Читать книгу Medical Romance December 2016 Books 1-6 - Sue MacKay, Carol Marinelli - Страница 35

CHAPTER TWO

December

SHE WAS LATE. Again. And Sienna was never late. She hated people being late. And now she was turning into that person herself.

It was easy to shift the blame. Her obstetrician’s clinic was running nearly an hour behind. How ironic. Even being friends with the Assistant Head of Obstetrics around here didn’t give her perks—but she could hardly blame him. Oliver had been dealing with a particularly difficult case. It just meant that now she wouldn’t complete her rounds and finish when planned.

She hurried across the main entrance of the hospital and tried not to be distracted by the surroundings. The Royal Cheltenham hospital—or Teddy’s, as they all affectionately called it—did Christmas with style.

A huge tree adorned the glass atrium. Red and gold lights twinkled merrily against the already darkening sky. The tea room near the front entrance—staffed by volunteers—had its own display. A complete Santa sleigh and carved wooden reindeers with red Christmas baubles on their noses. Piped music surrounded her. Not loud enough to be intrusive, but just enough to set the scene for Christmas, as an array of traditional carols and favourite pop tunes permeated the air around her.

Sienna couldn’t help but smile. Christmas was her absolute favourite time of year. The one time of year her parents actually stopped fighting. Her mother’s sister, Aunt Margaret, had always visited at this time of year. Her warmth and love of Christmas had been infectious. As soon as she walked in the house, the frosty atmosphere just seemed to vanish. If Margaret sensed anything, she never acknowledged it. It seemed it wasn’t the ‘done thing’ to fight and argue in front of Aunt Margaret and Sienna loved the fact that for four whole days she didn’t have to worry at all.

Aunt Margaret’s love of Christmas had continued—for Sienna, at least—long after she’d died. Sienna’s own Christmas tree had gone up on the first of December. Multicoloured lights were decorating the now bare cherry blossom at the bottom of her garden. She wasn’t even going to admit how they got there.

It seemed that Mother Nature was even trying to get in on the act. A light dusting of snow currently covered the glass atrium at Teddy’s.

This time next year would be even more special. This time next year would be her baby’s first Christmas. A smile spread across Sienna’s face.

Thoughts like that made her forget about her aching back and sore feet. At thirty-four weeks pregnant she was due to start maternity leave some time soon. Oliver had arranged for some maternity cover, and he’d had the good sense to start her replacement early. Max Ainsley was proving more than capable.

He’d picked up the electronic systems and referral pathways of Teddy’s easily. It meant that she’d be able to relax at home when the baby arrived instead of fretting over cancelled surgeries and babies and families having to travel for miles to get the same standard of care.

She hurried into the neonatal unit and stuffed her bag into the duty room. She looked up and took a deep breath. Every cot was full. An influx of winter virus had hit the unit a few weeks ago. That, along with delivery of a set of premature quads—one of whom needed surgery—meant that the staff were run off their feet.

Ruth, one of the neonatal nurses, shot her a sympathetic look. ‘You doing okay, Sienna?’

Sienna straightened up and rubbed her back, then her protruding stomach. She was used to the sideways glances from members of staff. As she’d never dated anyone from the hospital and most of the staff knew she lived alone, speculation about her pregnancy had been rife.

The best rumour that she’d heard was that she’d decided she didn’t need a man and had just used a sperm donor to have a baby on her own. If only it were true.

She’d stopped watching the news channel. Apart from weather reports and occasional badly behaved sportsmen, it seemed that her favourite news channel had developed an obsession with the upcoming royal wedding in Montanari early next year.

News was obviously slow. But if she saw one more shot of Seb with his arm around the cut-out perfect blonde she would scream. She didn’t care that they looked a little awkward together. She just didn’t want to see them at all.

She smiled at Ruth. ‘I’m doing fine, thanks. Just had my check-up. Six weeks to go.’ She waved her hand at the array of cots. ‘I’ve got three babies to review. I’m hoping we can get at least two of them home for their first Christmas in the next few days. What do you think?’

As she said the words her Head Neonatal Nurse appeared behind Ruth. She’d worked with Annabelle Ainsley for the last year and had been more than a little surprised when it had been revealed that Annabelle was actually Max’s estranged wife. She hadn’t been surprised that it had only taken them a week to reconcile once he’d started working at Teddy’s. For the last couple of weeks Annabelle hadn’t stopped smiling, so she was surprised to see her looking so serious this afternoon.

‘There’s someone here to see you.’ The normally unfazed Annabelle looked a little uncomfortable.

Sienna picked up the nearest tablet to check over one of her patients. ‘Who is it? A rep? Tell them I don’t have time, I’m sorry.’ She gave Annabelle a smile. ‘I think I should maybe hand all the reps over to Max now—what do you think?’

Annabelle glanced at Ruth. ‘It’s not a rep. I don’t recognise him and didn’t have time to ask his name. He’s insisting that he’ll only speak to you and...’ she took a breath ‘...he won’t be kept waiting.’

Sienna sat the tablet back down, satisfied with the recordings. Her post-surgery baby was doing well. She shook her head. ‘Well, who does he think he is?’ She looked around the unit and paused. ‘Wait? Is it a parent of one of the babies? Or someone with a surgery scheduled for their child? You know that I’ll speak to them.’

Annabelle shook her head firmly. ‘No. None of those. No parents—or impending parents. It’s something else entirely.’ She handed a set of notes to Ruth. ‘Can you check on little Maisy Allerton? She didn’t take much at her last feed.’

Ruth nodded and disappeared. Annabelle pressed her lips together. ‘This guy, he says it’s personal.’

Sienna felt an uncomfortable prickle across her skin. ‘Personal? Who would have something personal to talk to me about?’

The words were out before she even thought about them. Nothing like making herself sound sad and lonely. Did people at Teddy’s even think she had a personal life?

Annabelle’s eyes darted automatically to Sienna’s protruding stomach, then she flushed as she realised Sienna had noticed.

Sienna straightened her shoulders. She’d never been a fan of anyone trying to push her around. She gave Annabelle a wide smile. ‘Oh, he’s insisting, is he?’

Annabelle nodded then her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms across her chest. She’d worked with Sienna long enough to sense trouble ahead.

Sienna kept smiling. ‘Well, in that case, I’ll review my three babies. Talk to all sets of parents. I might make a few phone calls to some parents with babies on my list between Christmas and New Year, and then...’ she paused as she picked up the tablet again to start accessing a file ‘...then, as a heavily pregnant woman, I think I’ll go and have something to eat. I missed lunch and—’ she raised her eyebrows at Annabelle ‘—I have a feeling a colleague I work with might insist I don’t faint at work.’

Annabelle smiled too and nodded knowingly. ‘Not that I want to be any influence on you, but the kitchen staff made killer carrot cake today. I think it could count as one of your five a day.’

Sienna threw back her head and laughed. ‘You’re such a bad influence but I could definitely be persuaded.’ Her eyes went straight back to the chart. ‘Okay, so let’s see Kendall first. Mr I-Insist is just going to have to find out how things work around here.’

Annabelle gave a smile and put an arm at Sienna’s back. ‘Don’t worry. Somehow I think you’ll be more than a match for him. Give me a signal when you come back. I can always page you after five minutes to give you an escape.’

Sienna nodded. She didn’t really care who was waiting for her—her babies would always come first.

* * *

Seb was furious. He kept glancing at his watch. He’d been in this room for over an hour—his security detail waiting outside.

The sister of the neonatal ward had seemed surprised at first by his insistence at seeing Sienna. Then, she’d explained Sienna was at another appointment and would be back soon. What exactly meant soon at the Royal Cheltenham?

He’d paced the corridors a few times looking for her with no success. The doors to the neonatal unit had a coded lock, and, from the look of the anxious parents hurrying in and out, it really wasn’t a place he wanted to be.

He’d been stunned when Oliver Darrington had phoned him to discuss his own difficult situation—after a one-night stand a colleague was pregnant. A colleague who he had feelings for. Oliver had been Sebastian’s friend since they’d attended university together, even though they were destined for completely different lives.

He hadn’t told Oliver a thing about his weekend with Sienna, so when Oliver had mentioned that Sienna too was pregnant, Sebastian had felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

His tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth and his brain had scrambled to ask the question he’d wanted to, without giving himself away. According to Oliver she was heavily pregnant—due to have her baby at the end of January.

For a few seconds Seb had felt panicked. The dates fitted perfectly. He didn’t have a single doubt that her baby could be his.

He could hardly remember the rest of the conversation with Oliver. That made him cringe now. It was a complete disservice to his friend.

He’d had things to deal with.

Since Sienna had stormed out of his chalet retreat his life had turned upside down. He’d followed his parents’ wishes and allowed the announcement of the engagement. Theresa had seemed indifferent. Uniting the kingdoms had been important to her too. But marrying someone she wasn’t in love with didn’t seem any more appealing to her than it was to him.

If Sienna hadn’t happened, maybe, just maybe, he could have mustered some enthusiasm and tried to persuade Theresa their relationship could work.

But his nights had been haunted with dreams of being tangled in the sheets with a passionate woman with ash-blonde hair, caramel-coloured eyes and a firm, toned body.

She’d ignited a flame inside him. Something that had burned underneath the surface since she’d left. He’d been a fool. A fool to let his country think he would take part in a union he didn’t think he could make work.

His parents had been beside themselves with anger at the broken engagement.

Theresa had been remarkably stoic about him breaking the engagement. She’d handed back the yellow diamond ring with a nod of her head. He suspected her heart lay somewhere else. Her voice had been tight. ‘I hadn’t got around to finalising the design for my wedding dress yet. The designer was furious with me. It’s just as well really, isn’t it?’

He’d felt bad as he bent to kiss her cheek. Theresa wasn’t really upset with him. Not yet, anyway. She might be angrier when she found out about the baby. It could be embarrassing for her. He only hoped she would have moved on to wherever her heart truly lay.

The Head of his PR had nearly had a heart attack. He’d actually put his hand to his chest and turned an alarming shade of grey. And that had given Sebastian instant inspiration. In amongst breaking the news to both Theresa and his parents, Sebastian had spent the last two weeks doing something else—making arrangements to twin the Cheltenham hospital with the Montanari Royal General. He was already a patron of his own hospital; a sizeable donation would make him a patron of Teddy’s too.

It was the perfect cover story. He could come to the Royal Cheltenham without people asking too many questions. Oliver had been surprised for around five minutes. Then, he’d made him an appointment with the board. In the meantime, Sebastian could come freely to the hospital with his security and press team in tow. The announcement was due to be made tomorrow. Seb was hoping he could also make an announcement of his own.

He glanced at his watch again as the anger built in his chest. Sienna hadn’t even contacted him. Hadn’t even let him know he was going to be a father. Was her intention to leave his child fatherless? For the heir of Montanari not to be acknowledged or have their rightful inheritance?

That could never happen. He wouldn’t allow that to happen. Not in his lifetime.

He heard a familiar voice drifting down the corridor towards him. It sent every sense on fire. That familiar Scottish twang. The voice she’d invited him to listen to all night...

‘No problem. I’ll be along to review the chest X-ray in five minutes. Thanks, Max.’

The footsteps neared but he wasn’t prepared for the sight. Last time he’d seen Sienna she’d been toned and athletic. This time the rounded belly appeared before she did.

Her footsteps stopped dead in the doorway, her eyes wide. It was clear he was the last person she’d been expecting to see.

She took his breath away. She didn’t have on a traditional white coat. Instead she was dressed in what must be a maternity alternative to a suit. Black trousers with a matching black tunic over the top. It was still smart. Still professional. Her hair was gleaming, a bit longer than he remembered and tucked behind her ears. A red stethoscope hung around her neck, matching her bright red lipstick.

‘Sebastian.’ It was more a breath than a word.

Her hand went automatically to her stomach. His reply stuck in his throat. He hadn’t been ready. He hadn’t been ready for the sight of her ripe with his child. Even under her smart clothes he could see her lean body had changed totally. Her breasts were much bigger than before—and they suited her. Pregnancy suited her in a way he couldn’t even have imagined.

But now he was here, he just didn’t even know where to start.

* * *

This wasn’t happening. Not here. Not now.

She’d planned things so carefully. All her surgeries were over. Any new patients had been seen jointly with Max. He would perform the neonatal surgeries and she would do later follow up once she was back from maternity leave.

But here he was. Right in front of her. The guy she’d spent the last six months half cursing, half pining for.

Those forest-green eyes practically swept up and down her body. Her palm itched. That thick dark hair. The hair she’d spent two days and two nights running her fingers through. Those broad shoulders, filling out the exquisitely cut suit. The pale lilac of the shirt and the shocking pink of his tie with his dark suit and good looks made him look like one of the models adorning the billboards above Times Square in New York. Imagine waking up with that staring in your hotel window every morning.

Her breath had left her lungs. It was unnatural. It was ridiculous. He was just a man. She sucked in a breath and narrowed her gaze. ‘Congratulations on your engagement.’

He flinched. What had he expected? That she’d welcome him here with open arms?

Part of her felt a tiny twinge of regret. Her hand had picked up the phone more times than she could count. She’d tried to have that conversation with Oliver on a number of occasions. But it was clear that he’d never realised what was behind her tiny querying questions. The thought that his friend might have had a liaison with his colleague obviously hadn’t even entered his mind.

Was it really such a stretch of the imagination?

Sebastian let out a sigh and stepped towards her. She held up her hand automatically to stop him getting too close—last thing she needed was to get a whiff of that familiar aftershave. She didn’t need any more memories of the past than she already had. Baby was more than enough.

The royal persona she’d seen on the TV news seemed to be the man in the room with her now. This wasn’t the cheeky, flirtatious, incredibly sexy guy that she’d spent two days and two nights with. Maybe her Seb didn’t really exist at all?

There was something else. An air about him she hadn’t noticed before. Or maybe she hadn’t been paying attention. An assurance. A confidence. The kind of persona that actually fitted with being a prince.

He caught the hand she held in front of her.

The effect was instant, a rush of warmth and a pure overload of memories of the last time he’d touched her.

If she hadn’t been standing so squarely she might have swayed. Her senses were alight. Now, his aftershave was reaching across the short space between them like a cowboy’s rope pulling her in. Her hand tingled from where he held it. His grip initially had been firm but now it changed and his thumb moved under her palm, tracing circles—just as he’d done months ago.

Her breathing stalled. No. No, she wasn’t going to go here again.

This was the man that had announced his engagement a few weeks after they’d met. An engagement to a childhood friend. Had he been seeing her the whole time? She’d checked. But the media wasn’t sure. Had he been sleeping with them both at the same time?

She had no idea.

But no matter what her senses were doing, thoughts like that coloured her opinion of the man. He hadn’t been honest with her. They hadn’t promised each other anything, but that didn’t matter.

She snatched her hand back.

‘I’m not engaged, Sienna. I broke off my engagement when I heard the news you were pregnant.’ His voice was as smooth as silk.

She felt herself bristle. ‘And what am I supposed to feel—grateful?’

He didn’t even blink. He just kept talking. ‘I heard the news from Oliver. He called me about something else. A woman. Ella? Do you know her?’

Sienna frowned. ‘Yes, yes, I know her. She’s a midwife here.’ She paused. Did Sebastian know the full story?

‘They’re engaged,’ she said carefully, missing out the part that Ella was pregnant too. She wasn’t sure just how much Oliver would have told Sebastian.

A wide smile broke across Sebastian’s face. ‘Perfect. I’ll need to congratulate him.’ His focus came back on Sienna. ‘Maybe we could have a joint wedding?’

‘A what?’ Someone walking past the door turned their head at the rise of her voice. ‘Are you crazy?’

Sebastian shook his head. ‘Why would you think I’m crazy?’

He drew himself up in front of her. ‘You’re carrying the heir to the Montanari throne. We might still have things to sort out, but I’d prefer it if the heir to the throne was legitimate. Wouldn’t you? If you come back with me now we can be married as soon as we get there. We can tell the world we met when you came to work in Montanari Royal General. Everything fits.’

He made it all sound so normal. So rational. So matter-of-fact.

She wasn’t hearing this. She wasn’t. It was some sick, delusional dream. She thought back to everything she’d eaten today. Maybe she’d been exposed to something weird.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. ‘Here.’

She wasn’t thinking straight and held out her hand. ‘What is it?’

One of the ward clerks walked past and raised her eyebrows at the sight of the way-too-big diamond. Perfect. Just perfect. She was already the talk of the place and Polly was the world’s biggest gossip. She just prayed that Polly hadn’t recognised Sebastian.

She flinched and pulled her hand away. ‘What am I supposed to do with that?’

‘Put it on,’ he said simply, glancing at her as if it were a stupid question. ‘You need to wear an engagement ring.’ He paused for a second and looked at her face. ‘Don’t you like it? It’s a family heirloom.’ His forehead wrinkled. ‘I’m sure I can find you something else in the family vault.’

She shook her head and started pacing. ‘It doesn’t matter if I like it. I don’t want it. I don’t need it. I’m—’ She stopped and placed her hand on her stomach. ‘We’re going nowhere. I have a job here. A home. The very last place I’m going is Montanari. And the very last thing I’m doing...’ she paused again and shook her head, trying to make sense of the craziness around her. She drew in a deep breath and stepped right up to him, poking her finger in her chest. ‘The very last thing I’m doing is marrying you.’

Now Sebastian started shaking his head. He had the absolute gall to look surprised. ‘Why on earth not? You’re expecting our child. You’re going to be the mother of the heir to Montanari. We should get married. And as soon as possible.’ He said it as if it made perfect sense.

Sienna put her hands on her back and started pacing. ‘No. No, we absolutely shouldn’t.’

Sebastian held out his hands. ‘Sienna, in a few years you get to be the Queen of Montanari. What woman wouldn’t want that?’

She shuddered. She actually shuddered. ‘Oh, no. Oh, no.’

Sebastian’s brow creased. ‘What on earth is wrong? We can have a state wedding in Montanari...’ he glanced at her stomach and gave a little shrug ‘...but we’ll need to be quick.’

Sienna took a step back. ‘Okay, were you really this crazy when I met you in Montanari and I just didn’t notice? Because this is nowhere near normal.’ She put her hand on her stomach. ‘Yes, I’m pregnant. Yes, I’m pregnant with your baby. But that’s it, Sebastian. This isn’t the Dark Ages. I don’t want your help—or need it.’ She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to contemplate all the things she hadn’t even considered. ‘Look at me, Sebastian. I live here. In the Cotswolds. I came here from Edinburgh. I purposely chose to come here. I’ve bought my dream house. I have a great job and colleagues that I like and admire. I’ve arranged a childcare for my baby and cover for my maternity leave.’ She could feel herself getting agitated. Her voice was getting louder the longer that she spoke. ‘I won’t keep you from our baby. You can have as much—or as little—contact as you want. But don’t expect to waltz in here and take over our lives.’ She pressed her hand to her chest. ‘This is my life, Sebastian. My life. I don’t need your money and I don’t need your help. I’m perfectly capable of raising this baby on my own.’

Polly walked past again. It was obviously deliberate. Not only was she spying, now she was eavesdropping too.

With a burst of pure frustration Sienna kicked the door closed.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows.

She took a deep breath. ‘I need you to go. I need you to leave. I can’t deal with this now.’

Her lips pressed tight together and resisted the temptation to say the words she was truly thinking.

Sebastian seemed to have frozen on the spot. The air of assurance had disappeared.

It was then she saw it. The look. The expression.

He’d actually expected her to say yes.

He hadn’t expected her to reject him. He hadn’t expected a no.

Sebastian Falco was hurt.

Now, it was her that was surprised. It struck her in a way she didn’t expect. She could almost see a million things circulating around in his brain—as if he was trying to find a new way to persuade her to go with him.

She could see the little vein pulsing at the base of his throat.

Her mouth was dry.

If she were five years old—this would be her dream. Well, not the pregnancy, but the thought of a prince sweeping in and saying he would marry her, presenting her with a huge diamond ring and the chance to one day be Queen.

But it had been a long time since Sienna had been five.

And her ambitions and dreams had changed so much they could move mountains.

Sebastian folded his arms across his chest. ‘Why didn’t you call me, Sienna?’ His voice was rigid. ‘Why didn’t you phone and tell me as soon as you knew you were pregnant?’

Oh. That.

She should have expected it to come up.

‘I was going to. I meant to. But the day I did my pregnancy test was the day your engagement was announced on the national news.’ She looked at him directly, trying to push away the tiny part of guilt curling in her stomach. ‘Between that, and finding out I was pregnant, it kind of took the feet out from under me.’

He broke their gaze for a second, his words measured. ‘Theresa was a friend. It wasn’t going to be a marriage of love. It was going to be a union of kingdoms. Something my parents wanted very much.’

‘How romantic.’

She couldn’t help herself. She’d been a child of a loveless marriage. She knew the effects it had. She raised her eyes to the ceiling. ‘Well, your parents must be delighted about me. I guess I’m going to be the national scandal.’

She’d been delusional. She’d thought she knew this man—even a little. But nothing about this fitted with the two days they’d spent together. The Sebastian she’d known then was a man who actually felt and thought. He’d laughed and joked and made her the coffee she craved. He’d cuddled up beside her in bed and taken her to places she’d never been before. He’d gently stroked the back of her neck as she’d fallen asleep. He was someone she’d loved being around.

Too bad all of it had been a lie.

The man in front of her now was the Sebastian that appeared on the news. The one with a fixed smile and his arm around someone else.

That was what it was. That was what she’d always noticed. Even though she’d tried not to watch him on the news—she’d tried to always switch channel—on the few occasions she had seen pictures of him, something had never seemed quite right.

She’d always tried not to look too closely. Her heart wouldn’t let her go there. Not at all.

But little things were falling into place.

The smile had never reached his eyes.

Now, the look in his eyes seemed sincere. His tone much softer. ‘You can be whatever you want to be, Sienna. I’d just like you to do it as my wife.’

This look was familiar. She’d seen it so many times on the weekend they’d spent together. In between the flirting, fun and cheekiness there had been flashes of sincerity.

That had been the thing that made his untruthfulness so hard to take.

The room was starting to feel oh-so-small.

‘Why didn’t you call me later?’

It didn’t matter that she’d just sipped some water. Her mouth felt dry. He wasn’t going to let this go. He was calling her on it.

She licked her lips. ‘I wanted to. I thought about it. But we didn’t exactly exchange numbers. How easy is it to call a royal palace and ask to speak to the Prince?’

He shifted a little uncomfortably, then shook his head. ‘You could have asked Oliver. You knew we were friends. He was the one who recommended you. He would have given you the number whenever you asked.’

‘And how would that work out? “Oh, Oliver? Can you give me Seb’s mobile number, please? I want to tell him that I’m going to ruin his engagement by letting him know I’m pregnant. You know, the engagement to his childhood sweetheart?” At least that’s the way it sounded in the media.’

He smiled. He actually smiled.

‘You think it’s funny?’

‘No. Not at all. But that’s the first time you’ve called me Seb since I got here.’ He stepped forward.

She sucked in a breath.

She hadn’t even noticed.

Seb was too close again. She needed some space, some distance between them.

He touched her arm. Her bare skin almost caught fire. There was no opportunity to flinch or pull away. His palm surrounded her slim wrist. ‘I’ve told you. It was never like that with Theresa. We just didn’t think of each other that way. And we’d never been childhood sweethearts. We were friends. Just friends.’

‘You’ve told her about the pregnancy?’

He gave a little grimace. ‘Not exactly. Not yet anyway.’ He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘I wasn’t quite sure how to put it.’

‘You were sleeping with us both?’

She couldn’t help it. It just came out.

‘What? No.’ Sebastian shook his head again. ‘I’ve never slept with Theresa. I’ve told you. It wasn’t that kind of relationship. I don’t sleep with my friends.’

She hated the way that relief flooded through her. The sincerity was written all over his face. He might have lied by omission before but she was certain he wasn’t lying now.

She met his gaze. ‘How will she feel when she finds out? It will look to the world as if you’ve made a fool of her. As if we’ve made a fool of her. I hate that. I don’t want anyone to think I’d have an affair with someone else’s man.’

He sucked in a deep breath and reached up towards her face. ‘But I wasn’t in a relationship with Theresa. I was single. I was free when we were together. And if I’d known you were pregnant I would never have let my parents force me into announcing an engagement.’ His hand brushed her cheek and his fingers tangled in her hair.

This was what he’d done when they’d been together. This was how he’d pulled her into that first kiss.

The touch should have been mesmerising. But his words left her cold.

Forced. He’d never really mentioned his parents in their short time together.

‘They forced you? I didn’t think you’d let anyone force you to do anything.’ There was an air of challenge in her voice.

He recognised it and raised his eyebrows. He gave her a half-smile. ‘You haven’t met my parents—yet.’

It was her first truly uncomfortable feeling. The King and Queen of Montanari. They wouldn’t like her. They wouldn’t like her at all. She’d ruined the plan to unite the neighbouring kingdoms and was going to give Montanari an illegitimate heir. Her face was probably currently fixed to a dartboard or archery target in their throne room.

‘And are they forcing you to do this too?’ The words came out in a whisper. Every muscle in her body was tensed.

Duty. That was what she was sensing here.

He might be sincere. But there was no love—no compassion here. Tears threatened to fill her eyes. She licked her dry lips and stepped back, out of his hold. He hadn’t answered her question and she couldn’t quite believe how hurt she felt.

‘I think you should go back to Montanari, Sebastian. I’ll let you know when the baby arrives and we can sort things out from there.’

He looked surprised, his hand still in the air from where he’d touched her hair. He stared at it for a second, then shook his head. ‘Who says I’m going back to Montanari?’

She concentrated on her shoes. It was easier than looking at him. ‘Well, you will, won’t you? You’ll have—’ she waved her hand ‘—princely duties or something to do. You can’t stay here. There’s been enough tittle-tattle about who the father of my baby is. The last thing I want is for someone to realise who you are and gossip about us. I’m the talk of the steamie already.’

He shook his head in bewilderment. ‘The what?’

‘The steamie. You know—the washhouse.’

He shook his head. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. But you know what? Just keep talking. I’d forgotten how much I loved the sound of your voice.’

Ditto.

‘The steamie. It’s a Scottish term for an old washhouse—the place where people used to go and wash their clothes before everyone had washing machines. It was notorious. The women used to always gossip in there.’

‘So, that’s what we could be? The talk of the steamie?’

She nodded again. ‘And I’d rather not be. It would be easier if you left. We can talk. We can make plans about access arrangements when the baby arrives. We have another six weeks to wait. There’s enough time.’

‘Oh, no, you don’t,’ he replied promptly.

She had a bad feeling about this. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m not going anywhere. I’ve already missed out on things. I’m not missing out on anything else.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ she asked again.

He leaned against the door jamb and folded his arms across his chest. There was a determined grin on his face. ‘I’ve got work to do here.’ He mimicked her hand wave. ‘Princely duties. I need to sort out the twinning of our hospitals and iron out all the details. Get used to me being around.’ He gave her a little nod. ‘I’m your new best friend.’