She bit back a moan. Is that what he thought? That she was demanding he kiss her or whatever it was the teenagers did up there? They’d pulled onto the two-lane highway. There weren’t many other cars out on the road, and they seemed to be alone in some isolated part of the world. There was only the low sound of the engine and the faint whisper of country music coming from the truck’s stereo.
‘‘Um, Mitch?’’
‘‘Yes?’’
‘‘We don’t have to go there if you don’t want to. I mean, I was mostly interested in the view, and it’s getting late and well, it’s not necessary.’’
He gave her a quick glance before returning his attention to the road. ‘‘In no particular order, it’s not all that late, I’m happy to show you the view and, no, you’re not making me do anything I don’t want to do.’’
Okay, so she hadn’t made herself clear. It wasn’t really her fault, she thought grimly. None of her etiquette classes had covered this particular situation. She was twenty-nine years old and she’d never been romantically involved with a man. It was incredibly pitiful.
‘‘What I’m trying to say is that I have no expectations that—’’ She groaned low in her throat. ‘‘That didn’t come out right.’’ She tried again. ‘‘I don’t expect you to feel obligated to be any way other than how you want to be.’’
Despite the darkness of the cab, she saw Mitch’s eyebrows pull together. ‘‘You want to run that by me again?’’
‘‘Not really.’’
‘‘Okay.’’ He nodded a couple of times. ‘‘Let me see if I understand this. You’re saying that your entire interest in Submarine Point is the view, and that I am under no obligation to put out. Does that about sum it up?’’
If she hadn’t thought it would have started an international incident, she would have thrown herself out of the cab and risked tumbling down the side of the mountain. Color heated her cheeks until she could only pray that she would die. Right there. In the truck.
‘‘I’ll take your silence for a yes,’’ he said.
She made a low, strangled sound which he ignored.
‘‘That leaves only one question, Princess Alexandra. Do you want me to do anything or not?’’
Before she could even try to answer, he pulled the truck off the main highway and rolled onto a dirt track. They bounced along for several minutes, rounded a bend and stopped by an outcropping of rock.
Alex leaned forward and caught her breath. Lights twinkled in the valley below, while stars twinkled in the clear sky above. The darkness seemed to go on forever, but not in a way that frightened her. Instead she had the sense of being a small part of a much larger world.
‘‘It’s beautiful,’’ she breathed.
He turned off the engine, and they were instantly surrounded by silence. Mitch opened the driver’s window a couple of inches. ‘‘Pretty soon you’ll be able to hear the coyotes and whatnot going about their business.’’
She glanced at him. ‘‘I’ve never seen a whatnot before. Are they indigenous to the area?’’
‘‘Mostly. Some came over with the Spanish back in the sixteen hundreds. We have several varieties of whatnot out here. The males are sturdy, loyal creatures, but the females can be a real pain in the butt.’’
She turned her back on him and stared out the side window. ‘‘I’m ignoring you.’’
‘‘Why?’’
‘‘You’re insulting me.’’
‘‘For talking about whatnots?’’
‘‘You know exactly what I mean.’’
She pressed her lips together so that her laughter wouldn’t escape. With Mitch she was able to relax more than with anyone other than her immediate family. She was both pleased and confused by that. Maybe it was their isolation on the ranch. Out here there weren’t any royal rituals or reminders of who and what she was. Maybe it was the man himself. He wasn’t one to stand on ceremony.
‘‘Tell me what you’re thinking,’’ he said.
‘‘That you make me laugh.’’
She spoke without turning around. Was it her or had it suddenly gotten warm in the cab? And had Mitch’s voice turned low and smoky?
‘‘I’m glad,’’ he said. ‘‘I want you to enjoy your time on the ranch.’’
