Expecting the Prince's Baby (Harlequin RomancePrinces of Europe) Read online

  He turned and put his hands on his hips, the ultimate male. “To a point. I’m much more relieved now that I see you walking around without further problem.”

  “Don’t do it,” she warned him.

  Those black brows furrowed. “Do what?”

  “Start feeling guilty again because I’m in this situation.”

  “If you want to know the stark, staring truth, guilt is the last thing on my mind. I’m worrying about the next time you get another one. What if Carolena hadn’t been with you?”

  “I had the usual nosebleed here and there growing up. They’ve always stopped on their own, as this one did tonight, even though she was with me. But if I’d been alone and needed help, I would have called out for Angelina. Don’t forget that at work I’m never alone.”

  Her logic finally sank in and his frown disappeared. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it back in time for our appointment with Dr. Greco. If I hadn’t been detained, I would have been in the pool with you when this happened.”

  A thrill of forbidden excitement shot through her body to hear that.

  “Everything’s fine. We’ll reschedule when it’s convenient for you.”

  His dark gaze wandered over her. “Dr. DeLuca says you’re in excellent health.”

  “You see?” She smiled.

  “He’s going to do an ultrasound on you next month.”

  “Is the helicopter daddy anxious to know if he’s going to have a boy or a girl?”

  “I’m not sure yet. For the moment all I care about is that you and the baby stay healthy.”

  “That’s my prime concern, too. But maybe by then you’ll have made up your mind and want to know if the kingdom can expect a prince or a princess.”

  “Maybe. Let’s go back inside where it’s warmer so you’ll stay well.”

  When Abby had told her father that Vincenzo was a worrywart, he’d laughed his head off. If he could see them now...

  She did his bidding and walked through to the kitchen, where she opened the fridge. He followed her. “Orange juice all right?” she asked.

  “Sounds good.”

  Abby chuckled. “No, it doesn’t. Why don’t you have some wine from the cupboard? You look like it might do you some good.”

  “Soda is fine.”

  “A warrior to the end. That’s you.” She pulled out two cans and took them over to the table, where he helped her before sitting down. They popped their lids at the same time. The noise was so loud they both let out a laugh, the first she’d heard come from him tonight. A smiling Vincenzo was a glorious sight. “How was your trip?”

  “Which one are you talking about?”

  She almost choked on her drink. “You took two trips?”

  He nodded. “I only flew in an hour ago from Gemelli.”

  Abby blinked. “I didn’t realize you were going there.”

  “It wasn’t on the schedule, but Bianca slipped on a stair in the palace and broke her hip.”

  “Oh, no—”

  “Valentino phoned me after it happened. It was the day Father and I were scheduled to come home. We agreed I should fly to Gemelli to be with her.”

  Whatever Abby had been thinking about the reason for his absence, she’d been wrong and promised herself to stop speculating about anything to do with him from now on.

  “Is she in terrible pain?”

  “At first, but she’s going to be fine with therapy. We had several long talks. If there can be any good in her getting hurt, it seems to have softened her somewhat in her attitude about the coming event. Despite her misgivings, the idea of a grandchild has taken hold.”

  “That’s wonderful, Vincenzo.”

  “She’s missing Michelina.”

  “Of course.” Abby took another long drink. “You must be so relieved to be on better terms with her.”

  He stared at her through veiled eyes. “I am. But when Angelina told me about you—”

  “You thought you were facing another crisis,” she finished for him. “Well, as you can see, all is well. Did your father have a good vacation?”

  Vincenzo finished off his soda before answering her. “No.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “He brought his troubles on himself.”

  “Is he ill?”

  “If only it were that simple.”

  “Vincenzo—” She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What a thing to say.”

  “Before I was betrothed, my parents arranged for me to meet the princesses on their short list of candidates, carefully chosen by the extended family.”

  Abby lowered her head.

  “It came down to two, Michelina Cavelli and Odile Levallier, the granddaughter of the duc de Chambery. Both were nice-looking at their age, but of the two, I preferred Michelina, who wasn’t as headstrong or spoiled.”

  “I can’t imagine being in your situation.”

  “When you’re born into a royal family, it’s just the way it is. You don’t know anything else. If I’d had a different personality, perhaps I would have rebelled and run away. I was still a royal teenager at the time and knew I had years before I needed to think about getting married, so I didn’t let it bother me too much.”

  Her head came up and she eyed him soberly. “Were you ever in love?”

  “At least four times that I recall.”

  “You’re serious.”

  “Deadly so. In fact it might have been seven or eight times.”

  Seven or eight?

  “Those poor women who’d loved you, knowing they didn’t stand a chance of becoming your wife. Did you spend time with Michelina over the years, too?”

  “Some. When my father decided it was time for me to marry, I saw her more often. She had always been good-looking and smart. We enjoyed riding horses and playing tennis. She was a great athlete, and loved the water. I could see myself married to her.”

  “When did you actually fall in love with her?”

  He cocked his head. “Would it shock you if I told you never?”

  Never?

  Shaken to the core, Abby got up from the table and put their cans in the wastebasket.

  “I can see that I have.”

  She whirled around. “But she loved you so much—”

  Quiet surrounded them before he nodded. “Now you’re disillusioned.”

  Abby leaned against the counter so she wouldn’t fall down. “The loving way you treated her, no one would ever have guessed.”

  He got up from the table and walked over to her. “Except Michelina, her mother, my parents and now you... We both wanted a baby to make our marriage work.”

  She couldn’t believe it had never worked, not in the sense he meant. Talk about a shocking revelation....

  So that was the real reason they’d gone so far as to find a surrogate and flaunt convention. It explained Michelina’s desperation and her decision not to tell the queen until it was too late to stop it. No wonder Bianca feared another woman coming into Vincenzo’s life. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together. She could hardly breathe.

  “Obviously we were willing to do anything. Again we were presented with a short list. This time it had the names and histories of the women available and suitable to carry our child.”

  She lifted pleading eyes to him. “Will you tell me the truth about something, Vincenzo?” Her voice throbbed. “Did Michelina want me?”

  “Of course. She’d always liked you. She said you had a wonderful sense of humor and found you charming. When she learned you were on that list of possible surrogates who’d passed all the physical tests, like me she was surprised, but happy, too. Our choice was unanimous.”

  Unable to be this close to him, she left the kitchen for the living room
and sat down on the end of the couch. He again chose the chair with the ottoman. They were like an old married couple sitting around before they went to bed.

  Abby wished that particular thought hadn’t entered her mind. With Vincenzo’s revelation, the world as she’d known it had changed, and nothing would ever be the same again. All these years and he hadn’t been in love with his wife? He’d been in love seven or eight times, but they didn’t count because they weren’t royal. She needed to move the conversation onto another subject.

  “You were telling me about your father.”

  Vincenzo let out a sigh. “He wants me to marry again before the baby is born.” He came out with it bluntly, rocking her world once more.

  “In the beginning Odile was his first choice, only because of his close association with the duc. It would be advantageous to both our countries. She hasn’t married yet and he feels she would make a fine mother. If she’s there from the moment the baby is born, then she’ll bond with it.”

  Abby sucked in her breath. “Does Odile still care for you?” It was a stupid question. The fact that she was still single was glaring proof, but she’d had to say it.

  “She thinks she does, but that’s because no one else has come along yet whom her grandfather finds suitable. I told Father I couldn’t possibly marry Odile because I don’t have the slightest feeling for her.”

  Unable to stand it, she jumped up from the couch. “This is like a chess game, moving kings and queens around without any regard for human feeling!”

  One black brow lifted. “That’s where you’re wrong. My mother-in-law certainly has a lot of feelings on the subject.”

  “She knows why you went to France?”

  He sat forward. “Every royal household has its spies. That’s why she phoned me before I left to tell me she wouldn’t stand for it if I ended up marrying Odile. Michelina had been frightened I’d choose Odile over her in the first place.”

  Incredible. “What did you tell the queen?”

  “That there was no chance of it because I don’t plan to marry again. For once I’m going to do what my heart dictates and be a good father to my child, period.”

  Abby started trembling. “I’m sure she didn’t believe you.” Abby didn’t believe it either. He was too young to live out the rest of his life alone. But if he had to marry another royal he didn’t love...

  “No, but it doesn’t matter, because I’ve made my decision.”

  “Don’t you have to be married to be king?”

  “That has been the tradition over the centuries, but Father’s still very much alive. If the time comes when someone else must rule, my sister will do it. So in answer to your question, that’s how my father’s trip went. Why don’t we get onto another subject and talk about your court case? How did it go?”

  She sat back down, still trying to get her head around everything he’d told her. “You know very well how it went. The judge had it put on his calendar for mid-August.”

  “Excellent. That relieves some of your stress, which can only be good for the baby. What other cases are you dealing with?”

  “I don’t know. I—I can’t think right now,” Abby stammered. She honestly couldn’t.

  “Let’s watch a little television. There’s usually a movie on this time of night.” He got up from the chair and reached for the remote on the coffee table.

  “You don’t need to stay with me, Vincenzo. The doctor assured you I’m all right. I know you must be exhausted after being in Gemelli. Please go.”

  A fierce look marred his features. “You want me to?”

  A small gasp escaped. She’d offended him again. “Of course not. It’s just that I don’t want you to feel you have to babysit me.”

  “There’s nothing I’d rather do. Everything I care about is in this room, and I’ve been away for weeks.”

  Shaken again by his honesty, Abby felt his frustration and understood it before he turned on the TV and sat back down again. One glance and she saw that the prince was a channel grazer. Nothing seemed to suit him. On impulse she got up from the couch.

  “I’ll be right back. I’ve got something for you.” She made a stop at the bathroom, a frequent habit these days. Then she went to the bedroom and pulled her thick scrapbook out of the bottom dresser drawer. She’d had the leather cover engraved in gold letters: The Prince of Arancia. She hoped this might brighten his mood.

  “Here.” She walked over to him. “I’ll trade you this for the remote.”

  He eyed her in surprise. When he got a look at the cover, he let out an exclamation. “I thought this was going to be a gift for the christening.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.” Abby had compassion for him and his father, who wanted his son to be happily married and was trying to make it happen in the only way he could think of as king. “You need to see what an impact you’ve made on the life of your subjects.”

  Maybe this album would make Vincenzo realize what an important man he was. To live out his life alone wasn’t natural or healthy.

  “I know the court has a historian who records everything, but this is more personal, with some of my own photos and articles I’ve found interesting from various magazines and newspapers coming from the U.S. Dad’s been receiving the Stateside news for years and I read everything right along with him.”

  From the moment Vincenzo opened the cover, he went away from her mentally. While she watched the news, he turned page after page, thoughtfully perusing each one. No sound came out of him for at least an hour.

  Eventually he closed it and looked over at her. “For the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to have your life flash before your eyes. I don’t know what to say, Abby. I’m speechless.”

  “You’re probably tired from viewing all the good works you’ve done over the years. I hope you realize you’ve never received negative press. Do you have any idea what a great accomplishment that is?”

  He studied her as if he’d never seen her before. “I hope you realize I’ve never received a gift like this. You’ve touched me beyond my ability to express,” he said in a husky voice she felt all the way to her toes.

  “I’m glad if you’re pleased. I consider it an honor to be a friend of yours, and an even greater honor to be the person you and Michelina chose to carry your child. Only a few more months before he or she is here.”

  She had the impression he wasn’t listening to her. “All these photos of yours. I wasn’t aware you’d taken them.”

  “While I was darting around on the grounds with my little camera, I took a lot of pictures and sometimes you were there.”

  “You got me on my motorcycle!”

  “If you have a boy, he’ll be thrilled to find out you didn’t always behave with perfect decorum. I daresay he’ll love it that you were a daredevil. The skinny-dipping I missed, because I had to be in bed and asleep by eleven.”

  Low laughter rumbled out of him. “I can be thankful your father was the head of security and made sure his daughter minded him.”

  She smiled. “Do you think you’ll be a strict father if you have a girl?”

  He got up from the chair and put the album on the coffee table before staring at her. “Probably.”

  “But since kindness is part of your nature, she won’t mind.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck, looking tired. “Have you had any feelings yet whether you might be having a boy or a girl, Abby? I understand some women instinctively know.”

  “I’ve heard that, too, but since I’m not the mother, that’s not going to happen to me.” Secretly she didn’t want him to know how involved she really was with this baby and that she thought about it all the time. “However, there’s no law that says the father can’t feel inspiration about his own unborn child.”

  He shook his head. “No indication y
et.”

  “Well, you’ve got a month before there’s the possibility of your finding out. That is, if you want to.”

  “If it’s a girl, Michelina wanted to name her Julietta after her grandmother on her mother’s side.”

  “That’s beautiful. And if it’s a boy?”

  Their gazes held for a moment. “Maximilliano, after three kings in the Di Laurentis line. I’ll call him Max.”

  “I love that name!” she cried. “We had a wonderful Irish setter named Max. He died before we moved here.”

  Vincenzo looked surprised. “I didn’t know that. Why didn’t your father get another one when you settled in your apartment?”

  “The loss was so great, neither he nor Mom could think about getting another one. They kept saying maybe one day, but that moment never came. Did your family have a pet?”

  He nodded. “Several, but by my later teens I was gone so much, my mother was the one who took care of them and they worshipped her.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  “Whether I have a boy or a girl, I’ll make certain they grow up with a dog. It’s important.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. Whether you’ve had a good or bad day, they’re always there for you and so loving. My cousin and I liked little creatures. I once kept a cockatoo, a turtle, a snake and a hamster. When each of them died—not all at the same time, of course,” she said with a laugh, “Max helped me get through their funerals. Daddy used to say the best psychiatrist is a puppy licking your face.”

  “Abby...” There was a world of warmth when he said her name. “No wonder Piero’s father called you the little nurse.”

  “It’s a good thing he didn’t get together with my father to compare notes. If you got him alone, Daddy would tell you I probably killed them all off without meaning to.”

  She loved the sound of his laughter so much, Abby never wanted it to stop. But for the sake of her sanity and her heart, it was imperative he leave. Quickly she got up from the couch and handed him the scrapbook.