wasn’t something he’d ever thought he wanted. He hardly knew Emily so had no idea if she was here for money or something else. But knowing his child was growing inside of her stirred something primal. Something very powerful. The baby was his.
Maybe that was just because it gave him something to think about other than the recent decision that had been made for him.
He’d been dreading his trip to Alma. He was flattered that the country that had once driven his family out had come back to them and asked him to be the next king, but he had grown up here in Florida. He didn’t want to be a stuffy royal.
He didn’t want European paparazzi following him around and trying to catch him doing anything that would bring shame to his family. God, knew he worked and played hard.
“Rafe?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you hear what I said?” Emily asked.
He had. A baby. Lord knew his father hadn’t been the best and as a result, Rafe had thought he’d never have kids. It wasn’t as if either of his parents had set a great example. And he was still young, but damn if he wasn’t feeling much older every day.
“Yeah, I did. Are you sure?” he asked at last.
She gave him a fiery look from those aqua-blue eyes of hers. He’d seen the passionate side of her nature, and he guessed he was about to witness her temper. “Would I be here if I wasn’t?”
He held his hand up.
“Slow down, Red. I didn’t mean are you sure it’s mine. I meant…are you sure you’re pregnant?”
“Damned straight.”
“I get it. I had to take three at-home pregnancy tests and visit the doctor before I believed it myself. But trust me, Rafe. I’m positive I’m pregnant and that the baby is yours.”
“This is a little surreal,” he said.
“I know,” she said, with just a hint of softening on in her tone. “Listen, I know you can’t turn your back on your family and marry me and frankly, we only had one weekend together so I’d have to say no. But…I don’t want this kid to grow up without any knowledge of you.”
“Me either.”
She glanced up, surprised.
To be honest, he sort of surprised himself. But he knew all the things not to do as a dad thanks to his own father. It didn’t seem right for a kid of his to grow up without him. He wanted that. If he had a child, he wanted a chance to share the Montoro legacy…not the one newly sprung on him that came with a throne, but the one he’d carved out for himself in business. “Don’t look shocked.”
“You’ve kind of got a lot going on right now. And having a kid with me isn’t going to go over well.”
“Tough,” he said. He still wasn’t sure he wanted to be king of Alma. He and his siblings hadn’t grown up with the attitude that they were royalty. They were regular American kids who’d never expected to go back to Alma. “I still make my own decisions.”
“I know that,” she said. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve just been so crazy since I realized I was pregnant and alone. I didn’t know what to do. You know my mom raised me by herself…”
He closed the gap between them again and pulled her into his arms. He hadn’t realized she’d been raised by a single parent. To be honest, a weekend of hot sex didn’t really lend itself to sharing each other’s past like that. “You’re not by yourself.”
She looked up at him. That little pointed nose of hers was the tiniest bit red and her lip quivered as if she were struggling to keep from crying. That’s when he realized how out of character it was for Emily to be unsure. The baby—his baby—had thrown her for a loop as well.
“Thanks. I just need…I have no idea. I mean, a kid. I never expected this. But we used protection.”
“I didn’t the third time, remember? I was out and we…”
She blushed and rested her forehead against the middle of his chest, wrapped her arms around his waist and held him. He’d thought he hated being trapped, but in Emily’s arms this didn’t feel constricting.
“Ugh. My mom was right.”
“About what?” he asked. He looked over her head at the man in the mirror and remembered how many times he’d wanted to see some substance reflected back. Was this it? Of course it was. The baby would change things. He had no idea how or why, but he knew this moment was going to be the one that helped forge his future and the man he’d become.
“She said all it takes is a sweet-talking man and one time to get pregnant.”
“I’m a sweet-talking man?” He tipped her head up with his finger under her chin.
“You can be.”
“What are we going to do?” he asked at last. It was clear she’d run out of steam as soon as she entered the room. Marriage was the noble thing to do. He knew that’s what Juan Carlos would suggest, but he and Emily were strangers, and tying their lives together didn’t seem smart until they knew each other better.
She pushed away from him and walked over to the window. He knew the view she was afforded. This place had been hard-earned. He’d worked just as his siblings had to make Montoro Enterprises into the success it was today.
“I just wanted you to know. Beyond that I don’t need anything. Someday the kid is going to ask about you—”
“Someday? I’m going to be a part of this,” Rafe said.
“I don’t see how. You’re going to be jetting off to Alma to take the throne. My life is here. The baby’s life will be here.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. The timing on this sucked. But he didn’t blame Emily. He’d been running when he went to Key West, afraid to admit that he was in over his head. He’d just gotten word that his family was definitely interested in returning to Alma and as the oldest son he was expected to take the throne.
He was the oldest son. He was Rafael the Fourth. He should have been in command all the time. But the truth was, he was lost.
He wanted his own life. Not one that was dictated by rules and the demands of running a country. If he’d made the decision to return to Alma on his own he might feel differently but right now he felt strong-armed into it.
But somehow in Emily’s arms he’d found something.
Emily didn’t really feel any better about her next steps, but now that she’d told Rafe her news she could at least start making plans. She didn’t know what she expected… Well, the fairy-tale answer was that he’d profess his undying love—hey, their weekend together was pretty spectacular—then sweep her off her feet to his jet, and they’d go to Paris to celebrate their engagement.
But back in the real world, she was staring at him and wondering if this was the last time she’d be alone with him. It didn’t matter what the fantasy was or that she knew how he looked naked. They were still strangers.
Intimate strangers.
“You are looking at me in an odd way,” he said.
She struggled with her blunt nature. Saying that she knew what he looked like naked but not how he’d react to their child would reveal too much insecurity. So she searched for something light. Keeping things light was the key to this.
“Well, I never heard you rap along with Jay-Z and Kanye before. Sort of changed my opinion of you.”
“I’m a man of many talents,” he said.
“I’d already guessed that.”