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I look at Cian and he grins. “Want to see the swamp?”
I want to stay here longer. I want to hang out tonight. Eat more of this jambalaya that is hands-down the best I’ve ever had. Drink more sweet tea. Maybe something stronger. Get to know these people better. Hear more stories. Maybe get a selfie of me with Saoirse to send to Mariah. Maybe even video chat with MariahwithSaoirse. I’d be a damned hero to my daughter. Enjoy hanging out in public with Cian where he can touch meand kiss me and we can be a couple in front of other people. And hell yeah, I want to see him captaining a swamp boat.
“I do,” I tell him.
His gaze drops to my mouth. “I like hearing those words from you.”
I blush and open my mouth to reply, but one of the guys asks, “Hey, yeah, what do you think of this plan for Cian to marry Astrid?”
“Owen!” the pretty blonde next to him exclaims, then elbows him in the side.
“Ow!” he protests. “Dammit, Maddie, you know those ribs are sore.”
“Your own fault,” she says. “You knew better than to take the ATV out there and did it anyway.”
“Wow,” one of the brunettes says, throwing a biscuit at him.
He catches the biscuit and starts putting butter on it. “What? I wasn’t the only one on the ATVs.” He shoots a look down the table, but it’s very difficult to know who else he’s indicating was involved in the shenanigans.
“I mean bringing up Astrid in front of Scarlett,” the biscuit-thrower says.
He takes a bite of the biscuit. “I’m just curious howthat’sall gonna work.” He points the biscuit at her. “And I know you are too.”
The brunette looks at the blonde. “Can’t you control him?”
The blonde laughs. “Oh sure. If I could, we wouldn’t have a fucking alligator coming up into our yard to be fuckinghand fedevery fucking morning, trust me.”
“You should divorce him. None of us know why you put up with him,” someone else says.
She grins up at Owen, who looks down at her with unabashed love. “Well, there are a few reasons that outweigh the crazy.So far.”
He leans down and says something in her ear. She blushes but laughs. “Yeah, that’s on the list.”
He straightens, grinning averysmug grin.
I can feel my own grin stretching bigger than I think I’ve smiled in a long time.
“See why I love it here?” Cian says near my ear.
I suddenly feel tears stinging my eyes. I simply nod. God, he could havethisall the time, but he’s hanging out in Emerald with me. Pretending to be someone else. Hiding out because I don’t want anyone to know who he is.
Here, no one seems to care that he's a prince. He’s just one of them.
“Anyway,”Owen says. “Youshould marry him, right?”
I feel my eyes widen as I realize he’s looking directly at me.
Many heads around the table nod up and down. As if it’s just that simple.
“I’m not really princess material,” I tell them. My go-to line now.
Someone else snorts. “Trust me,Abigailis not princess material. If she can do it, anyone can.”
Lots of affectionate laughter follows that statement.
And I smile. I know there was a lot of discussion about Abigail being shy, having social anxiety, preferring her plants to people, how she’s more comfortable in muddy rubber boots and blue jeans than high heels and ball gowns.
But she wants to make people’s lives better. She wants to, literally, get her hands dirty solving problems. She doesn’t want totalkabout it in public, maybe, but she’sdoingso many great things.