The Prince's Secret Baby Read online

  He’d tried to convince her to go lie down in the cabin, which had broad recliner seats, but she’d refused, insisting that she wasn’t tired. “I’m not sure what happened. I think I’m just overtired from all the interviews.”

  “You deserve a good rest. I bet being a celebrity is exhausting.”

  “You’d know.”

  “Not really. No one is all that interested in me.” His adorable dimple showed. She knew he was lying. He got plenty of press coverage. Maybe he just wasn’t interested enough to read it.

  The realization that hadn’t looked at her social media for many hours crept over her along with the dawn light rising above the horizon in front of them. “I guess I should check in and see how people are reacting to all the news I’ve dropped on them lately. I bet people are buying my book, then discovering I broke up with Howard.”

  “They won’t be upset. If anything they’ll sympathize with you.”

  She pulled her laptop out of her bag and flipped it open for the first time since she’d uploaded her video hours ago. She rarely read or responded to comments on her phone, preferring the bigger screen and a real keyboard. She opened her latest YouTube video—with Sandro—and scrolled down to the comments section. She wasn’t surprised to see that the haters had come out of the woodwork. “Uh-oh.” She glanced sideways at Sandro. “Listen to this. ‘We’ll see how long it lasts. I bet you’re too uptight to keep a boyfriend.’ Possibly true,” she added ruefully.

  “Anyone who takes the time to comment on a video has too much time on their hands and needs to get a life.”

  “Hey, those are my people. Where would I be without them?” She was starting to see the humor in the situation. “I need them watching and commenting. I have a mortgage to pay.”

  Instead of laughing as she’d expected, he was silent for a moment, watching the sunlit clouds ahead. “What would you really like to do, if you could do anything?”

  “I love what I do.”

  “You love it when it’s going your way. Lately, though, it’s been cramping your style.”

  She wanted to snap back that it was none of his business, but she held her tongue. To a certain extent he was right. “I don’t know. I’ve never really done anything else. I just kind of follow my business where it seems to be going and react to changes in the industry. That’s how I made the switch from blogging to video.”

  “You should sit down and come up with a long-term plan.”

  “But how, when I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future?”

  Now he did laugh. “No one knows what’s going to happen in the future. But you’ll have an edge if you plan for it anyway.” He turned back to the windshield. “We’re over Europe, now.”

  “I wish I could see it through the clouds.” She peered hopelessly at the sunlit golden fluff beneath them.

  “You will. We’ll go down below them soon. Get ready.”

  He shifted the control and they swooped lower, cutting through a thick bank of clouds and emerging underneath it into blinding sunlight that bounced off the snowcapped peaks below.

  “Where are we?”

  “The Pyrenees. A mountain range between Spain and France.”

  “How come there are no people or cities? I thought Europe was crowded.” When she imagined Europe, she saw the bustling streets of Paris or Berlin. The kind of scenes she’d seen in movies.

  “Not all of it. Like my home, this area is too mountainous to be easily habitable.”

  “So it’s empty and peaceful.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I bet Lucky needs to pee. Is there anywhere he can do it?”

  “You don’t have him toilet trained yet?” He lifted a brown, eyes twinkling. “Like, with a real toilet?”

  “We’ll head in there and give it a try.” She rose and retrieved Lucky from his crate. He wiggled with excitement as she carried him into the bathroom. There was a stall shower in there, and she put him down on the floor. “Go pee-pee, Lucky!” She’d been working on training him to go on cue—by “capturing the behavior” and praising and treating him when he did what she wanted all by himself. She wasn’t even that surprised when he lifted his leg and went against the shower wall. “Good boy!” Ha. Sandro wouldn’t be laughing at her now.

  She rinsed the shower and marched out. “Good boy!” She said again. “He did it.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope. I used a technique I learned in obedience class.”

  “You took a class with Lucky?” He looked highly amused.

  “I’ve never owned a dog before. I needed some strategies.”

  “You are organized. You should post some dog-training videos.”

  She glowed with pride. “First I think I should master getting him to sit and stay. That’s proving more challenging.”

  Lucky strained forward in her arms, wanting to lick and nuzzle Sandro. “No interfering with the pilot, Lucky. He needs to concentrate on getting us safely back to solid ground.”

  “Not long now. We’ll be landing within twenty minutes.”

  Anxiety fluttered in Serena’s stomach. They were landing in his country. Where he was a prince and a familiar face. When people saw him with a strange woman, what would they think? That she was another one in his long line of girlfriends?

  She put Lucky back in the crate and took her usual morning glance at the gossip sites online. Which demonstrated that Sandro was still publicly associated with Maya Dunham. In fact there was a new picture of them together.

  Maybe Maya fed it to them. Serena had a feeling she wasn’t going to just let Sandro walk away.

  “Is Maya still trying to get in touch with you?” She knew it was none of her business.

  Sandro glanced at her. “I think she might have texted me. I haven’t read it. Why?”

  “Just curious.”

  “She knows over between us.”

  “I know, but there’s a story about you in the Daily News today. Nothing substantive, just a picture of the two of you on the street.”

  “Weird. Never mind. I’m sure they’ll lose interest.” He pointed to the windshield. “See those mountains in the distance? That range is the Alps. Altaleone is tucked into the middle of them.”

  The whole landscape glittered like the inside of a snow globe. “You must get a lot of snow.” Somehow she hadn’t thought about the consequences of flying into the Alps in the dead of winter. With her New York City clothes.

  “Yes. Conditions are clear at the airport, though. No worries.”

  Sunlight bounced off the snow, and as they drew closer to the ground the whole scene below—steep snowy mountains with the occasional village tucked into their deep crevices—looked like the kind of fake winter scene someone might create for their train set. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Have you ever skied before?”

  “No. And I don’t think I should start now that I’m pregnant.”

  “Oh, yes.” His brows lifted. “I forgot about that part.”

  Her heart sank a little. How could he forget something so huge and important? Would he forget that she was a real person—with feelings?

  She cursed herself for being negative. “It is hard to remember. I have to remind myself to avoid coffee and certain cheeses and fish that could have listeria or toxins. Being pregnant is quite hard work.”

  “I wish I could be more help.” He shot her a glance that sent warmth coursing through her. “It seems so unfair that women have to do everything during the pregnancy.”

  “Lucky thing we’re tough and can handle it.” She didn’t feel all that tough right now. It would be nice to collapse into Sandro’s strong arms. Maybe just for a little while. Wasn’t that what this trip was all about?

  Out here, away from her followers—away from everything—she could gather the resources to move forward with her life.

  Either that or find some cubbyhole to hide in forever.

  “Look at those double peaks there.” He pointed. “That’
s the border between Altaleone and Italy. Our culture is heavily influenced by Italy as most of the original settlers came from that direction.”

  “Did they bring their food? I do love Italian food.”

  “Luckily they did. Northern Italian food. A lot of meat and creamy sauces.” He grinned. “But we can have whatever food you like. My chef was trained in L.A.”

  “You have a chef? I thought we were going to be all alone there.” Panic flared in her gut. Who else would be there? She was already dreading the gardener and the cleaner. She didn’t want anyone to know that she’d agreed to be Sandro’s live-in chick-of-the-week.

  “I don’t need to call him. You know I love to cook.”

  “I’d prefer that. I could help.” Anything was better than having someone else coming and going, and spreading gossip. “How do we get groceries?”

  “Usually I have them delivered, but we can pick some things up when we arrive.”

  Gulp. They’d have to go into a grocery store? “Do people recognize you when you go into town?”

  “They do.” He smiled. “But they’re usually friendly. Buckle your seat belt. We’re beginning our approach.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Serena held her breath for the landing, which involved a fairly steep descent between sharp mountain peaks toward a seemingly tiny runway. Sandro guided the plane down, while offering sightseeing information about the surrounding area, as if he were pulling his car into a parking space.

  She glanced back at Lucky as the wheels bumped down on the runway, and he was standing in his crate, tail wagging, ready to go explore. She needed to learn to approach life with his boundless enthusiasm, instead of a heart full of foreboding.

  Sandro pulled the plane into a large hanger, which also contained a shiny black SUV tucked into one corner. He helped her and Lucky out, then retrieved their baggage and packed everything into the SUV. After they drove out, the hangar door lowered by remote control.

  “This is the way to travel,” she marveled.

  “Sailing is good too. Takes longer, though.” He turned to her with a grin. “And since Altaleone is landlocked it’s not a very good way to get home.”

  Sunlight reflecting off the bright white snow almost blinded her. The roads were cleared but still sparkled with ice crystals. “How long is the drive to your place?”

  “About twenty minutes. But we’ll stop and pick up some supplies in the town.”

  “What’s the local town called?”

  “Casteleone. It’s where my family lives. I grew up in the palace there, and my brother Darias just moved into the ancient castle right in town where my grandmother used to live.”

  Anxiety stirred inside her. “We’re not going to meet them, though, are we?”

  “Why don’t you want to? They’re very nice.”

  “I’m just…” She struggled for a polite way to say it. She didn’t want to meet them and have them be rude or dismissive. She’d be hurt, Sandro would be disappointed, and the trip would be ruined, and she just couldn’t take one more thing going wrong right now. “I’m kind of tired.”

  “Understandable. We’ll save the introductions for another time. For now we’ll just stop by the market and pick up some food. Casteleone’s oldest bakery is still famous for its pastries.”

  The town was ancient, a big village with winding cobbled streets, punctuated by piles of gleaming snow. Despite the relatively early hour, market stalls were set up in the square, in front of quaint shops. Sandro parked right on the street, helped put Lucky on the leash, then led them both into a pretty café painted in navy blue with gold lettering.

  “Do they allow dogs?”

  “We’re about to find out.”

  No doubt they allowed whatever the heck you wanted when you were local royalty. She hoped Lucky wouldn’t pee on anything.

  They sat at a tiny table spread with a white tablecloth and navy napkins, and Sandro ordered something—she couldn’t understand the language, or even tell what language it was—then asked her if she wanted cream in her hot chocolate.

  “Yes, please.”

  “I ordered you the local breakfast specialty. It’s a kind of smoked fish.”

  Her expression must have looked appropriately doubtful.

  “And I also ordered a basket of pastries.”

  “That sounds more promising.”

  Their drinks arrived and hers was steaming, with a swirl of thick cream, and looked good enough to dive into. The waiter, wearing a long white apron, brought a bowl of water and a dish of cooked chicken for Lucky.

  “I guess they do allow dogs.”

  “Everywhere should allow dogs.” Sandro smiled. Then looked up and recognized someone who’d just walked in. A woman exclaimed, and he rose to his feet and moved to embrace her. Serena was burning to look around and see who he was talking to but felt suddenly shy and didn’t want to intrude.

  “Serena, this is my sister Beatriz.” Sandro had his arm around a slim brunette with a serious expression, who regarded Serena with a look that read as both surprise and suspicion. Serena thrust out her hand. “Nice to meet you.” At least she could be polite.

  “And you.” His sister seemed guarded. Perhaps Sandro had a different woman with him every time she saw him. Beatriz looked at him as if waiting for an explanation.

  “Serena is visiting Europe for the first time.”

  “Oh. How come you didn’t say you were arriving? Does Mom know you’re visiting?”

  “No. It was a last-minute thing. We’ll come visit the palace soon. Serena needs to rest first. She just finished a big book tour.”

  “Not that big.” She smiled and felt a bit embarrassed. It was sweet of him to brag about her tour. “But I could certainly use some time away from cameras.”

  Beatriz winced. “I’m not sure you’ve come to the best place. The paparazzi have been going nuts here lately. Apparently, Emma and Darias are the perfect royal couple and the bloodhounds want to capture their every move on camera.”

  Sandro winced. “How are they holding up?”

  Beatriz shrugged. “Darias is a cool customer. I don’t think Emma minds much, either. Mom actually likes it because she thinks all the press attention will keep them safe from killers.”

  “Is there any news on the murders?” He lowered his voice.

  She shrugged again. “No one tells me anything. Sometimes I wonder if I’m a suspect. Let me know if you learn anything.”

  “All right, sis. Would you like to join us for coffee?”

  “No, thanks, I’ve got to run.” She kissed him on the cheeks and nodded stiffly to Serena, then went to the counter to order.

  “Now everyone will know we’re here.” Sandro sipped his coffee with a rueful expression. “Beatriz lives at the palace with my mom. We probably won’t get any peace. Mom had a fit when I didn’t come home for Christmas.”

  “I find it odd too. You seem like the kind of person who would.”

  “Christmas here can be a bit much. Sometimes it’s nice to have a quiet celebration with a couple of friends.”

  “Or one rather ornery stranger.”

  “One very interesting and irresistible stranger.” He spoke so softly that she almost had to lip-read.

  His words, and the way he said them, caused an odd sensation in her belly.

  She sipped her hot chocolate and tried to get the conversation back onto less dangerous ground. “Christmas can be a lot to handle at my house too. My extended family comes from all over Virginia and North Carolina. I have a lot of older relatives who still want to pinch my cheeks then ask me when I’m getting married.”

  “Or having a baby.” He winked.

  She drew in a breath. “I may never go home again.” She shook her head. “I did mention that my dad is a preacher?”

  “You did. But I’m sure as a man of his time he knows that things happen.”

  “I suppose so, but I know he’ll be disappointed in me.” She couldn’t even imagine what her dad would
think if she told him the father was a European prince. He might assume she was delusional and needed mental health counseling.

  She glanced at Sandro’s sister, who was now picking up her order for two coffees and some pastries. “Does your sister get endlessly pursued by men who want her because she’s a princess?”

  Sandro glanced over his shoulder at her. “Not that I know of.” He leaned in. “Beatriz is a bit prickly. I think she scares men off. Besides, I’m not sure what my mom would do without her now that the rest of us are scattered around the world pursuing our dreams.”

  “Did she never leave home?”

  “She talked about going to college but never actually did it. She wanted to study fashion in Milan, but my dad thought that was hilarious and would burst out laughing every time she talked about it.”

  “That’s terrible. Was that the only thing she wanted to do?”

  He shrugged. “She’s a grown woman. I’m sure that if she wanted to do something badly enough, she’d be doing it. I think she quite enjoys helping to run the palace and fulfilling the more mundane duties of a princess.”

  “Like what?” She bit into her pastry. It was tender and delicious, with a fruity filling that made her mouth water.

  “Oh, you know, snipping ribbons to open new shops and offices. Events where people want a rent-a-royal to add luster to the occasion. My grandmother found that kind of thing tiresome when she was queen so she delegated it to Beatriz since she was always available.”

  “Do you do those kind of events?”

  “God, no.” He laughed. “I’d hate it. Good thing I’m way down the royal line and in no danger of being king. Poor Darias has probably had it up to here already with royal duties. He was getting to be a pretty well-known artist internationally before he got swept back here to be king after the murders.”

  “Maybe he’s enjoying it.”

  “I doubt it.” Sandro ate his smoked fish with gusto.

  “Is that good?”

  “Absolutely delicious. Try a bite.” He thrust a forkful of his fish at her.