Soldier Prince's Secret Baby Gift

by Kate Hardy

  ‘I am not marrying you,’ she repeated.

  * * *

  Antonio really hadn’t expected this.

  Tia had refused his proposal of marriage because she wanted to get married for love?

  But that was something that just didn’t happen in his family. King Vincenzo had learned the hard way from his first marriage, to Sophia Ross. He’d married for love, and look how that had turned out. Sophia hadn’t been able to cope with a royal lifestyle. She’d left Vincenzo to go back home to Canada; she hadn’t told him that she was expecting a baby, and Gabriella had grown up completely unaware of who she really was.

  Then it occurred to him that Tia at least hadn’t done what Sophia had done. She hadn’t kept the baby secret.

  He thought about it some more. His parents’ own marriage had been arranged and it had been successful; his father had grown to love his mother, even though he hadn’t shown any affection outwardly. But the arranged marriage between his older brother and Princess Meribel had gone badly wrong, because Meribel had been rash and chasing after true love instead of being sensible and joining their two countries’ dynasties. Arranged marriages meant that you had to make compromises, but that went with the territory of being a royal. You had to put your country’s needs before your own desires. Luca and Imogen had fallen in love and got engaged; maybe his elder brother was just lucky, Antonio thought. Because, on the whole, his own family’s experience had taught him that relationships based on love tended to end up in a mess.

  Why couldn’t Tia see that you couldn’t rely on love? That honour and duty was a better solution?

  His head was spinning.

  Right now he didn’t know what to think. He was filled with guilt for the way he’d treated Tia; he was still trying to get his head round the changes in his own family; he missed his best friend and he missed his father, at the same time as he wished that things had maybe been different and he’d been able to make Vincenzo as proud of him as of his elder brother Luca.

  And now there was the baby to think about. He was still trying to process the fact that he was going to be a father. Duty said the right thing to do would be to marry Tia and give the baby his name. But there was more to being a parent than just creating a baby. Would he be any good at it? Would he be able to give his child more than his parents had given him—the kind of warmth his best friend had exuded when he’d talked about his parents? Was Tia right and she’d be better off as a single mum, without him bumbling around and making a mess of things because he didn’t really know how to do emotional stuff?

  He couldn’t find the right words to say to her.

  And clearly she wasn’t impressed by his silence, because she added, ‘And that’s an end to the matter.’

  Oh, no, it wasn’t.

  They needed to talk about this properly and work things through. Together.

  Tia was having his baby. And he could give her and the baby the security they needed. His best friend would never be able to follow his dreams, thanks to the land mine that had blown up his armoured car; but perhaps Antonio could give Tia the chance to follow her dreams.

  He just had to persuade her to give him a chance, too.

  ‘Tia—’

  ‘It’s not up for discussion,’ she said. ‘We are not getting married.’

  Nathan had been proud of his little sister’s independence, but right now Antonio was starting to get a bit annoyed by her stubbornness. He wanted her to help him here. Be reasonable.

  But he realised that demanding that she marry him wasn’t going to convince her that marriage was the right thing to do. He needed to persuade her. Turn on a charm offensive, maybe. He needed to take the emotion out of it, the way he always did. Make it a military operation and treat it as clear-headedly as he treated his work: Operation Persuade Tia.

  So for now he’d make a tactical retreat. ‘OK.’

  She looked slightly shocked, as if she hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly. So what did she want? Had she wanted him to fight for her affections?

  Love and affection wasn’t something he’d thought to have. He wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted them; he’d seen what a mess they could cause. Yet, on the other hand, he knew there was something missing from his life. Something he rather thought might be important. All the short-term relationships with no promises, no future: if he was honest with himself, they’d stopped being fun a long time ago. But he’d never met anyone who’d made him think that there could be something more. Not until Tia.

  ‘But,’ he said, ‘we do need to talk.’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘Everything we didn’t say at the palace. But now we’ve got the space and time to talk properly. Let me make that cup of tea, first,’ he prevaricated. The English solution to everything, he thought wryly.

  At least she didn’t argue about that.

  He left her in the conservatory, swiftly busied himself in the kitchen, and made two mugs of tea.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said when he returned and handed her a mug.

  ‘So when did you realise that you were pregnant?’ he asked.

  ‘A couple of months after—’ She stopped, and blushed.

  After they’d comforted each other and it had turned into lovemaking. Yeah. He didn’t want to say that out loud, either. He didn’t want to unpick the feelings he’d ignored since then.

  ‘I was busy, I lost track of the time, and it didn’t occur to me that my period was late.’ She sipped her tea and looked away. ‘When I finally realised that my period was late, I did a test.’ She paused. ‘I probably should’ve tried to tell you about it back then.’

  Why hadn’t she?

  Clearly she anticipated his question—that, or it was written all over his face—because she continued, ‘It took me a while to come to terms with being pregnant and think about what I wanted. Especially when—’ She stopped.

  ‘When what?’

  ‘You’re photographed with a lot of women. The celeb magazines talk about you and your dates all the time. They say that you’re a playboy.’

  Which wasn’t what she wanted from her baby’s father? He could understand that. And it wasn’t who he was. He grimaced. ‘I don’t sleep with every woman I date. And I have to show my face at a lot of events where I’m expected to bring a plus one. The media try to spin stories when there isn’t really anything to say. I’m not a playboy.’

  He hadn’t been in a relationship with Tia; but maybe he hadn’t been as honest with her as he had been with his usual dates. And even though he hadn’t been dating Tia so technically he hadn’t cheated on her, he’d been out with other women while Tia was pregnant with his baby—which felt like cheating. Even though he hadn’t known about the baby at the time. And it made him feel really, really guilty.

  Uncomfortable with the direction his thoughts were taking, he turned the subject back to the baby. ‘And you want to keep the baby.’

  She nodded. ‘What happened... It’s not the baby’s fault.’

  ‘No.’ And it hadn’t even occurred to Antonio that there might be consequences from that night. He hadn’t thought of anything at all recently except his family’s situation. They were all still getting used to the new order of things, following his father’s death. Trying to support their people and their country, not letting their personal feelings show. He’d kept busy, but inside he’d felt lost and empty, missing his father and missing his best friend, unable to talk to anyone about how he felt.

  The only person he’d come close to confiding in was Tia, the night of the charity gala, when they’d turned to each other for comfort. Having her here, close to him again, made him antsy. Part of him wanted that closeness back; yet, at the same time, that closeness had led them to this tricky situation.

  Right now, he thought grimly, he could do with the equivalent of an armoured car so he could lock his heart safely away i
n it.

  So what were they going to do?

  He’d used a condom when he’d made love with Tia, but clearly the protection had failed. Or maybe it had happened the second time they’d made love, when they’d both been half-asleep and seeking comfort from each other. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d used a condom then so, actually, this whole thing was his fault. He should’ve been the one who’d been responsible. He should’ve kept himself under control.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.

  ‘It is as it is,’ she said with a shrug. ‘Mum and I manage. And my bosses have been great. Vittoria, my boss, fusses over me a bit and makes sure I sit down between the really busy periods.’

  Then it occurred to him what her job was. She was a waitress in a coffee shop. Which meant that she’d be on her feet all the time, taking orders, ferrying drinks and snacks to the customers, clearing tables and rushing about—because, from what Antonio had learned from her brother, Tia Phillips wasn’t the sort to slack off and expect other people to shoulder her duties. ‘Is that good for you and the baby, being on your feet all day?’ he asked.

  Within seconds he knew he’d asked the wrong question. She had that stubborn, independent set to her jaw he was beginning to realise meant trouble. ‘Women have managed to stay on their feet and work while they’re pregnant for hundreds of years, Antonio.’

  ‘Yes. Of course. I apologise.’

  Though at least she’d used his given name, rather than calling him ‘Your Royal Highness’ or awkwardly not calling him anything at all. Funny how that made him feel warm inside; and it made him feel wrong-footed at the same time.

  He wasn’t used to women making him feel in a spin.

  What was it about Tia Phillips that was so different? And how could he get everything back under his control, the way it usually was?

  ‘I eat properly and I rest properly, before you ask,’ she said.

  He didn’t quite believe her on the ‘resting’ bit. He knew that she was still caring for her mother, meaning that she must be doing the majority of looking after the house and preparing meals when her mother wasn’t well, plus she was handling the demands of her job.

  ‘And, as soon as I realised I was pregnant, I started taking folic acid. I know it was a bit late, but it was better than nothing. Mum makes sure I take a vitamin tablet for pregnant women every morning,’ she said.

  ‘That’s good,’ he said, not knowing what else to say.

  He was good in social situations. He’d been good at leading his team in the army, he’d been diplomatic with Meribel’s family, and he’d helped Gabriella to feel more at ease in the palace, knowing from his experiences in the army how overwhelming the life of a royal could seem to someone who hadn’t been brought up in it.

  But with Tia, right now, he was all at sixes and sevens. She wasn’t reacting the way he expected her to react. Plus, if he was honest with himself, she made him feel things he’d never felt before. A kind of yearning, mixed with something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Not nervousness, exactly, and not the adrenalin rush he was used to at work. This was deeper, tangled up with his emotions, so he couldn’t compartmentalise it, and it unsettled him.

  ‘You’ve had regular appointments with the hospital?’ he asked, trying to bring things back to facts. Unemotional facts that he could deal with.

  ‘Only the dating scan and the twenty-week scan—the one where they gave me the photograph. The rest of my appointments are with the community midwife. And, yes, I’ve gone to every single one.’

  There was a slight edge to her tone. ‘I wasn’t accusing you of putting the baby at risk,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m concerned about you.’

  Colour flared into her face. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I guess...’ She grimaced. ‘Blame it on the hormones?’

  The situation couldn’t be easy for her, either. He inclined his head. ‘Of course. So your plan after telling me the news was to go back home, have the baby, and then someone would look after the baby while you work?’

  ‘I have a friend who’s expecting a baby and she’s also a waitress,’ Tia explained. ‘We were going to try to work out some kind of arrangement, so while one of us was working the other would look after both the babies. That way neither of us would have to pay for childcare, and we’d both be able to spend time with our babies. Although I don’t know how realistic that would be.’

  But doing that would also mean that Tia would be working fewer hours, which in turn meant she’d be earning less than she did now. Money would be really, really tight. Especially as Nathan was no longer able to help out financially.

  Antonio had to find a way around her pride.

  And the best way to do that was to persuade her to marry him.

  If she insisted on marrying for love... Then somehow he had to make her fall in love with him, and make her believe that he’d fallen in love with her. And then finally she’d let him help her.

  ‘I can see you’ve thought everything through,’ he said.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Are you being sarcastic with me?’

  ‘No. Actually, I think your ability to work out a strategy to manage any situation is every bit as good as any general I’ve worked with,’ he said.

  She went slightly pink. ‘Oh. Thank you.’

  ‘And I appreciate you coming here with me. I didn’t bring you here because I’m ashamed of you—or of what we did.’

  Her blush deepened. ‘Uh-huh.’

  Interesting. So maybe she wasn’t completely immune to him.

  He wasn’t immune to her, either.

  Not that he was going to let his emotions cloud things. Emotions just made things messy. If the idea of love made it easier for her to accept his proposal of marriage, then fair enough. But he was keeping his mind clear. He wasn’t letting his heart rule his head.

  ‘I brought you here,’ he continued, ‘because I wanted us to have the space to talk, without any pressure. Because what you want is important.’ And hopefully he could persuade her to want what he wanted, too.

  ‘So you’re not going to railroad me into anything?’

  ‘No.’ He was going to charm her into doing what he felt was best for them all. And there was a difference. He wasn’t a bully. He wanted to look after her and the baby properly, and he wanted her to accept his help willingly. ‘These three days are all about us getting to know each other a bit better. Understanding each other.’

  ‘That works for me,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘So perhaps you’ll agree to have dinner with me this evening,’ he said. ‘I’ll cook.’

  She frowned. ‘I don’t expect you to wait on me.’

  ‘I thought that maybe we could prepare dinner together,’ he said. Doing things together might help. Working as a team. It might show her that they could be good together, despite being near-strangers.

  And then she might agree to marry him—and all the fuss and confusion could stop.

  CHAPTER THREE

  TOGETHER, THEY WATCHED the sun set over the mountains, the sky striped in shades of pink and blue and gold against the snow-capped peaks.

  ‘It’s beautiful here,’ Tia said. ‘I can see why you come here when you need a bolt-hole. But you said the media follows you everywhere. Does that mean they follow you here?’

  ‘Not as much as they’d like to,’ Antonio said. ‘The villagers are fairly protective of me, probably because they remember me coming here as a child and some of them remember playing with Luca and me when we were young. They’re fairly good at misdirection when it comes to the media. And I’m very grateful for it.’

  ‘It must be hard, having to be in the public eye so much.’

  ‘It’s one of the reasons why I appreciate being in the army,’ he said. ‘Obviously the media don’t cover me at work, because they know that would be putting me and my team at risk. Bu
t, yes, one’s position as a royal can be tricky. It’s the way things are so easily misinterpreted, the way people look for hidden meanings that just aren’t there.’ He shrugged. ‘But it is what it is. Shall we go and find something for dinner?’

  ‘That’d be nice,’ she said.

  He ushered her into the kitchen.

  ‘So what do you like to eat?’ he asked.

  ‘I eat practically anything. I’m not fussy.’

  He coughed. ‘Even I know that there are things women need to avoid eating in pregnancy, and things that they need to eat for the baby’s sake.’

  ‘I’m just going into the third trimester,’ she said, ‘so I need lots of calcium.’

  ‘So that’s milk and cheese, right?’

  ‘As long as it’s pasteurised. And lots of dark green leafy veg, dried apricots, sardines and that sort of thing.’ She grimaced. ‘Though not too much spice, please, as I’ve discovered that garlic and very spicy foods give me heartburn.’

  He looked through the vegetable drawers in the fridge. ‘We have spinach and kale, and Gina’s bought chicken, but I’ll get some sardines ordered in for tomorrow, if you like.’ He looked in the cupboards. ‘We have dried apricots and couscous, so I could make you a sort of chicken tagine, with spinach and kale stirred in, and I’ll keep the spices mild.’

  She was surprised. ‘You can actually cook a tagine?’

  ‘I learned while I was in the army. With a team assembled from many different countries, you get to learn about other people’s cultures and ideas. Thanks to that, I’ve learned quite a bit about food, and making stews over a fire. And in return I taught my team how to make a really good tomato sauce for pasta, and how not to over-cook pasta.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘My team-mates only ever served me soggy spaghetti once. And don’t get me started on pasta in a tin with that orange stuff claiming to be sauce.’

  This was a side of him she hadn’t really seen. She could understand now why her brother had been friends with him: there was a slight bite to his humour. This side of Prince Antonio, the more human side that he clearly didn’t let show very often, was one she rather liked. A man whose company she could enjoy—much more than the formal, slightly stuffy royal personage who bossed her about and irritated her.