Prince Baby

“I understand floor plans and designs and I can even approve or disapprove the details of an office building, mall or house, but I can’t actually choose fussy things or match colors. God forbid I should have to pick all the frilly stuff for a bedroom.”

Lucy stopped a smile. No, Seth wasn’t much for frilly things. When she thought of him in a bedroom, he wasn’t mulling over the decor. He was naked, on the bed, in a tumble of sheets and bedspread.

The picture that formed in Lucy’s head sent heat through her. She chastised herself for letting her thoughts go in that direction because she was absolutely, positively, through with this man. Nestling Owen closer, she glanced around, peering into the dining room, which was furnished with an oak table and hutch, and beyond that to the living room with hardwood floors and an elegant white sofa. “Your decorator did a beautiful job.”

“Thanks. I took the liberty of having a crib and a few other essentials sent over. I set them up in the master bedroom.”

An image of her and Seth on a bed with the baby between them appeared in her brain. Quick and perfect, the image filled her heart with the same kind of love she had just felt cuddling Owen. Her chest tightened and tingly warmth enveloped her. But on the heels of those feelings came pure panic. Not only did she not want to have these kinds of feelings for Seth again, but also his assumption that she would jump into bed with him was insulting!

Eyes wide, she spun to face him. “Seth! You don’t think I’m sleeping with you! Because of my betrothal, we weren’t ever really married. I can’t…You shouldn’t…”

“Don’t worry, Princess. All that’s behind us. I’m giving you the biggest room so you’ll be more comfortable and so you’ll have more privacy. I’ll sleep in a guest room.”

Relief poured through Lucy but before she could apologize for the assumption or thank Seth for the courtesy, Ty stepped into the open door of the foyer. Like Seth, he wore plain trousers and a short-sleeved Polo shirt, but the similarities stopped there. Seth had pale green eyes and sandy brown hair, while Ty had black hair and eyes so dark they could sometimes be described as black.

Ty said, “Hello, Lucy,” then turned to Seth. “You’re in trouble.”

Seth said, “Hello, Ty.”

“I didn’t even know you and Lucy were dating! You can’t imagine how shocked I was this morning when my future mother-in-law called me to tell me that her sources at the hospital noticed that my brother had a baby the night before!”

Lucy stifled a laugh at the exasperated expression on Ty’s face, but Seth sighed. “Ty, Lucy is my ex-wife.”

Lucy watched Ty’s perfectly chiseled jaw fall. “Ex-wife? You married a princess!”

“Don’t worry. There’s no impact on Bryant Development…”

“No impact! If I remember correctly, we lost a ten-million-dollar contract.”

“Yeah, well, that was all we lost. The marriage wasn’t valid because Lucy was promised to someone else, so she wasn’t free to make that commitment. It’s as if it never happened.”

Ty stared at Seth. “How can you say it’s as if it never happened? You had a baby!”

“We did believe we were married for two weeks.”

“You’re in bigger trouble with Madelyn!”

Madelyn?

Lucy’s chest tightened again, but this time it was from jealousy. Telling herself she wasn’t jealous, only looking out for the interest of her baby by being curious about the people who would be around Owen for the next few weeks, Lucy eased the tightness with a soft, inconspicuous breath and glanced at her former husband. “Madelyn?”

“Ty’s fiancée. The woman who’s probably coming up the walk right now.”

“And the head of public relations for Bryant Development,” Ty reminded his brother. “How the hell is she going to spin this to make you look sane?”

“She’s not. My private life is my private life. I don’t see any reason this has to be ‘spun’ for anybody.”

Ty sighed, then raked his fingers through his dark hair, as the red-haired woman entered the foyer. Lucy realized Madelyn had taken longer than Ty because she had retrieved a six- or seven-month-old baby. Wearing pink bib overalls and tiny tennis shoes, the little blond girl with the toothless grin was adorable.

“Madelyn Gentry,” Seth said to Ty’s fiancée as the baby she held merrily slapped her cheek, “this is my ex-wife, Lucy Santos.”

Madelyn caught the little girl’s hand, as if suddenly realizing she needed her full mental capacity. “Ex-wife?”

“Here we go again,” Seth said, sighing.

But baby Owen made a mewling sound and he nestled more deeply against Lucy’s breast. She glanced down to be sure everything was okay, and when she looked up, both Madelyn and Ty were staring indulgently at the tiny little boy.

Lucy smiled, proud of her gorgeous new son. “Would you like to hold Owen?”

Ty’s eyes widened comically and he shrunk back. “I’m just getting accustomed to Sabrina.”

“Your baby?” Lucy said, inclining her head in the direction of the little girl Madelyn held.

“Actually Ty got custody of Sabrina when his cousin and his wife were killed in a boating accident. So he’s still learning the ropes,” Madelyn explained, gently handing the little girl to Ty. “But I’m dying to hold Owen.”

Lucy gave the baby to Madelyn as Seth said, “Let’s go in the kitchen so I can make some coffee.”

Ty and Madelyn followed Seth down the short hall by the hand-carved oak stairway, and Lucy followed them. She wasn’t entirely sure she should be in on this discussion and as she reached the huge apple-green kitchen with the light wood cabinets, she decided she should take the baby from Madelyn and bow out.

Unfortunately, Ty was already talking. “And getting back to the gossip mill that squealed on you. You can expect Captain Bunny to be here any minute now.”

Lucy glanced at Madelyn. “Captain Bunny?”

Madelyn clicked her tongue in disgust. “Ty calls my mother Captain Bunny because my dad is retired military, but my mother more or less runs the show in my house. So since my dad was a sergeant, Ty gave my mother a few ranks up and made her a captain. She seems to like that Ty recognizes she’s in charge. The nickname is probably going to stick.”

Lucy laughed. “Ty, I don’t remember you being funny when I met you to discuss the terms of the mansion contract.”

“I wasn’t, but I’m changing.”

He cast a loving glance at Madelyn and Lucy’s heart squeezed with envy. She’d always known there was something missing from her relationship with Seth. This was it. She had loved that she and Seth were so physically attracted that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, but in the month they were together, there had been no private jokes. No intimate glances. No closeness.

She stopped her thoughts. The very fact that she and Seth never got “close” was another proof that they were not meant to be together.

From the counter where he was pouring water into a coffeemaker, Seth said, “Ty, if you still have the list of prospective nannies you interviewed, I’d love to see it.”

But Lucy shook her head. “I don’t want my baby raised by nannies. I want to care for him. Besides, I thought the whole purpose of us being here was for you to have time with your son.”

Busy adding the filter to his coffeemaker, Seth laughed. “Lucy, I might want to spend time with Owen, but I don’t know how to care for a baby and I don’t think it’s something they taught in princess school.”

She stiffened at the slight. She might be a princess, but she was a woman and she had all the normal motherly instincts.

“A woman who lived down the hall from me in Miami had a new baby,” Lucy said, ignoring the insult to focus on the problem at hand. “When I realized I was pregnant, I asked if I could watch what she did and she let me. She taught me how to hold the baby, how to change a diaper, how to burp him. Then a nurse went over the basics again this morning at the hospital. Plus, I’ve read all the baby books. After a little practice, I’ll be fine.”

Ty shook his head. “Sorry, Lucy, but I’m afraid I have to side with my brother on this one. Your neighbor might have taught you lots of things, but you’re going to discover there are hundreds of details she couldn’t possibly have covered.”

“Yeah, Lucy,” Seth agreed. “Ty has had Sabrina since June. It’s taken me three months just to get accustomed to holding her.”

Lucy understood that she didn’t know every little thing about baby care. She also knew a nanny could certainly be very helpful. But a professional caregiver would also step in every time Owen cried and Lucy wouldn’t have the opportunity she needed to learn to handle him by herself.