Page 22 of Pregnant In The King's Palace

‘Me? Me the pessimist?’ This from Lucia and she had a wooden spoon in her hand and Angelique started running. Around the table and through the doorway and straight into the arms of the man they’d all been talking about. Thankfully, he was alone.

‘And stay out!’ Luciana’s voice followed them from the doorway, as Angelique disengaged her elbow from his solar plexus and her cheek from his chest.

‘Sisterly love?’ he asked, and she could feel the deep rumble of his voice through his chest, because her hand was still on it, and she had two choices. She could either snatch her hand back and step away or she could stay right where she was and start smoothing him out. She chose the latter.

If his lazy grin was anything to go by, it was the right choice. ‘I left your men in the study with my liquor. Let me know when you need more cellar supplies and I’ll have it restocked. Especially if you take to entertaining Liesendaach royalty on a regular basis. Will your family be here often?’

‘No, they’re only here to help me move in. They have their own lives.’

‘But you do seem close.’

‘They’re my strength.’ They’d had their spats, but they’d also had to close ranks over and over again through the years. First when Angelique had run afoul of the Thallasian monarchy, and again when Carlos took up with Benedict.

‘Should I expect a chaperone every time I visit?’

‘Hardly.’ Though Lucia would probably find it fun to watch his frustration grow. ‘My family will remain silent if you wish for any association between you and me to remain a secret. You only have to look to my brother’s relationship with Benedict to see that they can. That’s been going on for the last seven, no, eight years.’

His lips tightened. ‘With you as the beard.’

She shrugged, because basically yes. ‘Sometimes Lucia pretending to be me, but yes. The fact is, my family is discreet.’

‘What if I don’t want to hide my relationship with you? Are you interested at all in being seen with me in public?’

‘To step into the limelight with you all over again and have your country’s gutter press tear into me like a pack of mountain wolves? Why not?’ She would be playing to type, after all. ‘It’s my specialty. Part of my appeal. The unsuitable woman, no?’

‘No.’

Her steps faltered and she slid him a sideways glance. The hallway sconces threw his features into stark relief. Beauty and shadows, always the shadows with him. ‘You’re not intending to use my wanton reputation to shore up your poor beleaguered masculinity?’

‘No.’

‘Oh.’ Now she was just plain confused.

‘Let’s just say that while I don’t want to hide my interest in you, nor do I intend to throw you to the wolves. I’d rather protect you. The way I never did before.’

She frowned.

‘The national art gallery is opening a new exhibition area on Thursday and I’m saying a few words and staying on for a couple of hours afterwards. I’d like you to accompany me. It will draw comment, of that I have no doubt. Your leasing of this place may be unearthed. But the sooner I indicate my official interest in you and bring the palace’s media machine on board, the better for you. I have no intention of treating you like a dirty secret. Not this time. Never again. Let’s aim to do this right.’

His sincerity was her undoing. They could never rewrite the past, but the future looked promising.

‘We good?’ he asked.

‘Get your people to send me a brief—and by that I mean what you’ll be wearing to the gallery opening, what others will be wearing, and who the main dignitaries are. It’s the kind of brief Moriana makes up for Carlos and Benedict all the time. Works a treat.’

‘That woman...’ He shook his head.

‘Inspiring, isn’t she? You’d best say goodbye to her and the others in the kitchen if you’re taking your leave. Of course, you could always stay. No one has taken possession of the master bedroom yet. It’s free.’

‘Why did no one take the master?’

‘Could have something to do with the bear rug in front of the hearth and the stuffed leopard looking down from the ceiling joists. And then there’s the monkeys.’

‘Monkeys?’ he repeated.

‘You’ve never stayed here before, have you?’

‘No. Can’t say I’m familiar with the layout of the place beyond what’s on a set of plans back at the palace.’

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