The Princess and the Cowboy

Lily’s vehement words were more denial than confirmation, but Justin’s heart leapt just the same. He’d felt numb for the last two years, and the pound of his heart in his chest after so long was startling.

“I want you to leave,” Lily said quietly.

“We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t. There’s nothing to discuss. Ava and I have a life. You’re not part of it. Go away.” Her voice was a shade less quiet, and a faint tremor shook her.

Ava’s smile disappeared. She looked from Justin to her mother, then back again, her little face concerned. “Mama?”

“Please go. This is upsetting Ava.”

“All right, I’ll leave.” Justin kept his voice even, his tone mild. “But we have to talk. I’ll call you at the shop in the morning.”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she merely nodded, then walked to the door and held it open, closing it silently behind him.

Lily stared at the door. She was shaking, tremors of shock and anger rippling in waves from her midsection through to her arms and into her fingertips. She’d never expected Justin to show up on her doorstep. He must have known Meggie was lying to him when he’d telephoned and then dropped by the shop.

There had to be dozens of women listed in his little black book who would be delighted to take his calls. Why did he have to come looking for her? If she’d thought there was any possibility he wouldn’t move on to greener pastures after he was unable to reach her earlier, she would have been more careful. She certainly wouldn’t have opened her front door with Ava in her arms.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut, trying to erase the image of him standing on her doorstep. He wore polished black cowboy boots, and worn Levi’s covered his long legs and powerful thighs. His pale blue cotton shirt screamed designer-label and she was sure the gold watch on his wrist was a Rolex. When he’d smiled at Ava, dimples dented the tanned skin of his cheeks. With his coal-black hair, piercing blue eyes and muscled body, honed by jogging and long hours working on the Idaho ranch he loved, Justin Hunt was every woman’s dream.

Except mine, she thought fiercely. Justin Huntis my own personal nightmare. And contrary to her assumptions, he seemed entranced by Ava. The possibility that he might have wanted to know she’d become pregnant with his baby was unacceptable. And frankly terrifying. She shuddered, unwilling to consider that she might have misjudged him.

Ava wiggled, babbling a protest, and Lily realized she was clutching her too tightly.

“I’m sorry, honey,” she crooned, brushing a kiss against the toddler’s quickly drying curls. “Mama didn’t mean to scrunch you.” She shifted Ava higher, the little body a warm, reassuring weight against her chest. “Let’s go put your jammies on and find a book to read before your bedtime, okay?”

Ava responded with her own babbled version of English, her unintelligible sentences liberally sprinkled with “Mama.”

Lily distracted herself with Ava’s nighttime rituals of donning pajamas and reading two Sandra Boynton books with Lily, then she dimmed the lights for fifteen minutes of cuddling in the rocking chair before tucking the sleepy little girl into her crib.

But when she went back downstairs, the house quiet about her, there was no escaping the flood of memories Justin’s visit had caused.

One rainy evening a little over two years ago, Justin had walked into a florist’s shop in downtown Seattle. She’d been there, ordering flowers to cheer a hospitalized friend. While he’d waited to give the clerk his order, they’d chatted. The attraction between them was instant and mutual. They’d flirted, then went next door to share dinner, after which she’d refused his offer of a ride and driven herself home. It wasn’t until the next day that she’d made the connection between his name and the huge HuntCom corporation that was a Seattle household word.

When he’d called and asked her out that afternoon, she’d told him she wasn’t sure she should date one of the playboy Hunt brothers, but he’d laughed and charmed her into agreeing to meet him.

With Justin, she’d broken every rule she’d ever had about caution with men in relationships. She’d let her heart overrule her head and had swiftly fallen head over heels in love with him. He was handsome, sexy, charming and very, very rich. But she’d never indulged in casual sex. Nevertheless, he’d quickly overwhelmed her reservations and within a week, they were sleeping together. Once in his bed, she was committed. When he’d abruptly broken off their relationship, she’d been devastated.

The night he told her goodbye over dinner, she’d been so stunned by his words she hadn’t responded, had been incapable of speech. She’d managed to stand, leave the restaurant and catch a cab for home.

She didn’t leave her house for a week, grappling with heartbreak. Then she’d gone back to work, determined to put her life back together.

And I did. Lily pulled herself out of memories, shaking off the sadness that always accompanied remembering those dark days after Justin left. Hebroke my heart once. I don’t want him in my lifeagain. I don’t need Justin Hunt.

She walked into the living room, bending to pick up several of Ava’s toys scattered across the rug and tossing them into the wicker toy basket beneath the window.

Her life was organized and on track, she reminded herself firmly. Because she had her own shop, she could take Ava to work with her, and she’d turned an empty office space into a nursery. She spent most of her time in the second-floor workroom with Ava nearby, working on the design and production phases of her business, while trusted staff ran her boutique below. Business was booming, and only last month, an article in the Seattle Times about the local fashion industry had called her a rising star, and dubbed her a true “Princess” Lily.

It’s taken a long time to get my life back ontrack. The last thing I want is to let Justin disruptit again.

Except—he’s Ava’s father.

The thought brought her to a standstill, motionless in the center of the cozy living room, with a stuffed teddy bear in one hand and a doggie pull-toy in the other.

What if he wants to take Ava? She’d never considered the possibility that Justin might want custody. But she’d recognized the smile he’d given Ava. She suspected she had that same love-struck expression when she looked at her daughter. Smitten, she thought. He’d looked hopelessly smitten.

While she could understand why anyone would fall in love with her precious daughter, the possibility Justin had done so was not to be contemplated. His obvious interest in her little girl opened whole new vistas of worry.

Not only was Justin wealthy in his own right, he also had access to power through his billionaire father.

She dropped onto the sofa cushion, frowning unseeingly at the forgotten toys in her hand. She needed a professional opinion, she decided. She’d call her attorney first thing in the morning.

Fighting the urge to pack her bags, bundle Ava into her car and flee Seattle, she rose and finished picking up the scattered toys before retreating to her workroom just off the kitchen. She spent the next few hours trying to focus on an exclusive design for a client in Hollywood.

She thought she’d dealt successfully with Justin’s sudden reappearance in her life. But when she went to bed just after ten-thirty, she couldn’t fall asleep. She spent the next eight hours alternately turning, tossing and infrequently dozing.

He was haunting her dreams once again.

Justin drove home in a daze.

He’d had to force himself to walk down the sidewalk and get in the SUV. Every instinct in him demanded he stay with Lily and the little girl she held in her arms.

He had a daughter. The concept shook him to the core.

He never would have guessed that one look at a dainty little female with her mama’s eyes and his own black hair would have knocked him off balance.

“I’m a father.” Even spoken aloud, the words seemed surreal. He’d walked away from a relationship with Lily to keep from harming her, but he’d left her to have his baby alone. Bad move.Really bad move. I should have made sure she wasokay, he thought, filled with self-anger and disgust. I should have protected her.

He didn’t know a damn thing about kids, let alone babies. And he knew even less about being a father. His mother had hooked up with several men during the twelve years he’d lived with her. None of them had been interested in being a father-figure. At best, they’d ignored him. At worst, he’d earned curses and slaps. He’d learned early to avoid the ones who used their fists. They’d taught him plenty about survival but nothing about being a good parent.

At least Harry had never hit him or his brothers, he thought. The Old Man had been absorbed with HuntCom, sometimes to the extent that Justin wondered if he remembered he had sons in the house. But he never purposely abused or neglected them. There was always food on the table, adults hired to keep track of them and clean clothing without holes.

All in all, Harry hadn’t been such a bad father. Just…not really there.

Harry. What the hell am I going to do aboutHarry and his rules for the Bride Hunt? The thought shocked him out of his musings, and he realized he’d driven from Ballard to downtown Seattle on autopilot. Seeing Lily with Ava had changed everything, he realized.

Beyond talking to Lily in the morning, he wasn’t sure what his next step would be. One thing he did know—he had to put his part in the Bride Hunt on hold.

The sun had set and streetlights winked on as he reached Second Avenue and turned south toward his penthouse apartment above a HuntCom building in Pioneer Square. The roar of a capacity crowd watching the Mariners play baseball in Safeco Field reminded him he’d left the quiet of his Idaho ranch behind.

A half block from his building, he hit a button on the dash, and by the time he’d turned into the underground parking lot, the gates were open. They eased silently shut behind him. Moments later, he stepped off the elevator and into the company apartment he called home whenever he was in Seattle.

He flicked on the television, removed his boots and dropped onto the sofa, propping his feet on the coffee table.

The Seattle newscaster warned motorists about the usual traffic backup on Interstate 5. Justin switched channels, clicking absentmindedly through the cable offerings, barely registering them.

He was unable to concentrate on anything beyond the mind-numbing news that he and Lily had a daughter. He turned off the TV and paced the high-ceilinged area of the big loft, but his mind continued to spin.