Chapter Eighteen
Alex couldn’t be inside the house with Maddie and Aunt Lori. He stayed out on the porch instead. There were a surprising number of chairs out there, along with a big wide swing. He could hear the women inside the kitchen finishing up the dinner dishes. Twilight had fallen, and the air had finally started to cool down.
He probably shouldn’t be surprised at the way Maddie had reacted to his introduction to ranch life, but it still burned. Did she truly think he was that incompetent as a man? He had protected her at the house in Croatia. He had kept her safe since the beginning. Now that they were on her home turf, did she think he was somehow deficient? He was at a loss as to how that could be true. He had done nothing to indicate that he couldn’t handle himself. He hadn’t complained about the incessant wind, the dirt, or the stench of unwashed men and horse manure. He hadn’t reacted to the veiled hints from Aunt Lori’s men about the fact that he had learned to ride in a prissy English saddle. He had done his best to fit in, and the only thing it had earned him was her apparent contempt.
He stood up and began to pace the length of the porch. The wood was very old and weathered. He wondered how many harsh winters the thing had seen and why the owners had never simply used another material like brick to reinforce the structure.
His phone buzzed. Removing it from his pocket, he sent off a few texts to his business manager about the ongoing merger, and then he contacted his mother. Lori had brought up a very valid point earlier that afternoon. What was Alex going to do about his mother? She would never stop. He needed a way to remove himself from her plans for the foreseeable future.
He stopped texting, letting his hand drop to his side as he contemplated that notion. It was so very basic, and yet he hadn’t considered it. That was exactly what he needed to do. He needed to somehow very publicly and very firmly renounce all claims to the Imperial Throne.
Lifting his phone one more, he hastily typed off a question to Vladimir. Vlad was the only one that Alex trusted to actually find information without having an ulterior motive in mind.
“Hey.”
He quickly locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket before turning to face Maddie. “Hello. Are you and Lori done with the after dinner chores? I didn’t want to be in the way, so I thought I would just remain out here until you were finished.”
***
IN ANY OTHER man, Maddie would have automatically assumed that he had been trying to get out of the dishes. But Alex didn’t think that way. He probably would have pitched in to help with chores, it just wouldn’t have ever occurred to him that there weren’t people to “take care of” that sort of thing.
“Everything is done. Aunt Lori went back out to check on one of the horses.” Maddie walked a little closer and nudged him with her shoulder. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry for what happened earlier. You know, for all of the things I said in front of the guys.”
“Do you mean them?” he asked suddenly. “Is that truly how you feel about me? Because it sounded as though you hold the belief that I am nothing more than a city bred moron.”
“No.” Maddie felt so horrible. It had never been her intention to poke at his confidence. “That’s not how I feel about you at all. It’s just that out here you’re—well, you’re not the type of guy that usually survives around this place.”
“Survives?” He snorted. “As if survival in any environment requires a low IQ, dirty clothing, and a penchant for rude speech patterns?”
“That’s not fair.” Maddie realized she had underestimated how upset he was about her comments. “I never said anything like that.”
“No. But I can’t help but wonder if you harbor doubts that I will ever be able to make this work.” He pulled away from her and started pacing.
“Well, can you?” Maddie shrugged. “So far, we have no clue how to make your mother leave us alone. I haven’t even been in one place long enough to go to a freaking doctor. What? Am I just going to have this baby on the run somewhere? Maybe we’ll stop over one night in a hotel and just have a kid and then take off the next day so your mother won’t kill it?”
He made a noise that sounded like a growl in the back of his throat. “I’m working on a few things. All right?”
“What? Help me understand so I can feel less worried about it.”
“It wouldn’t do any good to tell you unless I’m sure it will work. I’ve asked Vladimir to look into a few options. From there I will do whatever it takes. And as for a doctor, we’ll talk to your aunt and arrange to have you seen here.”
“Doctors don’t make house calls,” she said wryly.
“I bet there’s one who will for the right price.” He gestured to the empty space around them. “Considering the remoteness of this area, I imagine there is more than one patient that can’t make it back into whatever town actually has a clinic.”
“Or maybe I can just see the vet,” she said sarcastically. “He’s definitely willing to make a barn call.”
***
HER SASSY TONE didn’t irritate him for some reason. He was starting to realize that her sarcasm was more defensive than anything else. Maddie was scared. She had every reason to be. They were two near strangers having a baby. And his insane family was chasing them all over the world because of an idiotic desire to cling to a government that no longer existed.
“Come here, Maddie.”
His tone brooked no argument, and when he opened his arms, she came willingly into his embrace. She huddled there with her cheek against his chest. He gently rubbed her back and smoothed her hair. Kissing her softly on the forehead, he swore silently that he would keep her safe. He wasn’t going to let his family rule their lives. He was going to make sure that Maddie had the chance to raise their child—with his help if she wanted it—away from any mad plans his mother might have.
As he stood there on the porch and listened to the crickets chirp, he had the odd thought that he wanted to hold her like this for the rest of his life. It was very reminiscent of the emotions he’d felt the other night while making love to her.
“I’ve never much thought of monogamy,” he said out loud.
She sighed. “You’re not really supposed to tell a woman that, you know. It doesn’t breed trust.”
“I can imagine, but what I was trying to say was that I had never considered monogamy because I had never met a woman that I couldn’t live without.” He struggled to find words that wouldn’t sound offensive and realized there really weren’t any. “Women always seemed like such a trial. They whined and moaned and wanted things. Generally they could be bought for the price of a few baubles, and they were never very interesting to converse with.”
“Good God!” she muttered. “Where were you getting your dates from?”
“I suppose they were women that were approved and suggested by my family.”
“No wonder they were duds.” Maddie sounded almost amused now. She pulled back just enough to gaze up at him. In the light spilling onto the porch from the kitchen window, her eyes had a mischievous glint. “I bet they were all rich, spoiled, entitled, and probably cold as fish in bed.”
“Perhaps.” He didn’t like talking about his previous liaisons for multiple reasons. “I didn’t sleep with them. They weren’t that sort of date.”
“Meaning they were broodmares,” Maddie retorted.
It was an apt description, and he wouldn’t deny it. “That is certainly true in most cases.”
“Then I don’t wonder that they weren’t suitable. I’m sure you could have married them. The two of you would have likely learned to get along. You probably would have been near strangers most of the time. Sex would have been for procreation, and you would have found fulfillment in something other than your relationship. It happens.” Maddie sighed and stared up at the blanket of stars beginning to appear in the night sky. “In fact, it happens all the time. My sisters are sort of like that.”
***
MADDIE THOUGHT ABOUT just how much her sisters resembled his description. They were both whiney, entitled, spoiled, and could be bought for a diamond tennis bracelet. They’d married money, and they had thought it would make them happy. Unfortunately, neither of them were particularly satisfied in their marriages. Her middle sister had already had several affairs, but since her husband liked to sleep around too, neither of them seemed to care. And her older sister—well, Maddie didn’t like to think about that fiasco.
“You’ve spoken about your sisters more than once,” Alex reminded her. “I seem to recall that your older sister and her husband had something to do with you leaving Texas. Is that what happened?”
“You mean, was my brother-in-law unable to keep his dick in his pants?” She knew she was being crass, but she really didn’t care. “That would be correct.”
“And your sister blamed you?”
“That wild streak you’re so fond of has been the bane of my family’s existence.” She stepped away from his embrace and wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I’ve lost track of how many times they’ve told me off for doing something they thought was offensive. Especially my older sister. She was the prim and proper one. I swear I wanted to shove Miss Manners’ Guidebook to Young Lady’s Behavior up her ass. Although, considering the fact that Jacey already acts like she has a stick shoved up her ass, the big book probably wouldn’t have even made a difference.”
“Wow.” Alex raised his eyebrows. “That’s a lot of bitterness.”
“Yeah, well, getting accused of sleeping with my sleazebag brother-in-law was not one of my finer moments.” In fact, Maddie was getting pissed all over again just thinking about it. “The guy came onto me at a club. Me! I was doing my level best to fend off his ham handed groping, and Jacey walks into the club and accuses me of trying to seduce him! As if I would. The guy is ugly, and he has dog breath.”
Now Alex was laughing. He tugged her back into his embrace. She really wasn’t in a mood to be snuggly right now, but something about Alex disarmed her. Within seconds she was huddled against his chest and sighing like a contented kitten.
“I shouldn’t like you this much,” she told him. “It’s bad.”
“And I wish I could make you believe how very much I like you,” he whispered in her ear. “But I’m not sure you’re ready to hear that yet.”
She caught her breath. He liked her how much? “Don’t be so sure about that.”
“Maddie, we have so much baggage between the two of us right now that I’m not sure either of us are ready to make big decisions about the future.” He gently brushed his hand over her belly. “All I know is that you’re the mother of my child and I want to keep you safe and happy. In every way possible.”
She squirmed in his hold until she was facing him. She touched his cheeks with her fingertips. “Then maybe you’d better take me upstairs and make sure I’m satisfied.”
“As you wish.”