“That might be something you need to talk to your mom about.” I shifted in my chair. There was not enough caffeine in the world to help me with this conversation.
“Don’t you like babies?” He sat back and pulled his feet up into his seat.
“Erm.” I looked around the room as if there was an easy answer waiting for me to find. “Sure, babies are great. But they are a lot of work. It’s a big commitment.”
“I think it would be cool.” He moved my arm so it was draped over his shoulders again. “When you and Mom get married, you should have lots of babies.”
I swallowed against my suddenly dry throat. “Maybe not lots.”
“One would be fine.” He said it as if he was giving me permission.
I’d always said I’d never have children. That it would be unfair to bring them into our lifestyle.
But now as I sat here with Marty under my arm, his soft snore reaching my ears, I wasn’t so sure. Having one more might not be so bad. A little brother for Marty.
What if it was a girl? A sister for Marty.
Whoa. What the hell was I thinking about? I didn’t even know if Meredith wanted more kids. We hadn’t talked about it.
Cathy stuck her head out of the swinging doors and motioned for us to come in. Picking up Marty, I followed her to Sam’s room.
Everyone was gathered around the bed, so I sat Marty down on the large chair and joined them.
“Do you want to hold your niece?” Sam smiled at me.
There was a tiny little blanket-wrapped bundle on her chest, with a tuft of dark brown hair on its head.
“Will it hurt her?” I frowned.
“No.” Sam laughed. Her face was tired, but she radiated happiness.
“Okay.”
Alex lifted the bundle off Sam and placed her in my arms. I shifted on my feet, and tried to get my arms just right. A tiny little hand reached out of the blanket and waved as if looking for something. Ever so carefully, I shifted her to one arm and let her grab my finger.
As I looked down at her tiny hand, button nose, and chubby cheeks, I was a goner. She was this perfect combination of Sam and Alex.
Eventually I had to let someone else have a turn, but it was hard to let go. My fingers itched and I wished I had thought to bring my sketchbook with me, but with Sam hollering and Alex freaking out, I was lucky I’d remembered to wear pants.
Meredith came to me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“You look rather sexy holding a baby.” She smiled up at me.
I grunted and watched as Cathy sat down next to Marty to show him his new cousin.
“What’s wrong?” She tilted her head to the side.
“Marty asked me if we were going to have babies.” I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh.” Her eyes widened.
“Actually he said lots of babies.”
“Lots?” She shook her head and looked over at her son.
“Yes, he gave his blessing. Apparently Zach has a new sibling on the way.” I ran my hands over her back.
“Ah.” She laughed. “I don’t know about lots of babies.”
“One might be nice,” I said. “One day.”
“I thought you didn’t want kids.” She cocked her head to the side, but her smile grew.
“Maybe I’m changing my mind.” I shrugged.
“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.” She reached down and pinched my butt.
“Hey.” I mock-glared at her. “Stop that. I said someday. Not today. You’ll get me all excited.”
“So you’d really consider having a baby?” The tenderness in her expression almost killed me.
“If you want to be technical about it, you’d be the one having the baby. I’d just be the punching bag in the delivery room.” Why did I blurt out idiotic things when I was nervous?
“I think that, one day, it would be nice to have another baby.” She smiled shyly.
Leaning down, I kissed her softly. “Me too.”
Life had changed. My plans for the future had shifted.
I was marrying a woman who had been contacted by several theater companies to perform for them. I was going to be the father to a six-year-old boy I loved more than drawing, painting, or breathing. I was helping run a duchy. Me, the royal who hated everything about being a royal. I still had my art. That would always be with me. And I’d keep making and creating things because I couldn’t stop. It was part of who I am. But so were Meredith and Marty.
I wasn’t where I thought I would be and I was incredibly grateful for that. I wouldn’t trade my life for anything.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SOMETIMES IT'S HARD to say good-bye. For me, the Royal series has been one of the most enjoyable, difficult, but rewarding series I’ve ever written. I’m going to miss these characters like crazy. They took on a life of their own and I loved watching their stories unfold.
This series wouldn’t have been possible without a lot of help from my family and friends. It goes without saying that my daughter and husband have borne the brunt of the craziness that comes with writing a book. Without their patience and love, I wouldn’t be able to write.
Thank you to my sister, who always talks me down when I panic about a book. Not only does she provide me with great scientific facts for books, but she’s probably going to start charging me a fee for our therapy sessions.
Thank you to Nicole Mincey and Kate Savage for their medical knowledge. You guys really helped me out during a pinch! Thank you to Courtney Schriner for listening to me ramble about my books and for always being willing to read what I write. Thank you to Heather, my bestie, for not giving up on me when I disappear for months in a book.
For my friends in the FP, you know that you guys are my rock. A group of women that are always there for each other in some way; I’m incredibly lucky to be a part of it.
A huge thank-you to my agent, Rebecca Friedman, who has held my hand for almost a year now. She gets me, people. She really gets me.
KP Simmon, thank you for all of your hard work. I’m pretty sure that you’re part robot or Super Woman. I have no idea how you do all that you do!
To the team at Avon, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Tessa Woodward is a saint. A very patient saint. Jessie Edwards has been a fantastic publicist. And she loves Doctor Who. It doesn’t get much better than that, people.
Thank you to the readers who picked up Suddenly Royal and made my dreams come true. Without you, I wouldn’t be here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NICHOLE CHASE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Suddenly Royal and Recklessly Royal. She lives in Georgia with her husband, toddler, superhero dog, Sulcata tortoise, and two cats. When not devouring novels by the dozens, she can be found writing, painting, crafting, or chasing her daughter around the house while making monster noises.
www.nicholechase.com
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By Nichole Chase
SUDDENLY ROYAL
(Royal Series, Book One)
RECKLESSLY ROYAL
(Royal Series, Book Two)
RELUCTANTLY ROYAL
(Royal Series, Book Three)
MORTAL OBLIGATION
(Dark Betrayal Trilogy, Book One)
MORTAL DEFIANCE
(DARK BETRAYAL TRILOGY, BOOK TWO)
IMMORTAL GRAVE
(DARK BETRAYAL TRILOGY, BOOK THREE)
FLUKES
(THE FLUKES SERIES, BOOK ONE)
ON CHRISTMAS HILL
(A CHRISTMAS HILL SHORT STORY)
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
RELUCTANTLY ROYAL. Copyright © 2014 by Nichole Chase. All rights reserved under I
nternational and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition SEPTEMBER 2014 ISBN: 9780062317506
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062317490
FIRST EDITION
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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