Bluegrass State of Mind(43)

After lunch, Ahmed led them off the patio to two golf carts. She had no idea Mercedes made golf carts! Ahmed took the first one while she and Mo climbed into the second one. Mo turned to her. "Are you sure I may not seduce you? I am good at it, you know."

She smiled at him. "I know you are. And it's very tempting, especially after that dessert. But there's just something between Will and me."

"Too bad. A nice seduction after lunch sure hits the spot. But, at last, I am bested," Mo joked. "However, I would ask your permission to talk about a sensitive topic."

Confused about what topic he meant, she nodded her head, giving her approval.

"I know there is something going on in your life that you are not telling anyone."

She felt the blood draining from her face. No, there was no way he could know about New York. "What are you talking about?" She tried to plaster a smile on her face while wiping her now-sweaty palms on the hem of her dress.

"Ahmed runs a full background on anyone I invite over. I know you were an up-and-coming attorney at the largest law firm in New York City. I know about two months ago, on the night of your twenty-ninth birthday, you went off the grid and didn't show up again until you came to Keeneston. You haven't touched your Gold Card, and you haven't withdrawn any cash, except for a large sum during your last night in New York."

Not knowing what to say, she took the advice she had always given her clients and kept her mouth shut.

Not seeming to be deterred by her silence, Mo continued. "I know it must be something bad if you felt your only option was to disappear. Just know that I am a very good friend to have if you need help. Being a lawyer, you must know, too, it is nice to have a friend with diplomatic immunity." With that, he turned and pointed out the foaling barn. He spoke of his hopes to develop his stables into a Derby-winning one.

As he talked about the farm, she thought about what he had said. It would be nice to tell someone why she was here and the fears she had. She still hadn't heard from Danielle and was getting nervous. Not now, but someday, she knew she'd be able to trust Mo enough to tell him the truth.

"Mo, what about you? What brought you halfway around the world?"

"My parents. I turned thirty about four years ago. Ever since, my parents, especially my father, deemed it necessary for me to marry. However, it was my dream to live on my own and marry whom I wanted. I worked out a deal with them that I had until I was thirty-five to enjoy my freedom. I started a racing stable in my home country and it prospered. I figured in the last year or so of my freedom, I would establish a stable in Keeneston, the heart of horse racing."

"Will your father force you to marry next year?" This was the first time she had considered how life was so very different for him. It made her want to get him more involved in the community she had already fallen in love with.

"Yes, and no. If I am not married by thirty-five, I must return home to choose one of the eligible ladies my father picks out and marry within the year. I hope to have my stables established by then. After the marriage, we'll move back here to live."

"Then, you asked me to marry you for no reason. I'm so hurt!" She gave him a nudge with her elbow.

"Actually, that is part of the arrangement between my father and me. I have the final and only say in whom I marry before my time is up. Unfortunately, I am not very good at meeting women who are not after a name and position in a royal family. I am third in line for the throne, and many women see it as a way to live a fantasy life. I don't want that in a wife. But my time will soon expire and I will end up married to a boring woman of good breeding." Mo drove the golf cart around to the front of the mini-palace and pulled to a stop. "I am sure you are eager to get back to your studies. I will have Ahmed drive you home. I do hope you know I am sincere when I say I hope we can be friends. It was lovely sharing the day with you."

"I enjoyed it, too. I'm sure there will be a party when the bar exam is over. You must promise me that you and Ahmed will come."

"I promise." The sound of tires on the crushed stone made them turn to look at the taxi coming down the long drive. "Oh, no! Not another one," Mo groaned and put his fingertips to his forehead as if trying to relieve a headache.

"You have a problem with solicitors? Are they Girl Scouts trying to sell cookies?" Kenna joked.

"I wish. I've developed quite a taste for those cookies. Sadly, this is my father's hand. He keeps sending women to me in hopes that I will not marry whom I choose but find one of his choices attractive enough to marry after I examine her."

"You mean he ships eligible women over here to be paraded in front of you in the hopes that you give in to marry one. Doesn't he know women aren't horses?" She knew there was a cultural difference, but she felt bad for these women.