The Prince's Texas Bride by Victoria Chancellor

Author:Victoria Chancellor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 2013-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Kerry gave a breathless, nervous chuckle. “She doesn’t know anything about us, so I don’t see how she’d come to that conclusion.”

“Will she know soon?” he asked, stepping in front of Kerry so he could look into her eyes. His hands lightly rested on her shoulders to keep her from turning away again. “I want everyone to know the child you’re carrying is mine, not some faceless stranger’s baby. Not your Hank McCauley’s.”

“I’m not ready to tell everyone yet. I haven’t even told my mother and sisters!”

“Then let’s tell them together. Tonight, or tomorrow. Let me take the family to dinner, wherever you’d like, and we’ll break the news.”

“Alexi, I just don’t know.”

“Surely you’ve been thinking about telling them.”

“Of course, but I haven’t decided how. No matter how I visualize the scene, I can see disappointment.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and frowned. Then, with a sigh, she continued. “My sister Carole ran off when she was just a teenager and had a baby with a would-be country-western star. That’s my niece, Jennifer. We all love her, of course, but I remember how difficult the situation was for my sister, who was married for just a few months. And for my mother. She felt as though she’d failed Carole. Like if she’d been a better mother, this wouldn’t have happened. That wasn’t true, of course. My mom is great. But now she has another pregnant daughter, and I know that’s going to hurt.”

“Then that’s one more reason we should get married.”

Kerry shook her head. “As much as I love my family, I’m not getting married to make them feel better, just like I’m not going to marry you just because you think it’s the most expeditious thing to do.”

“It’s the right thing to do.”

“Right for you, maybe,” she said, raising her chin. “I’m not sure it’s right for me or the baby.”

Alexi sighed and dropped his hands. “What can I do to convince you we should be together? I know I left three months ago, but you understand why. At the time, I didn’t think we had a future. You were so excited about starting your new life. I felt it would be best to select someone from Europe to become the princess bride my father wanted me to select. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have pursued you had the situation been different.”

“You mean if you’d been a regular guy.”

“Exactly.” He was glad she was finally seeing his point of view.

“So what has changed? You’re not a regular guy now. You’re still a prince. I’m not a truck stop waitress any longer, but I’m still a small-town Texas girl, the daughter of a waitress and a runaway father. I’m hardly princess material.”

“I may still be a prince, but first of all, I’m a man. Soon to be a father. And I take my responsibilities seriously. One of those is to acknowledge and care for my child.”

Kerry sighed and sat down in an overstuffed chair upholstered in denim, pillowcase ticking and red gingham checks.

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