by Leanne Banks
An hour later, Tina awakened and turned her head toward Zach. “I’m thirsty,” she whispered.
He immediately rose to her side. “I’ll take care of that, but in the meantime, I need you to know that I love you, Tina. More than anything. More than I ever dreamed.”
Tina smiled and lifted her hand to his strong jaw.
“Marry me. We’ll work out the visits to Chantaine. We can work out anything that comes our way,” he said.
“I believe you,” she said. “And I love you, too.”
On Christmas Eve, Zach tucked Tina and their baby, Katiana Elizabeth Valentina Devereaux Logan into his SUV to bring them home. Since she’d gotten her strength back, Tina had barely been able to keep her hands off her new daughter. Every time she looked at Katiana, she was overcome with joy.
“She’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen,” she said to Zach as he pulled away from the hospital with Katiana already falling asleep in her car seat.
“Yes, she is,” Zach agreed, his lips twitching. “You’ve mentioned that a time or two, and so have I.”
Tina laughed, because the fact was she’d said the same thing at least twenty times during the last few days.
“How are you feeling? Really?”
“Better. Moving around doesn’t take my breath away quite as much,” she said, although she knew she still tired easily. She’d quit most of the pain medication as soon as possible because she hated having a fuzzy head. “Have you heard anything from Stefan today?”
Zach had turned off the phone in Tina’s room so she could rest. Since then, Stefan and Tina’s sisters had been calling him constantly to check on her and the baby’s condition.
“I e-mailed the photographs of you and the baby, like you asked. It was nice of you to share all the flowers you received with the other patients,” he said.
“The least I could do,” she said with a frown. “Think how miserable it would be to be in the hospital over Christmas.”
Her comment didn’t surprise him. He just hoped she would be amenable to the surprise he had waiting for her back at the ranch. Tina had told him she didn’t want a big wedding, just a few witnesses. She’d also agreed that the sooner the better.
His palms itched with a trace of nerves, but he brushed them aside. “You should try and rest,” he said.
“I’m too excited to get out of the hospital to rest,” she said.
“Well, give it a try,” he said, thinking about his plans for the rest of the day.
A little while later, he pulled toward the front of the house. Several cars were parked in the driveway.
She glanced at Zach. “Did Hildie do this? Don’t tell me they’re holding another shower for me.”
He pulled the car to a stop and shook his head. “No, but you can be sure Hildie helped a lot.” He turned to her, feeling his gut twist. “You said you would marry me.”
Her eyes softened and she nodded. “And I will.”
“Then you surprised me and said you didn’t want to wait. You were ready to get married in the hospital.”
“Well, I was. I want everything legal for Kiki and I feel like I waited forever for you to realize that you loved me.”
“Well, darlin’, love-of-my-life, inside our home, there’s a minister waiting to do the job.”
Her eyes rounded and her jaw dropped. “Now?”
He nodded. “Now. I knew you would be tied up with recovering from the C-section and taking care of the baby, so I asked Keely and Hildie if they would do the planning. Are you ready?”
Tina lifted her hand to her throat, her eyes turning shiny with unshed tears. “I am. I can’t believe you did this. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to think about anything but getting better. If I’m moving too fast for you, then we can just have a holiday party and send the minister on his way.”
“No,” she said. “Let’s do it. Let’s make it real.”
Starstuck, Tina accepted Zach’s gentle assistance from the car. As soon as he collected Katiana from the backseat, Hildie rushed out the front door and down the steps. She gave Tina a big hug then turned to Zach.
“Omigoodness, she’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen.”
Tina and Zach exchanged a knowing look and laughed.
“Let me hold that baby,” she said to Zach. “You help your wife. Everything and everybody is ready and waiting.”
After slowly navigating the steps, Tina walked past the foyer into the den. She immediately spotted Daniel, Sienna, Eve, Keely and Brent and her sister Ericka and her husband.
Tina gasped in surprise and extended her arms. “Ericka, how did you get here?”
Ericka laughed, quickly moving to embrace her. “The usual way. By jet. Of course I couldn’t miss my sister’s wedding after you took care of me during mine. And I got first dibs on seeing your baby. Stefan’s pouting like mad. I promised to talk you into visiting Chantaine as soon as possible.” Ericka pulled back and clasped her hands around Tina’s. “Thank goodness you’re okay. We were all so worried.”
Tina greeted several of the others, then Keely introduced her to the minister, Reverend Wilhelm.
The kindly-faced man shook her hand. “It’s my pleasure to meet you, your highness.”
“Please call me Tina,” she said, feeling her heart flutter. It was really going to happen now. She was really going to marry Zach.
“I told your fiancé that I don’t perform shotgun weddings, but he insisted you were going along with this completely by choice.”
She laughed at the notion of a shotgun wedding. “I am.”
“Then shall we begin the taking of your vows?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I would like that very much.”
Zach was at her side in a heartbeat, taking her hand in his. The minister led them in the promises to each other. The words and the small ceremony were important, but what was far more vital to Tina was the fact that Zach had totally opened his heart to her and that she knew he loved her and needed her. Just as she loved and needed him.
Six weeks later, after traveling across several time zones, Tina was excited to share Chantaine with Zach, Katiana, Hildie and Eve. Eve was still toying with Stefan’s offer to manage the royal stables and had waited to take this trip before making such a big decision.
Hildie, who hadn’t traveled farther away than Amarillo, was taking in every new experience with gusto, including a few cooking lessons from the chief chef.
Tina coaxed Zach into enjoying a day at the beach, just the two of them, while her sisters and brothers fought over who could hold Katiana.
Zach closed his eyes as he relaxed under the beach umbrella. He slid his fingers through hers. “I could probably stomach visiting here a few times a year,” he said and shot her a sideways glance.
Tina gave him a playful punch. “Yes, I know it’s been torture being fed gourmet food, sleeping in that shack my family calls a palace and shooting skeet with my brother.”
“Seriously,” he said lifting up on his forearm. “Why would you trade this for Texas?”
“Besides the fact that you are in Texas?” she asked.
He gave a shrug of his strong shoulders. “I guess there’s that,” he said. “But—”
She put her finger over his lips. “No buts. My home is with you and Katiana. It was time for me to move away.”
“Your brother still doesn’t agree with that,” he said and returned to his back.
“True, but did you see him melt when he held Katiana for the first time? My cranky brother turned into a complete marshmallow.”
“Don’t tell him that,” he said.
“I’m glad we took this time out today,” she said, inhaling the salty scent of the ocean and enjoying these moments with Zach. “With Stefan performing the public formalities, tomorrow will be very busy. You’ll be meeting tons of people. Are you sure you’re ready for it?”
“I’m ready for anything. I get to sleep with the princess at the end of the
day,” he said with a dirty chuckle that warmed her heart.
The following morning at precisely ten o’clock, Tina’s brother Stefan gave his formal approval of her marriage to Zachary and presented Katiana as the country’s newest princess. A huge crowd applauded and shouted their approval as Zachary and Tina entered the courtyard.
Katiana was in fine form, fascinated by the sparkly tiara Tina wore. Her little hand waved upward as she tried to reach for it. Kiki’s face turned red and she gave a terrible frown. The baby opened her mouth to let out a yell that would have been ear-splitting if not for the sounds of the cheering crowd.
Tina made a split-second decision and pulled her tiara from her head, allowing Katiana to close her fingers around it.
Zach shook his head and chuckled. “Now I have two princesses on my hands,” he said.
“Aren’t you the lucky one?” she retorted.
“Damn right I am,” he said and took her mouth in a kiss.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6992-1
ROYAL HOLIDAY BABY
Copyright © 2010 by Leanne Banks
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