Chapter 13
“I insist on sleeping on the couch.” Emberly flopped down onto the couch, put up her feet, and crossed her arms.
The oil lantern hanging from the rafter cast a warm glow over the room and over the men, who were still sitting at the table and now staring at her.
Winzig had joined her and Max in their games, and Braun had spent the evening creating origami creatures from paper he’d found in the kitchen hutch, apparently another one of his many hobbies.
“It makes sense for the three of you to share a room,” she insisted. “And the couch is perfectly comfortable.”
“’Tis not as comfortable as the bed.” Max stood and began gathering the playing cards.
“It’s one night. And I’ll be fine.”
He shook his head, his frustration palpable.
Braun finished folding the last wing on what appeared to be a swan. “At least she will stay warmer if she sleeps near the stove.”
The stove had pumped out heat all afternoon and evening. At times, it had even grown too toasty. They still had plenty of wood inside to see them through the night, but Braun was right that the back bedroom would be chillier, even with using the blankets in the chest.
“Very well.” Max finished stacking the deck. “Perhaps it is the best solution to allow Emberly to be near the source of heat.”
The stovepipe rattled, and a whistle of wind made its way under the front door in spite of a rolled-up rug to keep out the draft.
Emberly was praying they would only have to stay one night, but with the way the storm was still raging, she was beginning to worry they might be stuck longer.
The last time she’d gone out with Max to check on the snowfall, they’d barely made it to the edge of the porch with the force of the blowing snow.
The steps had been covered in drifts, so they hadn’t ventured down.
But from what they could tell, at least eight to twelve inches of fresh powder had fallen since the afternoon.
It was still coming down hard and hadn’t shown any signs of letting up. As high up on the mountain as they were, they could easily get another foot or two before the storm moved on. That amount would make traveling out of the high elevation difficult, even by snowmobile.
She didn’t want to worry about it and borrow trouble.
But she also knew that their situation was precarious.
No doubt her family was also worried about them since they hadn’t returned as scheduled.
Without cell phone service, they couldn’t call anyone to inform them of the delay.
She hoped everyone would realize they’d decided to stay the night rather than hike back down in the storm.
Braun yawned loudly. “Shall we turn in?”
“You and Winzig go ahead.” Max began to cross to the stove. “I shall make sure the stove is fed.”
“I can do that,” Winzig said in German.
“No, I want to,” Max replied in German.
“Of course you do.” Braun’s voice—also in German—was quiet with a note of teasing. “You will do anything to spend more time with her.”
“Yes,” Max whispered his reply. “But I promise I shall be on my very best behavior.”
“Very best?” Braun tsked. “You can kiss her, you know.”
“I shall not take advantage of her or the situation.”
“Perhaps ’tis less about taking advantage and more about letting her know you have feelings for her.”
He had feelings for her? After spending so much time together, she and Max had grown close. But what did Braun mean?
She held her breath and waited for more of their whispered conversation in German.
Braun stifled another yawn. “Just tell her you care about her, Your Highness. And kiss her.”
Care about her? Kiss her?
“Go to sleep and say no more.” Even though Max’s tone was quietly commanding, it also contained a note of affection for Braun.
Emberly ducked her head. They still didn’t know she could understand everything they were saying. Should she confess that she could speak German? But then would she have to admit she knew he was a prince? Maybe it was time to come clean about it.
Max finished adding wood to the stove and then made his way to the love seat adjacent to her. As he sat, he stretched his jean-clad legs out in front of him and rested his arms along the edge of the couch behind him.
“Max,” she said hesitantly. “I need to tell you something.”
“I need to tell you something too.” He was taking her in, his eyes wide and the green brightening.
“You go first.”
He glanced beyond her to the table, then frowned.
Emberly followed his gaze to find Braun making a kissing motion in the air. Braun quickly pretended he was blowing and swatting at a bug. “This place needs an exterminator.”
Emberly tried to hide her smile, but when Max rolled his eyes at Braun, she couldn’t keep from chuckling.
After a moment, Max leaned back and released a slow smile.
It took several minutes before Braun and Winzig disappeared into the other room.
The dividing wall was thin, and she and Max could hear every sound the two men made as they climbed into their beds and situated themselves.
That meant Braun and Winzig would be able to hear everything she and Max said too.
But hopefully they would soon be asleep.
“So, what were you going to say?” she whispered.
He looked so relaxed in his jeans and the long-sleeved thermal shirt that had been under the thick wool sweater he’d been wearing earlier.
His fair hair was tousled and his face scruffier than usual, so that he was rugged and gentlemanly at the same time, making him look like he half belonged in the Old West and half belonged in a palace.
The cabin was quiet now except for the wind rattling the windows and trees and anything else it could reach.
Max leaned forward suddenly, braced his elbows on his knees, and hung his head.
“I can go first,” she offered.
“No.” His tone was soft but firm. “I must confess that I have not been completely honest with you about who I am.”
She wanted to jump in and tell him that she already knew who he was.
Before she could formulate a response, he lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. “I am the crown prince of Karltenberg.”
“Okay.”
His eyes widened. “Just okay?”
“Remember that I said I needed to tell you something?”
He pressed his lips together, clearly wanting more of a reaction from her than her okay.
“I realized you were a prince from the first day I met you.”
“What?” He straightened. “How? Did someone else say something? One of the other bankers?”
“No.” She shifted into speaking German so that there would be no doubt in his mind that she knew. “I heard Braun call you Your Highness. And it didn’t take much investigating after that to find out who you were.”
“I see.”
She sat up. “You’re irritated at me.” She switched back to English now that she’d made her point.
“Yes, you should have told me you knew.”
“I could say the same thing of you.”
“This is different. You can speak German and overheard our conversations.”
“I admit, I felt like I was eavesdropping.”
“You were.” He stood abruptly. “You deceived me.”
She pushed up so that she was standing too. “And you deceived me.”
“How could I deceive you when you already knew my true identity?”
“It was still deception since your intention was to hide it from me.”
They weren’t exactly shouting, but neither were they being quiet anymore. She supposed it was good that Braun and Winzig could hear the truth too.
He stood rigid, his chin high and his shoulders straight. He looked haughty and powerful, like a king. Did royalty practice that kind of stance? Because he had it down to perfection.
He held her gaze for a moment, then blew out a taut breath. “You are right. It was still deception. And I apologize for not telling you sooner.”
“And I’m sorry for not telling you sooner too.”
“I have no excuse, but I had just hoped to have a private vacation without any paparazzi discovering my whereabouts and disturbing me.”
“I heard you say so to Braun, which was one of the reasons why I decided to keep quiet about it.”
“What were the other reasons?”
“I admit, I was afraid you’d leave if you knew that I knew.”
“I doubt I would have.”
“But you didn’t know if you could trust me to keep your secret and not gossip about it with others. The news would have spread fast.”
“True.”
“I didn’t want to risk anything happening to spoil the week for you and the rest of the men in the group, especially because Dad and Tyler were so excited about getting international recognition for our ranch.”
He slipped his hands into his pockets, and his shoulders seemed to lose their tension.
She expelled a breath. “I hope you understand.”
“I do. You had your reasons for staying silent, the same way I had mine. And I cannot condemn you for it.”
“Thank you, Max.”
He nodded.
Something was off. She could feel it between them, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Was he still upset at her?
“I could have at least told you that I knew,” she admitted. “But once I decided to let the matter go, I didn’t really think about it much.”
He didn’t respond.
“Besides, what was I supposed to say? ‘Good job on the ski hill, and by the way, I know you’re a prince’?”
“I do truly understand, Emberly. You were actually quite honorable with your intentions, and I appreciate it.”
But did he?
He shifted to glance out the window. The oil lantern above the table was still burning and revealed the drifts of snow now covering all but a small piece of the glass.
Had she ruined her relationship with Max? Would things be different and awkward between them?
A strange desperation began to seep through her. She didn’t want their relationship to change, didn’t want to lose the connection she had with him, didn’t want to lose him.
Without giving herself a chance to second-guess herself, she crossed toward him. As she stopped in front of him, he continued to stare out the window.
Boldly, she lifted a hand and cupped his cheek. “Don’t be mad at me, okay?”