by Susan Meier
They gazed into each other’s eyes and realization crackled between them in the silence that descended. A myriad of facts reordered themselves in Lucy’s mind and took new meaning. Seth hadn’t deserted her. He had tried to contact her. Their marriage hadn’t ended because their feelings had died. Their marriage had ended because of her royal betrothal. And then, when the pregnancy nullified her betrothal, her father kept them apart to make sure they never remarried.
They now knew neither had wanted their marriage to be over. Remarrying wasn’t out of the question.
The thought hadn’t even completely gelled before Lucy knew that wasn’t true. Seth absolutely hated the fact that she was royalty. Even if he still loved her, he wouldn’t want anything to do with her. She was a princess and though at first Seth might have thought being married to a princess would be interesting, or fun, he now understood that she had duties and responsibilities. He bitterly resented that being married to him hadn’t kept her from running home at her father’s summons.
And even if he asked her to abdicate her throne, she couldn’t do it. She was now the mother of a future king and bound by law and love to either train Owen to be Xavier’s king or give him up to the monarchy.
So even if they loved each other as passionately as they had that January, marrying again was out of the question.
Her father had won after all.
“You know what, Seth, it doesn’t matter how the marriage ended. The truth is, it’s ended. And in a way that’s best for both of us.”
Chapter Four
The next morning, after Lucy had bathed Owen and was dressing him for the day, the phone rang. Realizing it was probably Audrey, who had forgotten she’d switched with Mildred from afternoon duty to morning duty and who was currently late, she answered the phone with a cheerful hello.
“I don’t know what is wrong with me this morning,” Audrey said, then paused and gulped in some air. “But I feel awful!” She paused again and took another deep breath. “Actually, what I feel is that I’m going to puke.”
“Oh, Audrey! This is great!”
Audrey groaned. “Are you insane?”
“No! I think you’re pregnant!”
“Pregnant?”
“You’re feeling exactly how I felt the weeks before I took the pregnancy test,” Lucy said, juggling Owen to her shoulder.
Audrey was quiet for a second before she said, “Oh, my God. I could be pregnant?”
“Yes!” Lucy said with a laugh. “And right now, I think you should go back to bed.”
Audrey took a quick breath. “First, let me call somebody else to fill in for me this morning.”
“No,” Lucy said, glancing down at Owen. She knew how to handle all the routine baby chores. She’d also slept a fairly decent amount the night before. The lessons she now needed pertained more to “problem” areas and future events than basic baby care. But that could all be done in the afternoon. Lucy was positive she and Owen would be fine on their own this morning. In fact, if Audrey was pregnant, Lucy decided she could care for Owen by herself every morning. It would be good practice for being totally alone with Owen on Xavier Island.
“You just go back to bed. And don’t worry about me. Owen and I are fine.”
Audrey protested a bit, but Lucy held her ground and Audrey finally said, “Okay.”
Lucy disconnected the call. She’d already made a pot of coffee but hadn’t yet fed Owen. Walking down the back stairway, she heard Seth puttering around, getting a mug from a cupboard and cream from the refrigerator. She simply turned around and returned to her room rather than be alone with him.
Realizing the day before that her father had separated them had opened a whole new can of worms. Now that they both knew that they hadn’t fallen out of love, their attraction hadn’t diminished and neither one of them had dumped the other, they would face each other with an entirely different set of understandings than they’d had when they’d arranged for Lucy to live here. One or the other might even be tempted to test their attraction. And that would be wrong. If only because Lucy didn’t even have to ask Seth to know he didn’t want to be married to a royal. There was no possibility of reconciliation for them.
So she waited until Seth left to get Owen’s bottle, and after that she easily fell into the morning routine of feeding Owen and rocking him back to sleep. Things went so smoothly she was tempted to leave Seth’s home and get them both out of harm’s way.
But Owen was only four days old and Lucy wasn’t sure it was wise to travel. Plus, both Penney and Mildred had told her that there were hundreds of little things they needed to teach her about caring for Owen. So she couldn’t leave. Instead, she would have to continue to find ways to keep her distance from Seth. At least until they both adjusted to the fact that neither of them was to blame for the demise of their marriage. And until they both realized that getting married again was not an option. And until they both realized that testing their attraction wasn’t a good idea, either.
“Are you going to dress like this forever?” Ty asked, parking himself on the seat across from Seth’s desk.
Seth glanced down at his sweatshirt and jeans, then leaned back in his soft brown leather office chair and propped his tennis shoes on the corner of his heavy mahogany desk.
“I thought I was supposed to show the princess I was a normal guy.”
“You are, but this is your job, not a football game. Madelyn may have convinced me to relax the dress code, but I still don’t allow jeans and sweatshirts in the office during regular business hours.”
Seth said, “Fine.” But only because he knew he could change into jeans and a sweatshirt the minute he got home. In fact, he intended to wear nothing but jeans and sweatshirts around Lucy for the rest of her stay because yesterday, when he had been dressed almost exactly as he was right now, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was attracted to him.
Twice he had caught her staring at him. Once, she had even appeared to be speechless. Her eyes had become glazed. Her breathing had shifted. For the first time since she’d reentered his life the Friday before, it was patently clear that she was as attracted to him as he was to her. When he’d scooped Owen from her arms, he’d held her gaze and let his arm brush against hers, and sparks virtually had flown from her to him.
Plus, now that he knew she hadn’t deserted him to be a princess and she knew he hadn’t abandoned her, everything between them had changed. Not that he thought they would marry again; that wasn’t in the cards. However, Seth wasn’t averse to using any way or means to remind her he was one of the good guys. For four wonderful weeks, she’d thought the sun rose and set on him and he was sure he could make her feel that way again. If it took sweatshirts and jeans to get her to loosen up and to look at him the way she had in Miami, then so be it.
Reminding her of their attraction was the first step to reminding her that she had liked and trusted him. And that was the first step to getting her to see he was the best person to raise Owen.
Ty shook his head. “Why the hell are you wearing jeans and a sweatshirt anyway?”
Seth appreciated Ty’s help with figuring strategy to get custody of Owen. He intended to keep his brother apprised of what was going on with Lucy, but he would only tell Ty the parts of the situation he needed to know. “I left work early yesterday, walked into the kitchen in these,” he said, pointing at his sweatshirt and jeans, “and Lucy all but handed Owen to me.”
“And that’s relevant because…”
“Because I’m having trouble getting the baby from her. It’s nearly impossible for me to even hold Owen—let alone prove I can care for him. I’ve been lucky to get to kiss him good-night with the nanny brigade that’s been through my kitchen in the past four days.”
“Nanny brigade?”
“There’s a bunch of women who visit nonstop. Every time I turn around, one of them’s hovering. Cooing at Owen, giving Lucy baby tips. I listened at the door once and overheard your future mother-in-law showing Luc
y how to move Owen’s legs as if he’s riding a bicycle as a way to get rid of gas so he doesn’t become colicky. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Penney was actually holding classes for Lucy.”
Ty scowled. “She most likely is.”
Seth frowned. “You think Penney is teaching Lucy how to care for Owen?”
Ty shook his head. “If my guess is correct, this is much bigger than that.”
Seth stared at his older brother. “What are you talking about?”
“On Saturday morning when you brought the baby home, Madelyn lured Lucy out the kitchen right after you mentioned you wanted a nanny and Lucy said she didn’t. At the time, I thought Madelyn had spirited her away to avoid an argument, and she may have. But in the process of spending time alone with Lucy, I’ll bet Madelyn also got Lucy’s side of the story.”
“About why she doesn’t want a nanny?” Seth asked, confused.
“Yes, and even though that’s not a terrible thing in and of itself, Madelyn wasn’t in the kitchen when Pete showed up, so when she was talking with Lucy she didn’t hear your end of the story. Lucy might have even told Madelyn about her mother dying and how terrible her childhood was…all the other stuff we read in that article.”
Still not sure what Ty was telling him, Seth asked, “What’s your point?”
“My point is I never got a chance to tell Madelyn what you and I discussed with Pete. As soon as we left there Saturday morning, I got called to Washington, D.C. I didn’t get home until last night. And, frankly, Seth, explaining to Madelyn that you didn’t want a nanny and that she should be helping you, not Lucy, wasn’t my high priority after not seeing my fiancée for two days.”
Seth laughed. “So tell her now.”
Ty shook his head. “In the three days that have passed since Saturday, Captain Bunny apparently called out her personal militia to make sure Lucy’s had enough help that you would forget all about the nanny. By now, Lucy’s probably made friends with nearly every woman in Porter and they think you’re the enemy.”
“I’m the enemy!” Seth gasped, bolting up in his chair. “I’m trying to keep my son from a life of bodyguards and photo ops. These people should be helping me!”
“They would be if we could tell them the truth. But now that they’ve sided with Lucy, the truth’s not our friend. If we explain that you want custody, all they’ll see is you taking a baby away from his mother—the sweet young woman they’ve gotten to know because they’ve been helping her.”
Frustrated, Seth balled up a piece of paper and tossed it to a nearby trash can. “Great.”
“Well, you weren’t supposed to wrestle Owen away from Lucy anyway. You’re supposed to demonstrate to Lucy that you’re the best person to raise Owen through his childhood—away from the palace, bodyguards and even the current king. Did you read the article Pete gave you?”
Seth nodded. “Yeah, King Dad’s a real piece of work. I can’t imagine he would ever let Owen do anything normal. The kid probably really will be wearing purple tights and a velvet robe.”
“Which only confirms what we already know. We’ve got to keep him here in Porter.”
“Yeah, right. And how do we do that now that our plan has failed?”
“It hasn’t failed. It just needs to be amended. Instead of showing Lucy you’re a good dad, change the strategy to showing her Porter is a good place for a kid to grow up. And the beauty of this shift is that you can use the women who are coming and going as a way to demonstrate that Porter is a friendly, close-knit community. It isn’t a big, lonely castle. It isn’t a place where Owen will be photographed if he goes outside with a baseball and bat. If anybody watches Owen, it will be to make sure he isn’t being stalked, pursued, or even observed. We’ve got a whole town full of people who would be surrogate bodyguards. And many of them are already Lucy’s friends.”
Seth smiled. “That’s really good, Ty.”
“Because it’s the truth. You have the truth on your side, Seth, and you have to use it. If the nanny brigade wants to watch Owen, let them. Show Lucy this is what we do in Porter. When you go home this afternoon, if you find a gaggle of girls hovering over the baby, tell Lucy that while there are people to watch him, the two of you should go to the den and talk.”
The thought of being alone in a room with Lucy—no baby for a buffer, no nanny brigade to run interference—froze the air in Seth’s lungs. “You want me to be alone in a room with her?”
Ty eyed him suspiciously. “Is there some reason you shouldn’t?”
“No!” Seth quickly denied. “It’s just that…that…”
That he really had been playing with fire the day before. When he’d pulled Owen from Lucy’s arms, he’d lingered beside her long enough to be sure she really was having reactions to him, but in doing that he’d also shown her he was still attracted to her. Then they’d had the conversation about her father keeping them apart, which meant they were no longer mutually disappointed in each other. So there was no ill will to assure that neither of them would act on the attraction that still pulsed between them. Seth might want to remind her she liked him, but he didn’t think it was safe or smart for either of them to test their resistance.
He drew a quick breath and said, “Being alone to talk doesn’t work because I’m not supposed to bring up visitation until I have a chance to show her I’m a normal guy.”
Ty frowned as if he knew Seth was only telling him part of the truth, but he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he said, “You’re not going out of the room to talk as much as you’re going out of the room to get Lucy accustomed to leaving Owen in the hands of the residents of Porter. You can talk about anything you want. But if I were you, I’d talk about what a great town Porter is and what great people we have. If there’s somebody in your kitchen taking care of your son, that’s not merely your perfect opportunity to talk to Lucy, it’s also a real live demonstration of what you’re saying. The people in this town look out for each other.”
Seth breathed a sigh of relief that Ty might have honed in on the fact that Seth was still attracted to Lucy, but it appeared he wasn’t going to mention it. Hopefully that was because Ty understood Seth might be attracted to his princess, but he knew better than to act on it. He’d once craved Lucy sexually so much that he’d convinced himself lust was love and had never considered the ramifications of being married to a princess. And that was really what had caused all the trouble. He’d let overwhelming sexual attraction fool him into forgetting reality. And reality was Lucy was a princess. If Seth got involved with her again, he would ultimately become part of her family…her monarchy. And he’d be the one wearing purple tights. Worse, Owen would then have no advocate because Seth would have joined the opposing side.
No way. He simply couldn’t desert Owen like that.
“So you want me to use the nanny brigade to get time to talk to Lucy.”
“Yes, so you can lay the groundwork about the great people who live in Porter. If she likes the town before you start your campaign to convince her that you’re the best person to raise Owen, you’ll have a much easier time.”
Seth nodded. “Okay. When I go home today, I won’t fight with the nanny brigade, I’ll use them.”
Ty beamed. “Exactly.”
Though it was still morning, Seth decided to go home immediately to put Ty’s plan into motion with Lucy and whatever neighbor he found at his kitchen table holding his son. Fortified in his resolve not to give in to the attraction that sizzled between him and Lucy, he also considered changing out of his sweatshirt and jeans before he encountered her. But after reminding himself that Owen’s future was at stake, Seth was no longer concerned about a piddly sexual attraction. Owen was more important than a few hormones.
He stepped into the kitchen fully prepared to be the picture-perfect Porter resident, somebody who would raise Owen in a wonderful small town, but the room was empty. No Lucy. No nanny brigade.
“Lucy!” he called, walking from the kitchen into the corri
dor and then the foyer. “Luce! Where are you?”
When he didn’t get an answer, he decided she was probably in the master bedroom, napping. Which meant Owen was probably sleeping, too. Of course, if he wasn’t, if the baby had awakened and simply hadn’t yet started screaming, this was a great opportunity for Seth to demonstrate that he could be good with the baby.
Taking the steps two at a time, Seth rushed to the second floor and down the hall to the master bedroom. He quietly eased the door open and stepped inside. The sheer drapes were drawn and the blinds were closed, darkening the room enough that it could have been midnight. Still, he could see enough to realize that Lucy wasn’t on the bed. He took the few steps into the room and noticed that Owen was sleeping soundly in the bassinet.
Seth’s heart expanded with love. His little boy only had wisps of sandy brown hair and his feet didn’t seem to reach the bottoms of his blue terry-cloth pajamas, but to Seth, Owen was perfect. He couldn’t stem the flood of tenderness that swamped him and took a quick breath, letting the knowledge that he was a father seep into his soul. And, as always, that resulted in a surge of protectiveness that wouldn’t allow him to stand by and do nothing while this tiny little boy was absorbed by an entire kingdom.
The bathroom door suddenly opened and Lucy stepped out, wearing a loosely belted robe. Her dark hair was wet, as if she’d washed it and only towel-dried it. Damp curls caressed her shoulders and led Seth’s eyes to the V created where the two sides of her robe met. Because the garment wasn’t secured, he could see the swell of her breasts.
Apparently having noticed the path of his gaze, Lucy quickly tightened her belt. “Is there something I can do for you?”
Seth took a step back. “I just came up to check on you. I saw Owen, and…” He stopped, angry that he had to explain himself but even more angry that she’d so quickly covered herself as if he were some kind of pervert. She knew better. He’d never touched her without her permission. She was perfectly safe with him.
He combed his fingers through his hair. “Look, Lucy. I recognize it’s probably uncomfortable for you to have me in your room right now, but this was my bedroom first and coming in here was second nature. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
