Soldier Prince's Secret Baby Gift. Kate Hardy

bit complicated around here. Which is why I didn’t get in touch with you after… London.’

      The night they’d spent together.

      The night that clearly hadn’t meant anything to him.

      The night that had resulted in their baby.

      ‘Uh-huh,’ she said, in an attempt to be as cool and calm and collected as he seemed, though inside she wanted to yell at him.

      ‘You left me that note and I fully intended to call you later that day, after your shift,’ Antonio said. ‘But, that morning, my mother called me to tell me about Gabriella—my father’s daughter from his first marriage, except none of us had any idea she even existed until quite recently. My mother needed to talk to me about it and help her decide how to deal with the situation. She wanted to talk to me because Luca already had enough on his plate, ruling the country and preparing to be King. I had to come straight back to Casavalle, because my family needed me.’

      Tia could understand that. It was the same for her and for Nathan: they’d been there for their mother because she was their family and she needed them.

      ‘And I’m afraid my mind was so focused on the situation at home, I didn’t think to contact you. I’m sorry.’

      Tia had been hurt when Antonio hadn’t been in touch after the charity gala, even though she knew she was being ridiculous about it: of course a prince wasn’t going to fall for a mere waitress. Of course he wanted nothing more from her than their night of passion. It had been a one-off thing. But now she was seeing things from a different perspective. Antonio was part of a much bigger picture.

      ‘At the moment we’re waiting for DNA results, but my mother, Luca and I all think it’s very probable that Gabriella is indeed the oldest child of our father, which means she’s entitled to accede to the throne and rule Casavalle. She has no children, which makes my brother Luca her heir and puts him second in line to the throne. Luca also has no children; although Princess Meribel, his former fiancée, is pregnant, the baby isn’t Luca’s. So that makes me Luca’s heir and third in line to the throne; and that means our baby is my heir and fourth in line to the throne.’ He shrugged. ‘Though if we’re wrong about the DNA test or Gabriella decides not to accede to the throne, then everything shifts up one place and our baby will be third in line.’

      It hadn’t really hit home until that moment, but Tia realised right then that her baby was of royal blood.

      A baby in line for a crown.

      ‘I…’ She tailed off, hardly able to take in the enormity of the situation.

      ‘As I said,’ Antonio continued quietly, ‘it’s been a little complicated around here. Luca’s wedding to Meribel has been planned for a very long time. But Meribel told Luca on the eve of their wedding that she was in love with someone else and was pregnant with his baby, so she couldn’t go through with marrying him. We agreed with her family that we’d say the wedding was cancelled due to irreconcilable differences, though the people of Aguilarez—Meribel’s kingdom, on the other side of the mountains—assumed that meant Luca had practically jilted her at the altar, and they blamed him for the wedding not happening.

      ‘It was politically…’ He grimaced. ‘Let’s just say it was a bit sensitive. If we didn’t tell the truth, it could lead to a great deal of discord between our countries. Yet if we told the truth—that Meribel was the one to have the affair—then it would be putting the blame on her, and that would be dishonourable.’

      Tia didn’t quite understand that. ‘How could it be dishonourable when she was the one who had the affair?’

      ‘It’s still dishonourable,’ Antonio insisted.

      ‘So whatever you did, you’d lose,’ Tia said slowly.

      ‘Something like that. Except then someone leaked the truth of the matter. Not from our side,’ he was quick to clarify. ‘Meribel is in hiding right now, and it feels as if the media has put Casavalle under a microscope, scrutinising every move any of us makes and spotting every potential scandal.’ He looked at her. ‘Someone in the palace will have noticed you, and they will have heard you ask to speak to Miles. They will definitely have noticed your bump. So people will be asking questions about you—who are you, and why did you want to speak to the palace secretary? Whose baby are you carrying? They’ll be watching for you to leave the palace.

      ‘And the paparazzi don’t play nice, Tia. They’ll strike up a conversation at the airport and you’ll think you’re simply chatting to another passenger to pass the time. They’ll ask all kinds of questions and pump you for information without you even knowing what they’re doing, and the next thing you know it’ll be all over the media. They’ll dig on the Internet and they’ll know everything about you before you get back to London—where you live, where you work, all about your mother’s health. They’ll follow you and they’ll doorstep you.’

      ‘Doorstep me?’ She didn’t understand.

      ‘They’ll wait outside your front door in a gaggle. The back door, too. There’s no escape from them. The second you open any door, the flashbulbs will go off and they’ll be yelling your name and asking you questions. If you’ve ever seen it happen in a film, I can assure you that it’s been romanticised. In real life, it’s much harsher. You have to push your way through the mob, and all the time there will be microphones shoved in your face and flashbulbs going off and people yelling.

      ‘If you say anything, it’ll be spun to suit their agenda. If you say nothing, then they’ll speculate, and they’ll do it with the nastiest implications—and you won’t be able to protest because they’ll claim they’re asking questions, not making a statement. Your life won’t be your own.’

      That hadn’t occurred to her. She’d simply thought to let Antonio know that their night together had had consequences, then quietly go back to London. ‘I… Look, if there’s a way you can get me from the palace to the airport without them seeing me, then I promise not to talk to a single person until I’m back home with my mum.’

      He shook his head. ‘It’s already too late for that. As I said, things have been complicated around here lately.’

      And she’d just added another complication to his life. An illegitimate baby.

      Her misery must’ve shown in her expression, because he took her hand. ‘Tia. I know neither of us planned this. But you have my support now and you definitely need my protection. I think we both need to get our heads round the situation, and the middle of a royal palace isn’t the best place to do that. I know somewhere quiet we can go for a few days that will give us a chance to think things through and talk about the future.’

      ‘But I wasn’t planning to stay here, not even for a night. I don’t have even a toothbrush with me, let alone any clean clothes,’ Tia protested. ‘And my mum’s expecting me back home tonight.’

      ‘Then call her. Tell her that you’re staying here for a little while.’ He paused. ‘Give me three days, Tia.’

      ‘Three days?’ Tia was horrified. ‘What if Mum needs me?’

      ‘Do you have a neighbour or a friend nearby who can keep an eye out for her?’ Antonio asked. ‘Or I can arrange for a nurse to come in and help her, if you prefer.’ He looked at her. ‘I apologise. Nathan didn’t tell me much about your mother’s condition, other than that she’d been poorly since you were small. And I was brought up not to ask personal questions. So I’m afraid I don’t know how ill she is.’

      ‘Mum has chronic fatigue syndrome,’ Tia said. ‘It used to be called ME—myalgic encephalomyelitis.’

      When Antonio looked blank, she continued, ‘After Dad was killed in action, Mum went down with a virus, and we think that’s what triggered the CFS because she never really recovered. It’s a bit like having the flu, with joint pains and a headache you simply can’t shift, and absolute exhaustion—but it doesn’t go away after a couple of weeks,