Page 16 of A Prince for Christmas

“And you picked the rich guy,” Fred said, shaking his head. “Predictable.”

“I picked the gentleman.” The words were out of my mouth before I registered what I’d said, but at least these ones were true.

Fred’s lips pulled back in an obnoxious sneer. “Well, I hope it works out for you. Matches between farmers and royalty rarely work.”

I couldn’t help myself, although his remarks tore at me. Fred had more money than me, but that wasn’t why we’d dated, and it certainly wasn’t what drew me to Nick.

“What about matches between jerks and Barbie dolls?” I snapped. I turned and climbed into the Blazer. It’s possible that he was shouting something obscene as I closed the door, but I couldn’t hear the exact words and really didn’t care. I knew it was kind of petty, but it felt good to have gotten the last word.

I wanted to gun the engine as I drove off, but I refrained out of propriety. Nick and I were both quiet as I guided the Blazer onto Highway 84. It wasn’t a superhighway, but it took us home through Norris, where my friend Shelby had settled with her husband and ran a mostly-online candy business. I’d alerted her that I was coming, and she had a fairly huge order of real chocolate cherries, fudge, walnut divinity, and a big box of mixed candied nuts and chocolates ready for me.

“Thank you,” Nick said, sounding a bit tentative.

“For what?” I asked, surprised.

“For telling what’s-his-name that you preferred me.”

I felt my cheeks reddening. “About that… I realize I overstepped. I was just so mad, I didn’t want him to think I was some loser who couldn’t get a boyfriend. Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply…” I stopped, at a loss for words, because that’s exactly what I’d meant to imply. That was the whole point in saying it.

“Oh, then we aren’t?” he asked.

“No.” My face burned hotter. “I mean, are we? After that kiss, I thought maybe… But then nothing else ever happened.”

Nick sighed. “So did I. I mean, I thought that, too. But it’s complicated.”

“What’s so complicated? Because you’re English? People from different countries get together all the time.”

“That’s true, but… It’s more complicated than that.”

“Because your family won’t like me,” I said, the realization dawning. He was rich as a king. I was a farm girl. Just like Fred said, it would never work out. Besides, if it lasted, would either of us be willing to move to another country entirely?

“Of course they would,” Nick protested. “This is my fault. Do you want me to beg off from spending the holiday with your family?”

That brought me back to earth. “No, of course not. Whatever happens with this spark we… I…feel, we’re friends, and friends don’t let friends spend Christmas alone.”

“We both feel it,” he reassured me. “If I was holding back, it was only out of respect for you, Emily. I think very highly of you.”

It wasn’t exactly a profession of love, but I knew Nick wasn’t the most emotionally demonstrative, so I let it be.

Before too long, we arrived at Norris, barely more than a wide spot in the road, but with its own small claim to fame: Norris Hot Springs. Shelby and her husband had found a beautiful cottage with a front room that was just made to sell candies from, almost across from the hot springs and campground. From there, she sold a few candies to campers and ran a robust online candy business.

Although we texted every week, Shelby and I had a lot to catch up on. Her husband Jordan worked on his parents’ ranch a few miles out of town, and he was gone for the day, so we chatted it up for a few minutes while I picked up my order. Shelby raved about her wonderful life with Jordan and how good her business was doing. Jordan was such good husband material—attentive, talkative, and a hard worker to boot. Compared to Fred, he was the perfect husband. For Shelby, not for me. Jordan and I had gone out on a couple of dates in high school and decided by the second date that we were better as friends. I’d introduced him to Shelby, thinking they might hit it off, and the rest was history.

Once we were back in the Blazer, heading for my home, I grinned at Nick. “So, what do you think of rural Montana?” I asked.

“Breathtaking,” he answered.

We turned onto Highway 287 and cruised through McAllister before coming to Ennis, where we turned. We’d end up in Twin Bridges, just a short drive to the ranch. When we finally got to the dirt road, Nick leaned forward and peered out the windshield. “Are you sure this is the right way?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s the right way.”

“I’ve been dying to get out into the wilderness since I got here,” he said. “What an unexpected surprise.”

“Well, this isn’t exactly wilderness, but it’s more wild than Bozeman,” I admitted. “And probably much more wild than most of England.”

He grinned. “You have no idea.”

Sometime during our conversation, he had taken possession of my right hand, which kind of felt like having a secret path to heaven.