Maggie leaned against the bathroom vanity, unsure of what to do next. She turned the box over in her hands, reading the text like it might hold insight into her future and not just instructions. She’d never been late. Ever. And now, almost three weeks after one of the best nights of her life, she was.

There had to be another reason. She knew that lots of women had irregular periods during stressful times; work had been so crazy over the past couple of weeks that she hadn’t been sleeping much. It could absolutely be the stress.

Plus, even though every phone call with her handsome prince compounded her conviction that she was head over heels in love with Raffaele, it wasn’t easy being so far apart. And she knew that at some point in the near future, she was going to have to make some tough decisions if she wanted to be with him.

If he wanted to be with her.

She glanced at her phone. He still hadn’t called, but she wasn’t worried yet. Sometimes he got held up, and she knew he’d rather take care of any potential interruptions so they could talk undisturbed, instead of dealing with things while they were on the phone. Raffaele was trying so hard to be more of what his parents wanted him to be, and Maggie knew she was part of that. He wanted to show them that she was more than just a fling.

She glanced at her phone again. She could take a pregnancy test before he called, and that way, she would know for sure. They could talk the result through together.

Hands trembling, she opened the box and followed the instructions. Just to be sure, she did the same with two other boxes.

A few minutes later, Maggie had her answer. A very clear answer, since all three of the tests agreed.

Although she was very stressed, Maggie was also very pregnant, and there was no doubt in her mind that Raffaele was the father.

She splashed some cold water on her face, then checked her phone again. She had to get out of the tiny bathroom, so she paced through her apartment, thinking and trying not to worry. Even though she thought Raffaele would be happy, she didn’t quite know how to tell him. They’d only been dating for a few weeks—most of them long distance—and there was so much they still had to work out.

After an agonizing half hour of going back and forth in her head, she decided she couldn’t wait any longer. She nervously dialed Raffaele and waited for the phone to ring. She frowned when she heard a harsh beep and a voice saying, “This number has been disconnected” in Italian.

She hung up and tried again, with the same result. She tried one more time just to be sure, but the reality slowly dawned on her as she hung up again. He must have been sent to fulfill his military service much sooner than they’d expected. But why had it happened so suddenly, and why hadn’t he called her?

She stumbled to her computer, and started looking for any news involving Spiaggi. There was no breaking news, no statements from the royal family. She tried to email Raffaele, but immediately got a message saying that her email had bounced.

She could only hope that Raffaele would call when he got settled. She knew that he was expecting to be at one of the country’s bases, probably doing training of some kind. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to call her until he’d completed some kind of orientation. Maggie could understand that he wouldn’t want to be given special privileges—if the rest of his unit wasn’t allowed to call home for a certain length of time, he wouldn’t either.

Maggie respected that, even though she wished she’d had some warning. But that wasn’t Raffaele’s fault, and it didn’t do either of them any good for her to mope around.

So, she put her shoulders back and her chin up and went to run her restaurant.

* * *

Maggie made it through dinner service that evening, but she left the cleaning up to Joshua and Elise. She asked them to start prep for the next day without her, and they both agreed readily, even as they gave her worried looks.

Maggie tossed and turned that night. When she slept, it was fitful and filled with strange dreams. Crawling out of bed the next morning, she felt terrible.

She started to make coffee and then remembered. Sighing, she switched to a cup of herbal tea, then made a mental note that she needed to schedule a doctor’s appointment.

Maggie had emailed Luis the night before, hoping the royal chef could help her out. She didn’t tell him everything, just that she was trying to reach Raffaele. He wrote back quickly; his response was sympathetic, but he didn’t know where the Prince had gone. The rumor was that Raffaele had started his military service, though his parents weren’t at the palace, so Luis didn’t know for certain.

Sitting down at her small kitchen table, Maggie did another look through the news, checking again to see if Spiaggi was mentioned. She finally pulled up the contact information to Spiaggi’s embassy, and called the main number.

When they brushed her off, she dug a little deeper and found a number for one of the royal family’s aides. Maggie then tried the media contact listed on an older statement from the royal family.

Nothing. Either they told her they didn’t have the ability to connect her call to the palace, or that they weren’t able to tell her anything about Prince Raffaele’s whereabouts. Maggie asked to be connected to his mother, but was told she wasn’t taking calls.

Maggie crossed her fingers. One more time, she thought. It’s been two days, and he should be settled into wherever he is. Whoever I talk to will be able to give me more information.

The phone rang twice and when a voice on the other end answered, the words tumbled out of Maggie’s mouth.

“Hi. My name is Maggie Bechet and I’m trying to reach Prince Raffaele. His phone has been disconnected and I know I probably can’t talk to him right now, but I need to get a message to him.”

“My apologies, miss, but I’m not able to connect you directly to His Highness.”

“No, I know. And I know he’s not at the palace right now. He’s, well, I don’t know where he is, but I know he’s…”

Maggie had a thought. If it was such a big deal that no one know where Raffaele was stationed, maybe the person she was talking to didn’t even know he was deployed. She didn’t want to make things more dangerous for him by spreading the word if it wasn’t common knowledge.

“I know he’s not at home right now. Can I get a message to him?”

The voice sounded even more disinterested. “I’m sorry, I’m not able to pass a message to His Highness.”

Maggie thought quickly. “He has a secretary. Albert. Can I speak to him?”

“I’m sorry, the Prince’s secretary is on vacation right now.”

“Can I leave a message?”

The voice on the other end sighed and said, “Miss, you must know that we get calls every day from young women wanting to speak with the Prince. He met them at a club, or a party. You can leave a message if you want, but I can tell you that His Highness is not available right now and the message will likely not be read.”

Maggie wanted to cry in frustration.

“I know all that. I’m not…I’m not a girl he met at a party. My name is Maggie Bechet. I was the chef at his birthday dinner last month.”

Silence. Maggie tried again.

“Look, I spent a week at the palace. I had dinner with his parents. I met the King, for goodness’ sake!” Maggie dropped her voice. “Please understand, I’ve got to talk to Raffaele. I just found out I’m pregnant, and even though I don’t know exactly where he is, I know what he’s doing and I know he’s going to be out of touch for who knows how long. But he needs to know that he’s going to be a father, don’t you think?”

More silence.

“Um, hello?”

The realization sunk in. The voice had hung up on her. Either they hadn’t heard her say she was pregnant, or they didn’t believe her. Either way, she wasn’t getting a message to Raffaele.

The tears broke free, then. Maggie didn’t know what else to do. She needed to talk to Raffaele, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. She didn’t even know what she’d say to his mother. Maggie’s relationship with Raffaele was still so new, and she might get the same reaction as from every other person she’d talked to. Sure, she’d met his mother, so it would be polite disbelief, instead of just disbelief, but the outcome wouldn’t be any different.

Maggie was overcome with a sudden desire to talk to her own mother. If anyone would know what she should do, it would be her parents. With a burst of energy, she hunted for her car keys and purse and set off to make the drive to her parents’ house.

Half an hour later, Maggie stood on her parents’ front porch in tears, not even able to knock on the door. She hadn’t been there but a minute when the front door flew open.

“Maggie, darling, what are you doing here?”

Jeanette Bechet stood on the other side of the screen door and Maggie couldn’t even answer. Her mother pushed open the door and drew her only child into the house.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

At her mother’s worried voice, Maggie cried harder.

“Mom, I don’t know what to do.”

Her father must have heard the commotion, because he met them in the living room and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Maggie sunk down onto her parents’ couch, unable to do anything but cry.

“Joseph…” Maggie’s mother began, and her father nodded.

He left the room, returning a minute later with a glass of water and a box of tissues. Joseph set both items down on the coffee table, and then sat on Maggie’s side opposite from Jeanette.

They let her cry it out, and only when she grew quiet did her mother ask her again, “What’s wrong, love? Is it the restaurant?”

Maggie shook her head. “No, it’s…” She wasn’t even sure what to say. When she started to shape the words, they sounded so absurd that she couldn’t even get them out.

Her father patted her hand. “Whatever it is, sweetheart, we’re here for you.”

“I know, Dad. It’s just, well, I’m pregnant.” She looked back and forth between her parents, who exchanged a surprised look.

“That’s wonderful, honey!” her mother exclaimed.

“Unless it’s not?” her father, as usual, balanced her mother. When Jeanette gave him a look, Joseph added, “We didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

Maggie laughed a little, because what else could she do?

“Do you remember when I went to Europe a few weeks ago? To cook for Prince Raffaele of Spiaggi? We…well, we’re in a relationship. Or we are—were—starting one, anyway. Raffaele was supposed to come for a visit in a few days, but I can’t get in touch with him now. And he hasn’t called.”

Joseph gave her a serious look. “He’s disappeared? Do I need to make a few phone calls?”

Maggie leaned her head against her father’s shoulder.

“No, Dad. I think I know what happened.”

She took a deep breath.

“While I was there, Raffaele found out that he would soon be required to complete two years of military service. He didn’t have any details, but he was sure that he’d be able to visit before he left. All I can think is that something changed, and he had to leave sooner than planned. I can’t find any news, though, and I can’t find anyone who can get a message to him or who will tell me anything.”

“What can we do to help?” Jeannette asked.

Maggie sighed. “Tell me what to do?”

She hated feeling like a failure, especially in front of her parents, but she was at a loss.

“What do you want to do?” Joseph asked.

“I want to talk to Raffaele, but that’s apparently not going to happen. And I know he wouldn’t have left without telling me unless something happened and he wasn’t able to. I’ll know he’ll call when he can, but I have no idea when that might be. I don’t think I can wait on him to make a decision.”

“Do you think you might not want to have the baby?”

Her mother asked the question calmly, but Maggie could tell she had an opinion on how Maggie should answer.

“It’s not a question of wanting. If Raffaele were here, there wouldn’t be a question. I think…I think he’s the one, Mom. I love him, and we want to build a life together.” Maggie lifted a hand helplessly. “But he’s not here, and I don’t know that I can have a baby and work and wait for him.” She sighed again. “I don’t know that I can raise this baby on my own. What if Raffaele doesn’t come back?”

“You wouldn’t be the first woman to raise a child on her own,” Jeanette said wisely. “And you wouldn’t be alone, anyway.”

Her father nodded eagerly. “We’re here for whatever you need, Maggie.”

“Whatever you decide to do, we’re behind you,” her mother agreed.

Jeanette exchanged another look over Maggie’s head with Joseph. He nodded.

“If you want to know what we think…”

“Yes, please.”

“We know how important the restaurant is to you. But in the end, it’s just a thing. A baby is a blessing. You’ve always wanted a family, and you put that on the back burner so you could focus on work. And you’ve done so well; we’re so proud of you. But if you want a family, at some point you have to focus on that goal as well. Now seems like as good a time as any.”

Maggie nodded, still thinking. “Can I stay here tonight?” She wanted to lean on the strength of her parents a little while longer.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

Jeanette went to fix tea, and Joseph, seeing that Maggie didn’t want to talk about Raffaele just then, asked her if she wanted to see his latest woodworking project. Maggie let herself be distracted, and when she woke up the next morning, she knew.

Her parents were right. She did want a family. She knew she wanted a family with Raffaele, and even though the thought of his not returning terrified her, if he didn’t, she knew she still wanted their child. Maggie believed that he would want her to have and raise their child, and she knew in her heart that if Raffaele could come back to her, he would.

Maggie decided she could wait for Raffaele. When he came back, they would be the best parents for their child and everything would be all right.

She believed it. What other choice did she have?