At the sound of a crying baby, Piper awoke with a start. She tried to regain her bearings only to discover the room was too dark to see much of anything, leading her to fumble for the bedside lamp and snap it on.
Since she hadn’t bothered to reset her watch after she showered, she didn’t know the exact time, nor did she know how long she’d been sleeping. She did know that her once-damp hair had dislodged from the towel and her pink silk robe was practically wrapped around her neck.
After pushing off the bed, she immediately strode to the dresser to untangle her hair with a brush and to select appropriate clothing before setting off to see about Sam. But the continuous cries had her tightening the robe’s sash as she left the room and plodded down the hall on bare feet.
She paused at the nursery to find the door ajar and a disheveled sheikh pacing the area, a very distressed son cradled in his arms. She strolled into the room, feeling slightly uneasy over her state of dress—or undress as the case might be. While she wore only a flimsy robe, he was dressed in a white T-shirt and faded jeans, his feet also bare. He looked tousled and sexy and, oh, so tempting...and she needed to shift her brain back into an appropriate gear. “Having problems?”
Adan paused the pacing to give her a forlorn look. “I have fed him twice and diapered him more times than I can possibly count, and he still continues to cry at the top of his lungs.”
Taking pity on the prince, she walked up to him, took Sam from his grasp and began patting the baby’s back. “Did you burp him?”
He lowered his gaze. “Actually, no, I did not.”
“Then it’s probably just a bubble in his tummy.” She sat down in a nearby rocker, draped the baby horizontally over her knees and rubbed his back. “Did Talia happen to mention anything about colic?” she asked, and when he seemed confused, she launched into an explanation. “It’s an odd occurrence that happens to some babies at the same time every night. Basically a stomachache that can’t quite be explained. On a positive note, it eventually resolves itself, usually when they’re around three months old.”
He slid his hands into his pockets and approached her slowly. “I highly doubt Talia would have known if he had this problem. Are you certain it’s not dangerous?”
He sounded so worried her heart went out to him. “No, it’s not dangerous. But it’s probably wise to have him checked out by a doctor as soon as possible, just to make sure he’s healthy and growing at the right rate. And please tell me Talia left some sort of medical records with you.”
“That much she did,” he said. “My sister-in-law, who also happens to be the queen and head of our ministry of health, is a physician. I will have her examine Samuel as soon as she returns at the end of the week.”
Although Sam’s sobs had turned into sniffles, she continued to gently pat the baby’s back in hopes of relieving his tummy distress. “It’s good to have a doctor in the family. How do you think the king will take the news about Sam?”
Adan leaned a shoulder against the wall. “He is no stranger to scandal, so he has no reason to judge me.”
She recalled reading a bit about that scandal during a pretravel internet search. “I remember seeing something about him marrying a divorced woman.”
“Maysa is a remarkable woman,” he said. “And say what you will about Rafiq’s reputation for being rigid, at least he has been willing to bring the country into the twenty-first century. He had the elevator installed.”
Piper thanked her lucky stars for that modern convenience. She also experienced more good fortune when the baby lifted his little head and let out a loud belch. “I believe Sam could use a warm bath now that his belly problem’s solved. I can do it if you’re too exhausted to take that on.”
Finally, he smiled. “As long as you are there to guide me, I am a willing student.”
Piper shifted Sam to her shoulder, pushed out of the chair and nodded toward the cupboard angled in the corner. “Elena said there are still some baby things in there. Take a look and see what we have available.”
Adan strode to the large cabinet and opened the double doors, revealing shelves that housed numerous infant outfits and supplies. “If we do not have what we need here, then it does not exist.”
She crossed the room to survey the bounty. “You could be right about that. And I see exactly what we need on the top shelf. Grab that blue tub and two towels. And next to that you’ll see a small container with all the shampoo and stuff. Get that, too.”
After Adan complied, he turned around, the bathing provisions balanced precariously in his arms. “Anything else?”
“Just show me to the sink and we’ll bathe your little boy.”
“In here,” Adan said as he opened a door to his immediate right.
Piper stepped into the adjacent bath that was right out of an Arabian dream. The large double sink, with ornate gold fixtures, appeared to be made of copper. The shower to her left was composed of rich beige stones, much like the one in her guest suite, only she had access to a deep marble soaking tub. For a nursery she would deem it way over the top, but functional enough to bathe an infant.
“Lay the towels out on the vanity and put the tub in the sink,” she instructed Adan. “Always make sure you have everything within reach.”
“In case he climbs out of the bath?”
This time she laughed. “He won’t, at least not at this age. Once he’s too big for this setup, you’ll bathe him in a regular tub.”
He frowned. “I greatly look forward to that time.”
“And it will be here before you know it.” After he had the supplies set out, she handed Sam to him. “Now lay him down and undress him while I test the water.”
With the bath moderately filled and the baby undressed, she slid her hands beneath Sam and laid him gently in the tub. “You’re on, Daddy.”
Sam seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the process. His father—not so much. Yet Piper admired the care in which he bathed his son, though at times he seemed somewhat tentative, especially when it came to removing the infant from the tub.
“He’s soaking wet,” he said. “What if I drop him?”
In consideration of his inexperience, she picked up Sam beneath the arms, careful to support his head with her fingertips, and wrapped him securely in the hooded towel. “See how easy that was?”
“Easy for you,” he said. “I will definitely need more practice.”
“You’ll definitely get that.”
After carrying the baby back to the dressing table, Piper outfitted him in one-piece white footed pajamas. Sam was wide-eyed and more awake than she’d seen him to this point, and she automatically leaned over to kiss his cheek. “You’re a happy baby now, aren’t you, sweetie? You smell so good, too.”
“And you are a natural mother,
