Catriona stared at the paperwork before her, the shock reverberating through her body. This could not be right. She and Aileen had just sat down to breakfast, their plates laden with delectable foods. Of all meals, breakfast was Catriona’s favorite, though this morning, she wished she would have stayed in bed.

“What is it? Anything we can use?”

She laid down the folder on the table, peering at her sister-in-law over the breakfast table. “Are you certain this is correct?”

“Quite,” Aileen replied, looking offended. “He is trustworthy and quite good at what he does, the best even. Whatever he found, it’s all true.”

Catriona shook her head, pointing at the file. “Our dear waitress is a royal.”

Aileen looked at her sister-in-law, bursting into laughter a moment later. “Now that would be icing on the cake, dear sister. A royal! That is laughable at best.”

“I am serious,” Catriona said loudly, silencing her mid-laugh. “She is a damn royal.”

Aileen’s wide eyes looked at the file, confusion in their depths. “B-but she is not. She did not tell us of any relation to royalty. I am certain Angus would have corrected us.”

“I believe Angus does not know,” Catriona stated angrily.

“Well what kind of royal is she?” Aileen asked haughtily, spearing her sausage with her fork. “Surely the tenth in line or something like that. Nothing like you and I.”

Catriona blew out a breath. “She’s Valantín Agustin de Castella y Aragon’s sister. Half-sister, I mean.”

Aileen’s fork clattered to her plate. “The…King of Aragon? Are you sure?”

“As sure as the words in this damn file,” Catriona said dully, her breakfast losing all appeal. Aragon was a small kingdom just over the river from Lektenstaten and rumor was that the late king had been on a desperate search for his long-lost daughter before he died, and now the recently crowned king would honor his father’s wish to see her recognized and crowned princess.

It had been all over the news and in the tight circles of the upper crust, everyone wondering who the sister might be.

And now the missing royal daughter was on the verge of becoming her son’s wife. While some would see it as a good political move, it was the principle that Angus had chosen a waitress to spite her.

“Are you going to tell him?” Aileen was asking.

Catriona’s lips curved in a smile as she thought of another way to make all of this go away. “No,” she purred. “I believe I won’t.”

Aileen looked at her sister-in-law, seeing the familiar glint in her eye. “I believe this is about to get interesting.”

“Interesting indeed,” Catriona smiled, picking up her tea cup.

* * *

“The Romanis have been a people unfairly persecuted for a long time,” Angus mused as he tried to explain to Siobhan why he, as king, was so invested in having a fair vote for Lektensaten Prime Minister. “Since I began ruling, I have been helping them acquire the basic needs of civilization but the Romani People United getting the majority of the parliament came as a total surprise. I don’t want to have any more bombings or to reignite the prejudice and hate which was ripe in my grandfather’s time.”

“But don’t you think that not choosing Dom Mircea is showing the people you don’t support them?” Siobhan asked, checking herself in the mirror, making sure her image didn’t show she’d just had amazing sex. She ran her fingers on her hair, satisfied with her appearance: she had a glowing look but she was composed.

“I have pondered about this for many days…looked at the matter from many different angles,”—he sighed and took his eyes of the road to look briefly at her, letting her see the anguish in his heart—“I think they will win and that will be the best that can happen to us. For us.”

Any further conversation was cut off by the car entering a very small village, made basically of a main street and a square, as they pulled to a stop in front of a modern-style house.

Hands clasped tightly in her lap, Siobhan anxiously watched as children came running to greet them. I’m not ready for this type of engagement.

“Are you nervous?”

She looked at him. “Of course, I’m nervous. I don’t—I’m not this person you think I’m supposed to be.”

He laughed, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel. “And what are you supposed to be, Siobhan?”

She wanted to say everything that she was not. He needed some sort of refined, polished woman at his side when he made these types of official business trips, not her.

“You know what I mean,” she finally said, clearing her throat. “I don’t know what to do.”

He reached over and took her hand in his, the warmth of his skin against hers causing goosebumps up her arm. “You will be fine. Be yourself and they will adore you.”

Siobhan took a deep breath, opened the car door and stepped out, straightening the Giorgio Armani light-blue half-cape she had over her Chanel lavender dress, hoping she had the right look for the king’s bride.

She watched as Angus greeted each child with a smile and offered them a box full of candies, which led to happy screams and bowing, and then she looked around, taking in the houses, surprised to see there wasn’t much difference between them and any house from her own neighborhood, apart from the colorful paint.

“What were you expecting? A gypsy cart?” Angus’s breath tickled her ear, a chuckle in his voice.

“I was not,” she wanted to stomp on his foot for reading her mind.

“Liar,” he offered her his arm. “Actually, the houses that were here before were what you’d have expected. We’ve done major improvements with a beautification project recently, plus running water and everything these forgotten people needed to live life with dignity.”

A couple walked out, the smiles on their faces making her feel marginally more at ease. The couple was striking, the woman tall and slender, her long hair draped over her shoulder. The man was a great deal older than the woman was, though Siobhan could see the handsome features would have attracted any number of women to him.

“Your Majesty!” The woman said warmly, holding her hands out to them. “Welcome! We are glad you have decided to visit.”

“Claudia,” Angus replied, grasping her hands lightly. “Looking lovely as ever.”

“Watch it, Your Majesty,” Mircea growled, though his eyes were alight with laughter. “She’s taken.”

Angus laughed and Siobhan was surprised to see an easiness in his features. She had anticipated he would be the staunch king she had been dealing with. “Mircea, Claudia, this is Siobhan, my fiancée and the mother of Lektenstaten’s future ruler.”

Siobhan saw the confused looks on their faces and then the smiles, and she forced herself to smile. She was surprised herself by him announcing her pregnancy like that.

“Well now, congratulations! You finally went and did it,” Mircea replied with a smile. “Scared I would steal her away from you?”

“Not in the slightest,” Angus chuckled as they clasped hands. “You are far too ugly for the likes of her.”

Then another woman came into their group, her skirts swishing about her ankles as she looked at them, followed by Javert, who had a bright smile on his face.

Siobhan took in her long dark locks, her body swathed in a myriad of colorful skirts and a bell top that showed off her cleavage. There was an air of confidence about her, an ease that Siobhan only wished she had.

“Your Majesty,” she said, dipping her head lightly. “Welcome to our home.”

“Diamanta, Javert,” Angus replied. “It’s good to see you.”

She gave him a smile and then her eyes turned to Siobhan.

“Siobhan,” Javert nodded at her and introduced the woman, “This is my mother, Diamanta.”

“Nice to meet you,” Siobhan said, seeing the resemblance between the two. There was no doubt that this was where Javert got his confidence from.

Claudia added, “Siobhan is His Majesty’s fiancée and she is pregnant, Diamanta!”

“Well now, this is a surprise.” Diamanta gave Siobhan a once over and stretched out her hand, shaking Siobhan’s but not letting it go.

Diamanta pursed her lips and then turned Siobhan’s right hand over, staring fixedly at her palm. “I suspect we will learn a great deal about you, Siobhan. I am intrigued to hear your story.”

Not being superstitious, Siobhan watched with interest as the woman’s eyes narrowed, and her finger traced one line on her palm.

“Strange…” Then Diamanta picked up Siobhan’s other hand. “You have unusual hands…your head and heart lines are one.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Basically, that you live your life synergistically with both your head and your heart. There is no confusion about which one takes precedence, because they are the same…but…you have no life line.” Diamanta shook her head and looked down at Siobhan’s palms again. She swallowed hard, something vaguely frightening appearing in her dark gaze for a split second before it all dissipated, and she smiled at Siobhan. “That’s a good omen. You’re creating your life as you go.”

Diamanta turned away from her and struck up a conversation with Angus, for which Siobhan was glad for her to do. She wasn’t afraid of the woman, but a bit unnerved by her sudden palm reading.

Claudia seemed genuinely interested in her, though, and her greeting was warm.

“It’s good to see His Majesty interested in another woman—finally,” she confided in a whisper when they were alone beside the table where an array of wonderful food was being set out by helpers.

Siobhan didn’t reply to the comment right away, but her gaze strayed to Angus, who was standing only a few feet away, talking with Mircea, Javert, and Diamanta.

“I guess it’s been pretty hard for him,” she ventured, pretending to know more than she did.

“The worst,” Claudia agreed. She pulled Siobhan a little distance further from the men. “We thought he’d never get over losing Innes.”

The pain of losing someone was hard to get over, not to mention the love that Angus must have felt for Innes.

“But,” Claudia continued, her smile wide. “He has, and it seems to agree with you both.”

Siobhan flushed. There were moments she had butterflies in her stomach by Angus just looking her way, and other days, well, she wanted to kick him in the balls. Is that how it’s supposed to be?

“It will be a moment before they finish talking politics,” Claudia said. “Would you like to meet the children?”

Grateful for the change in subject, Siobhan nodded and the women left the table, walking the length of the room until they were at a hallway. After passing a few doors, Claudia entered a room full of children, from the tiniest of babies to pre-teens.

Siobhan felt the warmth of the children’s excitement as Claudia greeted all of them by name.

“And this”—taking a swaddled bundle from another woman, she showed a baby to Siobhan—“is my Thomas.”

Siobhan peered down at the tiny pink face and head full of downy hair, her heart melting at the sight. “He’s precious.”

“Would you like to hold him?”

Siobhan’s motherly instinct kicked in and before she knew it, she had the baby in her arms, a wealth of emotions flooding her body. She had dreamed of holding her own child a few times since she had found out she was pregnant, but to feel a baby in her arms, there was nothing like it.

“Don’t worry,” Claudia laughed. “It all comes naturally, I promise. I was scared to death the first time I held a baby, but you find out everything you need to know just comes to you.”

“That’s reassuring,” Siobhan laughed, touching the baby’s soft cheek. She hadn’t the first notion of how to take care of the baby growing within her.

Of course, the struggle wouldn’t even compare to what she would be experiencing if she was by herself. But, under Angus’s watchful eye, Siobhan doubted she would be able to change a diaper without someone hovering over her.

Or doing it for her.

Well, she would be putting her foot down rather quickly if that was the case. She wanted to be a mother in all aspects, including the late nights and the poop. Her child—their child—would have hands-on parents.

Angus stopped in the doorway, the sight before him nearly taking his breath away. Siobhan and Claudia were only a few feet before them, surrounded by children, but it was only Siobhan he had eyes for. She was holding a baby and looking so natural doing so, the tender smile on her face something he had not seen before. She was gorgeous, and he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her.

In a few short months, she would be doing that with their own child, the thought both scaring him shitless, and bringing a joy to his heart he hadn’t anticipated ever feeling again. What was she thinking about right at this moment? Was she thinking about their own child in her arms?

She turned and he caught her eye, seeing the blush on her cheeks, the glow that seemed to surround her lately. He wanted nothing more than to walk over and kiss her, to lose himself in her once more. When had she consumed him so much?

Something shifted inside him. Something fast and unexpected. And something inevitable, he realized. Seeing her smiling up at him, a child’s head on her shoulder, sunlight pouring over her skin.

How could he have known he’d been waiting, almost his entire life, for a moment like this? And his future seemed as bright as the day with Siobhan and their child—children—in it.

* * *

Siobhan walked along the river’s edge, the sparkling water begging for her to take a quick dip. If she were by herself, she would be tempted to do just that—even in the cold weather—but the sight of her stripping down to her underwear might give Angus, who was walking with Mircea and Javert a step behind her, a heart attack.

She had seen the way he had looked at her when she had been holding Claudia’s little one, that hunger in his eyes he had tried hard to mask when others were around, but failed every single time. It wasn’t just sexual in nature, it was like, well, longing. What had he been thinking seeing her hold that child?

Heaving a sigh, she shook off the thought. Truly, Angus was being a little bit better these days with his mood and his communication skills, and she suspected it had something to do with the time they spent down here on the riverbank. It was going to be a day she would never forget.

Siobhan looked up and realized she had reached the bridge, a good hike from the Romani camp itself.

Looking back, she saw that Angus had distanced himself from the two other men, and was in a heated conversation with whoever was on the other side of his mobile, his voice carrying over the water as he gave someone an earful, his usually impassive face red.

A piece of her really wanted for him to pay some attention to her. He had been gracious and very well within shouting distance in case she needed something. What would he do if Siobhan suddenly took off running instead of stripping down to her skivvies?

Not that she could run, of course. Even with the additions to her diet and the daily walks, she still felt dizzy and weak, like the baby was draining her own life out of her. Do pregnant women normally feel this way? Because all that’s advertised is hearts and flowers.

There were days she felt as if there was an alien living inside of her, threatening to split her open like those movies on the tube. Then, there were other days, where she thought about the fuzzy-headed child she would bring into this world in a few short months, one she could dote on and love. Unconditional love was what they called it.

That was what she wanted with Angus. Unconditional love; to surrender to another person freely and without fear, trust they were going to make the future the best it could be. Would she ever have that with the king? That was the double-edged sword, the pit of uncertainty. Siobhan knew she could love him, easily in fact, if she didn’t already to some degree.

But he had made it quite clear he might not be able to do the same.

The ground changed under her feet and Siobhan looked up, realizing she had walked onto the bridge. How ironic he was building a bridge but she couldn’t build one to his heart.

A great deal of work had been completed and since it was nearing lunchtime, there were no workers about as she carefully stepped onto the structure, the wooden planks wobbling under her feet. She should really turn back, but the fascination of the intricate detailing on the bridge caught her eye. It wasn’t on the adjoining cross post, just on the first one, she leaned closer and could make out a tiny dragon etched in the wood, the flames coming out of his mouth so realistic that Siobhan shuddered inwardly. She would have to ask Angus what the significance was of the dragon being on the bridge. Perhaps it was a good luck symbol for his country as well.

A sharp gust of wind whipped the front of Siobhan’s half-cape apart. The button of a frog fastening slipped free of a braided silk loop. Gripping the edges of the cape, Siobhan turned her back to the wind and fumbled with the loop as a woman, clutching a large bag, brushed by her.

Siobhan was bumped sideways.

She felt the railing bite into her side, and for a moment, Siobhan could feel herself tip off balance, her hands blindly grasping out to catch anything she could find as she let out a sharp cry.

But she found nothing.