Harlequin Romance April 2021 Box Set

by Rebecca Winters

  There was a glint in his eye. Like a mischievous little boy?

  Or was that glint something else? His feelings, something he didn’t want to tell and wanted to keep secret?

  She zoomed in on his eyes. Beautiful eyes: with long, long lashes and tiny crinkles at the corner. Were they telling her his feelings for her?

  He had a beautiful mouth, too. And when she remembered how that mouth had made her feel, she went hot all over.

  She wanted to wake up in his arms again. Wanted him there with her, teasing her and laughing with her and making love with her.

  But even if he felt the same—even if he was prepared to change his career plans to fit in with her life—would it be fair to ask him to do that? To be with her, Liam would need to move from London to San Rocello. Away from his sister, away from his work, away from the home he’d built over the years.

  She’d be asking him to give up so much.

  Just like his old girlfriends who’d resented him spending his time with Saoirse or building his career. Although Vittoria didn’t want to be the be-all and end-all of his life—for her, too, family was important, and she wanted him to be able to follow his ambitions—her role as queen would have to come first. There wasn’t a middle way, however she looked at it.

  Even if she did let him come to her, even if he was willing to give up everything she asked him to—was she making the same mistake again? Would he, like Rufus, realise the royal life wasn’t for him and back away?

  Maybe it was better to say nothing. To bury her hopes intact, instead of having them crushed. To leave it as a might-have-been. Instead of acting on the temptation to reply, to find a picture of a cornflower and send it to him to continue the flirting by flowers, she went back to reading the report she’d been working on before his message arrived.

  * * *

  No reply.

  Maybe she was busy, Liam told himself.

  But three more days without a reply told him that either Vittoria didn’t want to play this game any more, or she didn’t like whatever she’d read into his last message.

  It was what they’d agreed anyway that night. A one-off. Not to be repeated.

  He’d been stupid to wish it could be otherwise.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  VITTORIA WOKE, FEELING NAUSEOUS.

  She must’ve eaten something at the reception last night that had disagreed with her.

  But sipping cold water didn’t help with the nausea, which seemed to come in waves. The idea of coffee—which she loved—made her feel worse. Even the smell of it was disgusting, and she left her mug untouched.

  She felt dreadful all morning. Maybe she was going down with some kind of bug. Or maybe she was going to get poetic justice for the fib she’d told to the private secretary about having the period from hell, to get those few sneaky days away, and she really was going to have the period from h—

  She went cold.

  Period.

  Hers were regular practically to the hour.

  And it should have started yesterday morning.

  She dragged in a breath. She was being ridiculous. There were dozens of reasons why her period might be late, or why she might miss one altogether. Besides, that one night she’d spent with Liam, they’d been sensible. They’d used condoms.

  A little voice in her head reminded her that the only one hundred per cent guaranteed form of contraception was abstinence.

  The risk of a condom failing to protect her was tiny. So tiny as to be almost negligible.

  But even a tiny risk was still an actual risk.

  And a missed period plus feeling sick added up to something that scared her so much, her skin felt too tight.

  Vittoria was out of sorts all day. She wanted to go out and buy a pregnancy test so she could prove to herself that she was being ridiculous and of course she wasn’t pregnant. But there was no way she could purchase a pregnancy test herself. Someone would notice what she was buying, someone might tell the press—and, with modern technology making the rumour mill work globally twenty-four-seven, all sorts of stories would be flying round the world within seconds. Speculation as to whether Princess Vittoria was pregnant, who the father might be, and why she’d kept the relationship secret from her family and her friends...

  But she also didn’t want to put that kind of burden on any of her staff. Swearing them to secrecy and asking them to go and buy a pregnancy test for her really wouldn’t be fair.

  If she went to the palace doctor, her mother or her grandparents would know about it; they’d worry and start asking questions. And no way could she confide in her mother or her grandmother. Apart from the fact that she knew how disappointed they’d be, they’d only just agreed to stop smothering her in cotton wool. This news would definitely wreck the new relationship she was trying to forge with them. If she couldn’t be trusted not to get accidentally pregnant, how could she be trusted to choose her own consort?

  Vittoria had never felt more isolated in her life. With only a small family, and her close friends not even living in the same country—she couldn’t remember when they’d last managed to get together—there was nobody she could turn to.

  Buying a test online and having it delivered wasn’t an option, because all the palace post was screened.

  The more she thought about it, the more panicky she felt.

  She still hadn’t found a solution by the evening. And when her mobile phone rang with a video call and she saw Izzy’s name flash up on screen, she nearly didn’t answer—she didn’t want her sister to see her in such a state. But just ignoring the call and pretending to be busy wasn’t fair to Izzy. Her sister’s last exam had been that morning and she wanted to congratulate her.

  Forcing herself to sound bright, Vittoria answered the call. ‘Hey, it’s my favourite sister. How are you?’

  ‘Brilliant. Free from exams for ever!’

  ‘Congratulations, that’s great. I assume you’re going out tonight to celebrate the end of Finals?’

  ‘Sursh and I are going out for champagne,’ Izzy said.

  And how pathetic was it that Vittoria found herself wondering where Liam was, or if he’d be buying the girls celebratory champagne?

  ‘Rina? Are you OK?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ she lied. For pity’s sake. Where was her impassive royal face when she needed it?

  ‘You don’t look it,’ Izzy said. ‘You looked worried sick. Is it Nonno?’

  ‘No, he’s fine,’ Vittoria hastened to reassure her.

  ‘Then what’s wrong?’

  To her horror, Vittoria felt a tear slide down her cheek. And, of course, Izzy noticed it.

  ‘You’re crying. Is it Mamma? Have she and Nonna changed their minds and they’re trying to make you marry José?’

  ‘No.’ Vittoria closed her eyes. ‘Iz, I might...’ The words stuck in her throat.

  ‘Right. I’m getting the next flight over,’ Izzy said. ‘Or the overnight train, if there isn’t a flight.’

  ‘No! It’s...’ Vittoria forced herself to breathe. ‘I just... I might be pregnant.’

  ‘Pregnant? How?’

  ‘Shh. You know how this stuff works.’

  ‘I mean who?’

  ‘Are you alone?’ Vittoria asked, panic coursing through her as a nasty thought hit her. If Saoirse was there and overheard any of this, and she told her brother...

  ‘Sursh has just gone home to change.’

  Thank God. ‘You can’t tell anyone about this. Anyone at all. Promise me.’

  ‘I promise.’ Izzy frowned. ‘Have you done a test?’

  ‘Not yet.’ And she desperately wanted to. She needed to know for sure. ‘But I can’t go and buy one myself. I can’t see the doctor without Mamma finding out and worrying. You know the post is checked so I can’t buy one online, and I can’t put that kind of burden on an
y of the staff.’

  ‘That’s easily sorted. I’ll get one,’ Izzy said, ‘and I’ll bring it to you.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous. I can’t ask you to do that.’

  ‘You’re in a muddle and you need someone to lean on,’ Izzy said. ‘Which would be me. You’ve always been there for me. Let me be there for you, Rina.’

  ‘But you’ve got Finals celebrations with your friends.’

  ‘What’s more important? A party, or the person I love most in the whole world?’

  And now Vittoria really was crying. Even though her sister was hundreds of miles away, right at that moment she didn’t feel alone. ‘You can’t get here tonight. There isn’t a commercial flight and I can’t send a private plane over.’ Not without a lot of explanations she wasn’t ready to give. ‘Go to your party.’

  ‘Then I’ll get it tomorrow and bring it,’ Izzy said, undaunted.

  ‘Love you, Iz.’

  ‘Love you, too. Now, stop panicking. You might not even be pregnant. It might be stress making you late,’ Izzy said. ‘How late are you?’

  ‘A day. Which I know sounds utterly ridiculous, but I’m regular to the hour, Iz. I always have been.’

  Izzy was clearly counting backwards in her head, because she said, ‘So if you are pregnant, it happened while you were in Engl—Oh, my God. Are you telling me it’s Liam’s?’

  Adrenalin coursed through her veins. ‘Iz, you promised not to say anything to anyone.’

  ‘And I won’t. But, if you are pregnant, you need to talk to him,’ Izzy warned.

  ‘I know,’ Vittoria said miserably. It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have.

  ‘You did use protection, didn’t you?’

  ‘Of course we did.’ She dragged in a breath. ‘But obviously something went wrong.’

  ‘Oh, Rina. Look, it’s going to be OK,’ Izzy said, ‘and I’ll get the first flight home tomorrow. We’ll sort it out.’

  Vittoria thought wryly that her little sister sounded very much like her. Except this time, it would be her scatty little sister rescuing her, not the other way round.

  ‘Try to get some rest,’ Izzy said, for all the world as if she were the elder sister. ‘I’m not going to say a word to anyone. And I love you. Whatever the result is, whatever you decide, I’ve got your back.’

  That love and protectiveness only made Vittoria want to cry even more.

  ‘Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine,’ Izzy said. ‘I love you.’

  Somehow Vittoria got through the rest of the evening, along with a morning where she couldn’t face her morning coffee and panicked even more. And then Izzy was there, breezing into the palace and smothering everyone in hugs. ‘Just a fleeting visit—a bit of post-exams homesickness,’ she explained to their mother and grandparents. And, as soon as she could, she swept Vittoria up to her room. ‘I need a proper catch-up with my big sister,’ she announced.

  As soon as the door to Vittoria’s suite was closed, Izzy hugged her. ‘All righty. Time to pee on a stick.’

  ‘How did you get the test?’ Vittoria asked. If Izzy had asked Saoirse to buy it, and Saoirse had made the connection...

  ‘I asked Pietro to get it,’ Izzy said. ‘And he won’t be telling. He doesn’t know who it’s for, just that it’s not for me.’

  ‘Thank you.’ It felt as if half a ton of rocks had fallen from her shoulders.

  Izzy handed over the little box. ‘So how long has this thing between you and Liam gone on? Since your official photograph?’

  Vittoria shook her head. ‘There was a point in the photo shoot where I thought he was going to kiss me—when he took those pictures for you. And then he took another shot. A more private one.’

  ‘Can I see?’

  Considering how much her sister had already done for her, it would be churlish to say no. Vittoria logged into the private portfolio, then handed over her phone. ‘Look for yourself. I need to do that test.’

  Pregnant or not pregnant?

  She peed on the stick and waited, her breath shallow; her heart felt as if it was beating so loudly that the whole palace could hear.

  Time seemed to drag. For pity’s sake, how long was two minutes?

  But finally there was a blue line to tell her that the test was working. She stared at the other window, willing it to stay blank.

  If it was blank, meaning she wasn’t pregnant, then she had time to think about what she wanted to do. Time to think about how she felt.

  If there was a second line...then everything would change. What then? Was San Rocello progressive enough to accept the idea that their new queen would be a single mum? She rather thought not.

  What other options were there?

  Termination was the obvious one. She’d never judge another woman for taking that option—everyone’s circumstances were different, and you had to make your own decision based on your personal circumstances. But it wasn’t the option she wanted for herself.

  Liam had a right to know about the baby; but he’d already told her that he didn’t want to bring up a family because he’d done that already with Saoirse. So she was pretty sure that, although he was attracted to her and he’d do his best to support her, he wouldn’t actually want to make a family with her.

  Which brought her back to being a single mum.

  If she wasn’t the queen-in-waiting, nobody would bat an eyelid about her pregnancy or the baby.

  But, in her situation, it would be a political minefield.

  How on earth would she tell her family? They’d be devastated.

  She realised then that she was staring unseeing at the stick, not focusing on the little window. She blinked and narrowed her eyes at it.

  There was a second blue line. A strong one.

  Underlining that she’d taken a risk, been reckless, and lost.

  And then she was promptly sick, retching until her stomach was empty and her face was clammy.

  Once she’d washed her face and hands and disposed of the test stick, she headed back out to Izzy.

  Her sister took one look at her and wrapped her arms round her. ‘Oh, Rina.’

  ‘Positive,’ Vittoria whispered.

  ‘It’s very early days. Four or five weeks since the start of your last period,’ Izzy said thoughtfully. ‘OK. The important thing here is what you want to do.’

  ‘Mamma and Nonna—they’ll be so disappointed in me. So angry.’

  ‘We’ll deal with that later. Right now, we need to focus on you.’ Izzy blew out a breath. ‘Are you going to tell Liam?’

  Vittoria nodded. ‘He has a right to know. And, I guess, to be part of the decision.’

  ‘But he doesn’t have the right to pressure you into anything you don’t want to do,’ Izzy warned.

  ‘You know him.’ Ironically, probably better than Vittoria did. ‘He’s not like that.’

  ‘So tell me exactly how things are between you,’ Izzy said. ‘I looked at all the pictures in that file. The ones he took of you, where you’re all starry-eyed and blossoming, and the ones you took of him, where he looks as if he can’t take his eyes off you.’

  ‘We didn’t set out to have a fling. He was just being kind, giving me a bit of space—I don’t know, maybe paying it forward because someone gave him a break when he was struggling. Except I was so aware of him, Iz. And when he kissed me under the stars, that first night at the cottage, it felt like a hundred rainbows blooming in my head, and I forgot everything else in the world. We didn’t go to bed together that night—but we grew closer. And that last night, we...’ She spread her hands. ‘It just felt right. And waking up with him, the next day.’ Even thinking about it made her miss him.

  ‘Does he know how you feel about him?’

  ‘You know him, Iz. You know he’s observant, because of what he does for a living. And you just said I lo
ok starry-eyed in those photographs. He must’ve seen it, too.’

  ‘OK. I’ll ask the hard question. Do you know how he feels about you?’

  ‘No.’ How could she be so clueless? She was meant to be taking over the running of a country, and right now she was making a total mess of her own life.

  Izzy hugged her. ‘I can see in your face that you’re beating yourself up. Don’t. If it helps, since I’ve known Liam, there hasn’t been anyone special in his life. He dates, but not very seriously. He’s really focused on his work—even more than you are.’ She paused. ‘I don’t think he takes people to his cottage, either, except for his best friend. So that has to count for something.’

  When had her little sister grown up and become so wise? Or was Vittoria as guilty as her mother and grandmother of treating Izzy as if she was much younger than she really was?

  ‘We agreed it can’t work. He’s got his career and I’m going to be queen. And he’s not from our world, Iz. It’s a lot to cope with if you haven’t been brought up in it.’

  ‘If the guy really loves you, he’ll make it work. He’ll learn whatever skills he needs so he can deal with life at the palace,’ Izzy said. ‘Just because Rufus couldn’t do it, it doesn’t mean that Liam can’t.’

  ‘He was very clear about the fact he doesn’t want a relationship. He’s already done the parenting thing with Saoirse—though he was clear about the fact he didn’t regret that, either,’ Vittoria added swiftly. ‘But he wants to focus on his career.’

  ‘Do you think your news might change his mind?’ Izzy asked.

  ‘I don’t know. But I don’t want him to feel he’s under any obligation,’ Vittoria said.

  ‘So what you’re saying is that you want him to be with you and the baby, but only because he wants to be there?’ Izzy asked gently.

  ‘I want someone who sees me for who I am and loves me for that. Not someone who has to learn to love me because I’m going to be the queen and he’s going to be my consort.’

  ‘Anything else is second-best—and you’re worth more than that,’ Izzy said. ‘Have you talked since you’ve been back at the palace?’