Royal Holiday Baby (10 page)

Keely covered her hand, her brow wrinkled in concern. “Hey, are you okay? You seem a little on edge.”

Tina took a deep breath. No time like the present. “The last time I was here, I met your friend Zachary Logan.”

Keely nodded. “That's right. We asked him to look after you and then you didn't show up until the next morning. Brent and I were both going to clobber him for not keeping track of you, but we haven't seen him since the masquerade party.”

“Well,” Tina said, clearing her throat. “He actually did keep track of me. We spent the night together.”

Keely's eyes rounded. “Oh.” She turned silent, a rarity for Keely. “You and Zachary,” she said, shaking her head. “You're so responsible and he's so…well, still in mourning after all these years.”

Tina's stomach knotted. “Mourning? Over his parents?”

“I'm sure he was sad when they passed, but no—” Keely shook her head and broke off. “He just can't seem to get over his wife and baby. I can't totally blame him….”

Tina heard nothing after
wife and baby.
“Wife?” she echoed.

Keely met her gaze and nodded. “I guess you don't know. There's no reason you should unless you'd gotten to know Zachary better. He lost his wife, Jenny, and their unborn child due to complications from her pregnancy. He totally shut himself off after it happened. We had to call in favors to get him to attend the masquerade. He always has an excuse. Brent told me he wouldn't even confide in his brother and sister.”

Shell-shocked, Tina tried to absorb the information. So this was what neither Zachary nor Hildie would discuss. This was why Zachary had been so upset when she'd invited the Gordon family to stay at his home. This was why he was so determined to do the right thing for the baby. Tina realized that in some ways, by getting pregnant, she was Zach's worst nightmare.

“Tina,” Keely said, patting her hand. “You've turned white as a sheet. Tell me what's going on.”

Tina met Keely's gaze. “I'm pregnant with Zachary's baby.”

A
s the afternoon thunderstorm turned into a torrential downpour, Zachary stomped into the mudroom. He could tell this wasn't going to be a short rain, so he decided to take an early break and return to work later in the afternoon.

Stepping out of his boots, he walked into the hallway listening for sounds of Hildie or Tina. He heard nothing but the tick tock of the old grandfather clock in the front room.

He strode into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. Glancing around for a note, again he found none. He did, however, spot Hildie's cell phone on the kitchen counter.

Uneasiness prickled along the back of his neck. “Hildie,” he called. “Tina.” He climbed the stairs and lightly knocked on the guest room door. Silence followed and he pushed the door open, searching for her. He caught the faintest whiff of her French perfume, but nothing more.

Where were they? he wondered. Hildie wouldn't take Tina
out without letting him know. Hildie knew Zach was trying to keep a clamp on the paparazzi. He rushed downstairs and glanced outside. Hildie's car was gone.

His heart began to pound in his chest. Had there been an emergency? If so, why hadn't they called him? He knew the cell coverage on the ranch was sketchy, but Hildie would have at least left a message. He checked his cell phone and saw messages, but none from his housekeeper. None from Tina.

He wondered if Tina had decided to leave. Had he pushed too hard last night? She'd responded to him. She'd wanted him, but she was holding back. For the sake of their child, she had to stay here with him. The possibility of Tina and their child on the other side of the world made him sweat. How could he keep them safe if they weren't here with him?

Not that he'd been able to keep Jenny and the baby safe, his conscience stabbed at him. Even though the doctor had told him that it wasn't his fault, Zach had never forgiven himself. He punched the speed dial number for Tina's cell phone and counted the rings until he received the automated voice mail response.

He swore.
Where was she?

 

“I'm fired,” Hildie said, her white knuckled fingers wrapped around the steering wheel as she and Tina sat stuck in a sea of never-ending traffic. Rain pelted down as the windshield wipers furiously moved from one side to the other.

“That's ridiculous,” Tina said. “You won't get fired. All you did was drive a guest of the ranch to visit a friend in town and got stuck in traffic. Zachary can't fire you for that.”

“You're not just a guest,” Hildie said, shooting a glance at Tina's growing abdomen. “You're carrying his child. Zachary takes that seriously. He would guard you and the baby with
his life. He's still suffering—” Hildie broke off and shook her head.

“I know,” Tina said. “My friend Keely told me all about it. It's actually the reason I went to visit her.”

Hildie stared at her in shock. “You came to town so you could snoop about Zachary's past?”

“It wasn't snooping,” Tina said, feeling her indignation shoot up to heat her cheeks. “He knew everything about me, yet neither you nor he would answer my questions. I sensed there was something, but never this.” Tina felt another dip of nausea in her stomach when she thought of what Zachary had been through. His loss had been devastating.

Hildie was silent for a long moment as she inched the car forward. Then she sighed. “Well, maybe it's better that you know. Now you'll understand why he acts the way he does. That doesn't change the fact that Zachary Logan is going to fire me. If it weren't bad enough that I drove you into town without telling him, I forgot my cell phone. He'll be worrying himself sick when he gets in and nobody's at home.”

“If he were that worried, he would call me, wouldn't he?” Tina asked as she pulled her cell phone from her purse. She'd put it on silent as soon as she'd sent a text to her brother this morning, preferring to ignore another rant. Glancing at it, she saw three calls from Zach's phone. “Oh, no,” she murmured.

Hildie shot a quick glance at her. “What do you mean
oh, no?
”

“Nothing I can't handle. I'll go ahead and give Zach a call just in case he's within range,” Tina said, dialing his number.

The phone rang half a ring before she heard his voice. “Tina,” he said.

The sound of the rough growl of his voice grabbed at her.
“Yes, it's me. I thought I should give you a call since we're stuck in traffic.”

“We? Does this mean you're with Hildie?”

“Yes, I tried to talk her into letting me borrow her car, but she was insistent that she take me where I needed to go.”

“And where was that?” he asked with an edge to his voice.

“Just to visit Keely.” A vehicle rammed into the back of Hildie's car, jerking Tina from the impact. “Oh!”

Hildie started swearing.

“Tina, what the hell—” Zach began.

The vehicle rammed them again. “Oh, what's the bloody fool thinking?” Tina demanded, momentarily forgetting her decorum as she braced her hands against the dash.

“Tina,” Zach repeated. “What is going on?”

“We had—you Americans call it a fender bender,” she said, her heart still racing. “Lord, I hope he's done,” she said to Hildie, whose face had turned white. “Are you okay, Hildie?”

“I'm fine,” the older woman said, putting the car in Park. “Where are the cops when you need them? Damn lunatic. I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget.”

Tina watched in shock as Hildie got out of the car and marched to the pickup truck behind them. The housekeeper immediately began pointing at her car and appeared to be giving the driver a complete verbal thrashing. “You weren't stretching the truth when you said Hildie had fought off a bear, were you?”

“Tina, are you okay?” Zach asked. “Is Hildie okay?”

“I'm fine. Hildie's fine, but I feel sorry for the man who ran into us.”

 

An hour later, Zach pulled his SUV into the body shop where Hildie's car had been towed. His gaze flew to Tina
and even though she'd assured him that she was fine, he felt a sliver of relief as she appeared to hover over Hildie, who sat on a bench outside the body shop. The rain had stopped over a half hour ago, and the hot Texas sun had dried everything in sight.

Tina glanced up and gave him a royal wave. Hildie covered her eyes. Zach wasn't sure what to do about Hildie. He gave and demanded complete loyalty from his employees, and Hildie had stepped over the line. She knew he didn't want Tina setting foot outside the ranch without his knowledge since he was still trying to protect Tina from the paparazzi.

He got out of his car and Hildie immediately approached him with regret written on her face. “I know. There's no excuse.”

“Oh, this is ridiculous,” Tina said. “Hildie's convinced you're going to fire her. I know you wouldn't do a thing like that. All she did was drive me to visit a friend.”

Feeling like a bubbling cauldron of emotions, Zach ground his teeth. “Hildie, Tina,” he said as he opened the front and back passenger side doors. “Get in the car. I'll be back as soon as I talk with the body shop manager.”

Zach took care of business with the body shop and returned to the car. “I'm taking both of you to a doctor to make sure you're okay.”

“That's unnecessary,” Tina said.

“I'm fine,” Hildie said.

“Not optional,” Zach said. “Injuries sometimes show up later. It's better to know sooner rather than later.”

“It was no more than a jerky ride at an amusement park,” Tina protested.

“Which is one more thing you should avoid during pregnancy,” he said, feeling his temper build. “I can't believe the two of you did this without telling me.”

“I'm sorry,” Hildie said. “There's no excuse.”

“It's not as if Hildie took me out for a tour of bars or skydiving. She just took me to see Keely. I asked if I could borrow her car.”

“Oh, my God,” he said, envisioning Tina in Dallas traffic. “Don't even think about it. You don't have enough experience.”

“I have a driver's license. I have experience. I've driven in the jungle, for Pete's sake,” she said.

“But not on the right hand side of the road,” he said.

“When Hildie refused, I told her I would just have to rent a car.”

Zach bit back an oath. “Have you forgotten that you're trying to avoid the paparazzi? How do you plan to do that if you're renting cars and lunching in Dallas?”

“Keely had takeout,” Tina said. “Tell the truth. If Hildie or I had told you we planned to visit Keely today, what would you have said?”

“I would have suggested that you wait until I could take you,” he said. “Maybe sometime next week.”

“Exactly,” Tina said. “You have a very busy schedule and you can't be expected to be at my beck and call. I also cannot be expected to stay at home all day every day.”

Even though he knew Tina was right, his gut told him different. His gut told him to keep her locked in his house. Safe from the paparazzi. Safe from an accident. Safe, period.

He was beginning to realize that he couldn't control this woman. His best bet was maintaining influence. His goal was marriage. “We can talk about this later,” he said. “Right now, I'm taking you to the doctor.”

Several moments of blessed silence later, he pulled in front of the doctor's office and helped both Tina and Hildie out of the car. Tina held back while Hildie walked toward the
office. She stepped in front of Zach and lifted her chin, her eyes blazing in defiance. “I think you should know that if you fire Hildie, I'll leave the ranch.”

He stared at her in astonishment. The woman was determined to drive him crazy. He swallowed a dozen oaths then slowly nodded. “Fine. Hildie stays as long as you stay.”

Tina's jaw dropped at how quickly he'd turned her threat into his favor, but she cleared her throat and quickly collected her composure, the way any good princess would. “I didn't mean it exactly that way.”

“Are you saying you're willing for Hildie to be fired?” he asked.

“Of course not,” Tina said. “But I won't be manipulated into staying at your ranch against my will.”

“Are you staying against your will now?” he asked.

She hesitated a half-breath. “No, but I don't know how I'll feel. How you'll feel. I can't promise to stay at your ranch forever.”

He nodded. “How about a year?” he countered.

She blinked. “A year?”

“You stay a year in exchange for Hildie's unlimited employment,” he bargained, buying time. More than anything, time was what he needed.

Biting her lip, Tina looked away.

Zach had noticed that she knew how to control how she revealed emotion, so he could tell she was conflicted. “A year isn't that long. It will give you time to have the baby and for you and I to know each other.”

She glanced up and searched his eyes. He wondered what she was looking for. “Six months. That will be a month after the baby is due. That's all I'll promise.”

Zach felt a rush of triumph. He'd just bought himself half a year.

 

It didn't take long for Tina to suspect that she'd been duped. She'd been so eager to protect Hildie that she hadn't considered that Zach would use her stance against her. After the doctor cleared both her and the baby and Hildie, they returned to the ranch.

“Tell Hildie she won't be fired. I can't bear her cowering. It's so out of character,” she said to Zach just before they entered the house.

His lips twitched. “I told her when the doctor was seeing you.”

“Oh,” she said and met his gaze, thinking about all she'd learned about him today. She'd just given herself a six-month sentence with the most desirable, yet impossible, man alive. She wondered how she would survive it.

“I'm tired. Baby and I need some sleep,” she said and stepped through the doorway. Two steps later, she felt Zach's hand clasp hers.

“After you have something to eat and drink,” he said.

“I'm not really hungry,” she said.

“Then Hildie can just fix you a sandwich,” he said.

“Hildie is more worn out than I am,” she said. “If you insist, I'll fix my own.”

He swore under his breath. “Damn, you're a handful. I will fix your sandwich. Turkey or ham?”

“Are you sure you know how?” she countered, unable to resist the opportunity to jab at him.

His eyes lit with a combination of sensuality and irritation. “Yeah, I know how to make a sandwich. Does your highlyness prefer mustard or mayonnaise? Pickles or naked?”

The word naked caught her off guard and a flash of his gorgeous, naked muscular body ricocheted through her brain. She blinked to push it away. “Dill pickles and I'd love sparkling water if you have some,” she said, trying, but not at
all succeeding in pretending he was just a member of staff. With the heat he generated inside her, she was going to have to find some way of coping with him.

 

For the next two days, Zachary left her alone. Tina wasn't sure if she liked that or not. She was torn between taking the time to figure out what she should do after her six months with Zach and being bored out of her mind. She wasn't accustomed to so much
rest.
Heaven help her, she began to understand the concept of being bored to death.

Of course, negotiating a field trip with Hildie was out of the question. Zach's housekeeper had been unfailingly polite since the accident but refused to chat about anything more than the weather.

Late at night after she'd had nearly zero conversation with a human being throughout the day, she decided to take a bath and listen to music and perhaps talk to her sister Fredericka, who was in England at the moment.

Making sure the bathwater was the perfect temperature, she sank into the tub and sipped a glass of sparkling water and pretended it was champagne. She turned on the music of a French rock band and closed her eyes.