A Royal Baby on the Way

by Susan Mallery

  Princess slowed to a walk, then moved toward her. When the mare snuffled at her jacket pocket, Alex pulled out a slice of apple and fed it to her.

  ‘‘Sweet girl,’’ she murmured, patting her neck, then stroking her soft nose. ‘‘You’re getting more relaxed, aren’t you? I missed you while I was gone. I think you missed me a little, too. Maybe by the end of the week you’ll feel safe enough to let me ride you. Would that be nice?’’

  The bay mare nodded her head, as if she could understand. The thought made Alex smile. She hugged the horse. ‘‘Once I can ride you, it’s just a matter of time until you’re calm enough to breed again. Won’t that be nice? You can have pretty babies of your own.’’

  She closed her eyes and pressed her face into Princess’s warm, sweet-smelling coat. The horse made a huffing sound. Alex took that as agreement. But when she tried to imagine the horse with her foals, what she saw instead were towheaded toddlers running through a field. Babies, but the human kind. Her children. Hers with Mitch.

  A sharp jolt of longing wrapped itself around her heart. The unexpected pain made her gasp, and she bit her lower lip to keep from crying. Her mother had been right. She loved Mitch.

  Maybe it would have been obvious to anyone but her. Maybe if she’d had more experience she would have recognized the symptoms. But she hadn’t, and now it was too late. What was she supposed to do? How could she make it work? Because that was what she wanted. But did Mitch? She wasn’t just the girl next door. If he felt the same way, they were going to have to do a lot of compromising. Was he willing to do that?

  She imagined the sweet toddlers again and felt a smile tugging at her lips. They could have children together. Dozens of them. She laughed out loud. All right, perhaps not dozens, but at least two or—

  Babies, she thought. Babies as in… A thought formed. Alex pushed it away, but it returned. She touched her flat stomach. She was fine, she told herself. She and Mitch had been very careful about using condoms. Her mind flashed back to the time they’d made love in the huge bathtub in his bathroom. That night things had gotten a little out of control, and neither of them had thought about protection. The same thing had happened twice in their suite in Malibu. But two or three times without birth control didn’t mean anything. At least, she hoped it didn’t.

  Alex led the mare back to the barn. She wouldn’t think about it, she told herself. She couldn’t. Didn’t she and Mitch have enough to deal with already without worrying about her being pregnant?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Okay, he was fifteen different kinds of a bastard. He knew that. The problem was that Alex probably knew it, too. Mitch paused outside of the den where he knew she was reading. He’d heard her walk by less than fifteen minutes before. He’d also heard her steps hesitate when she’d been in front of his office. He’d sensed her indecision as clearly as if she’d spoken aloud to him. He’d been able to read her thoughts. She wanted to know what was wrong.

  In the past few days since they’d returned from Los Angeles, he’d alternated between completely avoiding her and being unable to get enough of her. During the day he stayed busy with work, twice not even coming back in time for dinner. But each night he’d appeared at her door, not saying anything, yet silently begging for admission. Each time he’d expected her to tell him what a jerk he was, or at the very least to slap him. Instead she’d led him to her bed. Each time he promised himself he was going to tell her the truth, or at least as much of it as he’d figured out. Which wasn’t much.

  But he hadn’t. Instead he’d continued to bury himself in work because it was safe. Because he didn’t feel that he had any choice in the matter. Because he didn’t want to admit the truth.

  He’d fallen for her. Not just in a casual, isn’t-the-sex-great-and-maybe-we-can-get-together-some-time kind of way, but for real. As in wanting it all.

  He swore softly. He’d made some mistakes in his life, but this was one of the biggest. Falling for a princess—what the hell had he been thinking? Except he hadn’t been thinking, at least not with his head. He should have kept things light, or at the very least not bothered to find out there was an intriguing person behind the title. Life had been a whole lot easier when she’d gotten on his nerves.

  If she’d been any other woman, he would have tried to make it work. He would have wanted to talk about compromise and kids and forever. But how was he supposed to compromise with a future queen? Was he willing to give up the ranch?

  Mitch pressed his hand against the sturdy hall wall—the same wall his grandfather had built. His family had lived on this land for generations. Of course, Alex could make a case that hers had lived in Wynborough longer. In the grand scheme of things, what difference did his cattle ranch make? She might one day rule a country. Except his ranch mattered to him. He couldn’t exist just to be her consort. He didn’t have any answers, which was why he’d been avoiding her.

  ‘‘Talk about putting the cart before the horse,’’ he muttered. ‘‘You don’t even know how she feels about you.’’

  It was true, he realized. She might think he was a lot of fun for the moment, but no more permanent than a summer—or in this case winter—romance. There was only one way to find out. He pushed open the door and stepped into the study.

  Alex sat curled up in one of the big wing chairs flanking the stone fireplace. The green leather was the perfect foil for her coloring. Her hair glowed as bright as the flames in the hearth. She glanced up when he entered. Her eyes were dark and unreadable, her expression pleasant but wary. In the past couple of days he’d given her no reason to trust him or welcome him. If things had gone badly, he only had himself to blame.

  ‘‘Can I interrupt?’’ he asked.

  ‘‘Of course.’’

  She closed her book and placed it on the small table next to her chair. He took the seat opposite hers and wondered how he was supposed to begin. ‘‘I have some news,’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t know whether to tell you it’s good or bad. I guess that depends on how you interpret it.’’

  She raised her eyebrows, but didn’t say anything.

  ‘‘My parents called a little earlier,’’ he said. ‘‘A reporter tracked them down and wanted to interview them about our relationship. When they claimed not to know anything, the guy showed them pictures.’’ He gave her a slight smile. ‘‘The ones they took at the dance.’’

  ‘‘Yes, my parents saw those, as well.’’

  ‘‘I can’t figure out what the big deal is,’’ Mitch told her. ‘‘We were just dancing. Anyway, my mother called to let me know that she and my father would be flying in to meet you.’’

  Alex stiffened. ‘‘Your parents want to meet me?’’ She sounded horrified.

  ‘‘It’s all right. You’re a princess. I’m sure you’ll do fine.’’

  She shook her head. ‘‘I do much better with a group of five hundred than one-on-one. At least in situations like that. I’ve never met a man’s parents before.’’

  ‘‘All the princes you know are orphans?’’

  She glared at him. ‘‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I’ve never met the parents of the man I was, well, involved with.’’

  Despite all that they were going to have to talk about, he couldn’t help teasing her. ‘‘You mean your lover’s parents.’’

  ‘‘Yes. Thank you for making that so clear. My lover’s parents.’’

  He leaned back in the chair. ‘‘You’ll do fine. You’re pretty, intelligent, you have a great job. What’s not to like?’’

  She smiled. ‘‘When you put it like that, I sound like a prize.’’

  ‘‘You are a prize, Alex.’’ His momentary humor faded. ‘‘They’ll get here in the next couple of days. They wouldn’t tell me exactly when. They hadn’t booked their flights when they called, and they don’t want us to bother taking time off to pick them up. My parents are like that.’’

  ‘‘How lovely.’’ She closed her eyes briefly. ‘‘I’m taking up two gue
st rooms. Is that going to be a problem? Is there enough room?’’

  ‘‘Plenty.’’

  She nodded. ‘‘How long will they stay?’’

  ‘‘I don’t know. A few days. They haven’t been back in nearly a year, but they won’t want to be away from their bed-and-breakfast for long.’’

  He crossed one ankle over the opposite knee and tried to relax. But the knot in his gut wasn’t going anywhere and all he could think about was how empty his life would be when she was gone.

  ‘‘We have to talk,’’ he said.

  She looked at him. ‘‘I know.’’ She tried a smile, but it failed pretty miserably. ‘‘Things have gotten out of hand, haven’t they? At least they have for me. I didn’t mean to presume—’’ she bit her lower lip ‘‘—that is to say…’’

  ‘‘I know what you’re getting at,’’ he told her, then tried a fake smile of his own. ‘‘I didn’t know you’d start to matter so much. We’ve created an impossible situation.’’

  She shifted in her chair. ‘‘More than impossible. Potentially disastrous.’’

  ‘‘What?’’

  She looked startled, as if she hadn’t meant to speak aloud. ‘‘There are ramifications that neither of us considered.’’

  What was she going on about? ‘‘The press?’’ he asked.

  ‘‘That, too.’’

  ‘‘Alex, you’re not making any sense.’’

  ‘‘I know. I don’t think I want to.’’ She stood up and crossed to stand next to him. ‘‘Mitch, I don’t want to talk about this right now. I’m confused and frightened and all I want is for you to hold me. Let’s worry about the rest of it tomorrow.’’

  He wasn’t sure he wanted things put off. He’d worked himself up to having this conversation with her and he wanted it done. He wanted to put his cards on the table and tell her that he loved her. But he couldn’t resist her invitation.

  He rose to his feet and pulled her close. ‘‘But tomorrow we talk,’’ he said.

  ‘‘Yes. I need to go into town in the morning, then we’ll talk after that.’’

  ‘‘What’s in town?’’ he asked, his voice teasing. ‘‘You want to check out the other cowboys to see if you can do better?’’

  Instead of answering with a laugh or a comment of her own, she wrapped her arms around him and hung on as if she never wanted to let go. ‘‘You don’t know how much I need you,’’ she whispered.

  He felt an answering tug in his own heart, and the whisper of the pain to come. ‘‘Actually, I do.’’

  *

  They didn’t make it into town until later the next afternoon. One of the horses had turned up lame and they’d spent the morning tending to the injured animal.

  ‘‘Thanks for your help with Midnight,’’ Mitch said as they drove into Hope.

  ‘‘You’re more than welcome. I really like working with the horses. They seem so much less complicated than the rest of the world.’’

  ‘‘I know what you mean.’’

  Their conversation fizzled into silence, as it had continually since they’d climbed into his truck. What was going on? he wondered. Last night had been— he shook his head not sure how to describe the previous evening. When they’d walked into his bedroom, it was as if they suddenly couldn’t get enough of each other. While their lovemaking was usually intense, last night they’d barely taken the time to get undressed before falling into bed. He’d needed her so much and his passion and desire had been more than matched by hers. Again and again she’d reached for him, arousing him with her hands and her mouth, making him hard and ready over and over again. They’d barely slept. But this morning when he’d awakened, Alex had already left to return to her own bed. The chilly sheets on her side of the mattress had been an ugly reminder of his future without her.

  ‘‘Where to?’’ he asked as he drove down the main street.

  ‘‘The drugstore,’’ she said, pointing to the low building on the far corner. ‘‘Just park in front. I’ll only be a minute.’’

  He started to protest, to tell her that he would come inside with her, but she looked faintly embarrassed. He figured she had to buy some female stuff and didn’t need him along for that.

  When he parked, she slipped out of the cab and hurried into the store. He stared after her. They had to talk, he reminded himself. One of them had to be willing to say it first. Mitch decided he was going to be the one. As soon as she got back, he was going to flat out tell her that he loved her and then let her take it from there. He wasn’t a prince, he wasn’t sure he was anything close to a prince of a man, but he knew that no one could care about Alex the way he did. There had to be a way to make it work between them. He didn’t want to face a lifetime of a cold, empty bed.

  She returned in a matter of minutes. When she slid in beside him, she clutched the plastic bag to her chest. ‘‘I have to tell you something.’’ She wasn’t looking at him. Instead she stared straight ahead.

  ‘‘What?’’

  ‘‘My parents are flying out to meet you.’’

  A rock hit the pit of his stomach. Mitch wondered if this was how Alex had felt when he’d made his announcement last night. ‘‘Okay. When do they arrive?’’

  ‘‘I don’t know. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but Laura took pity on me this morning and phoned to tell me.’’

  ‘‘So we’ll have both sets of parents to deal with. That will be interesting. I’ve never met a king before.’’ He had to swallow hard. ‘‘Betty will be thrilled to be cooking for more royalty.’’

  ‘‘There’s more,’’ Alex said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. ‘‘I’m sorry, Mitch.’’ She reached into the bag and pulled out a tabloid. A picture of them dancing together filled the front page. The caption above read ‘‘The Princess and the Cowboy. Royalty Finds Love in the American West.’’

  He swore.

  ‘‘My thoughts exactly. Every tabloid out has a similar headline. I’m really sorry. I didn’t think this would happen when I invited you to the fund-raiser. If I had, I wouldn’t have bothered you.’’

  He didn’t know what to say. All his life he’d lived just like everyone else, going about his business without worrying that the rest of the world would intrude. But this was different. He studied the color photograph. Alex looked incredibly beautiful, and he had to admit they looked good together. But this was his personal life on display.

  ‘‘You’re angry,’’ she said.

  ‘‘I’m in shock. There’s a difference.’’

  ‘‘You’re not happy about it.’’

  ‘‘Of course not. Who would be?’’

  She sighed. ‘‘I’m sorry.’’

  He tossed down the paper. ‘‘Stop saying that. It’s not your fault. You can’t control what those jackals do.’’

  ‘‘I know, but…’’

  He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. ‘‘Don’t sweat it, princess. We’ll be fine.’’

  ‘‘Will we? I worry about that. I worry about so many things.’’

  ‘‘Leave the worrying to me. I have bigger shoulders so I can carry a bigger load. Okay, let’s see what the other headlines say.’’

  He reached for her plastic bag. It slipped easily out of her hands, but then she made a grab for it. ‘‘No!’’ she cried.

  Mitch was so startled he released it, but it was too late. The slick material draped across her lap, and slowly the contents slipped onto the cab floor. There were three more tabloids and a white box. He stared at the box, at the words printed on the side, then he looked at Alex. Her cheeks flamed with color.

  He thought about the times they’d been careless— no, that he’d been careless because he’d wanted her so much. He thought about her wanting to talk. He returned his gaze to the home pregnancy test. ‘‘You’re pregnant,’’ he said.

  She stared at him helplessly. ‘‘That’s what we’re going to find out.’’

  *

  The next morning they both looked a
t the plus sign on the stick. Alex didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For a moment she wished she were the fainting kind. A few minutes of oblivion would be very nice right now.

  ‘‘Well, I’ll be,’’ Mitch said.

  She felt her eyes fill up with tears. Until that moment she hadn’t realized she’d been hoping for a more positive response from him. Yes, this was a complication neither of them expected, but it wasn’t as if it was her fault. She walked into his bedroom and sat on the bed.

  ‘‘You should have been more careful,’’ she said, blinking away the tears. ‘‘You were the experienced one.’’

  ‘‘Thanks for the news flash.’’ He came after her, stopping less than two feet in front of her. ‘‘But it’s not real helpful right now.’’

  ‘‘But making love without protection was irresponsible. You can’t be that way.’’

  ‘‘I’m not usually. Things got out of hand for both of us. You’re a very sexy woman and I wanted you. I won’t apologize for that.’’

  ‘‘Fine. Make it my fault.’’ She knew she was snapping at him for no reason, but she couldn’t help it. Everything was so out of control. How had this all happened? How were they going to fix it? And why wasn’t Mitch taking her in his arms and telling her that it was going to be all right?

  ‘‘What’s wrong with you?’’ He stared down at her. ‘‘Alex, you’re not making any sense. If you want to say it’s my fault, then it’s my fault, but that doesn’t deal with the problem.’’

  ‘‘Oh, so it’s a problem now, is it? Then let it be my problem. I’m sorry you know about the baby.’’

  She started to stand up. He took her arm and held her in place. ‘‘What’s wrong with you?’’

  ‘‘Nothing.’’ But she couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t let him see her eyes and guess the truth.

  Unfortunately Mitch knew her too well. ‘‘You’re scared,’’ he said, pulling her close. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight. ‘‘You don’t know what to do and that terrifies you.’’