style="font-size:15px;"> There was a slight pause on the other end of the phone.
“Never mind,” Noemi said. “I never should have asked you to keep anything from my brother.”
“It’s okay. You need someone to confide in and I promise your brother won’t hear a thing from me. Sometimes he can be a bit overprotective where you’re concerned.”
“And when he hears about this, he’s going to hit the roof. He’ll be just like Papa—” She stopped, recalling how poorly her parents had taken the news of her pregnancy.
Even though her parents had had a child in their teens and had given him up for adoption, they’d still been disappointed with her unplanned pregnancy. What was up with that? It wasn’t like she’d set out to wreck her life. She’d thought that out of all the people in the world, they would have been the ones to understand. They hadn’t. And it had hurt Noemi deeply. Worse yet, they’d died before she could ever put things to right.
“Relax.” Maria’s voice drew Noemi out of her thoughts. “We’ll figure out how to deal with him.”
“Thanks. But I’ll deal with him.”
“Whatever you want. But you still haven’t told me your problem. Maybe I can help. Perhaps it isn’t as big as you’re imagining.”
“No. It’s bigger.” Noemi’s insides quivered with nerves. By saying the words out loud, it was going to make this pregnancy real. Just like the reading of the will had made her parents’ deaths startling real. Once she told Maria about the baby, there would be no more pretending. In less than six months, she was going to give birth.
“Noemi...”
“I’m pregnant.”
Silence. Utter and complete silence.
Noemi’s heart raced. Her hands grew clammy. And her stomach churned. What was Maria thinking? Was she disappointed in her, too, just like her parents had been?
“Are you sure?”
Noemi nodded. “I took three home pregnancy tests and then I went to see the doctor. It’s official.”
“I don’t know what to say.” There was a pause as though Maria was searching for the right words. “How do you feel about it?”
“I knew I wanted kids someday, but not yet—not now. I’m only twenty-six.”
“And the father, how does he feel?”
“I... I don’t know.”
“Noemi, you’ve told him, haven’t you?”
She inhaled a deep breath, trying to calm her nauseous stomach. And then she launched into how she’d met Max and how stupid she’d been that night. She’d been hurting and not thinking straight. And she thought it would be a good time without any strings.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be all right,” Maria said, though her voice said otherwise.
“Even you don’t believe it. What am I going to do? I’m not going to be able to hide my condition much longer. Most of my clothes don’t fit.”
“I know.” Maria’s voice rose as though she’d just discovered the answer to all Noemi’s problems.
“What?” She was desperate for some good advice.
“You need some retail therapy.”
Noemi’s shoulders drooped. That was the very last thing she wanted to do. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’m very serious. What are you doing right now?”
“Maria...”
“Tell me what you’re doing?”
“Pacing in my room.”
“And that is helping you how?”
“I’m thinking.”
“And so far it hasn’t gotten you any answers. You need to get out of that chalet. The fresh air will do you good. Shopping is just what you need.”
“Is that what you did when you and Sebastian separated?” And then realizing that she was touching on a very painful subject, she said, “Forget I said that. I’m just not myself today.”
“Actually, it is what I did.”
“Did it help?”
“Temporarily.” Her voice filled with emotion. “Enough about me. I hope you know that if I could manage it, I’d be there with you, but trust me, after you buy some Christmas presents and new clothes for yourself that are comfortable, you’ll feel much better. There’s nothing worse than squeezing into clothes that don’t fit.”
Maria had given birth to Noemi’s nephew, Frankie, nearly two years ago. She knew a lot more about pregnancy than Noemi. Maybe she was right. She glanced over at her discarded jeans on the bed. She’d barely gotten them buttoned, but she hadn’t been able to pull up the zipper. And no matter how much she enjoyed her leggings, she couldn’t stay in them forever.
“You’ll do it, won’t you?” Maria prompted.
“Yes, I’ll go.”
“Good. Call me later and let me know how it goes.”
After the conversation ended, Noemi still wasn’t certain that shopping was the right thing to do, but what else did she have to do considering she was at the chalet alone? Her gaze moved to the discarded jeans on her king-size bed. No way was she going to put those on again. Her black leggings would have to do.
She moved to the walk-in closet, hoping she could find something to wear besides her T-shirt. She sifted through the hangers until she strayed across a white long-sleeve V-neck knit tunic. It was loose but not too baggy and it’d go great with her leggings as well as her knee-high black boots.
With her wardrobe sorted, she was ready to head into the village. She would search for some roomier clothes and see what she could find for Christmas, which was only a few weeks away.
He didn’t want to be here.
Not really.
Crown Prince Maximilian Steiner-Wolf, known to his friends as Max, sat in the back seat of his sports utility vehicle as one of his three bodyguards maneuvered it along the windy road in the Swiss Alps. His bodyguard and friend, Roc, sat in the passenger seat while Shaun, a bodyguard of similar stature and looks, sat next to him. He couldn’t go anywhere without at least a small security detail.
Being the crown prince came with certain nonnegotiable restrictions. One of them was his safety. He may insist on traveling but the king demanded that his safety always be taken into consideration. It was a hassle but the guards were very good at becoming invisible unless their presence was required.
Max turned his head to the window and stared out at the snowy landscape of the mountainous region with some of the best
