She leaned down and pressed her lips to his and held them there. She could feel his warm breath against her face, and she felt reassured, as if everything would eventually be fine. Topher was breathing; all was right with the world. Of course, Pippa was a hormonal mess, so this only made the tears come on full force, and as she closed her eyes against them, her tears fell on Topher’s face.
She pulled away and wiped at the tears with her thumb right as Topher reached for her hand and pulled it toward him and held tight. With his other hand, he held a thumb up and slowly nodded his head. And only then did Pippa know that things would truly be fine.
Chapter Thirty
TOPHER was released from the hospital by morning, and the entire family plus Sebastian decamped to a luxury resort in the Whitsunday Islands to catch up on sleep and care for their wounded warrior.
Topher wasn’t up for much of anything but sleep and watching television. He’d take occasional walks around the pool with Pippa, and they were talking a bit about things, but they weren’t getting too intensely into it. He simply didn’t have the strength.
She finally persuaded him to sit by the pool with her one afternoon.
“How about slathering on some more sunscreen?” she said, handing him the bottle. We’re in the melanoma capital of the world, you know?”
“Seriously?” he asked. “How do you have all these factoids in your head?”
“I just do. Look up there,” she said, pointing toward the sky. “There’s a huge hole in the ozone layer right up there. The sun is frying the crap out of us as we speak.”
Topher grabbed the beer the pool attendant brought to him. “Yeah, well, I think there are more immediate things around here to worry about than that. You stick around this place long enough, I think something’s gonna do you in long before the skin cancer does.”
Pippa spread her arms out wide, admiring the stunning panorama, with brilliant white sand beaches and water in breathtaking shades of the palest blue green. “How could you not fall in love with the beauty of this place?” she said. “I mean look at it.”
“Beautiful, sure, but don’t move or you’re dead,” Toph said.
They both laughed, but it was almost too soon for that joke.
“Yeah, maybe Australia is like those brightly colored look-don’t-touch tree frogs you see on BBC specials about the rain forest,” she said. “The ones that’ll kill you within minutes if you come into contact with the venomous secretions on their flesh. Sometimes the prettier the thing is, the more deadly it is. Australia, my friend, is not to be messed with. This place is damned deadly.”
Topher leaned over and gave Pippa a soft kiss on the nose.
“I know one very pretty thing that isn’t the least bit deadly.”
Pippa smiled. “Give me enough time, I could be.”
~*~
The family had rented out the entire restaurant for their last night at the resort. Ariana wanted to take full advantage of having her entire brood in one place at one time with no outside interruptions.
They sat at a long table set with crystal and china and overflowing flowers, and the late afternoon sun cast a picture-postcard burnished glow on the whole group.
When the waiter finished filling champagne flutes for all, Topher let out a quick whistle and stood up.
“I think an apology is in order,” he began.
“For nearly dying on us?” his father said. “All in a day’s work for a parent, son.”
“No, for something more than that, Dad,” he said. “It took me nearly dying and my family rallying around me for me to realize that at the end of the day, I’m nothing without the big, crazy, sometimes deeply obnoxious, bordering-on-offensive group I’m surrounded with tonight.”
They all laughed.
“But seriously,” he said. “I think I lost my way a bit back there. I stopped valuing the importance of those I loved.” He paused. “Of those I didn’t quite realize I loved,” he said, nodding toward Pippa. “I guess sometimes it takes something dramatic to snap you out of your lull, and that sure has been the case with me.”
“Hear, hear,” his mother said, holding up her glass.
“I really want to thank you all for being there for me at a time when I needed it most,” he said as he held his glass aloft. “But most importantly, thank you for reminding me about what is most important in life. To love, to life, and to family.”
Everyone clapped as they toasted the man they had nearly lost.
Chapter Thirty-One
AFTER dinner, Topher and Pippa strolled hand in hand around the resort. They’d enjoyed yet another spectacular sunset over the water and now watched a full moon rise against an indigo sky.
“I’d say this was a terribly romantic setting but for the fact I’ll always associate this place with helping you recover from your near-death experience,” she said.
“Does put a slight damper on it, conceptually,” he said, giving her nose a little joking pinch.
“Although you do somehow seem to get me to some of the more exquisite settings in the world, one way or another.”
“What can I say? If I can’t lure you with my charm and good looks, I’ll have to take advantage of setting.”
“Speaking of setting, so what now for you, Toph? More risking life and limb in pursuit of seagoing creatures?”
He shook his head. “Maybe not with such regularity, at least. I love the ocean, there’s no doubt about it, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that part of the charm for me was getting away from my family and all the duties of being part of this family in particular.”
“Those garden parties do get tiring,” she said. “But at least you’re not going to keel over from them. Unless perhaps a bumblebee stings you and you learn too late you’re allergic.”
They both laughed.
“Seriously, though. I finish up in a few weeks, right in time for the holidays.”
Pippa didn’t want to fish around too much to find out where she stood with Topher’s plans, so she remained silent. But hanging over her was the fact that she needed to tell Topher what the rest of his family already knew.
“Penny for your thoughts,” he said. “You look like someone just stole your teddy bear.”
Pippa dragged her feet as she walked, mimicking how she felt about having this conversation.
“More like I might need a teddy bear,” she said, taking a huge breath.
Topher scrunched his brow. “Huh?”
She stopped at a bench along the walkway and sat down, pulling his hand so he followed suit.
“I’m not even sure where to begin, Toph,” she said. “But first and foremost, I want you to know that I have no expectations of you. I have enormous feelings for you, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to reciprocate them. If you aren’t interested in anything long-term with me, that’s completely fine. We’ll figure it out.”
“Figure what out?” Topher said, squinting at her.
Pippa heaved a heavy sigh. “Please, I really don’t want you to freak out on me. So promise me you won’t.”
“I don’t even know what I’m not freaking out on, so how could I assure you it’s not going to happen?”
“So maybe give me some examples of something that might freak you out.”
“You’re kidding, right? You want me to start randomly listing things that would upset me a lot?”
“Yeah. Go on. Just for fun.”
Topher shook his head. “You’re a strange one sometimes,” he said. “Okay, how about this. If I found out the world was going to end tomorrow. That would freak me out.”
Pippa nodded. “Fair enough. Go on.”
Topher thought for a moment. “Let’s see.” He held up a finger. “I’ve got one. If I was swimming with you out there,” he pointed to the nearby ocean, “and I saw a big black fin headed toward you. That would really freak me out.”
“You and me both. Not that the end of the world wouldn’t also cause a great deal of panic f
or me.”
“Not to be too morbid, but what would you want to do if you knew today was your last day?” he asked. “Like if the world was going to end tomorrow.”
Pippa thought about that, and of course her eyes filled with tears. Because to her that meant that she’d never know the baby she was carrying, and that concept broke her heart. Even more so thinking that Topher would never know about the baby either.
“I think I’d be happy being right here, right now, doing just what we’re doing,” she said. “How about you?”
“You mean if it was my last day? Well, funny thing, I’ve had a chance to give that some real thought, what with my nearly having had my last day and not having spent it nearly as wisely as I would have.” He turned to face her.
“Well, aside from the deadly sting, it must not have been too bad a day,” she said. “I mean, you were here. In paradise. Albeit a deadly paradise, but it beats Siberia.”
“It does indeed. Though pretty much everything could probably beat Siberia but for, say, spending time in a prison. But look, Pippa, I’m getting myself all distracted here.”
“I think that’s my fault,” she said. “I’m failing to disclose something I have to disclose to you.”
“Maybe you should come right out and say it.”
“You think?”
“I do.”
“Okay, but if you freak out, I’m going to run straight to your mum.”
Topher laughed. “That sounds like something one of my siblings would have said to me. ‘I’m going to go tell Mum!’”
“I adore your mother, Topher,” she said. “The thing is, I didn’t have a close family. My parents weren’t very keen on parenting. They were always gone and leaving me with staff. I mean I didn’t even have the luxury of a governess or nanny. Instead it was a succession of maids who took care of our homes and watched me and my brother. And my brother made himself scarce as soon as he was old enough to do so. So I’ve always loved spending time with your family. Your mother loved on me, and your father gave me fatherly advice, and I got to pretend I was part of that crazy, exhausting group of people who made each other sort of nuts sometimes but ultimately really cared for each other.”
“You’re right, Pips. They’re a great group. I’m so very blessed to have them in my life.”
She took a deep breath, placed her hands in his lap, and closed her eyes.
“So I’m going to have a family, Toph. It’s not exactly what I’d planned, but I’m excited about it. I’m going to get it right where my parents failed so miserably. And at first it terrified me, but the more I thought about it, the more it thrilled me.”
“Pippa, what are you saying to me?”
“I’m pregnant.” She blurted out as she opened her eyes to look at him.
For a minute, the air seemed to leave the room. Insects stopped chirping and the ocean waves grew silent.
Topher’s face fell.
“Oh, God, T. I’m so sorry, I knew you’d be so upset about it.”
He shook his head. “No, really, Pips, that’s great news. Really it is. Congratulations. Who’s the lucky man?”
It was Pippa’s turn to squint back at Topher. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Uh, no. I’m very happy for you. You getting married to the father?”
“I think it’s early days for that,” she said, a little twinkle glistening in her eyes.
“He’s not ready?”
“I don’t know, Toph. You tell me.”
Topher’s gray eyes fixed on her hazel ones.
“So, when Clementine dragged me to you, she packed my bag for me,” Pippa said. “I didn’t even know where I was going. Of course once I got there and went into my duffel bag, lo and behold, I saw that Clem had thrown in practically a year’s supply of condoms. But I had no plans to even need the things, if you’ll recall.”
Topher nodded. “Yeah, you were so damned stubborn.”
“Pot meet kettle,” she said. “Anyhow, then you got me drunk and had your wicked way with me—”
“Oh, you take that back right now,” he said. “You were completely on board with what happened.”
“Ha, on board, indeed. On board the Good Ship Topher,” she said.
“I could think of worse places to be.”
She smiled. “As I was saying, you may recall we were both a little preoccupied that night.”
“Hot and bothered is a better description,” he said, his hands stroking along her knee.
“And in our haste, it seems I completely forgot about precautions, as did you,” she said. “Which should kind of be irrelevant because I was on the pill. Except that I was always terrible at remembering to take it every day at the right time. Which is actually sort of a good thing because I hadn’t been in a relationship for a superlong time, and it’s not like I was sleeping with anyone forever, anyhow.”
Topher smiled. “So all those many men from your past you were taunting me with the other day?”
Pippa nodded. “A very distant past. Another lifetime, really. All two of them.”
“And you’re telling me you’re expecting a baby,” he said, taking it all in, “with me?”
She held her breath and nodded, squinting her eyes, fearful of his reaction.
“You know when I started to say about how I’ve had a chance to think about what if it was the last day? And I’ve given it a lot of consideration since my accident, you know. Well, you’ve just given me the most perfect scenario for my last day if it were to be that. The only bad thing would be I’d never know my child.”
With that he threw his arms around Pippa and kissed her like mad. “I know this sounds crazy since we’ve really only been on a couple of dates and they weren’t even really dates, but being that I’ve known you my whole life and you were the first female ever to see me naked, not to mention the first female I fantasized about nonstop for about five years, how about making an honest man of me and agreeing to marry me, Phillipa Grimaldi?”
Pippa kissed him hard, not wanting to separate from him even to give him an answer. But finally she did, “I’d love nothing more than to spend my life with you,” she said. “And him. Or her.” She said, pointing to her belly, where he settled his palm, feeling for the life that was growing within her that would bond them as a family forever.
~*~
Thank you for reading!
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Love is in the Heir. I’ve gotta tell you, I honestly had no idea what I was going to write for book four of the It’s Reigning Men series. I knew I really liked Pippa and wanted to give her her own story, and then after I brought Topher into things in Bad to the Throne, I was kind of intrigued about his backstory and why he’d stayed away from his home and family for so long. So I decided whether Pippa liked it or not, she was going to have had a close encounter of the embarrassing kind with Topher from her past, and it would come back to haunt her.
When I started writing the It’s Reigning Men series, it wasn’t necessarily going to be a series. And it had an entirely forgettable title. And a sort of boring, somewhat stiff hero (which my great editor took a whack at, thankfully!). Oh, and I hated the cover: the guy’s nose was too long and it just didn’t work. That first book (which became Something in the Heir) was my take on Roman Holiday, a movie I just adore (I mean it’s Audrey Hepburn, need I say more?!). I think I called it “Royal Holiday”, yawn...which sounded and felt sort of generic. So I was kind of grumpy about it because it just didn’t feel “right” yet.
And then it hit me one day out of the blue: It’s Reigning Men. Of course! How did that take me so long? I love to play with words, so this gave me a great chance to noodle on how many puns I could I come up with involving royalty. Believe me it took some work. My favorite of course was Bad to the Throne (not the first time I had a title before I had a clue what my book was going to be—I did the same with my first novel, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver). Although my husband may well have trumped me with book five�
�s titles: Shame of Thrones. Now that I couldn’t resist!
What has kept me writing the stories of these interconnected royals from the fictional country of Monaforte is you: letters and emails and Facebook comments and reviews in which you’ve told me how much you’ve enjoyed reading these stories. Knowing I have people who are excited to keep delving into this fun world has made it all the more exciting for me each time I start a new book in this series.
I love love love to get feedback from readers, so please, tell me what you liked, what you loved and even what you hated. I’d love to hear from you! You can keep up with the latest news of releases and even get added tidbits and fun extras if you sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/baaewn. You can write to me at [email protected], and visit me on the web at www.jennygardiner.net. And of course I’m on Facebook (maybe when I should be writing...) https://www.facebook.com/jennygardinerbooks.
And if can ask a huge favor of you, if you are so inclined, I’d love your review of Love is in the Heir (and reviews for all of the It’s Reigning Men series) on retail sites—I really appreciate your feedback, and it also helps other readers when they’re looking for books to read. Reviews are really hard to come by, which is totally understandable because we’re all pressed for time and crazy busy. But please know that your review helps authors tremendously and I for one am incredibly grateful for anyone who is able to take the time to review my books and share them with others. You, the reader, have the power to make or break a book! You can find links to all of my books on my website here: http://jennygardiner.net/books.html.
Lastly, many of you have asked for the wedding story, and I want to let you know it will happen. I’ve been scrambling to keep getting these books out in a timely fashion but I wanted you to know it is on my list to write a detailed depiction of Adrian and Emma’s royal wedding just as soon as I can. After all, I’ve attended their wedding in my mind enough times...it’s time to share the grandeur of it all with you!
Thank you again for your ongoing support!
Love is in the Heir Page 14