Royal Holiday Baby (9 page)

Tina dropped her jaw in surprise. “Two days? My goodness, that's fast. How in the world did you—”

He rubbed his jaw. “You give me a couple minutes to think and a shower, and I'm good.”

“Thank you. I'm sure the whole family will be thrilled.”

“I don't know about Matthew. He looked like he was getting attached to my chair and my remote.”

She laughed in agreement then silence descended between
them. “Is there anything else I can get for you?” she asked, rising.

He rose to his feet too and shook his head. “No, I'm hitting the sack. You should do the same. Tomorrow's gonna be a long one.”

She walked to the door and turned around, startled to find him mere inches from her.

He lifted his hand to her chin. “I mean what I say. Part of the reason you came here was to rest.”

She nodded, determined to ignore the way her heart was pounding in her chest. “Yes, I've done that.”

He paused a half-beat. “So you don't need any more rest now?”

She glanced. “Too much rest is boring,” she said. “Tell me you don't agree. That is,” she added meaningfully, “if you've ever actually rested more than a few hours.”

“Yeah, I get you. I had appendicitis and that recovery drove me crazy. But I'm not pregnant and you are,” he said, stroking her jaw again. “Don't overdo it.”

“I thought I wasn't going to have to take orders since I'm away from my country,” she said with a sigh.

“I won't be giving you the same kind of orders your brother does,” he said. “You can count on that.”

“A
nd why wasn't I invited?” Daniel Logan asked as Zach flipped burgers on the large gas grill.

Zach glanced up from the grill, surprised to see his brother. “Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked, since Daniel lived in Dallas.

“I was out this way because I'm looking into buying some land—”

Zach stared in amazement at his younger brother. “You? Land? You swore you'd never do any kind of ranching again.”

“Yeah, well, we'll see,” Daniel said evasively, glancing around at the crowd. “What's going on here?”

“It's a cookout,” Zach said in a dry tone. “Can't you tell? Or have you forgotten since you only eat inside restaurants these days?”

Daniel shot him a sideways glance. “What's the deal? You barely ever invite me out here. Now you're throwing a big neighborhood party.”

“It's not really a party. It's a charity thing, and I didn't throw it,” Zach said, glancing across the large backyard at Tina fluttering from one person to the next, charming each of them. “It got thrown on me.”

“What do you—” Daniel broke off as he gazed in the same direction as Zach. “A woman,” he said in amazement. “You mentioned something a few weeks ago on the phone about a complication, but you didn't say it was a woman. When did you meet her? Does she live in town or out here? I can't remember seeing her before.”

“If you can shut off your diarrhea of the mouth for just a moment, I'll explain,” Zach said, although explaining Tina wasn't the easiest thing in the world. “Tina and I met a few months ago and got along—” He cleared his throat. “Pretty well.”

Daniel gave a low laugh. “How well?”

“Well enough that she's pregnant,” Zach said.

Daniel did a double take first at Zach, then at Tina. “Damn. I couldn't tell at first from how the dress fit her, but, yeah.” He turned back to Zach. “What are you gonna do?”

Zach sighed, moving the cooked burgers onto the buns. “She's staying at the ranch. That's a first step.”

“First?” Daniel said. “Sounds like you two skipped a few along the way. You gonna marry her?”

“I'm working on it,” he said. “She's not from Texas.”

“Where's she from?” Daniel asked.

“Chantaine.”

“Where the hell is that?”

“It's a small principality in the Mediterranean,” he said and decided to drop the rest of the bomb. “Tina's a princess.”

Daniel gawked at him then swore. “A princess?” His brother shook his head and looked in Tina's direction, giving a hearty laugh. “Thank God.”

Zach frowned. “What do you mean thank God?”

Daniel's face turned serious. “I mean you've been stuck in a rut since Jenny and the baby…” He lifted his hand when Zach opened his mouth. “You asked, so let me finish. You had every right to mourn. Every right. But you've become a crabby hermit. I have a feeling this woman is going to turn your world upside down.”

Zach took a long look at Tina and felt his gut twist and turn. She laughed and the sound felt like honey sliding through him. When he'd arrived home last night to a full house of overnight visitors, he'd been damn sure that he and Tina would never be compatible. His privacy and solitude were too important to him.

Her energy and determination, her heart, however, did something to him. She inspired him to want to help too. To maybe do something he didn't usually do, such as flip burgers for the multitudes so they could donate what they could to help the Gordons.

On top of that, his physical attraction to her hadn't waned one bit. In fact, it had gotten worse. Tonight, he'd seen other men smiling and flirting with her and he suddenly found himself making a fist or clenching his jaw. One of his men had asked if he could take her out to dinner because he hadn't known she belonged to Zach.

The truth was she didn't belong to Zach and that bothered the hell out of him.

 

Hours later, after a couple of Zach's workers hustled out the last guests, Zach watched Tina sink onto a bench and walked toward her. Handing her a cold bottle of water, he noticed the signs of weariness and felt a twist of concern. “You pushed a little too hard and too long tonight, didn't you?”

She accepted the bottle of water and took a long swallow. “Not really. I think it was just that last hour when the news
that I was a princess seemed to run through the crowd like wildfire.” She shook her head. “I really didn't want the focus taken off of the Gordons' plight.”

Zach couldn't resist a low chuckle. “You can't really blame them. We don't get a lot of royalty around here. That's why I made the announcement that the party was over and sent a few of my men to help people move along.”

She shot him a sheepish look. “I guess I couldn't stay incognito forever.”

He sat down beside her. “No. The paparazzi have been trying to get past my gate since you first got here. Folks around here are usually busy enough that they don't pay a lot of attention to the gossip rags, but finding out you were here tonight, everyone was curious. The good news is they'll eventually calm down.”

“How do you know they will?” she asked.

“After the initial fascination wears off, they'll be a lot more interested in what kind of person you are instead of whether you have a title or not.”

“If I stay,” she said in a soft voice.

His gut twisted at her words. “Yeah. How do you like it so far?”

He saw several different emotions cross her face. “I'm still finding my way. As much as I needed the rest when I arrived, I know I'll have to do something. I would go out of my mind with boredom if I did nothing all day long.”

Although Zach would prefer that Tina do nothing all day long so he could be assured that she and the baby were safe, he understood her dilemma. “I can understand that. I would feel the same way. Maybe you could take a little time to figure out exactly what you would like to do. You have choices here.”

She gave a long exhale. “Choices. You have no idea what the possibility of making my own choices does to me.”

“You're right,” he said. “I don't because I've been making my choices for a long time. I think it's high time you get to follow your heart. You've got a good one,” he said.

She met his gaze and her skin looked so soft in the moonlight that he couldn't resist touching her cheek. “You think so?” she said.

“Yeah, I do,” he said and gave in to an instinct that had been building inside him since he'd first set eyes on her again. He lowered his head and covered her lips with his mouth.

Hearing her soft intake of breath, he paused but didn't move away. “It's still there, isn't it?” he asked against her lips.

“What?” she whispered, her lips still parted.

“Whatever was between us that night at the masquerade party,” he said. “Whatever made me want you and made you want me.”

He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue inside her lips. She welcomed him, drawing him deeper, moving closer to him. Her breasts brushed his chest.

He felt like she'd hit a trip wire. An explosion of need ripped through him. He slid one of his hands down to the back of her waist, urging her body against his. A growl of desire rumbled from his throat.

She must have felt the same fire because she slid her fingers up behind his neck and matched him stroke for stroke in the passionate kiss.

“You should be in my bed,” he said, his entire body twisting with need for her.

He felt more than heard her soft intake of breath. “I'm not sure that's a good idea.”

He brushed his fingers lightly over one of her breasts where her nipple stood in turgid arousal. “Your body seems to think it's a very good idea.”

She pulled back and stared into his eyes, seeming to try
to search his soul. “I'm not a teenager. Despite the fact that I appeared to jump into bed with you without a second thought, that's not my nature.”

“I wasn't suggesting that it was,” he said. “But you can't deny there's something between us. And it's more than this baby.”

She tore her gaze from his and took a deep breath. “Perhaps,” she said then opened her eyes. “But not tonight.”

 

Two days later, the Gordons moved into their temporary home and Tina put together a plan for getting her questions answered. As always, first thing in the morning, she flipped through her text messages, shaking her head. “What a nasty temper,” she muttered of her brother. “He needs a wife.” Then she thought better of it. What woman in her right mind would put up with her brother? “A pet,” she thought. “He needs a pet.” She texted him the suggestion, then called her friend Keely McCorkle in Dallas. “I'm in town,” she said. “May I take you and Caitlyn for lunch or pop in for a visit?”

Keely squealed. “Of course. When did you get here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming? Why aren't you staying with me?”

Tina laughed, feeling a surge of relief at the sound of her friend's voice. She also, however, knew Keely would have even more questions once she saw Tina. “We can talk about that at lunch. Where would you like to meet?”

“Oh, come to my place. I don't want to share you. If we go out in public, they'll be all over you,” Keely said.

Thank goodness.
“Are you sure I can't bring something?”

“Yes,” Keely said. “Yourself. Now hurry up and get here.”

Tina smiled. Now all she had to do was talk Hildie into letting her borrow her car.

After her shower, she ate every bite on the plate Hildie gave her even though she feared she would pop. “Hildie, I have a favor to ask you.”

Hildie glanced over her shoulder and beamed at Tina's empty plate. “Good job. Now you're starting to eat like a mother-to-be should. How can I help you?”

“If I may, I need to borrow something from you please,” Tina said.

Hildie gazed at her expectantly. “What?”

“I have a longtime friend in Dallas. Her name is Keely McCorkle.”

“The name's familiar,” Hildie said, squinting her eyes thoughtfully. “Brent,” she said. “Brent McCorkle. Great guy. Brent and Zach have been friends for a long time.”

Tina nodded with a smile. “Yes. I'd like to go into town to visit Keely.”

“Shouldn't be a problem. Just give Zachary a call and—”

Tina shook her head. “I want to go today. I want to drive myself.”

Hildie stared at her in disbelief. “Oh, hell, no.”

Tina met Hildie's gaze without flinching. “I suppose I could rent a car,” she said.

Hildie's left eye twitched.

“Or I could…what do you Americans call it? Thumb?”

“Omigod, you wouldn't,” Hildie said.

Tina leaned toward Hildie and used her best confidential royal tone. “I
really
want to visit Keely today. And I
really
don't want to be supervised by Zachary.”

“Mm, mm, mm,” Hildie said with a frown as she sighed. “I'll drive you,” Hildie said. “But we have to be back before Zachary returns or he
will
fire me.”

An hour later as Hildie drove into the circular drive in front of the McCorkles' home, Tina turned to the woman
who had muttered in disapproval for the entire drive. “Are you sure you won't join us?” Tina asked. “I'm certain Keely would love to meet you.”

Hildie shook her head. “No. You two go ahead. The sooner you finish your visit, the sooner we can get back to the ranch. Just remember, we must leave by three o'clock.”

“Three o'clock,” Tina said. “Thank you so very much, Hildie. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Hildie nodded, but muttered under her breath.

Tina closed the passenger door of the car and walked to the front porch. She barely lifted her hand to knock before the door flung open and Keely greeted her with a squeal.

“What a treat!” Keely said, immediately wrapping her arms around Tina. “I still can't believe you were even
thinking
of coming to Texas without telling me first so we could plan a visit. Come on in,” she said, taking Tina's hand. “The baby's sleeping, so we have time to gab. Are you hungry? I ordered takeout from that café you enjoyed so much the last time you were here. So tell me what you're doing here,” Keely demanded as she pushed Tina into a chair in the kitchen nook lit by skylights. The table was filled with croissant sandwiches, salads and pastries.

“This looks beautiful. You did too much. As for my visit, it's complicated. I'll tell you the story, but I want to hear how you and Brent and Caitlyn are doing first,” Tina said, still not exactly sure how to break the news to her best friend in the world. She was relieved Keely hadn't noticed her pregnancy. Tina had deliberately chosen a flowy silk top over white slacks to hide her bump.

Keely beamed. “Caitlyn is perfect. She's sitting up, trying to scoot and crawl. Once she's mobile, I won't get anything done but watch her.”

“And Brent?” Tina asked.

“He works too hard, but I hope I can talk him into taking
a break in the fall.” She poured iced tea into two tall glasses. “Now tell me about you. I read about Ericka's wedding. It looked like everything turned out beautifully. I know that was due to you. Is she doing okay?”

“She's doing great. She seems very happy. I visited her right before I came to the States,” she said.

Keely frowned. “It's usually all over the news when you arrive, but I don't recall seeing anything. Although I confess I just got back from visiting my mother in Aspen.”

“That's great. Did you take Caitlyn with you?”

“Of course,” Keely said. “I would have never heard the end of it if I hadn't.”

It occurred to Tina, for the first time, that her child wouldn't have the gift of grandparents. The twist of sadness caught her by surprise.