A Royal Baby For Christmas

It didn’t matter that his lie had been by omission. That might even seem a tiny bit excusable now. But then, six weeks ago, rationality had left the luxurious chalet she’d found herself in.

It had been a simple mistake. The car driver—or, let’s face it, he was probably a lot more than that—had given a nod and said Your Highness to something Seb had asked him.

The poor guy had realised his mistake right away and made a prompt exit. But it was too late. She’d heard it.

At first she’d almost laughed out loud. She’d been so relaxed, so happy, that the truth hadn’t even occurred to her. ‘Your Highness?’ She’d smiled as she’d picked up her bags to go back in the house.

But the look of horror on Seb’s face had caused her foot to stop in mid-air.

And just like today, the hairs on her arms had stood on end. Seb. Sebastian. The name of the Prince of Montanari. The person who’d requested she train the surgeons in his hospital. The mystery man that she’d never met—because he was doing business overseas.

Just like Seb.

She might as well have been plunged into a cold pool of glacier ice.

‘Tell me you’re joking?’

For the first time since she’d met him, his coolness vanished. He started to babble. Babble. His eyes darting from side to side but never quite meeting her gaze.

She dropped her bags at her feet on the stony path. ‘You’re not, are you?’ He kept talking but she stopped listening. Her brain trying to make sense of what was going on.

‘You’re Sebastian Falco? You’re the Prince?’ She walked right up under his nose.

It must have been the way she’d said it. As if it were almost impossible. As if he were the unlikeliest candidate in the world.

He let out a sigh and those forest-green eyes finally met hers. His head gave the barest shake. ‘Is that so ridiculous?’

The prickling hairs on her arms spread. Like an infectious disease. Reaching parts of her body that definitely shouldn’t feel like that.

Although the rage was building inside her, all that came out was a whisper. ‘It’s ridiculous to me.’

He blinked. She could see herself reflected in his eyes. Hurt was written all over her face. She hated feeling like that. She hated being emotionally vulnerable.

Her mother and father had lived a lie for eighteen years. She’d always promised herself that would never be her life. That would never be her relationship.

She’d thrown caution to the wind and lost. Big style.

He’d made a fool of her. And she’d let him.

‘How could you?’ she snapped. ‘How could you lie to me? What kind of woman do you think I am?’

As she heard the words out loud she almost wanted to hide. She knew exactly what kind of woman she’d been these last two days. One that acted as though this was nothing. She’d experienced a true weekend of passion and abandon. She’d pushed aside all thoughts of consequences and lost herself totally in him.

Ultimate fail.

Now she was looking into the eyes of a man who’d misled her. Let her think that this was something it was not.

He pulled his gaze away from hers, having the good shame to look embarrassed, and ran his hand through his thick dark hair.

But even that annoyed her. She’d spent all weekend running her own fingers through the same hair and right now she knew she’d never do that again.

He reached up and touched her shoulder. ‘Sienna, I’m sorry.’

She pulled back as if he’d stung her and his eyes widened.

‘Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me again. Ever!’ She spun around and walked back inside.

She ignored everything around her. Ignored the soft sofas they’d spent many an hour on. Ignored the thick wooden table that they’d eaten more than their dinner from. Ignored the tangled sheets in the white and gold bedroom that told their own story.

She grabbed the few things she’d brought with her—and the few other things she’d bought—and started throwing them into her bag.

Seb rushed in behind her. ‘Sienna, slow down. Things weren’t meant to happen like this. I’m sorry. I am. I came to the hotel to get away. I came to think about some things.’ He ran his fingers through his hair again. ‘And then, when I got there, there was just...’ he held his hands up towards her ‘...you,’ he said simply.

She spun back around.

‘I didn’t realise right away who you were. I’d asked Oliver if he could send a surgeon to help with training. I’m the patron of the hospital and they only come to me when there are big issues. The hospital board were unhappy about all our neonates having to be transferred to France for cardiac surgeries. It was time to train our own surgeons—buy our own equipment. But once I’d made the arrangement with Oliver I hadn’t really paid attention to all the details. Our hospital director took care of all those because I knew I wouldn’t be here. I didn’t even recognise your name straight away.’

She felt numb. ‘You knew? You knew exactly who I was?’

He sighed heavily and his tanned face paled. ‘Not until yesterday when you mentioned you were a surgeon.’

She gulped. She knew exactly what he wasn’t saying. Not until after they’d slept together.

‘Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me you knew Oliver yesterday?’

He shook his head. ‘Because we’d already taken things further than either of us probably intended. We were in our own little bubble here. And I won’t lie. I liked it, Sienna. I liked the fact it was just you and me and the outside world seemed as far away as possible.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I didn’t want to spoil it.’ He started pacing around. ‘Do you know what it’s like to have the eyes of the world constantly on you? Do you know what it’s like when every time you even say hello to a woman it’s splashed across the press the next day that she could be the next Queen?’ The frustration was clearly spilling over.

‘You expect me to feel sorry for you?’

He threw up his hands. ‘The only time I’ve had a bit of a normal life was when I was at university. The press were banned from coming near me then. But every moment before that, and every second after it, I’ve constantly been on display. Life is never normal around me, Sienna. But here—’ he indicated the room ‘—and in Il Palazzo di Cristallo I get a tiny bit of privacy. Do you know how good it felt to walk in somewhere, see a beautiful woman and be able to act on it? Be able to actually let myself feel something?’

Her throat was dry. Emotion and frustration was written all over his face. He couldn’t stop pacing.

It was as if the weight of the world were currently sitting on his shoulders. She had no idea what his life was like. She’d no idea what was expected of him. Her insides squirmed. The thought of constantly being watched by the press? No, thanks.

But the anger still burned inside. The hurt at being deceived. How many other women had he brought here? Was she just another on his list?

She stepped up close to him again, ignoring his delicious aftershave that had wound its way around her over the last few days. ‘So, everything was actually a lie?’

He winced. ‘It wasn’t a lie, Sienna.’

‘It was to me.’

He shook his head and straightened his shoulders. ‘You’re overreacting. Even if I had introduced myself, what difference would it have made?’ He moved closer, his chest just in front of her face. ‘Are you telling me that this wouldn’t have happened? That we wouldn’t have been attracted to each other? We wouldn’t have ended up together?’

She clouded out his words—focusing only on the first part. It had been enough to make the red mist descend. ‘I’m overreacting?’ She dropped the clothes she had clutched in her hands. ‘I’m overreacting?’ She let out an angry breath as her eyes swept the room.

She shook her head. ‘Oh, no, Seb. I’m not overreacting.’ She picked up the nearest lamp and flung it at the wall, shattering it into a million pieces. ‘This. This is overreacting. This is letting you know how I really feel about your deception.’