A Royal Baby For Christmas

The words were out before she even thought about them. Nothing like making herself sound sad and lonely. Did people at Teddy’s even think she had a personal life?

Annabelle’s eyes darted automatically to Sienna’s protruding stomach, then she flushed as she realised Sienna had noticed.

Sienna straightened her shoulders. She’d never been a fan of anyone trying to push her around. She gave Annabelle a wide smile. ‘Oh, he’s insisting, is he?’

Annabelle nodded then her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms across her chest. She’d worked with Sienna long enough to sense trouble ahead.

Sienna kept smiling. ‘Well, in that case, I’ll review my three babies. Talk to all sets of parents. I might make a few phone calls to some parents with babies on my list between Christmas and New Year, and then...’ she paused as she picked up the tablet again to start accessing a file ‘...then, as a heavily pregnant woman, I think I’ll go and have something to eat. I missed lunch and—’ she raised her eyebrows at Annabelle ‘—I have a feeling a colleague I work with might insist I don’t faint at work.’

Annabelle smiled too and nodded knowingly. ‘Not that I want to be any influence on you, but the kitchen staff made killer carrot cake today. I think it could count as one of your five a day.’

Sienna threw back her head and laughed. ‘You’re such a bad influence but I could definitely be persuaded.’ Her eyes went straight back to the chart. ‘Okay, so let’s see Kendall first. Mr I-Insist is just going to have to find out how things work around here.’

Annabelle gave a smile and put an arm at Sienna’s back. ‘Don’t worry. Somehow I think you’ll be more than a match for him. Give me a signal when you come back. I can always page you after five minutes to give you an escape.’

Sienna nodded. She didn’t really care who was waiting for her—her babies would always come first.

* * *

Seb was furious. He kept glancing at his watch. He’d been in this room for over an hour—his security detail waiting outside.

The sister of the neonatal ward had seemed surprised at first by his insistence at seeing Sienna. Then, she’d explained Sienna was at another appointment and would be back soon. What exactly meant soon at the Royal Cheltenham?

He’d paced the corridors a few times looking for her with no success. The doors to the neonatal unit had a coded lock, and, from the look of the anxious parents hurrying in and out, it really wasn’t a place he wanted to be.

He’d been stunned when Oliver Darrington had phoned him to discuss his own difficult situation—after a one-night stand a colleague was pregnant. A colleague who he had feelings for. Oliver had been Sebastian’s friend since they’d attended university together, even though they were destined for completely different lives.

He hadn’t told Oliver a thing about his weekend with Sienna, so when Oliver had mentioned that Sienna too was pregnant, Sebastian had felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

His tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth and his brain had scrambled to ask the question he’d wanted to, without giving himself away. According to Oliver she was heavily pregnant—due to have her baby at the end of January.

For a few seconds Seb had felt panicked. The dates fitted perfectly. He didn’t have a single doubt that her baby could be his.

He could hardly remember the rest of the conversation with Oliver. That made him cringe now. It was a complete disservice to his friend.

He’d had things to deal with.

Since Sienna had stormed out of his chalet retreat his life had turned upside down. He’d followed his parents’ wishes and allowed the announcement of the engagement. Theresa had seemed indifferent. Uniting the kingdoms had been important to her too. But marrying someone she wasn’t in love with didn’t seem any more appealing to her than it was to him.

If Sienna hadn’t happened, maybe, just maybe, he could have mustered some enthusiasm and tried to persuade Theresa their relationship could work.

But his nights had been haunted with dreams of being tangled in the sheets with a passionate woman with ash-blonde hair, caramel-coloured eyes and a firm, toned body.

She’d ignited a flame inside him. Something that had burned underneath the surface since she’d left. He’d been a fool. A fool to let his country think he would take part in a union he didn’t think he could make work.

His parents had been beside themselves with anger at the broken engagement.

Theresa had been remarkably stoic about him breaking the engagement. She’d handed back the yellow diamond ring with a nod of her head. He suspected her heart lay somewhere else. Her voice had been tight. ‘I hadn’t got around to finalising the design for my wedding dress yet. The designer was furious with me. It’s just as well really, isn’t it?’

He’d felt bad as he bent to kiss her cheek. Theresa wasn’t really upset with him. Not yet, anyway. She might be angrier when she found out about the baby. It could be embarrassing for her. He only hoped she would have moved on to wherever her heart truly lay.

The Head of his PR had nearly had a heart attack. He’d actually put his hand to his chest and turned an alarming shade of grey. And that had given Sebastian instant inspiration. In amongst breaking the news to both Theresa and his parents, Sebastian had spent the last two weeks doing something else—making arrangements to twin the Cheltenham hospital with the Montanari Royal General. He was already a patron of his own hospital; a sizeable donation would make him a patron of Teddy’s too.

It was the perfect cover story. He could come to the Royal Cheltenham without people asking too many questions. Oliver had been surprised for around five minutes. Then, he’d made him an appointment with the board. In the meantime, Sebastian could come freely to the hospital with his security and press team in tow. The announcement was due to be made tomorrow. Seb was hoping he could also make an announcement of his own.

He glanced at his watch again as the anger built in his chest. Sienna hadn’t even contacted him. Hadn’t even let him know he was going to be a father. Was her intention to leave his child fatherless? For the heir of Montanari not to be acknowledged or have their rightful inheritance?

That could never happen. He wouldn’t allow that to happen. Not in his lifetime.

He heard a familiar voice drifting down the corridor towards him. It sent every sense on fire. That familiar Scottish twang. The voice she’d invited him to listen to all night...

‘No problem. I’ll be along to review the chest X-ray in five minutes. Thanks, Max.’

The footsteps neared but he wasn’t prepared for the sight. Last time he’d seen Sienna she’d been toned and athletic. This time the rounded belly appeared before she did.

Her footsteps stopped dead in the doorway, her eyes wide. It was clear he was the last person she’d been expecting to see.

She took his breath away. She didn’t have on a traditional white coat. Instead she was dressed in what must be a maternity alternative to a suit. Black trousers with a matching black tunic over the top. It was still smart. Still professional. Her hair was gleaming, a bit longer than he remembered and tucked behind her ears. A red stethoscope hung around her neck, matching her bright red lipstick.

‘Sebastian.’ It was more a breath than a word.

Her hand went automatically to her stomach. His reply stuck in his throat. He hadn’t been ready. He hadn’t been ready for the sight of her ripe with his child. Even under her smart clothes he could see her lean body had changed totally. Her breasts were much bigger than before—and they suited her. Pregnancy suited her in a way he couldn’t even have imagined.

But now he was here, he just didn’t even know where to start.

* * *

This wasn’t happening. Not here. Not now.

She’d planned things so carefully. All her surgeries were over. Any new patients had been seen jointly with Max. He would perform the neonatal surgeries and she would do later follow up once she was back from maternity leave.

But here he was. Right in front of her. The guy she’d spent the last six months half cursing, half pining for.

Those forest-green eyes practically swept up and down her body. Her palm itched. That thick dark hair. The hair she’d spent two days and two nights running her fingers through. Those broad shoulders, filling out the exquisitely cut suit. The pale lilac of the shirt and the shocking pink of his tie with his dark suit and good looks made him look like one of the models adorning the billboards above Times Square in New York. Imagine waking up with that staring in your hotel window every morning.

Her breath had left her lungs. It was unnatural. It was ridiculous. He was just a man. She sucked in a breath and narrowed her gaze. ‘Congratulations on your engagement.’

He flinched. What had he expected? That she’d welcome him here with open arms?

Part of her felt a tiny twinge of regret. Her hand had picked up the phone more times than she could count. She’d tried to have that conversation with Oliver on a number of occasions. But it was clear that he’d never realised what was behind her tiny querying questions. The thought that his friend might have had a liaison with his colleague obviously hadn’t even entered his mind.

Was it really such a stretch of the imagination?

Sebastian let out a sigh and stepped towards her. She held up her hand automatically to stop him getting too close—last thing she needed was to get a whiff of that familiar aftershave. She didn’t need any more memories of the past than she already had. Baby was more than enough.

The royal persona she’d seen on the TV news seemed to be the man in the room with her now. This wasn’t the cheeky, flirtatious, incredibly sexy guy that she’d spent two days and two nights with. Maybe her Seb didn’t really exist at all?

There was something else. An air about him she hadn’t noticed before. Or maybe she hadn’t been paying attention. An assurance. A confidence. The kind of persona that actually fitted with being a prince.