Princess's Nine-Month Secret--A Contemporary Royal Romance by Kate Hewitt

Author:Kate Hewitt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-06-06T18:23:57+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

HALINA GAZED AT her reflection in the mirror, noting the colour in her cheeks, the new sparkle in her eyes. It had been two weeks since she’d arrived in Rome with Rico and the nausea was finally abating, thanks to plenty of rest, healthy food and fresh air, as well as simple time. She was nearly at the end of her first trimester, and her pregnancy—her baby—was becoming more real with every passing day.

The last two weeks had been surprisingly unpressured. Rico had been focused on restoring her health, and Halina had appreciated the chance to take long naps and baths, or simply sit out in the sun on the huge terrace off Rico’s apartment. He’d hired a cook to make fresh, nourishing meals and had cancelled all his social engagements so he could be home as much as possible in the evenings after work.

He was acting every inch the loving, considerate husband except...he wasn’t. After that first shocking conversation when he’d told her about his childhood, Rico had buttoned up, sharing no personal details, inviting no intimate conversations. Halina had missed it, had tried several times to engage him again, but any questions about his childhood, his feelings, his very self, had been firmly and sometimes brusquely shot down. Halina had a suspicion he regretted sharing as much as he had with her, and this was his way of retrenching.

That had been most apparent when they’d visited the museum dedicated to Eros at the Colosseum. They’d strolled through the galleries of frescoes and sculpture, terracotta vases and bas-reliefs, while Halina had read from the guidebook.

‘The ancient poets describe Eros as an invincible force that can bring happiness but also destroy it.’

Rico had snorted, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. ‘The latter is certainly true.’

Halina had glanced at him over the edge of the guidebook. ‘You sound as if you’ve been in love,’ she’d remarked, trying not to feel an inconvenient twinge of jealousy at the thought. Was that why he kept to mistresses, none of whom lasted longer than a week? To keep his heart from being broken again?

‘Not in love,’ Rico had corrected, then had refused to say anything more.

‘I’ve never been in love,’ Halina had remarked with an insouciant shrug. ‘Never even close. Never had the chance.’

‘Consider yourself fortunate, then.’

‘What have you got against it?’ She tried to keep her voice light, to disguise the hurt and, yes, the yearning she knew she felt. She might never have been in love but she wanted to be one day. And if she married Rico, when she married him, it seemed likely that she wouldn’t be.

‘You heard what the ancient poets said.’ Rico paused to study a statue of Eros stringing his bow. ‘It can destroy happiness. Who wants to tangle with that? And what about the whole concept of love being an arrow that hits you?’ He nodded towards the marble figure. ‘Something that is alleged to bring joy actually brings pain. That sounds about right.

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.