“Bam, huh?” I laughed loudly, drawing some looks our way, and Sam dropped her hand. No one knew that my brother and best friend were expecting a baby. It was a family secret for now.

“Yes, and now all I want to do is sleep and puke.” She frowned. “Sometimes at the same time.”

“Are you happy?” I leaned close so no one could hear us.

“Very.” She smiled and her face practically glowed. “I’m scared to death but so, so happy.”

“I wonder if you’ll have a boy or girl.”

“Won’t know for a while.” Her hand fluttered to her stomach briefly. “So tell me something.”

“Something. Hey!” I chuckled when she smacked me with her gloves. “What?”

“When are you two going to make things official?” She glanced to where David was sitting. He had finally been saved by one of the other workers and the girls were asking questions instead of just staring at him.

“We’re taking our time.” I shrugged. “Besides, with you making little heirs, I don’t have to rush.”

“I noticed you moved your stuff to Rousseau.” She smiled.

“Well, with you at D’Lynsal it made sense.” I shrugged. “Besides, it’s a long drive in the middle of the night just for a booty call.”

“Tell me about it.” Her laugh was infectious.

“Really, I want to finish school first. Then, we’ll see.” I watched David lean over and place the merlin on the gloved arm of a girl. “We talked about it. I hope we’ll get there someday.”

“Pfft. You’re there, you’re just killing time at this point.” Sam shook her head. “But I get the degree thing. It was painful to give that up when I moved to Lilaria.”

“I want to accomplish something first. Have something that I earned for myself, not just something I was born into.” I shrugged. It was hard to explain but I wanted to feel like I had done more than just been a figurehead.

“Uh-oh.” Sam stood up from the wall she was leaning on. “He’s coming and I think you’re in trouble.” She darted away from me quickly as I turned around to see who she was talking about.

“You left me for the vultures.” David leaned close and whispered in my ear.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had those here.” I widened my eyes and tried to look innocent.

“Oh, that is not going to work on me.” He traced my cheek with one finger. “They were just staring at me and didn’t hear a word I said.”

“Well, it’s your fault for being so cute.” I placed my hands on his plaid-covered chest. “The whole lumber jack think really works for you.”

“It did snag me a princess.” His eyes twinkled.

“That is true.” I toyed with the pocket on his chest. “And now that you have one, what are you going to do with her?”

He leaned down so that his mouth barely touched my ear. “I can’t say what I’m going to do because there are too many kids around.”

“Are you sure that said princess will go for your plans?” I raised an eyebrow as he moved his face so that his lips were a mere breath away from mine.

“She did this morning.” Ever so softly he pressed his mouth to mine.

“You know, I always thought I wanted a knight in shining armor.” I broke away from his kiss and looked up at him with a smile. “But I like my dashing rogue much better.”

“Angel, shiny armor just means the knight never went to battle.” He kissed my temple. “And I’d fight dragons for you.”