Prince Baby (Silhouette Romance)

by Susan Meier

  “Okay. I’ll hit the books. You keep your princess here. In Arkansas, if possible.”

  “It’s called a spontaneous delivery,” the emergency room doctor said, slapping Seth on the back. “Next baby, you’ll be ready.”

  “There isn’t going to be a next baby,” Seth mumbled as the doctor pushed open the curtain, walked out of the cubicle and disappeared when the drape fell closed behind him.

  Rubbing his hand across the back of his neck, Seth faced Lucy. “So, the doctor wants you to stay overnight.”

  Lucy nodded and Seth watched her, working to control the myriad of emotions tumbling through him. He understood what Pete was saying about keeping Lucy in Porter, but what Pete didn’t realize was that Seth was irresistibly attracted to this woman. They hadn’t even left his hotel room on their first date. Hell, they hadn’t even said hello. The day they’d met on the construction site for her father’s Miami mansion, they had fought the sexual connection that sizzled between them for eight long hours. So, when she’d arrived at his hotel room to meet him for their dinner date, she’d fallen into his arms and he’d carried her to bed.

  With the exception of time at the construction site, they’d spent the first two weeks of their acquaintance in bed. But that was good because that was how he’d talked himself out of thinking he was in love with her. He simply convinced himself it had only been lust and the thrill of spontaneity that had propelled him and Lucy to Vegas where they were married after only knowing each other a few short weeks.

  Blaming their marriage on uncontrollable sexual chemistry made everything easy to understand and justify, but now she’d had his child. And all kinds of crazy emotions bubbled through Seth. He might not love her, but he was absolutely, positively back to being solidly in lust with her. Except now lust was peppered with appreciation for the staggeringly beautiful woman who had given him a son.

  He was in deep trouble.

  He took a quick breath and reminded himself that Lucy had also married him when she had been betrothed to someone else. She had rushed home when her father discovered their hasty wedding and that had been the end of their relationship. She hadn’t taken Seth’s calls, wouldn’t see him when he’d traveled to her father’s island. Her father had sent the messenger who’d told him their marriage had been annulled. So, yes, looking at her beautiful dark eyes, perfect pink complexion and sinfully rich black hair, he couldn’t deny that he was sexually attracted to her. What man wouldn’t be? Having watched the birth of his son, he also couldn’t deny a certain amount of respect and appreciation. But after the way she had treated him, he couldn’t love her. He wouldn’t love her. It would be emotional suicide.

  “And they’ll have a room for you in a few minutes.”

  She closed her eyes and murmured, “Thanks.”

  “You’ll get the baby once you’re settled.”

  “Good.”

  Seth ran his hand along the back of his neck again. This was the reason their marriage had been a mistake. Physically, they were a perfect ten. But he couldn’t remember a time they’d ever really talked.

  Still, able to communicate or not, they had a baby. And he refused to let the monarchy roll over his parental rights. Xavier Island might be a small country, only one island of several off the coast of Spain, but Lucy’s dad was a savvy leader who knew exactly what to do to keep his country one of the richest in the region. If King Alfredo wanted to, he could find a way to take Seth’s son away from him. So Seth had to be one step ahead of him. That was the important thing right now.

  “So…what do we do now?”

  “I’m going home.”

  He was afraid of that. “Where, exactly, is home?” Realizing how hostile that sounded, Seth quickly amended it. He couldn’t afford to make her mad. Lord only knew what she would do, where she would go. She’d already proved that when she wanted to, she could disappear.

  “When I met you, you lived in Miami, then when your dad summoned you, you left for Xavier Island. You said you’ve been in Miami for the past few months, but you were supposed to be marrying a prince. Did you marry him? Do you live in some other kingdom I’ve never heard of?”

  “Though my betrothal nullified our marriage, the pregnancy broke the betrothal. The barristers called it an act of God.”

  Seth snorted a laugh. “I’ll bet King Dad loved that.”

  “When he discovered there was no sanction to the trade agreement tied to the betrothal, he didn’t care.”

  Seth shook his head, unable to believe things like this still happened in a modern world. “Well, there you go. Marriage, babies, none of it matters as long as the trade agreement stays intact.”

  “Seth, I know you’re mad,” Lucy softly said, “and I also don’t expect you to understand this, but not every country is as progressive as the United States and not every people is as independent. Some of us…”

  “Your room is ready!” Popping through the canvas curtain, the nurse interrupted Lucy. She picked up Lucy’s chart and made a quick notation, then said, “The guy behind me is Tom. He’ll be the one taking you up.”

  The tall orderly in the green scrubs offered a salute.

  The female nurse turned to Seth. “You should go home. Not only is your wife going to need her sleep, but you’ve been through the wringer tonight, too.”

  Hearing Lucy referred to as his wife sent a flood of overpowering emotion through Seth. He fought it by reminding himself that he and Lucy were absolutely one-hundred-percent wrong for each other and they had made a huge mistake in getting married. But the feelings wouldn’t go away. He wanted to take her hand and whisper his gratitude. He wanted to kiss her forehead. He wanted to jump with joy and he couldn’t believe he had to control himself. He wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to keep it all inside.

  Still, he had to. Lucy was a princess and he might not be a pauper, but he was a commoner. They had to decide custody and visitation before she returned to Xavier. But Seth’s lawyer needed to research the law. Seth had to buy him time.

  He glanced at Lucy. “Do you want me to go home?” he asked politely.

  “I am tired. But there are a few things we need to discuss.”

  “And you can’t discuss them tomorrow?” the nurse demanded.

  “No. Please give Seth my room number.”

  The royally-proper-yet-still-sweet way Lucy gave the command sent Seth’s heart on a roller-coaster ride. That was what had first attracted him about her. She was the wicked combination of sexy and sweet. So sweet, she made him believe there really was goodness in the world. And so sexy he forgot his own name when he was with her.

  The nurse sighed and faced Seth. “Her room is four-seventeen. But don’t come up right away. We’ll need about ten minutes to get her settled.”

  Seth nodded and left. He headed straight for the nursery, glad to have a few minutes to gather his wits. He stared through the glass wall as nurses fussed over the little boy he’d brought into the world. Having conceived a child seemed unreal. Being the owner of the first hands to touch him, seeing him take his first shaky breaths, those were miracles.

  He also had an overwhelming sense of gratitude to Lucy for having given him a son. But that emotion was what bothered him. He wanted desperately to hug her, to thank her, to promise her the moon. And it was stupid. He didn’t want her in his life anymore, and frankly, she didn’t want him in her life, either.

  Hell, he wasn’t even sure she’d ever wanted him in her life. They’d known each other a little over a month. She had probably awakened one morning completely appalled by what she had done and had grabbed the opportunity to end their marriage when her father had summoned her. Actually, she could have been so appalled that she called her dad to get her out of her mistake. For all Seth knew, she could have been the brains behind the annulment.

  Still, he understood what Pete was telling him. If he let Lucy go, especially if she took their child to another country where her father was king, Seth might never see his son again.
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  He waited ten minutes as the nurse had asked, then knocked before entering Lucy’s room. He made the mistake of allowing his eyes to meet hers. He saw the warmth and softness in her pretty brown eyes and felt the attraction, the passion. All the wonderful things they’d once shared.

  Damn!

  He reminded himself to fight the feelings and reminded himself that even if he were fool enough to get involved with her, she didn’t want to be involved with him. They were a bad combination. She had apparently seen that first. And when she’d run home to daddy, the king had disposed of Seth as if he were a scarred two-by-four.

  That sobered him.

  “I was hoping you would stay in Porter for a week or two so we could hammer out a visitation agreement.”

  Lucy played with the cover on her bed. “Seth, there are a few things I need to tell you…”

  “I hope one of those things isn’t that I don’t have any rights.”

  She shook her head. “No. You are the baby’s father. You have all the usual rights. In fact, I would like to name our son after your father. Owen.”

  The gesture surprised Seth so much he nearly had to sit. “Why?”

  She smiled. “I think it’s appropriate. One of the few things I remember you telling me in our short time together was how much you had loved your dad and how much you had missed him after he died. You told me your brother Ty had worked very hard to make up for the loss, but you always felt it.”

  Well, if that didn’t shoot a bunch of holes into his theory that they hadn’t really talked, Seth didn’t know what did. Still, when push came to shove, she’d regretted their marriage and dumped him. Even if they had talked, they really didn’t know each other. And even if they spent time getting to know each other that wouldn’t change the fact that they weren’t getting back together. He now thoroughly mistrusted monarchies and she would be an idiot to give up her throne for him.

  Hell, who was he kidding? She just plain wouldn’t give up her royal status for him.

  Fortified by the truth of that, he caught her gaze again. She smiled slightly, honestly. And he felt the pull of attraction again.

  Damn!

  “I don’t know what to say,” he said, bringing his thoughts back to her kind gesture.

  “Don’t say anything. Owen is your son, too.”

  He took a breath, praying for strength in dealing with this woman who was drawing him under her spell again.

  “Unfortunately, any visitation agreement that you and I create will have to be approved by my father’s barrister,” she said, sending him crashing back to reality.

  “I don’t see why,” Seth said as anger spiked through him. He wasn’t upset about the fact that Lucy wanted a lawyer to represent her; he simply didn’t like the counsel she had chosen. Her father’s barrister. The royal lawyer. The one who looked out for the rights of the monarchy first. Not even Lucy. The monarchy. “Why don’t you just hire an attorney here?”

  “Because that’s not how it’s done in Xavier.”

  “Well, honey, you’re not in Xavier right now.”

  “I’m aware of that. However, you seem to be missing the big picture. Your son isn’t just your son. He isn’t even simply my son. He is Xavier’s next king. And Xavier has a say in what goes on in his life.”

  Seth stared at her. “Are you kidding me? You’re telling me that some guys in long black robes, probably wearing powdered wigs, are going to dictate how I raise my son?”

  “Not dictate,” Lucy insisted. “But they will participate in things like his baptism, where he will also be consecrated as Xavier’s next sovereign.”

  “Is that anything like selling your soul to the devil?”

  “Seth, please. It’s a ceremony. There will be approximately ten or twelve ceremonies Owen will be required to attend. Until his coronation, when he will live in Xavier.”

  Seth combed his fingers through his hair, mad at himself for getting angry with her, but knowing he’d panicked because the last royal decree of her country’s sovereign had destroyed their marriage and God only knew what the monarchy would do to an innocent little boy destined to be king.

  Seth suddenly realized that controlling himself around Xavier’s beautiful princess wasn’t the only challenge he faced. He also had to fight for Owen’s rights. If he didn’t do something, there would be no Little League for his son, no mountain adventures, no cabins, cars, dates…Hell, his son might not even go to high school! Who knew what school a future king would have to attend.

  Somehow or another, over the next few weeks Seth had to figure out a way to keep Owen in America.

  Because if he didn’t, Owen Bryant would end up like his princess mother, controlled by the wishes and whims of her country. And that was the real bottom line. That was what had hurt Seth the most. When Lucy was told she couldn’t get married because she was already betrothed, she hadn’t fought to get out of the betrothal. She’d simply left him.

  That was why he could never lose an inch of his heart to this woman again.

  Chapter Two

  “I thought you were taking me to a hotel,” Lucy Santos said quietly, as she glanced at Seth’s brown brick house. Seated in the back of his SUV with her son who was sleeping soundly in his infant car seat, she caught Seth’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

  Seth tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I brought you here because I think it’s smarter for you to stay with me than to get a hotel room.”

  Smarter? Lucy almost laughed as she considered the man she’d decided to marry in less time than she typically spent choosing a gown for one of her father’s formal affairs. This morning Seth wore a pale green Polo shirt that brought out the green of his eyes, khaki trousers and brown loafers. But when she had arrived at his door the night before, he’d been wearing only jeans that hung low on his lean hips and she’d collapsed against his naked chest. At the time, she’d been in too much pain to register a reaction to his smooth, warm skin. But right now, she couldn’t stop picturing the hard muscles of his torso, or remembering how nice it was to fall against the security of his strong body and realizing with sudden clarity why she’d married him after knowing him only two short weeks.

  Tall and sexily slim, with sandy brown hair and unusual pale green eyes, Seth Bryant was gorgeous. But he was also a little rough around the edges. When she had met him and his older brother Ty at the site proposed for her father’s Miami mansion, Seth hadn’t known she was a princess, the daughter of the king building the magnificent home. Because she was an architect, he had assumed she was simply the project manager.

  It was so nice to be treated normally that even though they’d fought over a few contract details, she hadn’t told him she was a princess until after he’d invited her to dinner. Seth was bold, intelligent, and just rebellious enough to make her feel decadent. To a woman who had been sheltered most of her life, being with him was like living an adventure. They hadn’t even known each other twelve hours before they had fallen into bed.

  So, no. She didn’t think it “smarter” for her to stay here rather than at a hotel, but their attraction to each other wasn’t the most important thing to consider in this situation. Before Lucy took Owen home to Xavier Island, she also needed to know how to care for him without the help of a nanny. Her own mother, Queen Marianna, had died unexpectedly when Lucy was six. Lucy had felt more empty than sad, as if she hadn’t really known her mother, and she refused to curse her son to that fate.

  But if she didn’t know how to care of Owen before she returned to Xavier Island, her father would insist on around the clock nannies. Lucy knew she’d never get to mother Owen unless she learned everything she needed to know before she went home, and to do that she needed a block of time with her son completely to herself. And in Porter, Arkansas, she was totally on her own.

  As long as she called her dad and let him know Owen had been born and she was fine, her dad wouldn’t panic and come looking for her. He might covertly station a bodyguard or two in Porter.
But he wouldn’t show up at Seth’s door. He couldn’t leave Xavier because on Monday Xavier’s legislature went into session and there was no way he could cancel or postpone it without causing a stir.

  They’d managed to keep Lucy’s pregnancy a secret by saying she was in Miami working on the mansion. But if the king canceled the legislative session, the curious media would follow him to Arkansas. They would discover not only Lucy and her baby, but also Seth—a man unprepared for a deluge of reporters with questions about their marriage and the baby he didn’t know he was having. Which meant a story her father’s people could very easily control on Xavier Island would become a circus.

  So, for the sake of making the facts surrounding the conception of Xavier’s next king appear to be normal or even irrelevant, her father would attend the legislative session as if nothing were wrong. When the session was completed, he would travel to Arkansas and take Lucy and Owen back to Xavier Island with him, where his people would “spin” Owen’s conception and birth to a situation befitting a king. But that would be okay. By then, Seth and Lucy would have decided visitation, and Lucy would know how to care for Owen.

  The question was, was it better to be alone in a hotel or in a house with someone who might be able to help her, but to whom she was also unreasonably attracted.

  “How can you think my living with you is smarter than staying at a hotel?”

  Seth turned on the front seat to face her. “You just had a baby. You shouldn’t be alone. You need someone at least hanging out with you to make sure everything really is okay.”

  “Seth, the hotel staff would be a phone call away. Besides, I’m fine.”

  “Well, how about this, then? This period that we’ve agreed to spend deciding my place in Owen’s life would be a good time for me to bond with him.”

  Lucy frowned. That was a much better argument than Seth knew. This wasn’t merely a “good” opportunity to bond with his son. It might be the last such opportunity he would ever have. As the future sovereign of a small country, Owen would be living across an ocean. No matter how craftily Seth negotiated, Lucy couldn’t promise him he would see his child any more than a few times a year, and those times would be at the palace, not at Seth’s home. She had nearly told Seth that the night before at the hospital, but he looked so shell-shocked from the surprises he’d already experienced that she didn’t have the heart.