the gate and you can hand Squirrel off to him. And he can take him to Wyatt. I’ve been charged with watching you until we get home, where, upon your royal arrival, I’m going to take a nap.”
Zain wanted to argue, but it was getting late and Wyatt was expecting him. “Fine. I’ll call Wyatt and ask if he can meet me to pick up the patient.”
Abby started her car and waited for Zain to get in his. Zain called Wyatt as he drove home.
“You think it’s broken?” Wyatt asked.
“I do. If not, it’s serious enough he won’t put any weight on it.”
“I can just meet you at the farm and bring some supplies with me. That way he can stay with you if you want.”
“Thanks. I’ve grown close to the little guy rather quickly.”
“He’s not the only one you’ve grown close to rather quickly,” Wyatt teased.
Dread filled Zain. “What do you mean?”
“That you spent the night with Mila and got busted climbing out her window.”
“Shit. Miss Lily swore she wouldn’t say anything. She knew how important it was that our relationship is kept secret. Mila could get fired now.” Zain slammed his hand on the steering wheel.
“No, she won’t. Miss Lily only texted Kenna, who texted my mom, who told me. You know we won’t say anything to any of the tourists.”
Now Zain groaned. “And Kenna probably texted my mom. This is a living nightmare.”
“Probably. She probably told Aunt Paige, too. And Aunt Annie. And Aunt Tammy. And Aunt Gemma. And Aunt Morgan. But I’m sure that’s it,” Wyatt said, trying to sound reassuring.
“Thanks, you’re a true friend,” Zain said dryly.
“I only told Carter when I was out at his farm a moment ago. So it’s no big deal. At least Mila isn’t running away from you anymore. And here you thought you couldn’t even get her to date you. Oh yeah, and Carter says congrats. He talked with her yesterday and really liked her. I’m pulling up to your house now.”
Zain was getting ready to turn into the farm so he wasn’t far behind.
“Zain, umm, you might want to step on it. Your cousin is on the front porch throwing a hissy fit.”
When Zain pulled to a stop, Jamal was standing on the porch in black silk pajama bottoms, a huge gold necklace, and nothing else. He waved his arms at Kareem, Veronica, Ahmed, and Wyatt who stood on the grass looking up at him. Zain cursed again. How, after the most perfect night, had this already turned into a horrible day? Zain parked and Abby pulled up next to him with a sadistic smile on her face.
“This should be fun,” she said under her breath as they walked toward the growing group listening to Jamal’s rant.
“And Zain wasn’t here again this morning to serve me breakfast! How am I to live? He’s trying to starve me to death to become the next king!” Jamal railed.
“Your Highness,” Wyatt said in his slow, confident Southern drawl. “Zain was out rescuing a squirrel. I’m sure you could have just headed to the main house to have breakfast with the other dignitaries, isn’t that right, Veronica?”
Veronica nodded. “I told him that when he called me earlier.”
“Your Highness, what is it you need right this instant?” Nabi asked, his voice tight with restraint.
“I want my breakfast in bed!” Jamal stomped his foot and Zain lost it. Nabi and Ahmed were not allowed to speak to Jamal with anything other than respect that the heir to the crown supposedly deserved. But Zain was also a potential king, and that earned him a little leeway.
“Why don’t you cry about it?” Abby beat him to the punch.
Zain whipped his head to the side to see Abby pushing past an open-mouthed Veronica. Ahmed shook his head in warning to his daughter who just ignored him.
“Excuse me? You, bow before me and beg my forgiveness,” Jamal ordered. Zain saw Ahmed’s jaw tighten and his hand clench into a fist.
“Kiss my grits, you spoiled brat,” Abby shot back before marching up the stairs and getting into Jamal’s face, which wasn’t hard to do since he was about Abby’s height. “Someone needs to teach you manners.”
“Abigail,” Ahmed warned his daughter.
Jamal sneered at Abby. “Ahmed, take your daughter and punish her for disrespecting her prince.”
Zain shot his hand out and grabbed Ahmed’s shoulder. “Jamal,” Zain said with barely restrained anger. “Go inside. Get dressed. We need to have a talk with your father.”
“I’ll have her whipped for this disrespect,” Jamal spat as he reached back and slapped Abby across her cheek. Abby’s head snapped to the side, a small trickle of blood fell from her lip.