“To the estate home in Havershire please.”
Kyra looked at him, and he grinned. “Sound good to you?”
Kyra’s heart swelled. A trip to the estate sounded more than good. “Sounds wonderful,” she said and scooted close to Marcus.
For the first fifteen minutes or so of the drive, she cuddled into him, grateful she’d decided not to board the plane, glad to be by Marcus’s side. She felt so at peace having admitted her own mistakes to Marcus and was suddenly struck with the urge to do the same with Maggie.
“Do you mind if I give my sister a call?” she asked Marcus.
“Go ahead,” he said and smiled serenely at her. “I don’t mind at all.”
Kyra dialed Maggie’s cell, but there was no answer. She thought about hanging up and trying again later but decided to leave a voicemail. She wanted to get these thoughts off her chest right now.
“Hey Mags, it’s Kyra,” she said. “I wanted to let you know I’ll be extending my trip a bit.” She couldn’t help but smile at Marcus’s reaction—a grin the size of Texas that spread across his whole face. “I don’t want to be too long-winded here, but I wanted to apologize,” she continued. “You were right. It’s time I stop punishing you for your past mistakes. You’re a grown woman and a great mom.”
Kyra paused, realizing she needed to end the call. She didn’t want to be super long-winded.
“Anyway, we can talk more when you have time. Love you, sis. Bye.” She pressed end and put her phone away in her purse. For the rest of the drive, she closed her eyes and snuggled into Marcus, relishing the feel of his comforting arms.
They pulled onto the winding drive of the estate, and memories of their fairy-tale stay here washed over Kyra.
“Before we start to get too cozy out here, I want to talk to you about some ideas I have,” Marcus said as they got out of the car.
“Okay.”
He linked his fingers with hers and led her onto the property toward the garden.
“What would you think of staying on in Sovalon?”
Kyra raised her eyebrows. “Permanently?”
“Yes,” he said. “You and I make a great team. We could run the shelter together, and you could have a huge hand in working with our local nonprofits to bring about the development of governmental policies surrounding women and children’s aid in the region. My dad might be a tough sell, but I’ll bet we can get my brothers on our side. You could be a part of that—if you want it.”
Kyra was quiet for a moment. She let the idea bounce around in her thoughts. She hadn’t even considered it until this very moment.
“I know it would be a huge undertaking and you’re welcome to say no, but I think you’d be amazing in the position,” Marcus went on. He looked anxious, awaiting her response. “If you’re worried about your family, we could fly back to the Atlanta to visit as often as you want.”
She stared at him. He’d put a lot of thought into this idea. He looked so hopeful, seemed so committed to really making things work between them. And he appeared to be sincerely dedicated to the women’s shelter project. It wasn’t just a thing he was forced to do anymore.
But it was overwhelming to imagine uprooting her life in the US and moving here. Could she really just leave her old life behind and plant herself in a whole different country?
On the other hand, could she really see herself leaving Marcus behind? Not to mention, it was a dream opportunity. And with Maggie proclaiming to be able to take care of herself at home, Kyra was off the hook to do whatever she wanted with her life. And, she wanted this.
“What about the media?” she asked, suddenly plagued by the worry that there would be paparazzi following her for the rest of her days, snapping indiscreet photos and publishing trash about her for the world to see.
Marcus shrugged and pulled a face. “The reporters will always be there to some extent. I’m a royal, and people are obsessed with knowing everything about my family—where we sleep, what we eat… everything,” he admitted. His demeanor brightened then. “But we can be one of those private celebrity couples who keep a low profile.”
“Somehow I can’t imagine you keeping a low profile,” she said.
“Well, imagine it,” Marcus said. “I’m about to change the narrative about me that’s out there. No more Playboy Prince,” he said, rolling his eyes. “From now on I’m boring old dad prince. Once they see me changing diapers and singing ABCs all the time, they won’t be interested in following me anymore.”
Marcus winked at her, and Kyra had to laugh. “Boring old dad, huh?” She took his outstretched hand and allowed him to wrap her into his warm body.
“Well, maybe not too boring,” he said, a sly look on his face. He leaned in and sealed his lips over hers. Heat crawled up the backs of her arms, and goose bumps rose along her skin. Breathless, she pulled back and looked into his eyes.
“So, what do you think?” he asked, his voice husky.
“I think that sounds just about perfect,” she said and followed him into the house.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
“Look at her,” Marcus said proudly, cradling his newborn daughter. “She has her mom’s pretty lips.”
Kyra gave him a tired but happy look from the hospital bed. “I don’t think we can tell who she looks like just yet, Marcus.”
Clementine laughed at Kyra’s comment. She’d come for a visit with Edward and Marcus’s middle brother, Aldon. The three were as awestruck with baby Lea as her father was. “I think she has your cheekbones, Marcus,” Clem said. “But I have to agree with Kyra, it’s too early to tell.”
“I can tell,” he said and looked lovingly at Kyra. “She’s beautiful. Just like you.” He stroked the cheek of the sleeping bundle in his arms. He never believed that a person could feel so much love for anyone or anything, but staring down at his daughter, his heart felt like it might just burst with adoration. She was an absolute treasure.
“We should let Momma rest,” Clem said to Edward then turned her eyes to Kyra. “I’m sure you’re beat.”
Kyra shrugged.
“She’s alright,” Edward joked. “All she had to do was push a couple of times, right, Kyra?”
“Oh, yeah, it was a breeze,” Kyra said with a note of sarcasm in her voice.
“She was a trouper,” Marcus said. “I don’t know how women do it. I couldn’t survive childbirth.”
His brothers laughed in agreement and headed toward the door. Before Edward left, he pulled Marcus aside.
“Have you heard from Dad at all?” he asked.
Marcus shook his head. “Mom called,” he said. “She’s coming to visit later today, but Dad probably won’t come. Not yet, anyway.” Marcus tried to hide his disappointment, but he was sure his brother saw through his bravado.
“Give him time,” Edward said. “He’ll come around.”
“Thanks for being here,” Marcus said and bid goodbye to his brothers and Clementine. When he re-entered the hospital room, he was struck by Kyra’s beauty as she cradled their darling daughter and nursed her in the hospital bed. How could a woman possibly look so incredibly radiant just after giving birth?
When Lea finished suckling, he reached out his arms for her.
“I’ll take her,” he said. “You rest.” He rocked Lea gently in his arms. “My baby girl,” he cooed. He glanced over at Kyra to see her smiling at him.
“Close your eyes,” he told her, but she shook her head.
“Can’t sleep,” she said.
“Too excited to introduce your family to Lea?”
“Maybe that’s it.”
“When are they getting here?”
“They fly in tomorrow morning,” Kyra said.
“Then you really should try to rest now so you’re up for a visit when they get here.”
Kyra hadn’t been back home in almost two months, the end of her pregnancy keeping her grounded, not to mention all the work she’d been doing in her position as director
of the crisis shelter. She and Marcus worked alongside each other, with him continuing to sit on a variety of boards in the social welfare sector. Part of his job was to represent the monarchy, and the other was to help secure funding for various projects. They each found their work busy but rewarding, but they had made sure to make time to get Kyra back to Atlanta often to visit with her family and make sure all was well with Maggie and Ava. Kyra had been doing everything she could to make sure her sister and niece were financially secure—paying for a day care to help out with Ava when Maggie was working and their mother wasn’t available to help out. Once the baby was ready to fly, he was sure she would continue to make frequent visits to the US.
“I really just don’t want to sleep, Marcus,” Kyra said, beaming. “I’m enjoying this quiet moment, now that everyone’s gone.”
Marcus’s palms started to sweat. If Kyra wasn’t going to close her eyes, then now was as good a time as any to ask the question he’d been wanting to ask for a while now. He pulled a shiny silver box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a stunning four karat diamond, pear-shaped and encircled with tiny diamond studs.
When Kyra realized what he was doing, her eyes grew wide and teary.
“Kyra, I know our relationship hasn’t exactly been conventional,” he began. “It started off with a one-night stand and quickly advanced to the possibility of an instant family, right?”
Kyra laughed through her tears at this and nodded.
“But I feel certain that it must have been meant to be. Without a shred of doubt, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We can be as conventional or as unconventional as you want from here on out,” he said. “As long as we’re together.”
She squeezed his hand. “Oh, Marcus.”
“Will you do me the great honor of being my partner in this unpredictable life? Kyra, will you marry me?”
“I will,” she said and tilted her chin up to kiss him. He slipped the ring on her finger and she gave it a long look.
“That’s a hell of a ring, Marcus. Nice choice,” she said.
“It was my great-grandmother’s,” he said. “My mother gave it to me to give to you.”
Kyra placed a hand over her heart, clearly touched by his family’s approval of passing on an heirloom.
He leaned in to kiss her again, and she whispered in his ear. “I say we go for unconventional all the way.”
Nose to nose, Marcus grinned back at her.
“Great,” he said. “I’m all in for that.”
He dug into his briefcase and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.
“I snuck it in,” he said, and Kyra shook her head, a laugh on her lips. “How about a toast?”
“Why not?” she said. “But only a sip for me. I’m nursing.”
Marcus looked perplexed for a moment then knocked a fist lightly on his head.
“I didn’t even think about that,” he said.
“No worries. I can have a sip.”
“To a future that is as wonderfully surprising as our life together has been so far. You have changed my life, Kyra.”
She held up a plastic cup that had hardly a splash of whiskey inside.
“I’ve tamed the wild prince, right?” she joked.
“I’m not completely tame,” he said and gave a quiet growl. “I’m wild about my daughter and my future wife. I’m crazy for you and for the idea of us getting to spend the rest of our lives together.”
“Marcus, you’ve changed my life too, you know.” Kyra leaned her head onto his cheek.
“Yep,” he said and sipped his whiskey. “Knocked you up the day I met you.”
“I’m serious,” she said, and he stared into her eyes. “You’ve given me the most beautiful gift I could ever ask for. Just look at her.”
Marcus beamed at their daughter.
“I love you, Kyra,” he said, and without waiting for her to respond he planted a kiss on her lips that promised days and years of joy ahead of them.
As they kissed, the baby began to fuss. A deep voice broke their private moment.
“Is it all right if I hold my granddaughter?”
It was King Hanson. He walked into the hospital room, and without invitation approached Kyra’s bed.
Smiling, Kyra held Lea out to her grandfather. As the king took the baby into his arms, something in his demeanor seemed to shift. All sternness melted from his face, and a smile lit up his cheeks like sunshine.
“Oh, she’s so beautiful,” he said and turned to Marcus. “Son, I know I was less than encouraging about your choice to become a father, but I have to admit I was wrong.”
Marcus didn’t know what to say.
“Baby Lea is the absolute best achievement of your life,” the king said. “Family is everything, Marcus.”
Marcus and Kyra smiled.
“Hands down,” Marcus agreed.
“And Kyra.” King Hanson turned his eyes to her. “Please accept my apology for my harsh behavior toward you. I hope you know I’m tough on Marcus out of love. But I never should have said those things to you.”
“It’s forgotten already,” she said.
“Thank you both for bringing Lea into the world and into our family.” King Hanson stared once more at the baby and cooed. “You’ve made me a grandpa.”
Kyra and Marcus laughed at the smitten look on the king’s face.
Marcus had never felt so filled with joy in his whole life. Later that evening, he sat in a recliner next to a sleeping Kyra, thinking that his father was right. Family was unquestionably the most important aspect of life. He let his eyes fall over Kyra’s sweet face, grateful above all that she’d given him the chance to prove himself and be both her partner and a father to Lea. For all the outlandish experiences he’d ever had in his storied life, being in this place with Kyra and their child was by far the best. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, daddy dreams playing behind his eyes.
End of The Playboy Prince’s Pregnant American
Sovalon Royals Book Two
The Billionaire Prince’s Stubborn Assistant, 16 July 2020
The Playboy Prince’s Pregnant American, 23 July 2020
The Billionaire Prince’s Single Mother, 30 July 2020
PS: Do you want to be swept off your feet? Then keep reading for exclusive extracts from The Billionaire Prince’s Single Mother and The Tycoon’s Pregnant Lover.
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About Leslie
Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
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BLURB
After being ditched by his fiancée before they’d even reached the altar, Prince Aldon of Sovalon heads to his quiet, secluded Thistledown Castle to lick his wounds and try to find some peace. Instead, he finds his gorgeous groundskeeper, Piper McKenzie, and her five-year-old, not-so-quiet daughter, Willa. Though he thought he was longing for solitude, Aldon finds himself delightfully distracted by Piper again and again. Piper is not only beautiful, she’s loving, caring, and opening his eyes to things he’d never noticed before.
Single mother Piper loves her idyllic country life with Willa, taking care of Thistledown Castle and working on the gardens. Aldon’s arrival turns everything topsy-turvy. It’s been a long t
ime since a man has turned her head, and Aldon has hers spinning like a top. Despite her instant attraction, Piper reminds herself that Aldon is a prince and doesn’t seem to be a fan of kids. Definitely not the man for her. Princes don’t marry groundskeepers, they marry the type of woman he used to be engaged to, the same woman Aldon’s father is insisting he reconcile with. Though Piper might be falling in love, she’s smart enough to realize a fairy tale ending is not for her. Secretly, though, she’s hoping this Prince Charming proves her wrong…
Grab your copy of The Billionaire Prince’s Single Mother (Sovalon Royals Book Three) from
www.LeslieNorthBooks.com
* * *
EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT
Chapter 1
Prince Aldon pulled his Jag through the gates of Thistledown Castle. It felt good to be alone behind the wheel of his luxury sports car, listening to his playlist as loud as he wanted, where nobody—not his family, not reporters—could bother him with a barrage of questions about his runaway bride. As he wound down the cobblestone drive, the countryside castle that was his inheritance loomed into view. Its stained-glass window reflected shards of sunlight, and its gray-green stone stood out against the endless blue of the summer sky. The grounds were impeccably kept, boasting colorful flowers and shrubbery.
Judging from the exterior, whoever was taking care of the place was doing a bang-up job.
Being that the castle was his and that he’d planned to make it their forever home once he and his could-have-been wife were ready to settle down, he should have felt pleased.
But he didn’t.
He grimaced as he put the car into park.
As lovely as the countryside and castle were, he just wasn’t in the mood to feel pleased about anything. None of this—not the unexpected jaunt to Thistledown Valley and especially not the ruin of his two-year relationship with Carrie—had been part of his plans.
The Playboy Prince’s Pregnant American: Sovalon Royals Book Two Page 10