good?”
“Our dinner. And no, I didn’t prepare it after a full shift at the hospital.”
“I never thought you had.”
“Ah ha! A challenge. I will have you know, my darling Kate, that these hands have actually opened a can and heated the contents of same in a pan on the stove. I am a man of many talents.”
“Well, I’m certainly impressed.”
“Wise guy.”
“No, you’re the wise guy. I’m a smart ass, and proud of it.”
He took a moment to obviously look at and appreciate her ass. “Yes, it’s very smart. And I can hardly wait to set my teeth on it.” Satisfied by the increased heat in her eyes, he continued with the tour. The upstairs consisted of one long hall with bedrooms left and right.
“When we stayed here in the summer, it was expected that we would make our own beds and tidy our own rooms. We did have some staff here, to cook and to take care of the rest of the cleaning. But my brother and sisters and I weren’t catered to while we stayed here. The first time proved a bit of a challenge. But after that, we looked forward to it.”
“This is nice. Homey. And I think it’s good you had to take care of yourself a bit.”
He didn’t know how well he was doing in trying to get her to see him as simply a man. But it had been important to him that she get to know this side of him first. This part of his life lay closer to his heart, his soul, than the other. And thinking that, he knew one other thing he could show her.
“Come, there’s one more thing I want to show you. We need to take the jeep. Don’t worry about Jamie. Andre will take good care of him until we return, and we will only be a few minutes.”
* * * *
He took her to a parcel of land.
Catharine looked out of the corner of her eye and couldn’t miss the pride in Philip’s expression.
“This is mine. When my mother married my father, this piece of land formed a part of her dowry. Her family had held it for generations, next to the Royal Country Estate.”
“Dowry?”
“Yes, I know it’s old-fashioned. As a matter of fact, the marriage of my parents ended up being the last to be handled in the ‘traditional sense’. Their union had been arranged by their parents, and had nothing to do with love. My brother Michael chose his own wife. He fell in love with Helene, and they are very happy together. No dowry, either. Anyway, this is mine, and I plan to build a home of my own here one day. Michael has to live the rest of his life in the palace, as he is the Crown Prince. I, however, am free to make other choices.”
“It’s very beautiful.” She could see where a house could sit, nestled at the edge of a glade of maples. A stream meandered along the back, just in sight. The field was green, dotted with wildflowers, and very pastoral. With no trouble at all she could imagine it, the house, large and welcoming, the yard with a garden or two, and a playground set, two or three children playing happily, waiting for their father to come home from work at the hospital.
Shaking her head to dispel the image, she shot him another look, this one critical. This land, a home of his own, this was his dream, and seemed an intensely personal thing to share. She needed to get them back on the let’s-keep-this-light track, and soon. The more she learned of this man, the more she liked him. Liking him was okay, and even essential to having sex with him. But she had no intention of allowing her emotions to evolve beyond anything more than simple liking.
“Tomorrow,” she said.
“Tomorrow?”
“As soon as you’re done at the hospital. Mom won’t mind watching Jamie. We can do it then.”
“It?”
“You asked me when I would let you have me. That’s my answer. We can plan now on a couple of hours, to start, with the possibility of extending it longer.”
She nodded her head, decision made. And if her announcement had sounded cold and callous, as if a business agreement had been reached, she told herself it was
“Our dinner. And no, I didn’t prepare it after a full shift at the hospital.”
“I never thought you had.”
“Ah ha! A challenge. I will have you know, my darling Kate, that these hands have actually opened a can and heated the contents of same in a pan on the stove. I am a man of many talents.”
“Well, I’m certainly impressed.”
“Wise guy.”
“No, you’re the wise guy. I’m a smart ass, and proud of it.”
He took a moment to obviously look at and appreciate her ass. “Yes, it’s very smart. And I can hardly wait to set my teeth on it.” Satisfied by the increased heat in her eyes, he continued with the tour. The upstairs consisted of one long hall with bedrooms left and right.
“When we stayed here in the summer, it was expected that we would make our own beds and tidy our own rooms. We did have some staff here, to cook and to take care of the rest of the cleaning. But my brother and sisters and I weren’t catered to while we stayed here. The first time proved a bit of a challenge. But after that, we looked forward to it.”
“This is nice. Homey. And I think it’s good you had to take care of yourself a bit.”
He didn’t know how well he was doing in trying to get her to see him as simply a man. But it had been important to him that she get to know this side of him first. This part of his life lay closer to his heart, his soul, than the other. And thinking that, he knew one other thing he could show her.
“Come, there’s one more thing I want to show you. We need to take the jeep. Don’t worry about Jamie. Andre will take good care of him until we return, and we will only be a few minutes.”
* * * *
He took her to a parcel of land.
Catharine looked out of the corner of her eye and couldn’t miss the pride in Philip’s expression.
“This is mine. When my mother married my father, this piece of land formed a part of her dowry. Her family had held it for generations, next to the Royal Country Estate.”
“Dowry?”
“Yes, I know it’s old-fashioned. As a matter of fact, the marriage of my parents ended up being the last to be handled in the ‘traditional sense’. Their union had been arranged by their parents, and had nothing to do with love. My brother Michael chose his own wife. He fell in love with Helene, and they are very happy together. No dowry, either. Anyway, this is mine, and I plan to build a home of my own here one day. Michael has to live the rest of his life in the palace, as he is the Crown Prince. I, however, am free to make other choices.”
“It’s very beautiful.” She could see where a house could sit, nestled at the edge of a glade of maples. A stream meandered along the back, just in sight. The field was green, dotted with wildflowers, and very pastoral. With no trouble at all she could imagine it, the house, large and welcoming, the yard with a garden or two, and a playground set, two or three children playing happily, waiting for their father to come home from work at the hospital.
Shaking her head to dispel the image, she shot him another look, this one critical. This land, a home of his own, this was his dream, and seemed an intensely personal thing to share. She needed to get them back on the let’s-keep-this-light track, and soon. The more she learned of this man, the more she liked him. Liking him was okay, and even essential to having sex with him. But she had no intention of allowing her emotions to evolve beyond anything more than simple liking.
“Tomorrow,” she said.
“Tomorrow?”
“As soon as you’re done at the hospital. Mom won’t mind watching Jamie. We can do it then.”
“It?”
“You asked me when I would let you have me. That’s my answer. We can plan now on a couple of hours, to start, with the possibility of extending it longer.”
She nodded her head, decision made. And if her announcement had sounded cold and callous, as if a business agreement had been reached, she told herself it was
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