Chapter One
Roaring thunder from a severe mid-September storm shook the windows of Seth Bryant’s enormous two-story brown brick house in Porter, Arkansas, but that didn’t prevent him from hearing the scream coming from his driveway. He bounced from his tall-back black leather chair and bounded out of his office, running up the slim corridor that led to the entryway.
When he reached the front window, he lifted the curtain, peering out into the darkness. In the muted glow of the lamp by his door, he saw Lucy Santos—Princess Lucy Santos—standing on his front stoop, and his look of concern shifted into a look of shock. He couldn’t stop the painful thud that seized his heart. Even wet and windblown she was beautiful. Her dark hair had been tucked under a navy-blue rain hat that matched the huge navy-blue raincoat she wore, but he could see her long, shapely legs. That easily conjured a vivid picture of what the rest of her looked like. Naked. In his bed.
Cursing himself for being an idiot, he dropped the curtain and strode to the hall closet where he extracted his shotgun. Lucy might appear to be alone, but he knew better. Undoubtedly, two bodyguards lurked in the shadows, and even if she somehow had managed to escape them for the night, her chauffeur, Tony, a guy about half the size of a travel trailer, would be with her.
Seth cocked the gun. There was no way in hell she was getting into his house—his life. He didn’t even want her on the same planet with him!
Aiming the shotgun with his left hand, he opened the door with his right. Shirtless and barefoot, dressed only in threadbare jeans, and pointing a weapon, he knew he probably looked like her royal bodyguards’ worst nightmare. A crass commoner with a firearm. He smiled. It was too bad King Dad wasn’t here to see this.
“What do you want?”
“Seth!” Lucy said his name like a gasp, then—as if she didn’t see he had a loaded gun—she fell against him.
He caught her with his free arm but not before her cheek pressed into his bare chest. Shivers of joy ricocheted through him, but he gritted his teeth and squelched them. She’d brought him more pain than joy, and ultimately more anger than pain. He didn’t want anything to do with this woman.
He nearly shoved her away from him. Then her weight and the shape of the body that collapsed against him caused him to realize that her raincoat was huge because she was pregnant!
“Oh, this is rich!” he said, just barely keeping his voice from becoming a shout, though he silently savored his anger. He had earned it. She had disposed of their marriage with a quick, easy annulment. Now it appeared she’d hidden her pregnancy from him. He had every reason in the world to be furious.
He didn’t intend to let her see she still had the power to move him, not even to anger, so he softened his tone. “You’re pregnant! You…Princess!” he said the title like a curse, because to him it now was.
Rain sparkled on her smooth, pale skin. Gazing up at him with dark eyes that glistened, she drew a quick, shallow breath and said only, “Help.”
The distress in her voice caused Seth to forget their fight and to remember that a scream had brought him to his front door. Her scream.
He glanced outside to confirm that she was without her bodyguards and he saw that she’d driven the little red Chevy she sometimes used to sneak out when she wanted privacy.
He peered at her pain-filled face. “Lucy?”
“I think I’m in labor.”
“Oh, my God.” Before Seth could prevent it, a protective instinct rose up in him. As quickly as he could, he carefully leaned his shotgun against the wall, scooped Lucy into his arms and carried her across the pale tile floor of his entryway, through the dining room and into the living room where he deposited her on his white sofa.
“Not here!” Lucy groaned. “This is your living room!” Her eyes bore into his. “If I’m really in labor, we’ll ruin your sofa!”
Seth scowled and he set her down anyway. Damned princess! “Even in pain, you’re worried about possessions.”
“I’m not worried about possessions! I’m being practical. You used to like that about me.” She blew her breath out in three quick puffs, then ran her trembling fingers over her forehead. “The contraction is over.”
Realizing her problem wasn’t life-threatening, Seth tamped down his panic and allowed his anger to return. Still, he didn’t let any emotion to filter into his tone when he said, “While I call an ambulance, maybe you would like to explain what you’re doing here.”
Lucy drew a quiet breath. “Okay.” Her voice shook. Her eyes stayed downcast. “I left Xavier Island when I realized I was pregnant. I needed to finish the mansion in Miami, but I also wanted time alone to decide what to do. In the end I couldn’t keep your baby from you.”
Seth snorted in disbelief as he picked up the receiver of the portable phone on the end table by the sofa. Eight months ago, she’d let her father’s representative end their marriage. Now she expected him to think she considered his feelings? His interests?
“Yeah. Sure. I believe that. I also have some swampland that would make a perfect retreat for your dad. Lots of alligators.”
“Seth,” she implored, grabbing his hand. “I know things ended badly between us.” She caught his gaze. “You also have a right to be skeptical. I wasn’t going to tell you about the baby because I thought it best that we never see each other again, but…”
She broke off with a gasp, then groaned loudly.
Seth’s knees turned to rubber again. “Lucy! Do not have this baby on my sofa!”
She squeezed his hand. “Seth, something is wrong. Everything’s happening too fast…I’m not even due for four weeks! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have risked this long trip!”
“I think your doctor may have miscalculated your due date.”
She closed her eyes and, between pants of air, she said, “That would mean I got pregnant the first night we made love…Aghghghgh!”
Ignoring the vivid images that assailed him when he thought of the heart-stopping passion that had propelled him and Lucy to the bed of his Miami hotel room before they’d even had their first date, Seth punched 911 on the phone’s keypad. When the dispatcher answered, he said, “I have a woman in my house who is in labor.”
“How far apart are her contractions?” the dispatcher calmly asked.
Seth faced Lucy. “How far apart are your contractions?”
Lucy panted a few times before she said, “I had one pain when I got out of the car. One when you opened the door. And now the pain is back. It hasn’t even been a minute. It’s almost like the contractions don’t stop!” She drew a quick breath then groaned again.
Seth said, “There doesn’t seem to be any time in between the pains.”
“Hold on, sir, while I fix your location…” Obviously tracing his address from his phone number, the cool, calm and collected dispatcher said, “I have you listed as Johnson Road. You’re not very far…”
Seth
