by Ella Brooke
Really, he should’ve just handed this over to her from the beginning. He had better things to do.
Perhaps the worst part of Mateo’s upcoming nuptials and impending fatherhood (though not in that order) was that he was expected to immediately and permanently cease all his activities with other women. This left him more than a little frustrated.
Even more so, it left him feeling rebellious. He stood by the window of his seafront home, waiting for Mischa to arrive. It was wrong, he knew. His family would be angry if they had any idea that he hadn’t actually stopped sleeping around. It seemed, though, that giving up that last part of himself would be a death knell for whoever Mateo Di Larreo had been. He could no more stop himself here than he could bring a gun to his head. Beside, Mischa had always been discreet. She’d worked for the palace for years, and no one had been any the wiser.
The seas were rough today. Artigua, a small string of islands in the Atlantic, was just far enough away from Britain and just far enough away from Spain to have been a point of contention between the two countries… but difficult to hold. It was part of the national character. Small though they were, Artiguans had a certain pride in controlling their own destiny. How could their prince feel any differently?
The winds were too cold to go out today, but he couldn’t help imagine what it would be like to take Mischa out there, lay her down on the beach, and slip off her bikini piece by piece. He had no interest in the studious little mouse that his family had selected for him to marry, and it had been far too long since he’d been able to flaunt a conquest. At some point, he’d probably have sex with Ariana. She was too skinny and had the personality of a wet hen, but she was a woman. The future seemed bleak.
And Mischa was late. He was just about to give her a call when he heard the door to the beach house opening, and a smile spread on his face. Just as he was unbuttoning his shirt on his way to greet her, he heard a familiar shriek:
“Mateo Sebastian Di Larreo!”
Mateo’s face fell. That was his Aunt Helena. Goddamn. He quickly buttoned his shirt.
“Auntie Helena!” he cried warmly. He approached her with open arms. “I didn’t expect to see you out at the beach at this time of year! Are you coming for a swim with me?”
“I am coming to ensure that you do not humiliate our entire family!” Helena snapped. “I caught that conniving little tramp as she was on her way over here. You are not as cunning as you think you are, young man!”
“Young man” was a bit of an exaggeration. He was thirty years old.
“I don’t pretend to be cunning. I am what I am.” Mentally, he added, and what I am is in need of a good woman.
“How would Ariana feel if she found out her fiancé was off having relations with some random woman?”
“I very much doubt that Ariana feels anything at all.”
“She’s a kind girl, Maté. She’s a smart girl. She knows and feels more than you think.” Helena stormed to the bar and poured herself a drink. “Honestly, when are you going to grow up? It’s high time you learned some responsibility!”
“I don’t see why. Father seems to be planning to live forever. There won’t be another person on that throne at least until my children are college age.”
“And do you think the next generation comes from nowhere? Do you think we are sowing salt in the soil by making the mistake of having you?” She approached him and handed him a scotch. “Your mother and father expect things of you, whether or not they’ve pressed you enough to become a better man.”
Mateo sipped the scotch. “It’s clear what you think of that.”
“I think you can be a lot more than a feckless playboy. That’s what I think.” Helena shook her head. “In any case, you should return to the palace in a few hours. Ariana has selected a surrogate, and we will need to prepare for you to meet the woman. It won’t do for you to pick someone unwilling to move here for the better part of the pregnancy, or someone who might be lying on her application.”
“She’s picked someone already?” Mateo was unable to keep the dismay from his voice.
“You’ll like being a father more than you think.” Helena drained her glass and left it on the coffee table. Adjusting the lapels of her jacket, she added, “You’ll like it more than you like being a prince in any case.”
Mateo doubted that.
Ariana was quiet when they boarded the jet together. She settled into her seat and got out a book, adjusting her square little glasses and ignoring Mateo and his mother, Queen Maria. If the queen tried to engage her in conversation, Mateo knew she would be pleasant, but Ariana was probably uncomfortable and he was sure the queen could sense it.
“For goodness sakes, going so far,” Maria huffed. “I do not see why the surrogate couldn’t simply come here.”
“I imagine it has something to do with what you are always telling me I need.” Mateo paused. “Discretion.”
“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t do to have some gold-digger coming to Artigua just for a paid vacation.”
Ariana looked up. She frowned slightly, but said nothing. Maybe it wasn’t fair to imply that their potential surrogate was a gold-digger. Mateo wouldn’t be interested in giving up control of his body for any amount of time or money.
“I hope those are sentiments you won’t be sharing with the woman who will carry your grandchild.” Mateo pulled out a book. “I’d hate for her to find us ungrateful.”
“I hope we can have a good relationship with her,” Ariana said quietly. “Nine months is a long time.”
In spite of himself, Mateo reached over and took Ariana’s hand. Her nerves seemed to dissipate as she looked at him questioningly. Impulsively, he kissed the back of the hand he’d taken, and then diverted his attention to his book immediately. Maybe things could settle into a kind of alliance between them. Ariana was smarter than most women he’d willingly spent time with. It couldn’t hurt going into this with someone to have his back. If he, in turn, looked out for her around the other members of the royal family, they might come out of this with some semblance of their sanity.
Chapter Four
Hanna
The waiting room was cold. Hanna had expected that and brought an extra sweater, though there had been no point in wearing something like that outside. Even in the late spring, Louisiana did its damned best to out-sweat Florida and Texas. It might have been winning, too.
When Hanna had signed up to the surrogacy pool from the ad that Blaine had found, she had been hoping for, but not at all expecting, a nibble so soon. The agent with the surrogacy office had said some people waited a few years before being selected. It had only been a week and a half before the agency had contacted her, and Hanna had felt a rush of both gratitude and nervousness. When this had just been a long-shot at keeping the co-op’s space, Hanna had felt more confident going in to fill out forms, take blood tests, and make a little video for potential parents to view when they went through profiles.
Now she was on the edge of her seat, thinking about how she really needed to sneak out of that waiting room and never look back. Then, like some kind of blessing, the receptionist told her the meeting was going to be delayed, and Hanna fled into the humid air outside. Stripping her sweater off, she took off down the block. She didn’t have much time to spare— just a little over an hour— but she kept walking, looking around for somewhere to clear her head.
“I’ll go back,” she muttered to herself as she spotted a café. She ducked inside and took a seat at an empty table. “I just need a few minutes.”
Hanna pressed her hands to her scalding cheeks and tried taking a few deep breaths. In the end, she knew she had to try, at least, no matter what the cost to her. Her friends had done so much for her; they’d been through so much together. She couldn’t let what they’d built slip through their fingers. Not if she could help it.
“Excuse me. Miss?”
“I can, um, buy something, if I have to,” she muttered before looking up.
T
he broad smile of the man told Hanna that he was no barista. Truly, she’d never seen a man so handsome, and no coffee clerk wore a suit so fine.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s no problem. I’m just waiting for my mother to finish up her own business.” He pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “Seems to be far too much to ask for her to adhere to anyone else’s schedule.”
“I see.” Hanna tried to force a smile. She was sure her cheeks had come pre-reddened, but she could feel extra heat rushing there. “I guess parents can be that way sometimes.”
“No one has ever successfully told that woman ‘no.’”
Hanna leaned on her palm. “Anyone ever told you ‘no?’”
“You’ve got me there.” He chuckled. “I’m Mateo. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Sandwich?”
“I’m supposed to cut back on the coffee. But… if you wanted to get me a tea, I wouldn’t say no.”
Mateo stood. “And to eat?”
“Surprise me.”
Mateo gave her a broad wink as he headed up to the counter. Hanna couldn’t help but laugh when he kept looking back at her to catch her eye and grin. He seemed a bit old to be flirting with girls in a coffee shop, but Hanna felt her shoulders grow lighter from the attention. Young men, baby hipsters really, sometimes flirted with her at art shows. She rarely responded, but today, she found herself oddly open. Maybe it was because she felt like she was about to sign a year of her life away. Her research on doing pottery while pregnant had not been very optimistic.
Mateo returned with two mugs, one latte and one tea, and he slid the second over to her. He set down a plate holding two mini-cupcakes.
“Hm. Good choice.” Hanna took her tea and blew on it. “Are you a chocolate man or…? What is that one with the pink and purple icing?”
“They said it was a ‘unicorn’ cupcake.”
“Ah. Well, a unicorn for a unicorn.”
“Indeed,” he reached for the cupcake.
Hanna laughed. “Oh, you’re the special one!”
“I always have been.” Mateo narrowed his eyes and then carefully peeled off the wrapper. “Special, special boy. The only boy.”
“Why are only children like that? Don’t you get lonely? Wouldn’t you want siblings?”
“I have some. Two sisters. But they have lives of their own. And again, I’m the boy.”
Hanna rolled her eyes. “My aunt was like that. I swear, I had this cousin, and she spoiled him absolutely to death. At the same time, she was so hard on his sisters. That’s tired. Just make boys grow up to be decent people like everyone else.”
“You don’t think men are decent people?”
“This is not what I said.”
“You implied it.”
Hanna pursed her lips, picked up the remaining cupcake, and licked the frosting. “I’ll have you know that my best friend happens to be a man.”
Mateo snorted. “I’m sure he’s your ‘best friend.’”
“What makes you doubt it?”
“No man could ever just be friends with you.” Mateo sucked the tip of his finger for a moment as he scanned his eyes over her. “He’d always be tempted.”
“I promise you he isn’t.”
Mateo shook his head. “No use. Don’t believe you.”
Hanna’s cheeks continued to burn. She couldn’t help but smile as this man flirted with her in a way that, had anyone less attractive been doing it, would’ve come off as arrogant. Maybe it did anyway, but she was charmed. She sipped her tea and laughed along, letting him tease and flatter her far longer than she should have.
“Oh!” Hanna looked at her phone. “I have to go. Sorry.”
“Don’t go,” Mateo commanded. “Stay here with me.”
“It’s nearly 2 p.m. I have a meeting.” Hanna drained her tea and stood.
Mateo stepped around the table and reached for her face. She flinched in surprise as his large hand brushed the side of her face. Their eyes met, and she held her breath as his thumb rubbed the corner of her mouth. He raised it to his lips and sucked the chocolate off.
“There you go. All clean for your important meeting.” Mateo stepped back and picked up his coffee cup. “I have to get going, too.”
“Oh.”
Mateo hesitated just for a moment, drinking her in like a fine glass of whiskey, then went out the door. Hanna wished for a moment that he had asked for her number, but it was for the best. You couldn’t start up a relationship when you were planning to have someone else’s baby.
Hanna made it back to the office feeling a bit more settled and gave the receptionist a warm greeting as she sat down to wait again. She closed her eyes, feeling her heart pounding in anticipation. The couple on the other side of that door, well, she and they were about to change each other’s lives. If they liked her, if everything worked out, in a few months, she’d be giving them a child.
And her little group of found-family would finally be secure.
The door to the office opened, and Stella Murphy waved her in. “Come on, Hanna. We’re ready for you. Sorry about the wait. I get the feeling these folks are the type to run on their own time, if you know what I mean.”
Hanna didn’t really know how to respond to a statement like that. She didn’t know these people enough to criticize, so she just nodded and said, “That’s okay.”
Stella led her into her office, where three people sat waiting. A young woman with bobbed red-hair and squarish glasses, an older woman in a powder-blue suit, and…
Mateo.
Hanna tried to hold back her surprise, but of course, it was too much and too sudden. The older woman’s lips twisted, and her sour expression was enough to curdle milk.
“It is good to meet you,” she said. “You must be Hanna Cohen.”
“If I must,” Hanna replied automatically. “I’d rather be Beyoncé, but what can you do.”
The younger woman laughed and rose to shake her hand. “I’m Ariana De Burge.”
Hanna took a seat and nodded.
“And this is Mateo and his mother, Maria. We’re just so glad to have this opportunity to talk to you.” Ariana kept bobbing her head, like a toy in the dashboard of a car. “And it’s exciting that you run your own business. You’re an artist?”
Mateo’s brows rose in interest.
Hanna felt a pain between her shoulders as Stella started going over the timeline for what was expected. The conversation floated over her, going back and forth with general questions about her life, her health, and their expectations.
“We would want you to come and live at our family home, of course,” Maria said eventually.
Hanna blinked. “Oh, I knew that sometimes families prefer that, but I did put on my profile that I’d rather keep living in my home.”
“That won’t be acceptable,” Maria said.
“Mother,” Mateo said in a cheerful tone. “I think it would help if it were just Ariana and I for a moment.”
“At the end of the day, if I do not approve—”
“Then we will call things off, but I do hope you will decide your approval based on our wishes, at least in part. I know you don’t like the thought of a surrogate, but it’s all we can do.” Mateo glanced over to Ariana, who looked guilty and frustrated. “And Hanna seems like a decent young woman. Don’t you think?”
“She will have to conform to our way of doing things,” Maria said strictly.
“Of course, Mother.”
Maria didn’t look as though she had any intention of moving, but finally rose and brushed off the front of her suit. “I will give you a few minutes.”
When she’d left, Ariana covered her eyes, and her shoulders bowed over. The poor woman looked so embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about her,” Mateo said. “She’s used to being in charge.”
“Clearly,” Hanna said. She looked between Ariana and Mateo. “Can I ask… You said earlier in the meeting you were going to marry? And you’re planning on a surrogate be
fore the ceremony?”
“It’s custom in our family to have an heir lined up before the wedding bells ring,” Mateo explained.
“It’s odd, I agree,” Ariana said.
“And if you two decided at that point not to marry?” Hanna asked.
Ariana let out a high, tense laugh at the thought.
Mateo shrugged. “That doesn’t happen.”
Hanna had to wonder. She hadn’t been imagining Mateo flirting with her only minutes before at the coffee shop. Nor was she imagining how far apart Mateo and Ariana were sitting, or the tension between them and the potential grandmother. There was something unsaid here. Hanna didn’t quite understand it, and maybe she should’ve let it go, but a situation like this seemed so complicated and so messy… Adding a pregnancy on top of it seemed like a terrible idea.
“I appreciate your interest, but I’m going to have to withdraw from the discussion here,” Hanna said, getting up. “Thank you for considering me.”
“Wait, Hanna,” Stella said.
“It’s just not a very good fit,” Hanna said. “Good luck, though. I hope you find someone.”
Mateo jumped up and followed Hanna as she left the room. Maria was standing by the receptionist as he caught her shoulder. “Please, just talk to us for a bit. We’ll sort this all out.”
“It just won’t work, Mateo. And I think you know why. I’m not going to come in between a young couple—” Hanna glanced back at Maria. “—especially when it is obvious that your family has problems with you using a surrogate at all.”
“It seems that way now, but once everything is in place—”
“By then, it’ll be too late to take a step back and think about the impact this will all have on a child. I’m not going to sign on to a huge mess, Mateo. I know you are unfamiliar with the word, but the answer is ‘no.’ Goodbye.”
