CHAPTERELEVEN
Three days of rest and recovery later, they received the news they’d been waiting for.The ambassador had been caught and deported to Kasiki, where he would be answerable to the authorities in that country.Now it was over, she could hardly believe it.“Has he really gone?”she asked Conor as he drove them to the airport.
“As sure as the fields are green in Ireland,” Conor confirmed with a quick glance.“Peace and quiet and ponies will heal you.That’s exactly what you need.”
I need you, she thought.“That sounds wonderful.”And it did.Without the specter of her father hanging over them, this trip might be the start of a new life.
“Ireland is heaven on earth, better than anything you can imagine.”
Conor’s enthusiasm was infectious.“I can’t wait,” she said honestly, though daring to hope was so new to her, she still kept her fingers crossed.
When the small jet swooped down to land on Conor’s private airstrip, all Karolina’s doubts were swept away by the sight of a carpet of lush green that stretched to the horizon, split by a shining river glittering in the sun.“Thisdoes look like heaven on earth,” she agreed.“I can’t believe it all belongs to you.”
“As far as the eye can see,” Conor confirmed as he landed the small plane smoothly.“I hope you enjoy your time here as much as I always do.”
“I’m sure I will.”
How could she not?The vast acreage was so inviting.And if she saw more of Conor… Hoping that would be the case, she glanced at him as he taxied the aircraft up to a sleek black SUV parked on the runway.
Relax.Give this a chance, she told herself firmly as Conor loaded their luggage into the trunk.They’d grown so much closer, and had shared so much, and now there was an opportunity to get to know each other even better, without danger or drama getting in the way.Dragging in the pure clean air, she eased the tension from her shoulders and allowed herself to believe that Conor was right about this beautiful place having the magic they both needed to heal the wounds of the past.
“Rest and recreation,” he reminded her as he handed her into the SUV.
“Bliss,” she agreed when he leapt in beside her.It was.Sitting next to Conor, basking in his obvious enthusiasm for everything around them, she felt enthused too.
“Welcome home,” he said with a dazzling smile that warmed her through.
“Thank you.”Those words meant more than he knew.
They continued driving for quite a while through increasingly stunning countryside.“The airstrip needs to be a good distance from the paddocks so the ponies aren’t alarmed,” Conor explained.
“Nice to have enough land to do that,” she teased, starting to ease up as towering electric gates swung back to admit them.
An immaculate road lined with trees stretched ahead, and she still couldn’t see the house.But she could see green fields full of ponies.“This is gorgeous,” she exclaimed as a group of them began to gallop alongside their vehicle.“I love this place already.I hope you haven’t forgotten your promise to teach me to ride?”
“Why would I?”
Because her uncertainty was bugging her again.They could do many things together—have sex, fight an enemy back-to-back—but apart from eating a scratch meal in the kitchen, they hadn’t done too many simple, intimate things that required time and patience.Teaching her to ride would be one of those things.“I only mean, if you have time,” she added hastily.“Or, perhaps you have a groom who could teach me?”
Conor frowned.“It’s not like you to be so lacking in confidence.What’s wrong, Karolina?”
It wasn’t like her to be short of a reply, let alone to be warmed by a deep, inner certainty that she loved this man and everything he represented, and that she didn’t want to get anything wrong.“Nothing.”Except for me, still learning to put the past behind me, where it belongs.
She stared at Conor’s hand as he briefly covered hers.It was a small gesture, but enough to make tears spring to her eyes.
By the time he glanced at her again, she’d turned her head and knuckled them away.“Are these the stable blocks?”she said as low-lying red-brick buildings came into view.
“Yes.I’ll take you past them so you can see the ponies.”
It wasn’t hard to act as if she’d never had a worry in the world when half-open stable doors allowed a line of noble heads to peep out and stare at them with interest.Conor lowered her window so she could chat to the ponies and they could whinny a reply.
Ears pricked, dark eyes shining with intelligence, they made her long for those riding lessons more than ever.A childhood dream had been owning a horse.Her fertile imagination had been a major benefit in a restricted life.Karolina’s fantasy had included riding off into the sunset with a handsome prince.Well, here was the prince, but she felt he wasn’t properly her prince…not yet.
“So, now you’ve met my babies,” Conor confirmed with a grin as they continued on their way.
“I’m so excited,” she admitted, “and not a bit surprised that you love your ponies so much.Or that you love it here,” she added as he slowed the vehicle when they approached a vast fenced area.
“And this is my polo ground,” he announced.
