Expecting the Prince's Baby (Harlequin Romance\Princes of Europe) (9 page)

“I’ll call him and tell him right now.”

While Vincenzo walked out of earshot to make the phone call, Carolena moved closer to Abby. Her brows lifted as she stared at her. “When he saw you holding that towel to your face, I thought he was going to have a heart attack.”

“I know he was afraid something had happened to the baby.”

Carolena shook her head. “From the look in his eyes, it wasn’t the baby he was worried about,” she whispered. “If a man ever looked at me like that...”

Abby’s heart thudded against her ribs. “You’re imagining things.” But inwardly she was shaken by the look in his eyes. It was that same look he’d given her after she’d recovered on the boat that black day, as if she’d meant the world to him.

What a time for him to return from his trip! She looked an utter mess.

Vincenzo walked toward her. “If you feel all right, I’ll help you get back to your apartment.”

“I’m fine. Carolena will help me.”

“We’ll both help.” The authority in his voice silenced her.

Together the three of them left the pool. Carolena brought all their things while Vincenzo stayed at Abby’s side. When they reached her suite, her friend changed her clothes and announced she was leaving.

“I’ll have a limousine waiting for you at the entrance,
Signorina.
Again, my thanks for your help.”

“Abby’s the best.”

“So are you.” Abby hugged her friend.

“Thanks for dinner. See you at work tomorrow.”

The minute the door closed, Abby glanced at Vincenzo. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take a quick shower.”

“Don’t hurry on my account. I’m not going anywhere.”

That fluttery sensation in her stomach had taken over again. It happened whenever he came near. She rushed into the bathroom and got busy making herself presentable once more. After drying her hair with a clean towel, she brushed it the best she could and put on a clean blouse and skirt.

The nosebleed had definitely stopped. Just one of the surprises brought on by the pregnancy. She couldn’t complain. So far she’d been very lucky.

Again she found him out on the terrace, which was her favorite place, too, especially at night. He looked sensational in anything he wore. Tonight it was a silky blue shirt and khakis. “Did the doctor reassure you?”

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.”