incidents. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You will make it perfectly clear to my daughter that she is above the common people. She is a ruler. It is in her bloodline.”
“In her bloodline,” Rosalind echoed, and without dropping a curtsy, she turned and stalked from the room.
“A nnie?” Brady’s voice tugged her from the past and put her back in the pickup truck beside him.
She blinked, glanced over. She still couldn’t believe she was here. Free for the first time since she was six years old and running off to the carnival for cotton candy. But now she fully understood the hidden threats her mother had been trying to protect her from. It was dangerous enough out here without anyone knowing she was a princess. What had she done?
Momentarily, she considered the consequences of her actions. Her father would be upset. Teddy would be confused. Rosalind would be alarmed. She regretted causing them any upset, but this was something she had to experience. Before she committed herself to Teddy for a lifetime, she had to see the world through different eyes. She couldn’t fully explain her longing to anyone else, but it had dogged her from infanthood—the feeling that there was a simpler path for her to follow.
She spoke of it to Rosalind. Carefully of course, testing the waters. Her nursemaid had assured Annie that her emotions were nothing more than prewedding jitters. She had been born into the complex life of royalty. There was no long-term escape. It was her duty, and should be her honor, to rule over Dubinstein with her husband.
Husband.
That was the sticking point. In less than two months she’d be forever shackled to a man she did not love. If only for a little while, she desperately wanted to know what it felt like to be desired by a man that she was attracted to.
A man like Brady Talmadge?
Just looking at him made her body grow warm in soft places. He wore faded jeans with a rip in one knee, probably caught it on barbwire once and never bothered mending it. His hair, as dark as the color she’d dyed her tresses, was neither clipped short nor long, but a medium length just on the right side of shaggy. She lowered her eyelids, looked at him through the fringe of her lashes, not wanting him to see that she was inspecting him.
Why not be honest? No point fooling herself. She was admiring him. All manly muscles and angular bones.
“Annie,” Brady repeated. “You awake?”
She had trouble hearing him over the masculine rumblings of the big diesel engine. “Yes.”
“Who were those guys?” he asked.
“What guys?” She stared at the dashboard of his truck. There were all kind of knobs and dials lit by a faint green light. A laser radar detector, GPS tracking device, and the satellite radio were mounted there. It reminded her that she had tossed her cell phone in the lake on her way from the presidential compound so that she couldn’t be tracked through the GPS inside it.
“You know what guys. The men at the restaurant. One tall. One short. Sunglasses at night. Fedoras. Not your typical truck stop patrons. The ones you were so anxious to hide from that you asked me to kiss you.”
“Oh, them. They were just some people I did not want to see,” she said.
“How come you didn’t want to see them? Were they old boyfriends?”
“That is a very impertinent question.”
“Impertinent, huh?”
“Examine this topic from my position if you will,” she said.
“What position is that?”
“You told me you do not like liars. Do not make me lie to you.”
“I don’t like people who keep secrets either. Secrets aren’t good for anyone. C’mon, let the truth out. You’ll feel better.”
“You cannot expect full disclosure from someone you just met.”
“Why not?”
“By nature, humans are reluctant to trust. Unscrupulous individuals could use their secrets against them. People need to protect themselves from getting hurt. Life never taught you that?”
“Life
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You will make it perfectly clear to my daughter that she is above the common people. She is a ruler. It is in her bloodline.”
“In her bloodline,” Rosalind echoed, and without dropping a curtsy, she turned and stalked from the room.
“A nnie?” Brady’s voice tugged her from the past and put her back in the pickup truck beside him.
She blinked, glanced over. She still couldn’t believe she was here. Free for the first time since she was six years old and running off to the carnival for cotton candy. But now she fully understood the hidden threats her mother had been trying to protect her from. It was dangerous enough out here without anyone knowing she was a princess. What had she done?
Momentarily, she considered the consequences of her actions. Her father would be upset. Teddy would be confused. Rosalind would be alarmed. She regretted causing them any upset, but this was something she had to experience. Before she committed herself to Teddy for a lifetime, she had to see the world through different eyes. She couldn’t fully explain her longing to anyone else, but it had dogged her from infanthood—the feeling that there was a simpler path for her to follow.
She spoke of it to Rosalind. Carefully of course, testing the waters. Her nursemaid had assured Annie that her emotions were nothing more than prewedding jitters. She had been born into the complex life of royalty. There was no long-term escape. It was her duty, and should be her honor, to rule over Dubinstein with her husband.
Husband.
That was the sticking point. In less than two months she’d be forever shackled to a man she did not love. If only for a little while, she desperately wanted to know what it felt like to be desired by a man that she was attracted to.
A man like Brady Talmadge?
Just looking at him made her body grow warm in soft places. He wore faded jeans with a rip in one knee, probably caught it on barbwire once and never bothered mending it. His hair, as dark as the color she’d dyed her tresses, was neither clipped short nor long, but a medium length just on the right side of shaggy. She lowered her eyelids, looked at him through the fringe of her lashes, not wanting him to see that she was inspecting him.
Why not be honest? No point fooling herself. She was admiring him. All manly muscles and angular bones.
“Annie,” Brady repeated. “You awake?”
She had trouble hearing him over the masculine rumblings of the big diesel engine. “Yes.”
“Who were those guys?” he asked.
“What guys?” She stared at the dashboard of his truck. There were all kind of knobs and dials lit by a faint green light. A laser radar detector, GPS tracking device, and the satellite radio were mounted there. It reminded her that she had tossed her cell phone in the lake on her way from the presidential compound so that she couldn’t be tracked through the GPS inside it.
“You know what guys. The men at the restaurant. One tall. One short. Sunglasses at night. Fedoras. Not your typical truck stop patrons. The ones you were so anxious to hide from that you asked me to kiss you.”
“Oh, them. They were just some people I did not want to see,” she said.
“How come you didn’t want to see them? Were they old boyfriends?”
“That is a very impertinent question.”
“Impertinent, huh?”
“Examine this topic from my position if you will,” she said.
“What position is that?”
“You told me you do not like liars. Do not make me lie to you.”
“I don’t like people who keep secrets either. Secrets aren’t good for anyone. C’mon, let the truth out. You’ll feel better.”
“You cannot expect full disclosure from someone you just met.”
“Why not?”
“By nature, humans are reluctant to trust. Unscrupulous individuals could use their secrets against them. People need to protect themselves from getting hurt. Life never taught you that?”
“Life
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