Pregnant by the Wrong Prince by Jackie Ashenden

Author:Jackie Ashenden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-10-14T19:16:09+00:00

* * *

‘There is no need to miss them, princesa,’ he murmured, the ache in his heart getting heavier at the memories. ‘We can have them again, I promise.’

She lifted one black brow. ‘But only if I marry you, yes?’

‘Si.’

Interestingly, this didn’t seem to annoy her as much as it had earlier, because she only nodded before sitting herself regally on the couch. ‘The promised orange juice, if you please.’

Despite the strange heaviness in his chest, amusement flickered through him. ‘Do you expect me to wait on you, Lia?’

She gave him a cool look, every inch of her queenly. ‘Yes.’

It made him smile. She was ridiculously appealing like this.

‘Your wish. My command.’ He moved over to the coffee table and poured her a glass of orange juice, then held it out to her. She took it and he made sure that their fingertips didn’t brush.

Judging from that feeling in his chest, his control was suspect so it was best that he tried to limit temptation.

Lia took a sip of her orange juice, then leaned back on the couch, her blue eyes lifting to his. ‘Why marriage? Why is that so very important to you?’

He frowned, the question unexpected. ‘I told you. I don’t want our son or daughter having to—’

‘No,’ she interrupted calmly. ‘I don’t think that’s the reason. Or at least not the real reason.’

Rafael tensed, though he wasn’t sure why. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘There aren’t many men who’d throw a woman over their shoulder and carry her off from the church on the day of their wedding, before absolutely insisting on marrying her themselves.’ She took another sip, her gaze on his very steady. ‘That’s a drastic course of action simply to spare your child a couple of derogatory names. Especially for men who don’t like scandal.’

He didn’t like talking about his mother, but there was no reason not to tell Lia. ‘My mother was a single parent,’ he said shortly. ‘My father got her pregnant, then left her alone in Barcelona with no means of support. It was a miserable existence for her and it left her very unhappy, and I will not do the same.’

‘But there is financial support. You don’t need—’

‘Marriage also gives a degree of legal protection both to you and the child.’ He still felt tense. ‘I know you want to be chosen, Lia. In which case you should know that I have never proposed marriage to anyone before. You are the first and the only.’

She lifted a shoulder. ‘Yes, but as I pointed out to you earlier, only because I’m pregnant. It would never have entered your head if I wasn’t.’

Frustration wound through him. He didn’t know what more she wanted from him. ‘You were Matias’s bride. Of course it never entered my head.’

‘And if I hadn’t been?’

He shoved his hands into his pockets. ‘What exactly are you asking me, Lia?’

She looked back for a long moment, then abruptly put down her juice. Her blue gaze was suddenly very, very direct.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.