Page 25 of Incognito

“Not a racoon in sight.” Dante smiled and made an exaggerated swipe at his brow as he bent over to pick up a rabbit.

“Lucky for you,” Natasha said, her gaze riveted to Dante’s denim-clad butt. There was no harm in looking. She could appreciate a fine tail—the rabbit’s, of course—like the next girl.

“We don’t have places like this in Calida. I’m impressed.”

Dante picked up the white furry rabbit and cuddled it close against his broad chest while she quickly looked away before she drooled all over him.

The guy was gorgeous, rich, genuinely nice, and loved animals?

There had to be a catch.

Maybe he hid a pointy tail beneath those faded jeans and kept his pitchfork in the closet?

“The animals are cute,” she said, picking up a Dalmatian puppy and laughing as it licked under her chin. “Make that seriously cute.”

“You are correct,” he said, his gaze unerringly locked on her and not on the wriggling puppy in her arms.

Heat crept into her cheeks as she bent down and placed the puppy next to its siblings, giving it a final pat with reluctance. One of the drawbacks of spending her life growing up in a hotel was the no pets policy. She’d drooled over other kids’ guinea pigs and kittens at school but it wasn’t until recently that she craved the company and unconditional love of a pet.

Dogs didn’t turn on their buddies—unlike smarmy fiancés.

Standing and dusting off her turquoise jacket, she said, “Okay. From what we’ve seen today, the animals are a hit, so I’ll organise the party booking. How does the day after tomorrow suit? Eleven a.m.?”

“Sounds good,” Dante said, grinning at her like she’d worked some kind of miracle rather than find suitable entertainment for his nephew’s party.

“That’s settled then.”

But Natasha didn’t move. She wanted to, but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. Instead, her attention stayed riveted to Dante’s hands and the gentle way they stroked the quivering rabbit, which had stilled and seemed quite content to burrow into his arms.

She couldn’t blame the bunny for that. It looked like an extremely comfortable place to be.

His hand smoothed the rabbit’s fur repeatedly, soft, rhythmic strokes with those strong yet elegant hands, a gentle lulling motion she could’ve watched forever. While silently wishing for a pair of long ears and a fluffy tail.

“Shall we check out the jumping castles next?”

She tore her gaze away from his hands to meet his, hoping she wouldn’t blush. Curiosity lit the blue depths of his eyes and she mentally slapped herself for being so out of touch with men that the mere sight of one patting a rabbit had her hypnotised.

“Sounds like a plan,” she said. “Meet me at the front desk and we’ll finalise the deposit for the mobile animal farm. Then we can move onto something you’ll be great at testing out.”

His forehead crinkled in confusion and she chuckled. “Castles? You being royalty and all? Or has this anonymity thing for a week gone to your head?”

He chuckled, and it sounded forced, lacking genuine amusement.

“Do you live in a castle?”

They hadn’t talked about his sovereignty. In fact, they hadn’t talked much at all unless it involved perpetuating his subterfuge, organising his nephew’s party, or her lack of social skills. What better way to loosen up a little and learn something about the prince in the process?

“Yes, I live in a castle. It has been in my family for generations,” he said, placing the rabbit back with in its pen and dusting off his hands.

Okay, so he didn’t want to elaborate. Maybe if she lightened the mood he’d be more forthcoming?

“Complete with drawbridge, moat, and dungeons?”

His mouth twitched. “No, but it does have a fire-breathing dragon, whose name is Elena.”

“Sounds harmless enough.”

He rolled his eyes. “You haven’t met my mother.”

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