The Cowboy and the Princess by Myrna Mackenzie Page B

you’re allergic to the damn dirt for all I know. Probably for all you know, too. I don’t like the feeling that we’re acting like the ugly stepsisters and treating you like Cinderella among the cinders. I’ll bet you haven’t spent much time playing in the dirt.”
    She couldn’t help laughing then. He sounded so chagrined.
    “Maybe I missed out on a lot being a princess. You should go. I’m only on my second room and there are a lot more to do.”
    He looked around the room, which was, Delfyne was delighted to realize, sparkling, even if the bedspread was hanging a bit crooked.
    “I cleaned the bathroom, too,” she pointed out. “All by myself.”
    He grinned then. “You don’t say.”
    “I do say.”
    “For a princess you’re quite a surprise.”
    She laughed again. “You know a lot of princesses?”
    “What do you think?”
    “I don’t know. Andreus tells me that you’re very wealthy. You could travel in higher circles if you wanted. I know some princesses who would definitely be interested in catching your eye.”
    He raised a brow and an unfamiliar sense of warmth crept up her spine and her face.
    “You’re blushing, Delfyne.”
    “No, I’m not. Princesses don’t.”
    “All right.” He shrugged. “You’ve done a fine job here,” he said, motioning to the room.
    “Thank you.”
    “But I think you’ve done enough.”
    Delfyne tilted her head, confused. “Did I do something wrong?”
    “No, I did. I let this get out of hand. You were supposed to be having a little fun, not laboring, and I…You ripped your blouse.”
    “It’s a very small tear.”
    “But that’s a pretty blouse. You’re not used to this kind of thing.”
    “You just said I did a good job.”
    “And you did, but…I just got through talking to Alice, Ennis’s wife. She told me she spoke with Lydia when Lydia was leaving the ranch.”
    “Yes. Lydia had a task to do.”
    “I know that, but—”
    “But what?” Delfyne wondered why Owen looked so perturbed.
    He said something beneath his breath that she couldn’t make out. “Alice tells me I’m being a very bad host. She said I’ve never treated a guest so badly before.”
    Delfyne’s eyes opened wide. “Why did she say that?”
    “Because…she’s right, you know. You’ve been here for days, and I’ve kept you a virtual prisoner in the house.”
    “You don’t have to explain. I know that I tend to stand out. All your employees look at me as if they wonder who I really am. I suppose you don’t often have totally unexplained guests who stay the whole summer.”
    Owen frowned. “I don’t want you to worry about that. My employees might wonder about you, but they’d never talk about you. They’re loyal.”
    “But not everyone in town would be loyal. They would ask alot of questions that might be tricky to answer. I know I don’t exactly look or sound as if I’m an American.”
    “So…you don’t want me to take you to visit the town as Alice suggested?”
    Delfyne’s heart leaped. She did want to go to town, but Owen was beating himself up for not having seen that. This Alice woman had criticized him and made him seem like a bad host. For some reason, that made Delfyne angry, even though the woman had been taking her side.
    “I’m perfectly fine,” Delfyne lied. But she could see by the look in Owen’s eyes that he didn’t believe her.
    “Let’s go,” he said.
    “Go where?”
    “Out. Lunch. With Lydia gone, I’ll bet you haven’t eaten.”
    But then she would be sitting across from him, staring into those amazing eyes and looking at that chest and those shoulders and listening to the deep timbre of his voice, which gave her shivers and made her susceptible and…she hated being susceptible. Being susceptible had resulted in too many very bad and regrettable, humiliating experiences. That just wasn’t going to happen, especially not with a man who could cause her so much heartache and regret. She so didn’t want this time in her