An endearment hung between them, unspoken. She’d promised not to call him Prince Gabriel or Your Highness as they made love, but she had yet to find a pet name for him. What would it be? Darling? Dearest? Sweetheart?
My love?
“Did you have a successful trip?” she asked.
“It was very long.” He leaned forward and kissed her neck below her ear, smiling as she trembled. “And lonely.”
She framed his face with her hands. “I missed you so much. In fact—”
A knock sounded on the door, interrupting her. Heaving a weary sigh, Gabriel kissed Olivia on the nose and then raised his voice to be heard in the hall. “Come.”
Stewart poked his head around the door. “The king wondered if you’d gotten lost on your way to the meeting with the prime minister.”
Gabriel stood and bent over Olivia’s hand. “Duty calls.”
“Of course.” The bright smile she gave him didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Perhaps we can have dinner together?”
Regret pinched him. “I’m afraid I can’t tonight. I already have an appointment.”
“Of course.”
He’d grown familiar with the micro expressions that belied her thoughts and could see she was disappointed. He hated being the one who robbed her eyes of their sparkle, and the intensity of his desire to see her smile caught him off guard. Falling in love with his fiancée wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he decided to marry Olivia.
“I’ll stop back to check on you later,” he said.
Her gaze clung to his face. “I’ll be waiting.”
* * *
The morning after Gabriel returned from his business trip, Olivia caught herself smiling almost as often as she yawned. True to his word, he’d returned after his dinner to check on her and they’d snuggled on the sofa until almost three in the morning while Olivia filled him in on the twins and he spoke of what he’d seen in Switzerland and Belgium.
In addition to talking, there’d been a fair amount of kissing, as well. Lighthearted, romantic kisses that left Olivia breathless and giddy. He’d treated her with tender patience, not once letting passion get the better of him. Olivia had found his control both comforting and frustrating. Four days without him had aroused her appetite for his hands roaming over her skin and she cursed her cycle’s timing.
On the other hand, there would be nothing to get in the way of their magical wedding night. Unless there wasn’t going to be a wedding.
This was her first period since discontinuing the birth control pills that regulated her cycle. At first she’d been down because as amazing as her nights with Gabriel had been, she hadn’t gotten pregnant. Soon, however, she began to worry as old, familiar symptoms appeared. Assuring herself everything was going to be fine became harder each day as her period stretched out. For the past two days fear had begun to sink deep into bone and sinew. She began to confront the very real possibility that her surgery might not have cleared up her problem. She had to face that getting and staying pregnant might be more difficult than she’d assumed.
Then, after seeing Gabriel yesterday, it became clear what she had to do. She needed to tell him the truth. Despite the connection they shared, she wasn’t sure how he was going to react to her news. She could only hope he would act like his father and work with her to solve any issues that came up.
“Olivia?”
A soft voice roused her. With the paparazzi hungry for their first glimpse of Gabriel’s daughters, Olivia had requested that Noelle bring their flower-girl dresses to the palace to be fitted. Blinking, she refocused on the slim, dark-haired woman.
“Sorry, Noelle. With the wedding two weeks away my mind tends to jump around a great deal these days. What were you saying?”
“I asked if you wanted me to bring your dress here next week for the final fitting rather than have you come to my shop.”
“It would help me if you brought the dress by. I’m drowning in wedding preparations and that would save me time.”
“I’d be happy to.”
A moment later the twins appeared in their new finery. They looked like angels in their matching sleeveless white dresses with full lace skirts and wide satin sashes in pale yellow. Noelle’s assistant had pinned up their hair and attached wreaths wrapped in pale yellow ribbons.
“These are merely to demonstrate one possible look for the girls,” Noelle explained. “If you like it, I’m sure the florist could create beautiful wreaths with yellow roses.”
“The dresses are perfect,” Olivia breathed. “Thank you so much for making them on such short notice.”
“I’m happy you like them.”