and Anne cradled her tiny niece and nephews in her arms for the first time. Despite never having given much thought to having children—it had always seemed so far off in the future—in that instant she knew she wanted her baby. She wanted someone to love her unconditionally. Someone to depend on her.
She was going to have this baby and she was going to raise it herself. With support from her family, of course. Which she was sure she would get just as soon as she told them. So far only her twin sister, Louisa, knew. As for Sam, he obviously wanted nothing to do with her.
Their night together had been like a fantasy come to life. She’d heard her sister talk for years about destiny and finding one true love. And in fact, Louisa’s dreams had come true at the ball—she was now married to her mystery man, Garrett Sutherland. But until Sam kissed Anne, until he made love to her so passionately, until, exhausted, they fell asleep in each other’s arms, Anne hadn’t truly believed in love. But now that she did, it would seem that Sam didn’t share her feelings.
She had been sure that it had been as special for him as it had been for her, that they had connected on some deeply visceral level. Even when she had woken up alone and realized that at some time in the night he had slipped away without saying goodbye, she wouldn’t let her hopes be dashed. She kept waiting to hear from him. For weeks she stayed close to the phone, willing it to ring, hoping to answer and hear his voice. But the call never came.
She shouldn’t have been surprised, really. Sam was a politician, and everyone knew that politics and royalty did not mix well. Not if Sam wanted to be prime minister someday, and that was what she’d heard. By law, no member of the royal family was permitted to hold a position in government. Could she honestly blame him for choosing a career he had spent his entire life preparing for over her? That was why she had made the decision not to tell him about the baby. It was a complication that neither of them needed. And one she was quite sure he didn’t want despite the scandal it would cause for her.
She could see the headlines now. Princess Anne Pregnant with Secret Love Child.
No matter how liberal the world had become in such matters, she was royalty and held to a higher standard. The stigma would follow her and, even worse, her child, for the rest of their lives. But at this point, she saw no other options.
Feeling half-human again, she decided she should get back to the dining room and try to choke down a few bites of dinner. Geoffrey, their butler, had just begun to serve the first course when her stomach lurched and she’d had to excuse herself and dash to the loo.
She gave one last furtive look in the mirror and decided that short of a total makeover, this was as good as it was going to get. She opened the door and almost collided with her brother Chris, who was leaning against the wall just outside.
Bloody hell.
His grim expression said that he had heard her retching, and he wanted to know what would cause her to be so ill.
“Let’s have a talk,” he said, jerking his head toward the study across the hall.
“But, supper …” she started to say, and he gave her that look.
“Now, Anne.”
Since arguing would be a waste of time, she followed him. With their father in poor health, Chris was acting king, and technically the head of the family. She was duty-bound to follow his lead. And didn’t she always do as she was told? Wouldn’t everyone be surprised when they learned of her predicament.
She could lie and tell him that she had a flu bug, or a mild case of food poisoning, but at the rate her tummy was swelling, it wouldn’t be long before it was impossible to hide anyway. But she wasn’t sure if she was ready for the truth to come out just yet.
Or maybe he already knew. Had Louisa blabbed? Anne would kill her if that was the case.
Anne stepped into the study, and, shy of her mother, father and the triplets, the entire family was there!
Aaron and his wife, Liv, a botanical geneticist, sat on the couch looking worried. Louisa and her new husband, Garrett, stood across the room by the window. Louisa wore a pained expression and Garrett looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but there. Melissa, Chris’s wife, stood just inside the door, looking anxious. Not five minutes ago they had all been in the dinning room eating supper.
Her first instinct was to turn and walk right back out, but Chris had already followed her in and shut the door.
What a nightmare.
“I don’t suppose I have to tell you why I asked you here,” he said.
Ordered was more like it. Now she was sorry she’d agreed.
“We’re very concerned,” Melissa said, walking over to stand beside Chris. “You haven’t been yourself lately, Anne. For the last couple of months you’ve been pale and listless. Not to mention all the times you’ve dashed off to the loo.”
So they didn’t know. Louisa had kept her secret.
“It’s obvious something is wrong,” Aaron said. He normally wasn’t one to butt into other people’s business, so she knew he must have been genuinely concerned. Maybe waiting so long to tell everyone had been an error in judgment. She didn’t honestly think that anyone really noticed the changes in her or for that matter cared about them.
“If you’re ill—” Melissa began.
“I’m not ill,” Anne assured her.
“An eating disorder is a disease,” Chris said.
Anne turned to him, amused because Louisa had suspected the same thing at first. “Chris, if I were bulimic, I would be dashing off to the loo after supper, not before.”
He didn’t look as though he believed her. “I know something is wrong.”
“It all depends on how you look at it, I guess.”
“Look at what?” Melissa asked.
Just tell them, dummy. “I’m pregnant.”
All through the room jaws dropped. Except Louisa’s, of course.
“If this is some kind of joke, I’m not amused,” Chris said.
“It’s no joke.”
“Of course!” Melissa said, as though the lightbulb had just flashed on. “I should have realized. I just never thought …”
“I would be careless enough to go out and get myself in trouble?” Anne asked.
“I … I wasn’t even aware that you were seeing anyone,” Aaron said.
“I’m not. It was a one-time encounter.”
“Maybe this is a silly question,” Chris said. “But are you sure? Have you taken a test? Seen the family physician?”
She lifted the hem of the cardigan she’d been wearing to hide the evidence and smoothed her dress down over her bump. “What do you think?”
Had his eyes not been fastened in they might
