He joined the two women outside a stall that held a striking ebony stallion with a white blaze down his face.
"Tirith says her father shipped this horse all the way across the ocean as a gift for Princess Alessandra. Isn't he beautiful?"
"He is." A horse like this one was an exceptional, valuable gift. But the rancher and Princess Alessandra remained estranged.
Now that he knew about the kidnapping, Luc couldn't help but wonder what part it had played in the separation.
"Was it a very important message?" Guinevere asked, nodding toward the phone he still held in his hand.
Ah. Guinevere never missed a thing. "Nothing that won't keep."
Maggie's eyes held a soft question, and he shook his head slightly. He'd tell her later about the funding problems. Or maybe not. She was leaving in a few days, and Ernest's foundation wasn't her responsibility. He and Tirith had cooked up the plan to save it together, and Maggie had been gracious enough by stepping in to handle the events in her sister's place.
"Are you and Tirith going to get married?"
Maggie watchedLuc react to the innocent question. He first appeared stunned, then his eyes cut to her and away. If she wasn't mistaken, a faint blush rose high on his cheeks.
"No, Guinny. No." He almost sounded choked up.
"But you kissed. I saw it on the telly."
Now the teen looked at Maggie, who grew uncomfortable under her probing gaze.
"Friends kiss sometimes," she murmured.
"Yes! Tirith and I are just friends," Luc said quickly. Their eyes met and held.
She could almost read what he'd left unsaid.And this isn't Tirith, anyway.
Maggie was well aware.
Her sister could attend a garden party without having a panic attack. Tirith was cool and unaffected by the social undercurrents that threatened to drive Maggie crazy. Why couldn't people just say what they meant?
Tirith... Tirith had captured Luc's attention from the beginning. They'd known each other for years.
Most of the time, Maggie was glad she’d gone to Texas, glad she’d been spared the pressure of growing up in the public eye. Right now, though, she realized what she’d missed—the opportunity to meet this man years sooner.
Stupid.
Even if Luc had known them both for years, he’d have chosen Tirith. Calm, relaxed Tirith. Not scared-of-her-shadow Maggie.
She turned her attention back to the conversation in time to hear Guinevere say, "That didn't look like a friend kiss. I played it over three times." She glanced between the two adults. "It looked like a true love kiss."
If Luc had barely blushed before, now Maggie's face was on fire.
And it was only made worse when she caught Luc's intense, thoughtful stare.
"It was an act," he told his niece, almost idly. He didn't look away from Maggie. "For the cameras."
If anything, she blushed even harder. He knew that she wasn't the world’s greatest actress. He'd seen it firsthand, though she seemed to have fooled the general public.
She broke the stare and turned to the horse. The stallion Dad had gifted Mother.
The last thing she needed was Luc focused on her feelings for him. Mostly because she still wasn't sure what those feelings were.
She'd fallen into his kiss that very first day.
And she hadn't stopped falling yet.
