A Royal Mess and Her Knight To Remember (13 page)

“But…” She wet her lips with her tongue, then swallowed hard. “The job was temporary. I've got a ride. That was your whole thing, making sure I was taken care of, and now, you can see that I will be.”

He didn't release her hands. “This has nothing to do with any job, or seeing you taken care of.”

“What does it have to do with?”

She wanted to know right here, right now, in front of everyone.

“Do it,” Red said in a stage whisper beneath his breath. “Suck it up and do it.”

There was no sucking it up involved. He
wanted
to do this.

“Go ahead,” Seth called out. “Tell her.”

Tim tried to block everyone out because they wouldn't be quiet. “It has to do with us.”

“Yeah, that's the way to tell her!” Josh pumped his fist in the air. “Take it home, boss!”

“I'm trying.” Tim drew a deep breath. “It has to do with us, and the fact that I love you.”

A chorus of
woo-hoos
and whistles broke out behind them.

But in the aftermath of the commotion they made, Natalia's uncompromising silence was like a bomb falling.

“Y
OU LOVE ME
,”
Natalia repeated in a slow, careful voice she couldn't believe was hers. So calm. So together. No one could possibly know she'd had to lock her knees together to keep from falling. If she didn't shut her mouth, the next good wind would surely tip her right over.

“Yes.” Tim smiled rather disarmingly and glanced at their cheering audience. Well, Amelia and the bodyguards weren't cheering, but everyone else was. “Look, do you think we could go inside to discuss this?”

“Most certainly not, young man.” Amelia shook her umbrella at him. “She wouldn't be properly chaperoned.”

“Amelia, please.” Natalia smiled apologetically at Tim. “I've been with him all week.”

The uptight looking woman straightened to her considerable height and looked…more uptight.
“What?”

“Not like that,” Natalia said quickly, and most def
initely not meeting Tim's gaze. “I've been working here. Cooking. Helping out. Oh, Amelia…” She hugged the woman again. “I loved it. Working for a wage. Earning my way—”

“You don't need money.”

“I know, but—”

“Excuse me.” Tim waved a hand in front of them. “Hello? We were in the middle of something here.” To hell with the guards, he took Natalia's shoulders in his hands and turned her to face him.

Natalia looked into his eyes and everything she'd ever dreamed of were in them. “You love me,” she repeated. “Me, the woman.”

“I love you, the woman. The one who makes me laugh. The woman who brightens up my day. The woman I want to be with when I'm old and gray and can't find my horse.”

“But I can't cook American food.”

“No, but there's always chocolate bars and fast food. Natalia, be mine.”

“What about the princess thing?” She held her breath. At her side, Amelia made a move. Natalia held her back, afraid her beloved companion would close up her umbrella and beat Tim over the head with it before he answered. “Tim? You love me, the woman—but what about me, the princess?”

“She can come along, too.” He cupped her face
in his big, warm hands, just the way she loved. “I want all of you, Natalia. The leather, the denim, even the blue lip gloss. I want every part of your life.” He glanced at the men in black. “But them. They won't come along on the honeymoon, will they?”

Okay now she really couldn't breathe. “Honeymoon?”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, stroked her jaw. “Will you marry me? Make sure I don't collect too many geriatric animals or eat too much chocolate?”

“I love your geriatric animals,” she said with tears in her voice. “But…”

“There's a but?” He looked nervous now. “Amelia said no buts, remember?”

“I could never ask you to give up all this,” she whispered. “It means too much. And my home, my family, they mean a lot to me.”

“There has to be a way to compromise,” he said a bit desperately. “I could let Sally run this place half the time. Hell, she does it anyway—”

“Hey,” Sally said in protest.

Natalia gripped his wrist and stared up at him, truly stunned. “You'd leave this ranch? You'd come live with me in a country you've never even seen?”

Leaning closer, he kissed her. “Natalia, I'd live on
the moon, if that's where you were. I just want to be with you.”

She couldn't even blink, for fear this perfect, strong, warm, amazing man would disappear. “I want to live in Texas.”

Amelia cleared her throat.

“I do,” Natalia said without taking her eyes off Tim. “I'm sorry, Amelia. I love him.”

Amelia sniffed, then opened her satchel again and pulled out a purple silk handkerchief, which she brought up to her nose and loudly blew.

Natalia gaped at her. “Amelia?”

Sniff. Sniff.

“Are you…crying?” Natalia had never seen Amelia cry, never.

“Oh, dear.” Amelia blew her nose again, so loudly Mrs. Pig squealed.

Pickles started in, too, but Natalia could only stare at Amelia. “You're scaring me.”

“You have no idea how long I've waited for this event,” Amelia said. “It's true love. It's beautiful. You're going to be so happy.”

“But she hasn't agreed yet,” Tim said quietly. “Or said…
it.
”

“No,” Amelia agreed, swiping her eyes. “But she feels
it.
”

Natalia looked into Tim's anxious eyes. “I feel it,” she seconded.

“I want to hear you say it.”

She'd never done so before. She'd never even thought it. In fact, before Texas, before Tim, she'd honestly worried about herself, wondering how she'd ever manage to find a man who would love her for her.

That was no longer a fear. In fact, all her fears…gone. “I love you,” she said with the most conviction she'd ever felt. “I love you, Timothy Banning.”

Amelia beamed at Tim through her tears. “See?”

“A moment ago you were ready to clobber me with your umbrella,” Tim pointed out, looking a little baffled by Amelia's easy affection.

“She's fierce, but loyal.” Natalia couldn't help herself. Everything was perfect, and she cried and laughed at the same time. “And I don't want you to give up anything for me. I really do want to live here.” She looked at Amelia. “You'll come often.”

“You know I will.”

Tim looked positively flabbergasted.

“But there's one thing,” Natalia warned.

“Anything,” Tim promised rashly.

“If I'm not pregnant from the broken condom—”

Amelia gasped, then smacked Tim upside the back of the head.

He held his head. “Hey!”

“It wasn't his fault, Amelia.” Natalia grinned. “I think he needed a bigger size.”

The hoots and hollers from the gang increased intensely.

Tim, beet red, closed his eyes. “She's making that part up,” he muttered.

“As I was saying…” Natalia continued. “If I'm not pregnant…” She waited until Tim opened his eyes. “I want to be,” she finished softly. “Is that okay?”

Eyes suspiciously bright, Tim reached out and pulled her close. “Nothing has ever been more okay. I love you, Princess.”

“Her Serene Highness,” Amelia corrected him.

“How about Princess In The Wild, Wild West?” Red called out helpfully.

“How about Pain-In-My-Tushie turned Favorite-Sister-In-Law?” Sally called out, also helpfully.

“How about Mrs. Natalia Banning?” Tim said firmly.

Natalia's heart squeezed. “I like that one best.”

Jill Shalvis

Annie burst into the room, hitting Kyle in the butt with the door as he reached for his pants. Righting himself, he caught a flash of pink satin.

She grabbed his arms. “Not in your wildest dreams will you believe this.”

“Uh…” He ran his gaze down her pink satin nightmare of a dress. “Your sheep ran away and you need me to herd them for you?”

She grimaced. “See? You think Little Bo Peep, too!”

“Baby, that's the last thing I think of when I look at you.”

She went still, hands on his arms, eyes locked on his. “Kyle—” Suddenly she seemed to realize he was more than half-naked. With a hard swallow, she covered her eyes.

“Hey, you've seen it all before,” he protested.

“Just…take care of it.” She ground out the words.

“Well, okay.” Purposely misunderstanding her, he put his hands on the elastic band of his shorts, prepared to take them off. “But you could at least say please.”

“L
OOK
, I
OWE YOU
,
all right?”

“Yeah, just don't forget it.” Kyle Moore stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing a tux, for God's sake. It wasn't pretty. Neither was being squeezed into a dressing room the size of a thimble—all six feet three inches of him—with his baby brother peeking over his shoulder.

Kevin—some baby at just over six feet himself—took a good look. “Tomorrow that will be me,” he said, paling slightly.

“You can still run like hell. In no time you could be out of New Mexico on your way to anywhere. I'll even take you,” Kyle offered, in a blatant, desperate, last-ditch effort to get out of being the best man and having to wear the bloody tux.

Kevin smiled and shook his head. “Nah, I'm sort of fond of Taos. And of my life.” Reaching up, bashing his elbows on the walls in the process, he
attempted to adjust his brother's bow tie. “Besides, I'll look better in the tux than you do.”

“No doubt.” Kyle still wasn't sure how it had happened, but Kevin had gone ahead and done the unthinkable. He'd fallen in love. It made him do stupid things like sighing dreamily for no reason, or staring off into space for long moments at a time. It made him happy to be trying on a tux.

Insanity.

Kyle shuddered and hoped it wasn't contagious. Not that he had a problem with commitment. Hell, he'd been committed all his life. First, to helping his mother raise Kev, then to spending the last decade being a cop, taking down every scum he could get his hands on.

Truth be told, he was tired. Very tired. In fact, he wanted a nice long leave of absence to…do whatever. Bike across Europe. Sail the Greek Islands. Nap in the Bahamas. Anywhere far from here.

But right now, this tux was starting to itch. “I've got to get to work.”

“You just closed a case,” Kevin said. “You're entitled to a little personal time after killing yourself for weeks on end for the job.”

It was months, but who was counting. “I've got paperwork.”

“You work too hard, Kyle.”

Yes, but in all these years Kevin had never noticed before. Chances were, he hadn't really noticed until now—he just needed something from Kyle.

Well, too bad. Today was actually a day off, a rarity, and he didn't plan to waste another second of it. But before he could get out of the jacket, Kevin stopped him.

“Don't go yet.”

Kyle shrugged him off. “This thing is making me claustrophobic.”

“Badass cops don't get claustrophobic.”

“This one does.” Plus, it was hard to be a tough, badass cop wearing a ridiculously overpriced tux with a pink satin—
pink satin!
—cummerbund. “Who picked this color anyway?”

“Lissa,” Kevin admitted. “She has a thing for pink. It's not that bad, really. Squint your eyes a little and it even looks good.”

“Yeah, if I squint them closed.”

Kevin started fussing with Kyle's bow tie. “A guy only gets married once.”

“Not if he's lucky—” Kyle's eyes nearly
bugged out of his head when Kevin cranked the bow tie, cutting off his air circulation. “Hey!” he croaked, waving his hands. “Too tight.”

“It looks just right to me.”

Kyle shoved his brother's hands away and let in some air. Definitely, he was going to take a vacation. As soon as this was over. He'd go count sand granules in Mexico. Or go castle combing in Scotland. Maybe he'd never come back.

Well, he'd have to, because there was Kevin, who had always needed him.

And suddenly Kyle had to know his brother would be okay. “Hey, Kev…are you sure?”

“Sure?”

“About this.”

“Yeah, I think I'll look good.”

“Not the style of the tux, Kev. The wedding.”

“Are you kidding?” His brother set his chin on Kyle's shoulder and sent him a dopey grin. “Sex every night? Waking up with the woman of my dreams sharing my pillow? Having dinner ready for me when I get home?”

“I don't think women do that anymore.”

“Did I mention the sex every night part?”

“That's only if you handle the honey-do list
properly. She's going to tame you, man.” The thought terrified Kyle.

“Taming wouldn't be so bad, not if Lissa loves me every day for the rest of my life.”

Kyle gave up and sighed. “You've got it bad.”

“Yeah.” Kevin's grin went wicked as he lifted his pager and studied the message. “Oops, gotta go. Lissa's boss is heading out for a meeting.”

“So?”

“So Lissa wants lunch.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And I'm the entrée.”

“Oh, jeez.” Kyle winced at the image. “Don't tell me that stuff.”

“I have to. It's why you have to go back out there right now and do my fitting for me.”

“No way am I going back out there, it's a bridal shop. A three-story bridal shop filled with…bridal crap.”

“Exactly. You need the little dude with the pins sticking out of his mouth to measure you again. For me this time.”

“Once was bad enough.”

“Oh, come on, a guy can never get fondled enough.”

“No. I still can't believe I have to wear a tux, too. You're really going to owe me.”

“I'm begging you, bro.” Kevin waved the pager. “I have wild animal sex on the line here.”

“It won't work. I'm bigger than you are,” Kyle said a bit desperately because damn it, Kevin was giving him the puppy-dog eyes. He'd never, in all his sorry life, been able to resist the puppy eyes.

Some tough, badass cop he turned out to be.

“Not so much bigger,” Kevin wheedled. “Come on, please?”

“There are people out there.”

“Just a few women from the wedding party coming and going for their fittings, too. Please, Kyle? For me?”

“You want me to wear this tux for another half hour, just so you can get laid?”

“Well, yes.” Kevin beamed. “I'd do it for you, in a heartbeat.”

“You'll never have to,” Kyle vowed, weakening.
Damn.

“Then I'll do something else. Anything.”

“Yeah? Promise me you'll only get married once.”

Kevin laughed and slapped him on the back. “Deal. Now get out there and take it like a man. I'm going to sneak out back, and get it like a man.”