Christine Flynn - The Texan's Tennessee Romance / The Rancher & the Reluctant Princess - The Texan's Tennessee Romance / The Rancher & the Reluctant Princess

She picked up a novel she’d been trying to read for the past week, though she’d had a hard time concentrating on it. She made it through about five pages before a tap on the front door brought her attention out of the story again.

The way Casey glanced downward let her know he’d noticed she’d changed clothes, though he didn’t comment. “I’m calling it a day. Anything you need before I leave?”

“No, thank you. Have a nice evening.”

His mouth crooked into a wry smile in response to her ridiculously clichéd words. “Thanks. Same to you.”

She’d almost closed the door before she jerked it impulsively back open. “Casey?”

Halfway down the steps, he looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

She tried to think of a good reason to keep him there a little longer, to delay the inevitable return to solitude and worry. “Do you like to play games? You know, cards and board games?”

His eyes lit up. “Sure. Doesn’t everyone?”

“I found a whole stack of games in the cabinet next to the fireplace. Maybe you’d like to stay and play Scrabble or something for a while? I have some of Aunt Jewel’s leftovers I can heat for dinner. If you don’t have any other plans, of course,” she finished, belatedly realizing that he might have things he’d rather do.

He smiled. “I was going to work in the cabin tonight, but playing games sounds like a much nicer way to spend the evening. I warn you, though, I’m pretty good at Scrabble. And I play to win.”

Something about his smile made her very glad she’d let herself give in to temptation. She smiled back at him, ignoring the little voice in her head warning her to step carefully. “So do I.”

He walked back up the steps. “Looks like the competition’s on.”

Casey could almost see Natalie loosening up as the evening progressed. She had been so tense earlier, her eyes shadowed, her mouth taut, but after a couple of no-holds-barred Scrabble games, one game won by each of them, she was laughing and relaxed. He took full credit for the transformation, though he did so privately.

“Would you like another glass of wine?” she asked, reaching for the bottle on the table beside her glass.

Okay, so maybe he couldn’t take all the credit, he thought, shaking his head with a smile. “I have to drive in a little while. Considering those winding roads, I’d better stick to coffee now.”

She slapped her forehead lightly. “Of course. I wasn’t even thinking. Let me refill your coffee cup.”

“Thanks.”

She poured herself another glass of white wine. “Whose turn is it?”

“Yours.” He tapped the Scrabble board. “I played ‘quid.’ For a tidy number of points, I might add, considering that the Q is on a triple-letter square.”

She studied his play and then her tiles. A smile tipped up her lips, and then she set several tiles on the board with a flourish. “Vista,” she said rather gloatingly. “With, you will note, the S in front of your ‘quid,’ turning it into ‘squid.’ And may I also direct your attention to the triple-word square beneath the V.”

He couldn’t help laughing at her obvious delight in besting him. As competitive as he was, he didn’t mind losing when Natalie seemed to be having such a nice time winning. Whether because of the wine or the game or—he wanted to believe—the company, she was smiling more than he’d ever seen her, and the lighthearted mood looked good on her.

“It’s been years since I played board games,” she said, taking another sip of the wine. “I’d almost forgotten how much fun they can be.”

He picked up his coffee mug. “Your friends back in Nashville don’t get together to play games?”

Her smile dimmed a few watts. “Not so much. I’ve been hanging around with a bunch of workaholics for the past few years, I guess. Their idea of fun is a cocktail party with plenty of networking opportunities.”

So she’d been corporate. Didn’t surprise him. He still couldn’t decide if she’d burned out or lost her job, but something made him suspect the latter. Laying out tiles to spell “maid,” the longest word he could manage at the time, he said casually, “Sounds to me like you needed a vacation.”

“I suppose I did.” She took a few moments to study her tile rack, then played on his M.

“Not much fun, though, if you’re spending it all here in this cabin.”

She shrugged. “I needed the rest.”

“Maybe you’d like to do something a little different this week? Maybe a hike or something? I’ve been told there are some pretty nice trails around here.”

“I haven’t been hiking in a long time, either. But maybe I will go this week.”

“You know, this is my first visit to this area. I’d like to go with you on a hike, if you don’t mind.”

She didn’t even hesitate this time before she picked up her wine glass again and nodded. “Sure. Why not? I could use the diversion.”

He wasn’t sure how he felt about being used as a diversion—but then again, wasn’t that what he was looking for, as well? Something to think about other than returning home and taking up his life where he’d left off—a prospect that left him feeling empty and inexplicably anxious?

She won the game, by less than twenty points. “That makes you the champ tonight,” he said. “Two games to one.”

“It was close,” she replied, beginning to gather the game pieces. “We’re pretty evenly matched.”

He thought about those words for a moment, but decided not to comment on them. Instead, he took another sip of coffee while Natalie closed the Scrabble game box.

Her gaze met his across the table between them and he was struck by something he saw in her eyes. His well-developed intuition told him that though she had laughed and played for a couple of hours, something was still eating at her. Something an evening of games—and half a bottle of wine—couldn’t entirely banish.

He wondered just how much of a “diversion” she was looking for with him.

She drained the wine from her glass, and looked for a moment as if she were tempted to refill it again. But then she pushed her glass away and replaced the stopper in the wine bottle. “Can I get you some more coffee?”

“Actually, it’s getting late. I guess I’d better be going.”

He saw the expression in her eyes before she lowered her lids, but he couldn’t interpret what he had seen. Was she reluctant for him to leave? If so, was it because she really wanted him to stay—or because she didn’t want to be alone?

She followed him through the living room. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I suppose.”

“Yeah. Thanks for dinner. And the games.”

“You’re welcome. I enjoyed the company.”

“You mean, the diversion,” he murmured, remembering what she’d said earlier.

“That, too,” she replied with a slight shrug.

She reached for the door at the same time he did. They collided, and Casey caught her shoulders to steady her. “Okay?”

Smiling a bit sheepishly up at him, she said, “Clumsy. I rarely drink wine. I must have overdone it a little tonight.”

He didn’t release her immediately. Nor did she step away, instead gazing up at him as he searched her face. Her cheeks were a bit flushed, her eyes a little too bright, and it was all he could do not to cover her slightly parted lips with his own. He suspected she knew full well that he wanted to kiss her. Just as he suspected she wouldn’t mind so much. Maybe she even wanted him to kiss her.

But because she’d had too much wine, and because she’d admitted that she wasn’t quite steady tonight, he allowed himself only to touch her face as he brushed back a strand of hair from her cheek.