Page 6 of Too Sexy for My Hooves (Inn or Out #2)

“Perhaps you could lure Prince Robin into taking a walk so I can discreetly clean his stall. Farley doesn’t want me hanging around him, and I’m not keen on keeping him company. He ran away when Farley growled. I lost respect for him after that.”

“Farley is a bear. Bears are scary.” Peace bit her lip but still nodded. “Well, I can do what you ask, but there is something you should know.”

“Like what?” I asked.

The fairy ducked her head and mumbled something.

I stared at her. “How about holding my gaze and speaking loud enough for me to actually hear it?”

Peace let loose a groan. “I don’t want to tell you. You’ll lose all respect for me. This is even worse than me sleeping with your boyfriend.”

I fisted both my hands on my hips. “You asked me to let your friends stay. I thought Prince Robin was your friend.”

“He is more than just my friend. Prince Robin is my intended.”

I tilted my head and studied her. “Intended for what?”

Her sigh was loud. “When I am ready to settle down, I’m supposed to settle down with Prince Robin. I protested this choice to my mother for very good reasons. Instead of understanding, she cursed him with so much allure that females could not resist him.”

I blinked in surprise, but then it hit me. “I get it. She turned him into the male version of you so he could catch up to you in experience. Only he hasn’t. Lord Alfred said Prince Robin was... uh ... abstaining. I think that was the term.”

“Robin does not want me, Selene. He wants to marry someone like himself. I can’t be someone so inexperienced.

His idea of a date is ordering in food and playing video games in the basement of his castle.

I feel like I belong to a different generation.

I’m only three hundred years old, but I am next in line to rule all fairies. I cannot shirk my duties to my people.”

“If you’re three hundred, how old is Prince Robin?”

“I believe he is two hundred and ninety-nine.”

“So you’re the same age, but he’s a totally different person. And you have nearly nothing in common.”

Peace shrugged. “I do not hate him—quite the opposite. We have been friends all our lives. I sincerely want Robin to be happy with whoever he wants.”

“So your mother is making you work here at the inn while he’s hiding out here. That’s some next-level manipulation, Peace. The fairy queen and The Baba Yaga are two of a kind.”

Peace nodded and lifted both hands. “I do not mind being in Robin’s company. Mother was not cruel enough to make him irresistible to me. As the heir to her throne, I must choose him willingly. It is a royal law that even she has to honor.”

I tapped my finger to my lips as I pondered the situation. There was nothing to be done except to fake Peace working here until her situation either resolved itself or failed miserably.

I stopped tapping to study her. “Do you want me to walk with Robin while you clean out his stall?”

Peace winced and shook her head. “If I were willing to marry him, I still wouldn’t want to shovel his shit. Robin’s mother spoils him. He does nothing but play video games all day. At least I’m out doing actual work for my kingdom.”

“Is Robin the youngest child?” I asked.

Peace nodded. “Yes. His older brother, Earl, is the heir. His sister, Patrice, occupies the role of hospitality hostess, which means she gossips and arranges the court’s entertainment.

Robin does nothing and is never asked to do anything.

I was supposed to marry Earl, but he found his true love nearly a century before Robin and I were born.

Mother is determined to align our kingdoms so Robin and I have little choice.

All we can do is avoid our commitment for as long as possible. ”

“Maybe Robin is more ambitious than you think he is. As the youngest child in my family, I expected to get my way all the time too, but I was never spared from hard work. Perhaps he’s a software developer who creates the games. If so, he could be quite wealthy.”

Peace made a sound that I couldn’t interpret. “It would be shocking and unnecessary since he receives money from a trust. We both do.”

I crossed my arms. “Are you going to clean the stall or walk the centaur? Choose.”

Peace snorted. “I can see you will be a demanding boss.”

“After I clean the stall, you and I are going to head to the basement and check out the rooms downstairs. While you’re changing the sheets upstairs, I’m going to talk to Jezel. The upstairs rooms are for guests. Staff sleep in the basement.”

“You are not sleeping in the basement.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Because I’m not staff. I’m the innkeeper. Your mother will never believe you work here if you’re sleeping in a guest room.”

“Fine,” Peace said. “I will walk Prince Robyn.” She stomped to the kitchen door. “This is cruel punishment. Mother would never sentence Allegheny to manual labor.”

“Talking a walk with a handsome man is not manual labor. He even brought a saddle with him. If you’re feeling truly lazy, maybe you could ride him instead of walking.”

Peace glared at me. “Is that supposed to be innuendo?”

I grinned at her. “No, but now that you mention it, that is rather funny. We’ll prep the room upstairs for your mother’s spy. The distance between your sleeping quarters and theirs will send the perfect message.”

“This is very demeaning. I am not happy.”

“Well, get happy, Princess. Your new job is to keep the guests satisfied.” I chuckled and waved my fingers to shoo her out of the kitchen.

“Don’t let Alfred hop along, if you can help it.

He’s a disturbingly cute bunny but very judgy-mcjudgerton.

Something tells me Robin’s celibacy is not merely self-inflicted.

Lord Alfred strikes me as a consummate clock-blocker. ”

“Do you truly think Sir Alfred is forcing him to be chaste?”

“Yes. He was unrepentant about interrupting my third date with Farley. The man needs to get laid so he’ll regret going so long without that basic human comfort.”

Peace winced. “Perhaps I would prefer being in the basement if you decide to indulge with Farley. You seem like someone who would make a lot of noise during sex. I imagine the bear will growl the whole time. It would be intolerable to have to listen to the two of you while I am practicing celibacy.”

I stared at her, blinking over the insults. She just didn’t know when to shut up. “Pot, kettle, black—Princess Squeak-With-Every-Bounce. I thought you were a freaking pixie. Ooo. Ooo. Ooo. ”

She threw up her hands and muttered something before stomping out.

I was proud of myself for waiting until she left to dissolve into laughter.

Letting the arrogant royal pretend to work here was probably the stupidest thing I’d ever agreed to do.

On a brighter note, Carol would be appalled to find out I put a fairy princess to work in her inn.

No doubt, the witch protectress would think I was extorting the fairy.

Even if Carol believed my story about the situation, I knew she’d still hate the political optics because it looked really bad.

The Baba Yaga was a protectress, not an extortionist.

In truth, I didn’t mind helping Peace deceive her manipulative mother.

Getting Peace’s hands dirty with actual work would be enjoyable as well.

I felt no debt was owed to me, but it wasn’t like I was getting paid to work here, either.

If people knew Carol was using me as slave labor, then Peace being here would look even worse.

I wondered how much extra jail time supporting the royal would cost me.