“Nothing, huh?”
He shrugged in that philosophical way only the French can do. “Ah, well. I was just thinking how good it is to have you here. To see all this wonder through your eyes. Everything feels new again to me, because it’s new to you.”
His admission unsettled her. Was he actually saying that he enjoyed her company? Purely for her own sake, rather than because of their agreement? That thought warmed her from the inside out, all the way back to the stables.
Jacyn pulled out the bag of treats she’d begun keeping for the horses. Along with learning to care for them and their equipment, she’d quickly learned their favorite snacks. She knew that Orage preferred the tartness of golden apples to the sweetness of red, and that Brute hated carrots but went nuts for turnips.
She and Alex worked silently, brushing down the horses and making sure they had enough water and feed, even though two grooms were already on duty, taking care of the others. She’d even learned not to get grossed out at the stable’s most perpetual task: shoveling out the manure and replacing the old, stale straw with fresh bedding.
He watched her, grinning.
“What?” she growled playfully.
“We’ll make a country girl out of you soon enough, city slicker.”
She shot back, “Yeah. You keep trying.” But in her heart, she was pleased, taking his observation as a compliment.
They walked back towards the château, pleasantly tired, removing their gloves as they kept stride with each other. “What’s on your agenda today?” he asked.
“Breakfast with your mom, and then this afternoon, I’m playing soccer with William and Willa, once her tutoring is done for the day.”
“You mean, ‘football’,” he responded playfully.
“Nope,” she answered firmly, shaking her head to demonstrate her disdain for the idea. “I mean ‘soccer’.”
He groaned in mock frustration. “You Americans!”
She cackled and veered off, heading towards her rooms.
***
Two days later, as they walked from the stables, Alex stopped Jacyn before she could sprint back to her room. “Go change,” he instructed, “and meet me back here in thirty minutes.”
She eyed him warily. He was full of surprises, this man, and she wasn’t sure what he had up his sleeve this time. “Am I being kidnapped?” she asked half-jokingly. Sienna still hadn’t been fully convinced that Jacyn wasn’t about to disappear unexpectedly.
“What? No!”
“Are we running away to Monaco?”
His lips twisted in amusement. “That can be arranged, if you really want it.”
“Uh, maybe another time. I don’t think I could be trusted with my papa’s trust fund around the roulette tables.”
“Gambling is addictive,” he admitted. “But I promise you, I would never allow you to lose yourself in the betting. And what I have in mind for us today is far more innocuous.”
“I like innocuous.”
From the stable, they walked together up the front entrance, an anomaly, since Jacyn had developed the habit of sprinting up and through the side door. On an almost subconscious level, she still didn’t feel entitled to use anything but the servants’ entrances—at least not unless she was accompanied by one of the family, the only people who held true rights to be here.
As she walked past, the housekeeper and valets all stopped and smiled, murmuring theirbonjoursat her. It felt good to know that they all seemed to like and respect her. Being waited on every moment of the day; knowing that there was instant attention and assistance at the end of the intercom, still made her feel vaguely uncomfortable. She’d lived her life in the service of others. Now that it was the other way around, she’d die rather than make any of the people who worked for the family feel inferior.
They stopped at the door to her suite.
“What shall I wear?” she asked uncertainly. “Is this a formal event, or are we going parachuting?”
He pretended to write something down in an imaginary notebook. “Take. Jacyn. Parachuting.”
She punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Oh, hell, no! I’m good with riding. I’m not big on risking my neck, thanks.”