Single Father, Surprise Prince!

by Raye Morgan

  She could see them quite well, but couldn’t hear a word. They were talking animatedly. Sonja seemed to be trying to convince him of something. He was shaking his head and generally doing what Joe did best—resisting joining in with female plans.

  Sonja begged. Sonja pleaded. Sonja flirted and tried to persuade. Her body language told it all. And Joe deflected every bit of her proposal with humor and a shrug.

  Which was all very well. But what else did Sonja have on her agenda for later? What was she planning to do to Joe? That was what was worrying Kelly.

  For a moment, he seemed to get angry. He was making his own points rather forcefully. Kelly strained her ears, but she still couldn’t hear a thing.

  Then Sonja grabbed his hand and leaned toward him, pleading for something. Joe was looking long-suffering. He shifted away from Sonja. She leaned in closer. He turned his head away—and his eyes met Kelly’s. He went completely still.

  It was as though an electric charge ignited the air between them. Kelly glanced around quickly, sure others must have seen it. He stared at her and she stared back. And slowly, a grin began to spread across his handsome face.

  What was he going to do? She tensed, ready to run if she had to. He was still talking to Sonja, but he was looking at Kelly. In fact, he was making faces at her! She pretended to sip on the straw in her frappuccino, but her cheeks were flaming, she knew. No matter how much she pulled her hoodie down, she couldn’t cover that up.

  Finally Joe seemed to tell one too many jokes, and Sonja got up and left in a huff, leaving him behind at the table. He rose slowly and walked across the room to where Kelly was sitting, stopping at her table and waiting. Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore and looked up into his face.

  “What do you think you’re doing here?” he demanded.

  “I…I came to get a drink, of course.” She straightened and tried to look cool, calm and collected. But he didn’t buy it for a moment.

  “Kelly.”

  “Well, I had to make sure. I don’t trust her and I kept thinking about all the horrible things she might do.”

  “Uh-huh.” He sank down into the chair across the table. “You thought she might get me into a hammerlock and force me into her car?”

  Kelly pretended to consider it. “She’s a big lady,” she pointed out.

  “Kelly.” Reaching out, he took her hand in his.

  “Listen, I think you take these people much too lightly,” she told him earnestly. “They’re dangerous.” She searched his eyes. “So what did she do? Did she try to find out if you are Prince Cassius?”

  “Yes. She did.”

  “I knew it!”

  “Actually, she and Dory had pretty much decided I must be one of the princes, but they didn’t know which one. They made the association from pictures just like you did.”

  Kelly snapped her fingers and murmured, “Shazam,” under her breath.

  “But she’s not trying to get me to go back and sign up for my patriotic duty like you are. She wants me to help her make money. In fact, she offered me a job, paying twice as much if I really could prove I was the prince.”

  Kelly’s mouth dropped open in reluctant admiration. “Oh, wow. Good move on her part.”

  “Yes, I thought so. Clever way to get me to confess.” He grinned. “And nonviolent.”

  Kelly made a face at him. “You can never be too careful,” she reminded him.

  “Did you really think you were going to defend me from harm?” he asked, with laughter in his eyes and in his voice. “What were you going to do if she started to threaten me?”

  “I assumed she really wouldn’t do anything like that, at least not in public. But if she had a weapon…”

  “You were prepared to throw yourself in front of me? Guard my life with your body?”

  Kelly shook her head, all sweet innocence. “Whatever it takes.”

  “Hmm.” He pursed his lips. “What about seduction?”

  She frowned. “What about it?”

  “If she’d tried it, would you be ready to guard me from that, too?”

  She met his gaze and couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe.”

  He held both her hands in his and looked at her across the table with so much affection she had to turn away.

  “Don’t worry, Kelly. I’ll always be true. True to you.”

  That made her heart turn over in her chest. He might even mean that in the moment. But he didn’t mean it the way she wished he would.

  “Oh, Joe, stop it.”

  “You don’t think I’m serious?”

  She looked at him, loving him, regretting him. Didn’t he get it yet? He was no longer free to decide whom he wanted to be true to. He was a prince of the realm. All his romances now belonged to the royal order. He didn’t get to pick and choose.

  Joe thought he was still in charge of his own destiny. He was a tough guy used to making his own decisions, fighting his own wars, making his own compromises when he chose to. He thought he could decide whether to go along with this royal gig or not, as his mood dictated. He was wrong.

  And in some ways, it was all her fault. If she’d left him alone…

  But no. That wouldn’t have saved him. The Sonjas of the world were already seeking him out. If Kelly hadn’t found him, someone else would have. The best, safest path would be for him to join his brothers and be a part of the fight for his homeland. She was convinced of that. Joe was going to have to come to that conclusion himself, though.

  “Come on,” she said to him, smiling with tears in her eyes. “Let’s go back.”

  Mrs. Gomez went home at six in the evening, but first she made them a set of delicious quesadillas and a huge green salad to go with it. They had an intimate dinner after she left, talking softly, laughing a lot. Mei woke as they finished up, and Kelly brought her out and put her in the high chair to eat while Joe cleaned up the dishes.

  He was thinking while he worked, remembering what Kelly had done for him the night before, with the pictures of the royal family, and it gave him an idea. He finished up and went to his room, opening a drawer where he kept most of his pictures of Angie. Just seeing her beloved face again made him smile, and that stopped him in his tracks. A smile instead of agony? Maybe things really were changing.

  He took the pictures with him to the living room and invited Kelly to bring Mei to join him.

  “What’s up?” she asked curiously.

  “I’m going to try it your way,” he said. “I’m going to tell her about how I met her mother.”

  Kelly’s dark eyes widened. “Oh, Joe,” she said, and a smile brightened her face. “I’ll bring her in right away.”

  Joe set up pictures all around the room, and when Kelly came in, she put Mei down to play, and came over to sit by Joe on the couch. Joe looked at the little girl and felt his heart swell. He loved her so much and he was desperate to have at least a bit of that love returned.

  “Mei, I want you to listen to me,” he began, hoping this wasn’t all for nothing. He was trying to keep his voice low and pleasant so as not to put her off, but so far, he might as well have been speaking pig latin. She made no sign that she heard a thing. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  “I’m not sure why you decided you had to make me pay like this. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that it was my fault you don’t have your mother. I don’t know how you could know that on a conscious level, but you feel it. Somehow, you feel it. And I accept it. I can’t bring your mother back in the flesh. But I’m going to do as much as I can to show you what she was like. And how much she loved you. How much she still loves you. And how you came to be.”

  He rose from the couch and began to hold up photographs so that Mei might notice.

  “These are pictures of your mother, Angie.”

  Mei seemed to be playing with her ring of plastic keys and completely ignoring everything Joe was saying and doing, but that didn’t stop him. He began putting the pictures of Angie in more prominent
places, not laying them on flat surfaces as Kelly had with the royals, but propping them up where Mei couldn’t help but see them anytime she looked up from her toys.

  “Here is the way your mother looked when I first met her. And now I’ll tell you all about that.”

  He paused, and Mei glanced up as though she couldn’t help herself. Joe smiled. Mei looked away quickly, but he met Kelly’s gaze and they shared a grin. Mei could pretend all she wanted, but it was clear she was listening. How much she understood was another story, but at least she seemed to have some sense of what was going on here.

  “I met Angie at a fiesta,” he said softly. “I was stationed in the Philippines. We were out doing some cleanup work about a day’s ride from Manila.”

  He held up some pictures and Kelly nodded. She was so impressed with Joe, so glad he’d decided to try this, although it didn’t seem to be having much effect yet. So impressed that he could take advice, change his mind, do something because it might work. He was adaptable. You had to admire that in a guy.

  Leaning forward, she asked, “By ‘cleanup,’ I assume you mean taking care of the bad guys?”

  He favored her with a lopsided grin. “You catch on fast.” He showed her a picture of himself and some of his army buddies riding in a Jeep. “Anyway, it was one of those huge Philippines parties that last for days. Everybody comes. There’s singing and dancing and karaoke. And food—tables set up everywhere overflowing with food. Pancit and lumpia and roast pig.”

  Mei looked up at the familiar words. Joe smiled at her. She quickly looked down again.

  “I caught sight of her right away. She was wearing a long skirt and a Philippines blouse with those high starched, gauzy sleeves. She looked like a butterfly about to take off over the trees. So pretty.” He sighed. “Her mother didn’t like me from the start. But Angie did, and for the moment, that was all that mattered. We got married and everyone had a wonderful time at our wedding. We didn’t have a lot of time together, though. I had to go back to Manila and then, suddenly, I got shipped out to Thailand. She had you, Mei, while I was gone. By the time I finally got back there, rebels had taken over the whole area, killing most of the men.”

  Kelly gave a start, glancing at Mei. “Joe, do you really think you should…”

  He took her hand and held it tightly. “Kelly, she lived with this all around her. She’s seen things you wouldn’t want a baby to see. And it wouldn’t be honest to leave out the ugly parts.” He gave Kelly a bittersweet smile. “The truth will set you free,” he said almost mockingly.

  “I’m not so sure that’s always true,” she retorted, but she saw his point. “Just don’t get too graphic, okay?”

  “Don’t worry.” He took a deep breath and continued. “The family was on the run. They had to leave their beautiful plantation behind and hide in the jungle, finding relatives who would take them in. I searched for Angie for days. When I finally found her, we only had a few minutes before—”

  His voice caught and he didn’t go on, but Kelly thought she understood. She’d read about how he’d been shot. Angie must have been killed at the same time. Kelly’s heart broke for him.

  “The rebels were pushed out and Angie’s family got their plantation back. But Angie’s mother blamed me for her daughter’s death. I suppose she was right. It was my fault. If she hadn’t come out to meet me that day…” Tears filled his eyes.

  “Joe.”

  Kelly reached out to comfort him, but before her hand could grasp his, she realized Mei had come over, too. Toddling on her little chubby legs, she looked at him for a moment, then leaned forward and patted his leg with her hand. Two pats, and she turned and went back to her toys.

  Kelly and Joe looked at each other in astonishment, hardly believing what she’d just done. Joe moved as though to go to her, but Kelly held him back.

  “Later,” she whispered. “Give her time to get used to this.”

  He nodded, took a deep breath and went on, talking about things he and Angie had done, about what life was like in the Philippines. As he talked, Mei played with her toys, then lay down on the floor and closed her eyes.

  “Do you really think any of this is getting through to her?” Joe asked softly.

  “Not the way it would to an adult.” Kelly sighed. “But I think it’s done a lot of good. It’s all in the vibes.”

  He rose and walked over to where his daughter was lying. “There you go, I bored her to death. She’s out cold.”

  “She’s asleep.” Kelly smiled. “And with babies, that’s usually a good thing.” She rose as well. “Come on. Help me put her down in her crib.”

  “I’ll do it,” he said, and he bent down and slipped his hands under her neck and her legs. She woke as he lifted her, and her first reaction was to scrunch up her face and try to wrestle free. But Joe didn’t let her. He pulled her against his chest and held her tenderly, rocking her and murmuring sweet words. In a moment, she stilled, and then her eyes closed again and she was limp as a noodle. Joe looked at Kelly and grinned.

  Kelly was dancing with happiness—but very quietly. Together, they put the baby in her crib and pulled the blanket over her.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Kelly whispered as they tiptoed out of the room. “You’ll see. You’ve done it. Congrats.”

  “No, you’ve done it.” He stopped, closed the door to the room and pulled her into his arms. “Thank God for you,” he said, his voice low and husky. And then he kissed her.

  She’d heard of kisses that took you to heaven, and she’d always scorned such talk.

  But that was then. This was now.

  And now was very different. Maybe it was the powerful maleness of him that did it. Suddenly everything was all senses—touch and smell and taste—and her brain seemed to go to sleep. His mouth on hers felt as hot and lush as black velvet looked, and it wasn’t just touching—it was stroking and coaxing and plunging and drawing her out as she’d never been before. She seemed to be floating, and she couldn’t feel her legs anymore. Everything was focused on the kiss. She was living in this incredible sensation, and she never wanted it to stop.

  His body was hard and lean and delicious, and she pressed herself against him, hungry to feel him against her breasts, wanting more of him and wanting it harder.

  Vaguely, she realized he was saying something, and then he was drawing back. She didn’t want him to go. She clung to him with an urgency she didn’t know she had in her.

  “Whoa, hold on,” he said softly, taking her head in his hands and laughing down into her face. “Kelly, Kelly, if we keep this up, we’ll be sorry, sweetheart. Let’s take it easy for now. Okay?”

  “Oh!” Her face turned bright red. “Oh, Joe, I’ve never…I mean I didn’t…”

  “Darling, it’s quite obvious ‘you’ve never.’ And I don’t think you’re ready yet, either. No matter what that eager body of yours tells you.”

  She put her hand over her mouth. She’d never been so embarrassed in her life. “Oh Joe, I didn’t mean to…”

  “I know.” He laced fingers with her, smiling at her with a sweet and lingering tenderness. “It’s my fault. I got that train started down the track. I didn’t know you didn’t have any brakes.”

  “Joe!”

  He laughed. “I’m kidding. Come on. Let’s go out on the deck and cool off.”

  She went with him. The moon was out, the sound of the waves a calming backdrop. She looked into the night sky and sighed. If she hadn’t already been pretty sure she was in love with him, she knew for sure now.

  Kelly changed her plane reservations in the morning, but could add only one day. There was no getting out of going home on Sunday. After all, her job was worth saving.

  Mei was beginning to respond to Joe. It was going to take time for her to be as natural with him as he would like, but it was coming along. They spent Saturday at the beach with her and then took her to a kiddie park where she could play on the equipment. They all three seemed to grow closer every minute t
hey spent together.

  Joe couldn’t believe how happy it made him just to be with Kelly and Mei. But lurking in the background were the decisions he was going to have to make. Was he really a prince? And if so, was he ready to pick up that mantle?

  This was a complicated problem. It wasn’t as though there was a nice, placid life waiting for him in Ambria. If he wanted to claim his heritage, he was going to have to fight for it. There was a war waiting to be fought. Was he going to feel strongly enough about all this to be a part of that?

  He’d been a fighter all his life. His career was based on the warrior creed. He’d assumed that was the only work he was trained in and the only work he would get. He’d had plenty of offers and he thought he’d take one soon.

  But what if he could do something better? Something tied to his own heritage, his own destiny? Getting his country back from the evil clan who’d stolen it, the villains who had murdered his parents, the force that cursed his native land.

  Wasn’t that what his entire career, his entire life, had prepared him for? If he was a prince—and he was becoming more and more certain that he was—it was his duty, wasn’t it?

  Kelly seemed to think so.

  “I’ve got my boss setting up some meetings for you,” she told him that afternoon. “He’ll arrange for your DNA test and—”

  “Whoa,” Joe said, shocked at how quickly this was coming at him. “I haven’t said I would do that yet.”

  “No.” She smiled at him sweetly. “But you will. Won’t you?”

  He melted. It was that smile that did it. This was not good. She could just about get him to do anything, couldn’t she?

  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get the facts,” he said grudgingly. “But what are these meetings you’re talking about?”

  “Different officials will be calling to discuss the possibilities with you.” She hesitated, then smiled again, taking his hand in hers. “They’ll want you to come to Italy.”

  “How am I going to do that? I can’t leave Mei behind.”

  “Take her with you, of course. They’ll find someone to help with that. Don’t worry. Very soon, there will be people popping out of the woodwork to help you with everything. Get ready to feel overwhelmed.”