Jason lay stretched on the edge of the bed, his left foot dangling from it and his arms folded behind his head. He was in an unfamiliar place, wanting a woman who didn’t want him back. And a poor one at that. He struggled with the concept, never having known what it was to want what one couldn’t have, or what money couldn’t buy. Or could it?

Maybe his mother had a good idea after all. There must be something Elena wanted, and he would find out. He perked up and sat upright, raking his hand through his hair and wiping his hand down his face to rid himself of the sleep residue that still clung to him. He yawned and stretched, and he felt his muscles as they tensed. He hadn’t worked out since he came to the village. He looked at the half decent rug at his feet and decided to stretch his physical muscles and give his mental ones a break for a change.

He was on his thirtieth press-up when he heard his phone ringing. He was breathing hard, warmed up by his body in motion. He wiped his hand across his forehead and hopped to his feet. He was pleasantly surprised to see the call was from one of his better friends calling.

“Justin, what’s happening, man?” Jason plopped onto the bed, the squeaking of the springs totally escaping him.

“Jason, where have you been?”

Jason slapped his hand over his face. “Home.” There was no way he was going to tell Justin he was staying in the village until he found a village girl to marry in order to keep his throne. Or that he had actually fallen for one.

“I just called there, and Queen Clarise told me you weren’t.”

“I went for a drive.” Jason hated lying unnecessarily. He was constantly placed in situations that offered him nothing but discomfort.

“Oh,” Justin replied. “Well, me, Ally, David, and some of the other guys are thinking about a boat ride this weekend. You game?”

He would have loved nothing more than to shake off this dull feeling of gloom and replace it with wine, music, and miles of water. There was a time when that meant paradise to him, but he had gotten a taste of something purer, even though it meant being stuck in that mud hole a while longer.

“No. Can’t make it this time.”

“Are you sure, man? Bree will be there.”

Jason smiled when he heard the name. Bree was one of those girls who made a boat ride a fantasy—big ass, big boobs, small waist, and perfect skin. And boy, did she have a tongue to match. She had played out several of his fantasies, yet nothing she ever did compared to what he’d had with Elena in the barn on a bed of hay.

“Yeah, I’m going to have to skip this one. I’ve got some things to do.”

“Your loss, man,” Justin replied.

“Is he coming?” Jason heard someone in Justin’s background ask.

“Who was that?” he quizzed.

“Oh, nobody,” Justin teased. “Ouch! I was just kidding. Geez! That was Ally.”

Jason laughed because he knew she’d probably punched him or slapped him upside the head. “You deserved that.” He stood and walked to the window, and his heart stopped when he saw Elena hurrying by. He hadn’t seen her in a week, and his mouth suddenly became dry. “Justin, I gotta go.”

“Cool. We’ll talk when we get back.”

The phone was already away from his ear when Justin said his last words. He tossed it onto the bed and scrambled to find a shirt to wear. He hopped around the room as he tried to get his sneakers on, and he wound up bumping into the wall.

“Dammit!” he cried and rushed from the room.

He yanked the front door open and dashed into the street, but she wasn’t there. “What the…” He scratched his head and turned about, wondering where she had gone. He walked in the general direction, but there was nowhere that he could see where she could have disappeared. Disappointment cloaked him, and he heaved an exasperated sigh.

“Prince Jason,” someone called.

He groaned and looked to his right. “Charlotte, right?”

She beamed at him remembering her name. “Yes. Charlotte. Look, I know I was stupid the other day.”

“What day?” He had forgotten about the little mouthing off session about a week before.

“You know, when we… anyway, never mind.” She clearly thought it better that he not remember what a fool she had made of herself. She wanted him, he could tell, and she was prepared to work for it. “What are your plans for today?”

“Mostly staying in,” he admitted as he turned in a circle, still searching for Elena.

“Looking for someone?” She knitted her brows and searched his face.

“No. No,” he replied hastily. “Just…” He smiled at her because he didn’t know what else to do or say.

She looped her hands through his before he got a chance to do anything about it and tugged him in the opposite direction from where he wanted to go. “It must be boring sitting in that cottage all day. Let’s do something fun.”

“Something fun?” he echoed. He could hardly imagine what that could be.

“Yeah,” she chirped. “Like taking a dip in the river.”

“The river? At the castle?” He was uncertain about what could possibly be fun about that.

“Yes. Or, if you like, you could give me the tour, since we would be in the general vicinity.”

He finally realized what she was up to. She wanted to see his home and have a feel of it. “Maybe another time,” he told her and pulled his hand away. “I need to see about something first.”

“First? Does that mean you will go after?”

Her eyes were hopeful, and despite being annoyed, he felt bad letting her down. “I don’t know yet.”

“Well, I’ll remind you,” she said as a bright smile illuminated her face.

He didn’t have the guts to answer her. He simply nodded and walked away. She skipped off.

Jason thought Elena might have seen him, dodged him, and found a way to get back to the farm. He hurried along, almost sure he would see her. They couldn’t tell him she was still sick. He had seen differently.

He was almost at the farm gate when he ran into her father. “Hello, sir,” he said nervously.

“Oh, Prince Jason,” Gregory answered and looked around uncomfortably. “How is the morning?”

“It’s been okay,” he answered. “Listen, is there any chance I could see Elena today?” Gregory was about to answer when Jason held his hand out. “And don’t tell me she’s still sick. I saw her just now in the street.”

Gregory’s mouth remained open, but nothing came out. Jason cocked his head to the side and waited. Eventually, the old man sighed and wiped his hand over his mouth. “She’s running an errand.”

Jason felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest and he could breathe again. “Okay. When she gets back?”

Gregory looked at the house with uncertainty, and it was as if the heaviness that had just left Jason’s chest took residence in his. “Prince Jason, I mean no disrespect, but why can’t you leave her alone? She doesn’t want to see you.”

“She does want me,” Jason interjected, his mind going back to the night in the barn. “And I’m going to remind her of it.”

“What do you mean, remind her?” Gregory wanted to know. “What am I missing?”

A whole lot. But Jason didn’t say that. He knew she had feelings for him that she was running from, and he couldn’t say he blamed her. He had thought that by getting close to her he would unlock her feelings and she would gladly agree to marry him. Instead, he had given her wings and she had flown into hiding. At first, it was sexy when she played hard to get. Except she wasn’t playing. She was hard to get.

The challenge was no longer fun but had become tedious as the days rolled by. He had made a mistake. He should have let things develop at her pace. Now he had pushed her away, and he had to make things right. His mother’s words came to him again, and he knew what he had to do. No matter who she was, diamonds were a girl’s best friend.

“Nothing, sir. But Elena won’t get rid of me that easily.” He nodded and returned to his cottage.

He didn’t see Elena for the rest of the day, but he called his mother and asked her advice on what to buy for a farm girl who claimed she wanted nothing.

“What about dresses?” she asked excitedly.

“No, she won’t go for that.”

“Come on,” the queen insisted. “No matter how much she loves the farm, every woman should have dresses. Or shoes. Or fancy things. You know what?” she continued before he could get a word in. “I’ll send some things. What size is she?”

Jason hadn’t thought about that before. “I don’t know.” He paced the floor as he tried to make an intelligent guess.

“Well, she can’t be fat if she works on a farm,” his mother suggested.

“No, she is slim. As a matter of fact, do you remember Ally? Justin’s sister.”

“Yes, I remember her.”

“I’d say they were about the same size.”

“Good. I can use that. I’ll send some stuff over right away.”

Jason stood at the window afterwards, watching and waiting to see if she would pass by again. She didn’t. He thought about going over to her house, but he knew her father would block him. He could always force his way in, but that was no way to impress anyone and he needed to. The next time he visited, he would bear her gifts, whether she saw him or not. She would know he wasn’t going anywhere, and soon, he hoped, she would stop fighting him.

The following day the packages arrived—silk scarves, lace-edged dresses, perfume, make-up, jewelry, everything feminine. Jason was a little doubtful about some of the gifts, but he thought, What the heck? Nothing else had worked. Maybe something in the batch would warm her heart. At the very least, she would storm over to the cottage, mad that he had given her things she didn’t ask for—again—and he would grab her and remind her what they had.

The thought provoked a smile from him, and he picked up one of the parcels, a small box with a pearl necklace and a matching pair of earrings. She would be a fool to resist those.