Charmed by Nora Roberts

back and started toward an herb bed. “I’m not in any sort of trouble.”
    “Darling, darling Ana, your friend and neighbor was prepared to rip my throat out until you introduced me as your cousin.”
    “I’d have protected you,” Mel said solemnly.
    “My hero.”
    “Besides,” Mel went on, “it looked to me as though he was more in the mood to drag Ana off by the hair than tackle you.”
    “You’re both being absurd.” Ana snipped hawthorn without looking up. “He’s a very nice man.”
    “I’m sure,” Sebastian murmured. “But, you see, men understand this territorial thing—which is, of course, an obscure concept to the female.”
    “Oh, please.” Mel shoved an elbow in his ribs.
    “Facts are facts, my dear Mary Ellen. I had intruded on his territory. Or so he thought. Naturally, I would only think less of him if he had made no effort to defend it.”
    “Naturally,” Mel said dryly.
    “Tell me, Ana, just how involved are you?”
    “That’s none of your business.” She straightened, deftly wrapping the stems of the hawthorn. “And I’ll thank you to keep out of it, cousin. I know very well you were poking in.”
    “Which is why you blocked me. Your neighbor wasn’t so successful.”
    “It’s rude,” she muttered, “unconscionably rude, the way you peek into people’s heads at the drop of a hat.”
    “He likes to show off,” Mel said sympathetically.
    “Unfair.” Disgusted, Sebastian shook his head. “I do not poke or peek at the drop of a hat. I always have an excellent reason. In this case, being your only male relative on the continent, I feel it’s my duty to survey the situation, and the players.”
    Mel could only roll her eyes as Ana’s spine stiffened. “Really?” Eyes bright, Ana jammed a finger into Sebastian’s chest. “Then let me set you straight. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I need protection or guidance or anything else from a male—relative or otherwise. I’ve been handling my own life for twenty-six years.”
    “Twenty-seven next month,” Sebastian added helpfully.
    “And I can continue to handle it. What’s between Boone and me—”
    “Ah.” He held up a triumphant finger. “So there is something between you.”
    “Stuff it, Sebastian.”
    “She only talks like that when she paints herself into a corner,” Sebastian told Mel. “Usually she’s extremely mild and well-mannered.”
    “Careful, or I’ll give Mel a potion to put in your soup that’ll freeze your vocal cords for a week.”
    “Oh yeah?” Intrigued by the idea, Mel tilted her head. “Can I have it anyway?”
    “A lot of good it would do you, since I do all the cooking,” Sebastian pointed out. Then he scooped Ana up in a hug. “Come on, darling, don’t be angry. I have to worry about you. It’s my job.”
    “There’s nothing to worry about.” But she was softening.
    “Are you in love with him?”
    Instantly she stiffened. “Really, Sebastian, I’ve only known him for a week.”
    “What difference does that make?” He gave Mel a long look over Ana’s head, “It took me less than that to realize the reason Mel irritated me so much was that I was crazy about her. Of course, it took her longer to understand she was madly in love with me. But she has such a hard head.”
    “I’m getting that potion,” Mel decided.
    Ignoring the threat, he drew back to consider Ana at arm’s length. “I ask because he definitely has more than a neighborly interest in you. As a matter of fact, he—”
    “That’s enough. Whatever you dug out of his head, you keep to yourself. I mean it, Sebastian,” she said before he could interrupt. “I prefer doing things my own way.”
    “If you insist,” he said with a sigh.
    “I do. Now, take your hawthorn and go home and be newlyweds.”
    “Now that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” Taking a firm grip on her husband’s arm, Mel tugged him back. “Leave her alone, Donovan. Ana’s perfectly capable of handling