Mum's The Word!

“Why not?”

“This is my bed and you two take up way too much room.”

“Slept with Mommy.”

Somehow they’d circled back to Marissa again. Olivia held her breath as she watched for some sign that they would get sad again, but the girls had discovered the mattress had great springs and they started bouncing and laughing.

Olivia watched them, amusement taking the edge off her exasperation. The challenges confronting her were coming faster than she’d expected. She wasn’t just going to become a wife and a princess, but now she was going to take on the role of mother, as well. Not that she couldn’t handle all of it. Maybe it was just her sleepless night and her anxiety about marrying a man who might not be over his dead former lover.

While the girls jumped off the bed and raced around the room, looking out the window and exploring the attached bathroom, Olivia heard a soft knock. Assuming it was Libby, she opened the door. To her intense surprise, Gabriel stood there, looking handsome and elegant in a charcoal pinstripe suit, white shirt and burgundy tie.

“I hope it’s not too early,” he said, entering the room. His gaze slid over her hair and silk-clad body.

Several maids followed, one pushing a cart loaded down with covered plates. Delicious smells wafted in their wake.

Olivia smoothed her hair, acutely aware of her makeup-free face, knowing she wasn’t looking her best after such a rough night. She hadn’t even brushed her teeth yet.

“No, of course not. You’re eager to meet the girls.”

“I am.” His gaze went past her shoulder, golden eyes intense and a little wary.

Olivia’s heart gave a little start as she realized he must be thinking about their mother. Chest tight, she shifted her attention to the twins. “Bethany. Karina. Come meet...” She wasn’t sure how to introduce the prince.

Gabriel supplied the description. “Your father.”

* * *

Beside him, Gabriel felt Olivia tense in surprise. In the hours since leaving her room, he’d contemplated what the best political move would be regarding his daughters and decided he didn’t give a damn about the fallout. He intended to claim them.

Olivia held out her hands to the girls and they went toward her. She introduced them one by one, starting with the little girl on her right. “This is Bethany. And this is Karina.”

Gabriel could discern no difference between their features. “How can you tell?”

“Bethany is the talkative one.”

Neither one was verbal at the moment. They stood side by side wearing matching nightgowns and identical blank stares.

Deciding he would appear less intimidating if he was at their eye level, Gabriel knelt. “Nice to meet you.” As much as he longed to snatch them into his arms and hug the breath from their bodies, he kept his hands to himself and gave them his gentlest smile.

The one Olivia had introduced as Bethany eyed him suspiciously for a moment before declaring, “We’re hungry.” Her imperious tone made her sound like his mother.

“What would you like for breakfast?” he asked them. “We have eggs, pancakes, French toast.”

“Ice cream.”

“Not for breakfast,” he countered.

Olivia made no effort to hide her amusement. Her grin and the laughter brimming in her blue eyes transformed her from an elegant beauty to a vivacious woman. Gabriel felt his eyebrows go up as her charisma lit up the room.

“Wit’ chocolate.”

Bethany’s demands forced Gabriel to refocus his attention. “Maybe after lunch.” He’d met some tough negotiators in his time, but none had shown the sort of determination exhibited by his daughters. “If you eat everything on your plate.”

“Want ice cream.”

“How about waffles with syrup?” He tried softening his words with a smile. The twins weren’t moved.

“Olivia.” Bethany’s plaintive, wheedling tone was charming, and Gabriel found himself struggling to restrain a grin.

“No.” Olivia shook her head. “You listen to your father. He knows what’s best.” She gently propelled the girls toward the table the maid had set for breakfast and got them into chairs. “There aren’t any booster chairs so you’ll have to kneel. Can you do that?”

The twins nodded and Gabriel pulled out the chair between them, gesturing for Olivia to join them, but she shook her head.

“You should spend some time alone with them. I’m going to shower and get dressed.” With one last smile for the twins, she headed toward the bathroom.

As the door shut behind her, Gabriel turned his full attention to the toddlers. “Have you decided what you want to eat?”

Their green eyes steady on him, they watched and waited for some sign that he was weakening. Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and stared back. He was not going to be outmaneuvered by a pair of toddlers.

“Pancakes.”

The word broke the standoff and Gabriel gestured the maid forward to serve pancakes. Having little appetite, he sipped coffee and watched them eat, seeing Marissa in their gestures and sassy attitude.

The girls ate two large pancakes before showing signs of slowing down and Gabriel was marveling at their appetite when the bathroom door opened and Olivia emerged. Her long blond hair framed her oval face in soft waves and she’d played up her blue eyes with mascara and brown eye shadow. She wore a simple wrap dress in seafoam that accentuated her tiny waist and the subtle curves of her breasts and hips. Nude pumps added four inches to her five-foot-six-inch frame and emphasized the sculpted leanness of her calves.

Gabriel felt the kick to his solar plexus and momentarily couldn’t breathe. Her beauty blindsided him. Desire raged in his gut. He hadn’t expected to feel like this when he proposed. She’d been elegant, poised and cool, inspiring his admiration and appreciation.

In a month she would be legally his. But he was no longer content to wait until his wedding night to claim her. Such had been the heat of his desire for her last night that if the twins hadn’t occupied her bed, he would have made love to her.

The strength of his desire gave him a moment’s pause. Wasn’t this feeling what he’d hoped to avoid when he chose her? Craving something beyond reason was what had gotten him into trouble with Marissa. But desire wasn’t love and didn’t have to become obsession. He should feel a healthy desire for his future wife. Surely, he could prevent himself from getting in too deep with her and repeating his past mistakes.

He’d sunk into a black depression after his breakup with Marissa. Knowing they couldn’t have a future together hadn’t prevented him from letting himself be lured into love. He’d come through the other side of losing Marissa, but the fight to come back from that dark place wasn’t something he wanted to go through ever again.

“Coffee?” he asked, shoving aside his grim reflections.

He just needed to be certain that he kept a handle on his growing fascination with her. He’d lost his head over Marissa and look what it got him. Two beautiful, but illegitimate, daughters.

“Yes.” she gave a little laugh, seeming more relaxed with him than ever before. “I’m afraid I’m in desperate need of the caffeine this morning.”

“Rough night?”

“The couch is not as comfortable as it is beautiful.”

“Did you get any sleep?”

“Maybe an hour or so.” She dished up scrambled eggs, fruit and a croissant. She caught him watching her and gave him a wry smile. “Your pastry chef is sublime. I will need plenty of exercise to avoid becoming fat.”

“Perhaps after we speak to my parents about the girls we could take a walk in the garden.”

“That would be nice, but I don’t think there’s time. My schedule is packed with wedding preparations.”

“Surely if I can let the country run without my help for half an hour you can delegate some of the wedding preparations to your private secretary. We haven’t really had a chance to get acquainted, and with our wedding less than a month away, I thought we should spend some time alone together.”

“Is that a command, Your Highness?”

He arched an eyebrow at her playful tone. “Do you need it to be?”

“Your mother is the one who determined my schedule.”

Suspecting his fiancée needed no help standing up to the queen, he realized she was chiding him for his neglect during her first week in Sherdana. “I’ll handle my mother.”

“A walk sounds lovely.”

“Go see pony,” Bethany declared, shattering the rapport developing between the adults.

“Pony?” Gabriel echoed, looking to Olivia for an explanation.

“Apparently Bethany wants a pony for her birthday. I told her she was too young, but I thought maybe there was a pony in the stables they could visit.”

“None that I know of.” He saw the bright expectation in their faces vanish and couldn’t believe how much he wanted to see them smile again. “But I could be wrong.”

He made a mental note to have Stewart see about getting a pair of ponies for the girls. He and all his siblings had all started riding as soon as they could sit up. Ariana was the only one who still rode consistently, but Gabriel enjoyed an occasional gallop to clear his mind after a particularly taxing session of cabinet.

“Do you ride?” he asked Olivia.

“When I visit our country house.”

A knock sounded on the door. Olivia’s private secretary appeared, Stewart following on her heels. They wore duplicate expressions of concern and Gabriel knew the morning’s tranquillity was about to end.

“Excuse me a moment.” He crossed the room and pulled Stewart into the hall. “Well?”

“The king and queen are on their way here.”

He’d hoped to be the one to break the news to his parents. “How did they find out?”

“The arrival of two little girls in the middle of the night didn’t go unnoticed,” Stewart told him. “When your mother couldn’t find you she summoned me.”

“So, you felt the need to spill the whole story.”

“The king asked me a direct question,” Stewart explained, not the least bit intimidated by Gabriel’s low growl. “And he outranks you.”

“Gabriel, there you are. I demand to see my granddaughters at once.” The queen sailed down the hallway in his direction, her husband at her side. Lines of tension bracketed the king’s mouth. After nearly forty years as a queen, nothing disturbed her outward calm. But discovering her son had fathered two illegitimate girls was more stress than even she could graciously handle.

“They’ve been through a lot in the last few days,” Gabriel told her, thinking she would upset the twins in her current state of agitation.

“Have you told Olivia?”

“Last night.” He held up a hand when his mother’s eyes widened in outrage. “They spent the night with her after she stumbled upon them fleeing their nanny.”

The king’s light brown eyes had a hard look as they settled on his son. “And how does your future bride feel about it?”

As diplomatic as his parents were with the outside world, when it came to family, they were blunt. It wasn’t like them to dance around a question. Of course, they’d never come up against something this enormous before.

“What you want to know is if she intends to marry me despite my having fathered two children I knew nothing about.”

“Does she?”

The king’s deep frown made Gabriel rein in his frustration. As much as he disliked having his carelessness pointed out, he had let passion overwhelm him to the exclusion of common sense. Marissa had made him wild. She was like no other woman he’d ever met. And because of that their relationship had made his parents unhappy.

Gabriel exhaled harshly. “So far it appears that way.”

“Does her father know?” the king asked.

“Not yet. But the girls are living in the house. It won’t be long before the truth comes out.”

His mother looked grim. “Will Lord Darcy back out on the deal?”

“Olivia doesn’t think so. He wants his daughter married to royalty.”

“Have you figured out what we’re going to say to the press?”

“That they’re my daughters,” Gabriel said. “We’ll send out a press release. Anything else would be a mistake. Olivia noticed the resemblance immediately. They look exactly like Ariana did at that age. Coming clean is a good offensive and hopefully by doing so we can minimize the scandal.”

“And if we can’t?”

“I’ll ride it out.”

“We’ll ride it out,” the king said.

“Have you considered that Olivia might not want to raise Marissa’s children?”

Gabriel had already entertained those doubts, but after what he’d seen of Olivia, he’d discovered layers that might surprise everyone. “I don’t think that will be an issue. She’s already very protective of them and they trust her.”

The queen sighed and shook her head. “It will be wonderful having children in the palace again. Let’s go see your girls.”

Four

Olivia was standing with her hands relaxed at her sides as the door opened to admit the king and queen. Libby had warned her they were coming and she’d made sure the girls’ hands and faces were clean. The arrival of more unfamiliar people had revived the toddlers’ shyness and they hid behind Olivia.

“This is your father’s mother,” Olivia explained to them, using gentle pressure to nudge them into the open. “She’s come to meet you.”

Karina shook her head, but Bethany peered at her grandmother. The queen stopped dead at the sight of the girl and reached out a hand to her husband.

“Gabriel, you were right. They look exactly like your sister at that age.” She took a seat nearby and gestured Bethany toward her. “What is your name?”

To Olivia’s delight Bethany went to the queen.

She stopped just out of arm’s reach and studied the queen. “I’m Bethany.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” The queen looked toward her sister. “And what is your name?”

Bethany answered again. “Karina.”

“How old are they?” the king asked.

“They’ll be two in a few weeks,” Gabriel answered.

“Puppy.” Karina had finally spoken.

“I have a puppy you can meet. Would you like that?” The queen smiled as Karina nodded. “Mary,” the queen said to the maid who’d brought the twins’ clothes from upstairs. “Go get Rosie.” The Cavalier King Charles spaniel loved people, especially children, and was a great deal calmer than the queen’s vizsla.

In five minutes the maid was back with the dog and both twins were laughing as Rosie licked their cheeks. “Gabriel, why don’t you and Olivia make yourself scarce for a while. I’ll see the girls are settled.”

Recognizing an order when she heard one, Olivia let Gabriel draw her from the bedroom and down the stairs.

“Let’s get out of here while we can,” he murmured, escorting her through a side door and into the garden.

The late May morning had a slight edge of coolness, but when he offered to send someone upstairs for a sweater, Olivia shook her head.

“Let’s walk in the sunshine. I’ll warm up fast enough.”

He took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. Olivia gave herself up to the pleasure of his strong body brushing against her side as they strolled along the crushed granite pathways.

“Thank you for all you’ve done with the girls,” he said.

“It breaks my heart that they’ll grow up without their mother, but I’m glad they have you.”

“You never knew yours, did you? She died when you were born?”

She’d never told him that. “I guess we both did our research.”

“I’ve treated our engagement like a business arrangement. For that I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I knew what I was getting into.” She heard a touch of cynicism in her tone and countered it with a wry smile.

Gabriel didn’t smile back. “I don’t think you have any idea what you’re getting into.”

“That sounds intriguing.” Olivia waited for more, but the prince didn’t elaborate.

“Starting now I intend to learn everything there is to know about you.”

While she was sure he meant to flatter her with the declaration, Olivia froze in momentary panic. What if he found out she hadn’t come clean about her past fertility issues? Even with the problem solved, he might be angry that she hadn’t disclosed such an important fact.

“A girl needs to keep a little mystery about herself,” she countered, gazing up at him from beneath her lashes. “What if you lost interest once you discovered all my secrets?”

“It never occurred to me that you’d have secrets,” he murmured, half to himself.

“What woman doesn’t?”

“I’d prefer it if we didn’t keep secrets from each other.”

“After the surprise you received last night, I understand why. So, what would you like to tell me?”

“Me?”

Olivia congratulated herself on turning the conversation back on him. “Getting to know each other was your idea. I thought you’d like to show me how it’s done.”

Gabriel’s eyes gleamed with appreciation. “What would you like to know?”

“Why did you pick me?”

“Your passion for issues relating to children and your tireless determination to make their lives better.” Gabriel stopped and turned her to face him. “I knew you would be exactly the sort of queen my country would love.”

As his words sank in she stared at the pond, watching the ducks paddle across the still water. “Your country.”

At times like this it amused her to think of how many girls longed to be her. If they knew what her life was like, would they still want that? Marriage to a prince might seem like a fairy tale come true, but did they understand the sacrifices to her privacy or the responsibility she would bear?

But marriage into Sherdana’s royal family would offer her the opportunity to focus on things near and dear to her heart and to advocate for those who needed help, but who had no one to turn to. Earlier in the week she’d had an opportunity to speak with a local hospital administrator about the need for a more child-friendly space to treat the younger patients. The woman had a lot of ideas how to change the children’s ward to make a hospital stay easier on the children as well as their families.

Olivia was excited about the opportunities to help. Sherdana would find her an enthusiastic promoter of solutions for at-risk and underprivileged children. She was proud of the money she’d raised in London and loved the hours she’d spent visiting with children in the hospitals. Their courage in fighting their illnesses always inspired her. She intended to inspire others to help.

As Sherdana’s princess and future queen, she would be in the perfect position to bring children’s issues to the forefront of public awareness.

“I will do my best to never let your country down.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

Her knees trembled as he slid his hand beneath her hair, fingertips drawing evocative circles on her nape.

Cupping her cheek in his palm, Gabriel turned her head until their eyes met. Her heart skipped a beat. He wanted her. The expanding warmth in her midsection told her so and she basked in the certainty.

His gaze held her entranced until the second before his lips skimmed hers. Wrenched free of anticipation, relief rushed through her like a wildfire. A groan built in her chest as his tongue traced the seam of her lips. Welcoming the masterful stroke of his tongue into her mouth, she leaned into him, pressing her breasts against his chest, needing his hands to cup their weight and drive her mad.

A throat cleared somewhere behind them. “Excuse me, Your Highness.”

Gabriel stiffened and tore his mouth free. Chest heaving, he drew his thumb across her lower lip. “We will continue this later,” he promised, his voice a husky rasp against her sensitized nerve endings.

“I look forward to it.”

She received the briefest of smiles before he turned to face his private secretary. Released from the compelling grip of his gaze, Olivia had a hard time maintaining her composure. The kiss, although cut short, had been everything a woman craved. Passionate. Masterful. A touch wicked. She locked her knees and moderated her breathing while she listened to Gabriel’s conversation with his secretary.

Stewart cleared his throat again. “Sorry to interrupt, but the media found out about your daughters and Lord Darcy is meeting with your parents.”

Distantly, she became aware that Stewart was filling in Gabriel rapid-fire style about what had been on the television this morning.

“How did they get wind of it so fast?” Gabriel demanded.

Not even the ice in his voice could banish the lingering warmth Olivia felt from his kiss.

Stewart came up with the most obvious source. “The lawyer might have gone to them.”

“Unlikely. He had nothing to gain.”

“Someone in the palace, then.”

“Who knew last night?”

“The maids who were tasked with preparing the nursery,” Stewart said. “But they’ve worked for the palace for over a decade.”

Olivia considered the one who’d been straightening her room at two in the morning. The strangeness of it struck her again, but surely the palace staff was carefully screened and the woman had merely been doing as she said.

“The nanny.” Olivia knew with a sinking heart that this had to be the source of the leak. “The one I had escorted off the property.”

Stewart considered this. “The lawyer assured me she’d been kept in the dark about the twins’ parentage.”

“But that was before they’d been brought to the palace,” Gabriel said.

“I’m sorry,” Olivia murmured, aware she’d committed her first huge mistake as Gabriel’s fiancée. “I shouldn’t have taken it upon myself to remove her.”

“She was the wrong caretaker for the girls and you had their best interests at heart.” Gabriel offered her a reassuring nod. “Besides, it was going to be impossible to keep the twins hidden for long.”

Although she was accustomed to life in the public eye, she’d never been the focus of such frenzied interest on the part of the media, and the upcoming wedding had stirred them like a cane striking a wasp nest.

“If we present a united front,” Olivia said, feeling like his partner for the first time, “I’m sure everything will blow over.”

Gabriel took her hand and scorched a kiss across her knuckles. “Then that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

* * *

Hand in hand, Olivia and Gabriel entered the salon most often used by the family for its proximity to the back garden and the views of the park beyond. They found Christian and Ariana there. Gabriel caught sight of the television and heard the reporter. The amount of information the news channel had gleaned about the twins’ arrival late last night revealed that someone inside the house must have been feeding them information. Gabriel went cold as the reporter speculated on whether or not the powerful Sherdana royal family had paid Marissa to go away or if all along she’d hidden her daughters to keep them from being taken away from her.

“They may be painting us as the bad guys,” Christian commented, “but at least they’re not claiming we’re weak.”

Gabriel didn’t reply to his brother’s remark as Marissa’s face came on the screen. As the narrator gave a rundown of her career, Olivia moved as if compelled by some irresistible force, stepping closer to the television. Dismay rose in Gabriel as one after another, the photographs of his former lover on the covers of Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar flashed on the screen. Her legs looked impossibly long. Her face, incredibly beautiful.

Gabriel knew his daughters would be as exquisite. Would they follow in their mother’s footsteps and pursue careers in fashion? Photographers would stand in line to take their picture. They’d make an incredible pair. But was that any way for an Alessandro to make a living?

The question forced Gabriel to consider his daughters’ place in his household. They were illegitimate. With their mother’s death, that situation could never be rectified. An ache built in his chest for Bethany and Karina. At their age they would retain few memories of their mother. They’d never again know her love.