Page 12 of Her Royal Cowboy Billionaire

Michele climbed into the truck and then turned to Erin. “It means that when Alex’s father passes away, Alex will become King of Batrovia and, I would guess, will have to return home.” She returned her gaze to Alex. “Is that right?”

Alex nodded. “That is correct, but I expect my father to live for many more years.”

Michele put on her seatbelt. “So, you won’t be returning to Batrovia anytime soon?”

Alex closed the door and went around the truck and got behind the wheel. “No. It is not in my plans to return there to live anytime soon.”

They went to Alex’s house. It was not dark yet, and he was proud of his home. It was two stories, built from logs.

He parked next to the front porch, which was ten feet wide, and ran the length of the house.

“Your home is beautiful.”

“Thank you. I am proud of it. I had it built from all native materials.”

“I can see why you’d be proud.”

He opened the door for Michele and Erin, followed them inside, and then closed the door.

The front door opened into a great room with a massive rock fireplace in the sunken living room, beams made from whole trees. A conversation pit was in front of the fireplace, with comfy couches and chairs with tables for drinks.

Michele smiled and waved her arm, taking in the room. “This room is fantastic. I already want to just go take a nap in front of the fire.”

“I’m very glad you like it. Wait until you see the kitchen.”

He led them to the kitchen, which wasn’t just functional, it was beautiful. Black granite with specks of quartz in it, making it look like the sky at night with all the stars out, covered his counter tops and the large island. His appliances were gleaming black, even the sink was black porcelain.

Her eyes were wide as she ran her fingers over the granite top of the island. “Oh, my gosh. Look at this kitchen. Alex, it’s beautiful. I would have thought so much black would be offputting, but it’s not with the white walls and white marble floor, it’s stark and beautiful.”

Erin followed them around and touched the same things her mother did. Then she looked up at her mother. “I’m hungry.”

“I take that as my cue to prepare our dinner. Would you ladies like something to drink?”

“Do you have a Malbec?”

“I do.” He walked to the cabinet, as tall as he was and about three feet across, that held his wine at a cool fifty-five degrees. He ran his fingers about halfway down the rows and pulled a bottle. “Here is a nice one from Argentina. I think you’ll like it. And for Miss Erin, what about some chocolate milk?”

Michele laughed. “You have chocolate milk?”

“I happen to get a craving for it occasionally.” He walked to the black four-door refrigerator and opened the upper left side. He pulled out a quart of chocolate milk and closed the door. Then he opened the cabinet to the left of the appliance and lifted down a glass, which he filled with the dark, creamy liquid. “Come with me, and I’ll take you to the dining room.”

She carried her wine and Erin’s milk so it didn’t get spilled.

I also did the dining room in natural logs, as were all the rooms. The table was solid oak and sat twelve people. He had made sure it was big enough to seat his entire family.

“Your house is amazing, but I think I’d rather eat in that little nook in the kitchen. It’s cozier.”

Alex nodded. “Your wish is my command.”

He sat them at the small, round oak table with four chairs and then prepared their dinner.

* * *

Michele smiled.She’d been smiling since she’d heard he was not planning to return to Batrovia to live soon. The thought thrilled her.

Dinner was quite nice, considering its rocky start. By the time they were in the truck and headed home, Erin was yawning.

Michele looked at her daughter, strapped her into her seatbelt in the back seat of Alex’s truck. “She probably won’t stay awake for the first mile, much less the trip home.”