The Cowboy and the Princess Read Free Page A

guests would always be screened, some wouldn’t be allowed near me and those that were admitted would be coached on etiquette before they came into my presence. It would never really be a truly free experience completely of my own choosing…except for this one summer.”
    “I see,” he said. And he did. He was another one of those people who was playing the game that kept her from her goals. “Well then, I really am sorry.”
    She looked at him. “You could let me go my own way.”
    Owen chuckled. He gestured toward her bodyguards.
    “Well, of course I’d take them with me,” she said.
    And probably ditch them as soon as she was able, Owen thought, remembering what Andreus had told him and trying not to think about the wistful sound in her voice when she’d told him how long she’d been planning her princess prison break.
    “Sorry, Princess. I don’t lie to my friends, and Andreus is the best. You’re mine for a while.” Which was such a poor choice of words. “Guest-wise, that is,” he added.
    “You’re not going to do that, are you?”
    Okay, she had him there. “Do what?”
    “Call me Princess as if it’s my name.”
    “It’s what you are.”
    She raised her chin. “Please.”
    And there was such longing in her voice that he couldn’t keep from pursuing the subject. “Please what?”
    She hesitated. “I know you’ve made promises to my family, and Andreus says that you’re a very honorable man—the best of men.”
    Which only showed how deluded and blind Andreus could be, but Owen didn’t need to share that information with Delfyne. There was no need to explain his own flawed soul and even more flawed character to her. “I sense a however coming on,” he said.
    The beauty took a deep and visible breath that lifted the pale blue silk of her blouse and made Owen wish that he could do as she asked and send her away.
    “All right. You’re an honorable man. However , I would liketo ask one favor of you that would not necessitate you breaking your word to my family,” she said in a quiet voice. He could see that, although she was brazening it out, she had no real sense that he was going to do whatever she intended to ask of him. Dread filled him. He had a history of failing women. His mother, his wife and Nancy, who had sought him out last year and only wanted him to give her a baby…and now? Damn Andreus.
    “Ask,” he said, his voice terse. He believed in facing the difficult stuff.
    “I…How many people know that I’m here for a visit?”
    Owen blinked. “My employees know that I’m having a guest. That’s it.” He wasn’t exactly a sharing kind of man.
    “Do they know who I am? What a question. Of course they do, but still…” She seemed distressed.
    Frowning, Owen realized what this must be about. Of course. She was royalty, sent to what must seem like Siberia. And yet she would be used to special treatment, the kind she wouldn’t think she could get here.
    “I’m afraid they don’t know you’re a princess. At least not yet. I only told them this morning that I would be having a guest. I haven’t shared any of the particulars.” Because he’d hoped, right up until the last possible moment, that Andreus would realize that this was a bad idea and call the whole thing off.
    “But don’t worry,” he told Delfyne. “I tend to be a bit closemouthed and that can be a problem at times, but the Second Chance has guests frequently. Usually, they’re businesspeople who like the novelty of staying at a ranch, but even with someone more exalted, my employees are up to the task. You’ll be treated well.”
    “That’s not my concern. I just…If they don’t already know, that’s a good thing. I don’t want to be a princess.”
    Owen blinked. He wanted to groan. Surely she wasn’t asking him to help her break free of her birthright? “Excuse me?”
    A sad look eased into those lovely eyes. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Of course I’m proud of who and what