“Which is an interesting thing to call hoof rot.”
He flashed her a smile that made her throat tighten and her knees go weak. Maybe it was the little scar by his eyebrow or the chiseled lines of his jaw. Regardless, Cade was one intriguing man. If only he was into women who had yet to figure out what to do with their lives, oh, and who happened to be princesses.
She got out of the cab and started for the front door. As they climbed the porch steps, Cade put his hand on the small of her back.
“Just remember, my hoof rot stories are all yours,” he said quietly before opening the door.
“And people say chivalry is dead.”
He was still chuckling when they walked into the house.
Bethany had a brief impression of a spacious foyer and beautiful curved staircase. She and Cade followed the sound of conversation into a large living room.
At first glance she would have sworn there were at least fifty people sitting, circulating and talking, but then she realized there were maybe twenty or twenty-five. She recognized Pallas sitting on the arm of a club chair, her hand on the shoulder of the man next to her. A woman in her fifties with her brown hair in a tight bun detached herself from the group and approached them.
“You made it,” she greeted Cade, smiling, then turned so he could kiss her cheek.
“Hi, Mom. This is Beth Smith. I told you about her. She’s an American working in El Bahar. She works in the El Baharian royal stable and came with the stallion I purchased. Beth, my mother, Libby Saunders.”
“Mrs. Saunders, it’s so nice to meet you. Thank you for your gracious invitation.”
Cade’s mother looked her over in a second. From the slight twist to her mouth, she was obviously unimpressed. “Libby, please. So, you work in a stable?”
Cade stiffened. “Mom, it’s not like that. Beth has a lot of responsibility. Rida’s a big deal and Beth’s the one who makes the decision whether he stays or not. And it’s a royal stable.”
Libby’s expression didn’t change at all. “But you do work in a stable?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Libby linked arms with her son. “We have those cheese puffs you like so much, but don’t fill up on them before dinner. Cook outdid herself this year. I’m sure it’s because you’re home. You know I was talking to one of my sorority sisters the other day. She mentioned her middle daughter is single. I think you’d like Kimberly. She’s in her last year of residency. She’s a pediatrician.”
They moved out of earshot. Bethany stayed where she was, reveling in the sense of being just like everyone else. Cade’s mother had totally dismissed her because of her job. It was both sad and wildly funny. No wondered he’d warned her about Libby.
Pallas rushed over to her. “OMG! I’m so sorry. My mom is...” She pressed her lips together. “It’s the holidays. I won’t say what she is, but I’m thinking it really, really loud.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bethany told her. “I promise I’m totally fine.” Mostly because if Libby knew the truth, she would be beyond mortified. Bethany’s own mother would tell her this was the price she paid for deceiving people, but Bethany was okay with that. She would rather be dissed than fawned over any day.
“Come meet Nick, then let’s get champagne. Mom went all out with the good stuff. It’s because Cade is back. He’s so her favorite.”
“You sound okay with that.”
“I love him, too, so it’s hard to be mad. Plus, I’m happy with my life. That makes it easier to deal with her. Nick, this is Beth Smith. I told you about her.”
“Hello.” Nick was tall, with dark hair and eyes. He rose and shook her hand. “So you’re the little lady with the horse.”
“I am.”
“How’s he settling in?”
“He loves it here. He’s made friends with a barn cat and he’s eating well.”
“Wait until he meets the zebras,” Nick said, looking at Pallas.
His fiancée groaned. “Don’t remind me.” She turned to Beth. “I run a destination wedding business. I do themed weddings and over the summer I had a bride who was all about a black-and-white wedding. She begged me to rent the zebras, so I did. It was a nightmare.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Nick said calmly.
Pallas’s eyes widened. “They escaped. Cade and Carol had to chase them down. They could have been killed.”
He pulled her close and kissed her nose. “Always find that rain cloud, don’t you?”
Pallas smiled at him. “Is this where I remind you it did, in fact, rain that morning? And the DJ held up the wedding party.”
“With a flare gun.”
“Still, it was a gun!” Pallas turned back to Bethany. “My weddings are normally much more calm than that, believe me.” She pointed to the far side of the room. “Come on. Let’s get champagne. I’ll introduce you as we go, but don’t worry. You won’t be expected to remember any names.”
Drinks in hand, they circulated through the room as Pallas introduced Beth to her family. Cade joined them a few minutes later.
“Sorry about my mom,” he said, moving next to her.
“Don’t be. It’s fine. I’m not ashamed of what I do and if people have a problem with that, it’s not up to me to change them.”
Cade studied her for a second, as if thinking about her words, then he held out a plate with several cheese puffs. “These will make you feel better.”
“I can’t be won over with pastries,” she told him, then popped one in her mouth. An unexpected slight tang blended with the smooth cheese and the melting pastry. It was all she could do not to groan or grab the plate.
“I take it back,” she admitted. “I can be won over with pastries.”
Cade laughed, then looked at his sister. “Thanks, sis. I’ll take things from here.”
“Introduce her to Drew.” Pallas grinned. “Our cousin is very charming. He runs the bank.” She lowered her voice. “Which makes our mom crazy but you didn’t hear that from me.”
“We’ll save Drew for later,” Cade muttered, leading Bethany away.
For a second she allowed herself to hope it was because he was nervous about her meeting his successful cousin. That he might be worried about her reaction. And while that was probably wishful thinking, it still felt nice to pretend he saw her as more than the person who had accompanied his prize horse to Happily Inc.
*
IT WAS NEARLY ten o’clock before Bethany and Cade left for the ranch. She’d been seated with the younger cousins at dinner, at what was obviously the kids’ end of the table. Cade had started to complain to his mother, but Bethany had intervened, saying she was fine where she was. She’d had a great time talking movies and computer games with the teens and telling them about El Bahar. Years ago she’d learned that stories about her summers with the nomadic tribes often got her out of awkward conversational pauses. When in doubt, mention camping in a desert oasis.