A Royal Baby Surprise

by Cat Schield

  And with that, the queen left and Nic was alone with Brooke.

  Pregnant.

  With his child. The thought of it filled him with warmth. But all too quickly questions formed. Had she realized it yet? She wasn’t showing and he guessed that she was between five and eight weeks along. Was that too early for her to suspect? Yet she’d obviously been queasy and had to wonder why.

  Brooke began to stir and Nic went to sit beside her. She blinked and slowly focused on him.

  “What happened?”

  “You passed out.”

  “Damn.” She rubbed her eyes. “I yelled at your mother. She must hate me.”

  “She doesn’t.” He skimmed his knuckles against her cheek. “What’s going on with you? I’ve never known you to be sick.”

  She avoided his gaze. “Nothing, I’m just really overwrought and I think my blood sugar is low because I was too nervous to eat much at dinner.”

  “Is that why you were eating these?” He picked up the crackers and held them before her.

  “Whenever my stomach gets upset, I eat crackers to absorb the acid.” Her words made sense, but something about her tone told him she wasn’t giving him full disclosure.

  “My mother told me she used to eat crackers when she was pregnant,” he said. “She claimed it helped with nausea.”

  Brooke’s body tensed. “I’ve heard that before. I think if you keep something bland in your stomach it settles it.”

  Nic’s irritation was growing by the second. Brooke was a terrible liar because she believed in being honest. So much so it had gotten her into trouble a number of times. Her behavior while answering his questions demonstrated that while she hadn’t actually said anything false, she was keeping things from him.

  “Are you pregnant?”

  “We’ve been careful.”

  “That didn’t answer my question.” He leaned down and grabbed her chin, pinning her with his gaze. “Are you pregnant?”

  “Yes.” Her voice came out small and unsure.

  He sat back with a muffled curse. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “That was the plan when I came to Ithaca.” She pushed into a sitting position and retreated away from him as far as the headboard would allow. “I couldn’t tell you something like that over the phone, but then I showed up and you were so unhappy to see me.” She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at her shoes. “And then you announce that you are a prince and you need to get married so your country could have an heir and that your wife needed to be an aristocrat or a citizen of Sherdana.”

  “So you were planning on leaving without ever telling me?” Outrage gave his voice a sharp edge.

  “Don’t say it like that. You made a choice to come back here and do the honorable thing. I made a decision that would save you from regret.”

  “But to never see my child?”

  She put her hands over the lower half of her face and closed her eyes. After a long moment she spoke. “Don’t you think I considered that? But I knew you would have other children, hopefully lots of them.”

  Her every word slashed his heart into ribbons. The woman he loved was having his child and he’d been days away from never knowing the truth. “Well, there’s no question of you going home now.”

  “What? You can’t make that decision for me. My job, friends and family are in California. That’s where I belong. Just like you belong here in Sherdana with your family and your future wife.”

  She was crazy if she thought he was just going to let her vanish out of his life. “You belong with me just like I belong with you and our child.”

  “Maybe if you were the ordinary scientist I first fell in love with, but you are a prince with responsibilities that are bigger than both of us combined. Do the right thing and let me go. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “I refuse to accept that.” Nic got to his feet and stared down at her. Where a moment earlier she’d seemed fragile and lost, her passionate determination to do what she perceived as the honorable thing gave her the look of a Valkyrie. “Get some rest. We will talk at length later.”

  Nic should have gone straight to his mother to deliver the confirmation of Brooke’s condition as he’d promised, but found he needed some privacy to absorb what he’d just learned. He headed to his suite in the royal wing, curious to see if it was in the condition Gabriel had said. But just as Ariana had said, there was no leak.

  The rooms that had been his growing up couldn’t feel any less familiar than if he’d never seen them before. The past ten years of his life, first living in Boston, then California, felt much more real to him than the first twenty-two being Sherdana’s prince. But that had been the case before he’d found out Brooke was pregnant. If he put aside duty and engaged in an honest conversation with himself, he’d accept that he no longer felt connected to his birth country. Yet his failure in the Mojave Desert meant that California was no longer a welcoming destination, either.

  Never had he felt so conflicted about his future path. No matter what direction he chose, he was destined to leave disappointment and regret in his wake. Staying in Sherdana and marrying a suitable bride would require him to give up the woman he loved and abandon his child. But if he chose to make a life with Brooke could he convince her that he would never regret turning his back on his country when he knew it would always haunt him? And what would he do in California without the Griffin to work on? Teach at a university? He frowned.

  When an hour of self-reflection passed without a clear solution presenting itself, Nic left his suite and sought his mother. He found her and his father in the king’s private office deep in discussion.

  “Well?” the king demanded, his eyes reflecting disappointment. He was seated behind a large mahogany desk that had been a gift from the king of Spain back in the early eighteenth century. “Is Dr. Davis pregnant?”

  “Yes.” Nic refused to feel like a chastised teenager. “And the child is mine.” This last he directed to his mother, who sat on one of the burgundy sofas in the office’s sitting area.

  She was in the process of pouring a cup of tea and sent a pained look to her husband. “It seems as if none of my grandchildren are going to be legitimate.”

  “I won’t apologize for what happened,” he told his parents. “And I won’t shirk my responsibility to Brooke.”

  “What does that mean?” his father said, his deep voice charged with warning.

  “I don’t have all the details worked out yet.”

  “You’re not planning to marry her.”

  “It would take both of us to be on board for that to happen and at this point she’s determined to return to California alone.”

  “You must let her,” his mother said. “We will make sure she and the child are well taken of, but news of this must not get out. You need to marry and produce children that can one day succeed Gabriel.”

  The press of duty had never felt more overwhelming. Nic wanted to struggle free of the smothering net of responsibility that his parents cast over him.

  “And what about Christian?” Nic asked, his heart burning with bitterness. “Will he not be expected to do the same?”

  “Of course.” The king nodded. “We are calling on both of you.”

  And with that, Nic accepted that one decision had been made for him.

  * * *

  Embarrassment and remorse kept Brooke from venturing out of her room the rest of the day. She put her pajamas back on, pulled the curtains closed and huddled in bed. A maid brought her lunch, which she barely touched, and when Ariana poked her head in the room sometime in the late afternoon, Brooke pretended to be sleeping.

  She couldn’t hide like this forever. For one thing it wasn’t her style to avoid problems, and she really wouldn’t shake the despair gnawing at her until she apologized
to the queen for her outburst.

  Around five she roused and phoned Theresa, needing to pour her heart out to someone who was 100 percent on her side. Unfortunately, the call rolled to voice mail and Brooke hung up without leaving a message. This was her problem to solve and the sooner she faced the music, the better.

  A maid came by around six and found Brooke dressed in her tribal print maxi dress and sandals. Wearing her own clothes was like wrapping herself in a little piece of home. She didn’t fit into Nic’s world and trying to appear as if she did had been silly. Better to face the queen’s displeasure as her authentic self, a woman who knew her own mind and was determined to do what was best for her and for Nic.

  “Princess Olivia sent me to ask if you felt well enough to have dinner with her in half an hour,” the maid said.

  “Tell her yes.”

  When Brooke entered Prince Gabriel and Princess

  Olivia’s private suite thirty minutes later, she wasn’t surprised to discover Olivia had heard all about the morning’s events. Up until now the princess had seemed like an ally, but would that continue? Brooke regarded Olivia warily as the princess indicated a spot on the gold couch. Brooke sat down while Olivia poured a cup of something that smelled like peppermint from a silver tea set.

  The princess’s kindness brought tears to Brooke’s eyes. “How badly have I messed everything up?”

  Olivia’s eyes grew thoughtful. “Your pregnancy has created quite a stir as you can imagine, but you shouldn’t feel responsible. I doubt either you or Nic planned this.”

  “I don’t mean that. I mean how mad is the queen that I yelled at her?”

  “I didn’t hear anything about that.” Olivia’s lips twitched and her eyes glinted with merriment. “What happened?”

  “It’s a bit of a blur. She said something dismissive about Nic needing to forget about the rocket and I straight up lost it.” Brooke cradled the teacup, hoping the warmth would penetrate her icy fingers. “I started ranting about how he worked so hard because he wanted to justify his being away from his country for so long.” Brooke shook her head as her heart contracted in shame. “It’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “You were defending the man you love. I think the queen understands.”

  “You didn’t see her face.” Brooke squinted and tried to summon a memory of the queen’s reaction, but all she recalled was the garden pitching around her and the descent into darkness. “I was so rude.”

  “You are being too hard on yourself,” Olivia said. “No wonder you and Nic get along so well. You’re both such honorable people.”

  “I don’t feel very honorable at the moment. But I’d like to change that. I made arrangements for a flight leaving the day after tomorrow at nine in the morning. I could use some help getting to the airport.”

  “You can’t really mean to leave.”

  “You can’t possibly think it’s a good idea for me to stay. The longer I’m here the more likely it will leak that I’m pregnant. Better if I disappear from Sherdana so Nic can move forward with his life.”

  “What makes you think he’s just going to let you go? When faced with the same choice, Gabriel fought for me. Nic is no less an Alessandro and I don’t think he’s any less in love.”

  Olivia’s words provoked many questions as Brooke realized that the princess had been confronted by a similar choice of whether to marry her prince when doing so put the future line of Alessandros at risk. But as much as curiosity nipped at her, Brooke feared asking would insult the princess.

  “I think Gabriel is more of a romantic than Nic,” Brooke said. “Your husband’s heart led him to choose you and he will never question whether he made the right decision. Nic approaches matters with logic, listing the pros and cons, assigning values so he can rank what’s most important. I think he takes after his mother in that respect.”

  Olivia’s beautiful blue eyes clouded. “You know him well so I will just have to accept that you’re right, but I hope for your sake that you’re wrong.”

  Eleven

  Both Olivia and Ariana had ganged up on Brooke and convinced her to go to the prime minister’s birthday party the next evening. As it was her last night in Sherdana—she was due to fly out the next morning—the princesses were opposed to her spending any more time alone. Their concern was a balm to Brooke’s battered spirit and because Ariana had tapped into her contacts in the fashion world and found Brooke the perfect Jean-Louis Scherrer gown to wear, she’d caved with barely a whimper.

  Trailing into the party behind the crown prince and princess with Ariana beside her for support, Brooke experienced a sense of wonder that made her glad she’d come. The gown Ariana had found for her had the empire waist Brooke loved and a free flowing skirt. With every stride, the skirt’s bright gold lining flashed and showed off the most perfect pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes with tasseled straps. The bodice was crusted with bronze beading that made her think of Moroccan embellishment and the gown’s material was a subdued orange, gold and pink paisley pattern that exhibited Brooke’s bohemian style.

  After meeting the prime minister and wishing him a happy birthday, Brooke relaxed enough to gaze around at the guests. With Ariana at her side, no one seemed overly interested in her. It wasn’t that she was ignored. Each person she was introduced to was polite and cordial, but no one seemed overly curious about the stranger from California. Brooke suspected that Ariana’s social nature brought all sorts of individuals into her sphere.

  Of Nic she saw nothing. The party was crowded with Sherdanian dignitaries and Brooke was determined not to spend the entire evening wondering which of the women Nic might choose to become his wife.

  “Do you see what I mean about dull?” Ariana murmured to her an hour into the party. “We’ve made an appearance. Anytime you’re ready to leave, just say the word. A friend of mine owns a club. It’s opening night and he’d love to have me show up.”

  Brooke had been finding the party anything but dull. Unlike Nic, she liked to balance hours of study and research with socializing. People-watching was the best way to get out of her head and the prime minister’s party was populated by characters.

  “Sure, we can leave, but this isn’t as dull as you say.”

  “I’m sorry, I forget that you are new to all this.”

  “I suppose you’re right. Who is the woman in the black gown and the one over there in blue?” Each of them negotiated the room on the arm of an older gentleman, but Brooke had observed several telling glances passing between them.

  “That’s Countess Venuto.” Ariana indicated the woman wearing blue. “And Renanta Arazzi. Her husband is the minister of trade. The men hate each other.”

  “Their wives don’t share their husbands’ antagonism.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think they’re having an affair.” Brooke grinned. “Or they’re just about to.”

  Ariana gasped, obviously shocked. “Tell me how you know.”

  Brooke spent the next hour explaining her reasoning to Ariana and then commented on several other things she’d picked up, astonishing the princess with her observations and guesses.

  “You have an uncanny knack for reading people,” Ariana exclaimed. “Gabriel should hire you to sit in on his meetings and advise him on people’s motives.”

  Flattered, Brooke laughed. “I’m trained as an analyst. Whether it’s art, literature or people, I guess I just dig until I locate meaning. Just don’t ask me about anything having to do with numbers or technology. That’s where I fail miserably.”

  “But that’s what makes you and my brother such a perfect pairing. You complement each other.”

  At the mention of Nic, Brooke’s good mood fled. “If only he wasn’t a prince and I wasn’t an ordinary girl from California.” She kept her voice light, but in
her chest, her heart thumped dully. “I didn’t tell you earlier, but I made arrangements to fly home tomorrow morning.”

  “You can’t leave.” Ariana looked distressed. “At least stay through the wedding.”

  The thought of delaying the inevitable for another week made Brooke shudder. Plus, she hadn’t yet been offered the opportunity to apologize to the queen in person and didn’t feel right taking advantage of the king and queen’s hospitality with that hanging over her. “I can’t stay. Coming here in the first place was a mistake.”

  “But then I’d never have met you and that would have been a tragedy.”

  Brooke appreciated Ariana’s attempt to make her feel special. “I feel the same way about you. I just wish I’d handled things better.” By which she meant the incident with the queen and Nic’s discovering that she was pregnant.

  She hadn’t spoken to him since he’d left her room the day before. She’d dined that night with Olivia and taken both breakfast and lunch in her room. Ariana had joined her for the midday meal, bringing with her the gown Brooke was wearing tonight and reminding her of the promise she’d made to attend the birthday party.

  Suddenly the crowd parted and Nic appeared, looking imposing and very princely as he strode through the room. Brooke stared at him in hopeless adoration, still unaccustomed to the effortless aura of power he assumed in his native environment. What was so different about him? He’d always radiated strength and confidence, but he’d been approachable despite his often inherent aloofness. What made him seem so inaccessible now? Was it the arrogant tilt of his head? The way he wore the expensive, custom tuxedo as easily as a T-shirt and jeans? The cool disdain in his burnished gold eyes?

  And then he caught sight of her and the possessive glow of his gaze melted the chill from his features. Brooke’s heart exploded in her chest and she abandoned Ariana with a quick apology, slipping through the party guests in Nic’s direction before she considered what she would say. When she’d drawn to within five feet of him, her path was blocked by a petite brunette in a shimmering black mini.