‘We’re here for him,’ Eduardo muttered. ‘A whole little back-up team now. You never know. He might even loosen up and hold her one day.’
Stella adjusted her robe to nurse her daughter, unable to believe that this tiny piece of perfection was hers. That she and Eduardo had created her.
Princess Sapphira Rose Alessia was almost twelve hours old. They’d named her for the stone that symbolised so much for them, and to break with the tradition that she’d been born into. Sapphira would be herself. And then, out of love, they’d honoured Stella’s mother, Rose, and Antonio’s fiancée, Alessia.
Crown Prince Antonio had taken that news with the tiniest flicker of tension in one eyelid—which Stella had taken to mean that he was deeply touched. He’d just never show it more than that.
In the six months since she’d married Eduardo her life had been transformed. They’d shared so much. She’d gone to every royal engagement of his that she could—both official and unofficial. He’d trained with her, helping her adjust her activities as her pregnancy had progressed. And he’d gone to every medical appointment with her. They’d talked through secrets and fears, they’d joked and battled in board games, they’d sailed and swum...and they had become more than a partnership. They’d become a force.
Yet even now she struggled to believe she was married to this most gorgeous man, who was arrogant and kind and impulsive and so loving.
When the tiny Princess had fallen asleep again he took her and settled her in the beautiful bassinet. Stella’s eyes filled as she looked at the tall, loyal man who was such a loving father to their child. And a tender, wicked lover to her.
He turned and caught her emotional moment. In a heartbeat he was beside her, pulling her into his arms, drawing her to rest her head on his shoulder. Her heart melted all over again.
‘Heaven on earth,’ she mumbled, and felt his grunt of amusement.
‘Despite the aches and pains?’
‘She was worth it.’ She laced her fingers through his, remembering Eduardo’s anxiety when she’d gone into labour.
‘It happened so fast. I was scared,’ Eduardo said huskily.
‘Like our marriage.’ She gave a watery-eyed chuckle. ‘It must be in the blood—she’ll be just like you. A pirate princess, swooping in and taking what she wants like that.’ She snapped her fingers.
‘As if you don’t do exactly the same.’ He smiled back. ‘She may still be the Crown Princess one day,’ Eduardo added, a touch of apology in his tone.
‘Maybe.’ Stella nodded. Given Antonio’s frozen heart, it seemed likely. ‘But she’ll definitely be queen of her own destiny.’
With a laugh Eduardo leaned forward and kissed her. She kissed him back so ardently he groaned. ‘How soon till I can take you both home?’
‘My pirate has no patience,’ she teased, but she was pleased.
‘Do you blame me for wanting to hoard my precious treasure and keep it all to myself?’
He was never going to be able to do that—at least, not for long. There’d be photo calls and royal duty and responsibility soon enough. But there would also be their tiny island to escape to, with its beautiful palace and its secret cave and the wealth of treasures that both contained—the memories they’d already made and the moments that were yet to come.
Stella gazed at her husband and that old familiar tightness gripped her throat. But she pushed past it anyway. ‘I love you. Beyond words. Beyond everything.’
‘I love you too.’
He cupped her face tenderly and gave her a look that told her everything she’d always wanted to hear: that she had everything she’d wanted to have.
‘For ever and always.’