Delta's Baby Surprise (Special Forces Elite 1)

“Oh my God.” I placed the mug on the desk. I couldn’t believe this. I held my breath as if that would somehow affect the contents of the letter.

It had happened. London had accepted my application.

I read the email again, much slower this time.

I jumped up, throwing my arms in the air. “Yes!” I spun around.

Six weeks at the Literary Institute in London, locked in a vault with rare texts. It was a career dream. My dream. I could almost smell the pages.

But oh. Holy shit. Damon was never going to be ok with that.

And my stomach flipped as I realized that I might not be either.

I was positioned at one end of the dining room table. I decided this was the best place to line up the notecards. I wasn’t going to host any state dinners here. It was unused space, and from what I gathered, the apartments were closed up when they weren’t occupied.

I looked up when my new suite manager knocked.

“It’s ok, Francesca. You don’t have to knock.” I smiled.

“Ma’am, you have a visitor.”

“Oh?” I looked down at what I was wearing. Ayla wouldn’t be happy I had taken the day off to be a student.

“Princess Isabel is here.”

“Oh.”

“Where would you like to receive the princess?”

I fumbled. Was it supposed to be formal? Couldn’t she just walk in here like a regular person?

“The living room is fine, Francesca. I’ll be right out. You can offer her something to drink.” There was one thing all palace rooms had—a fully stocked bar.

I left the rows of colored cards and walked into the main room of my apartment. Damon’s sister was waiting for me.

“There you are.”

“Hi, Isabel. Sorry, I was working on my chapter orders.”

She waved her hand in the air. “I’m not like my brother. You don’t have to apologize. I can wait a few minutes.”

I smiled and took a seat next to her. “Thank you for understanding.”

“Have you recovered from last night?”

I almost choked. “Y-yes, I have.”

“Good. I know my mother was a complete bitch. She’s gone.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. A delicate approach was probably the way to go. “It’s not her fault. It was rushed. There was a large audience. It’s ok.”

“You are way too saintly for this family.” She crossed her legs. I didn’t know if she was planning on staying a while. “After that scene, I didn’t want to speak to her. Damon was livid. She won’t be back until he requests it, which isn’t likely any time soon.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Damon has told me a short version of the situation I’m sure, but I don’t want to be one more reason she stays away from Freychon.”

“Believe me, you are not the reason. I’m the only one willing to visit her anymore.”

“I’m sure you were excited about the olive grove vote. Damon told me you spent time there before our trip.”