A Royal Amnesia Scandal

His words took a moment to sink in. He didn’t believe her. Of course he wouldn’t. Why should he? He’d been played for a fool by his ex-fiancée, who tried the pregnancy trap, and Kate had also lied to him.

“Luc, I’m not lying,” she reiterated. “I have the test in my office bathroom. I need to call Dr. Couchot to confirm with a blood test, though.”

Something dark clouded Luc’s eyes. “You did this on purpose.”

Fury rose to the surface, pushing through the nerves. No matter how much she loved him, no matter how much she wished he would see her as a woman worthy of his love and trust, Kate refused to stand here and be degraded and blamed for something they’d both taken part in.

“I think it was you who came to me,” she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “You think I wanted a child with a man who doesn’t love me? I made a mistake by lying to you, but I’m not pathetic and I’m not trying to trap you. I promised I would always be honest with you, and I just found out about this myself ten minutes ago. So lose the ego. I don’t want to snag you that much.”

Kate turned to go and managed to get across the room with her hand on the doorknob before Luc grabbed her arm and spun her back around. Leaning flat against the door, trapped between the wood and Luc’s hard body, she stared up into those eyes that could make a woman forget all her problems...almost. Even the great Prince Lucas Silva wasn’t that powerful.

“You think you can drop that bomb and then just walk out?” he demanded. “We’re not done here.”

“We both need to process this before we say anything we might regret.” Though they’d already said plenty to cause damaging scars. “I just need... I need to think this through, Luc.”

His eyes widened. “What’s there

to think through? You’re having my child. I will be part of his or her life.”

A sliver of relief coursed through her. “I would never deny you the chance to be with your child.”

Tears welled up, the familiar burn in her throat formed and Kate cursed herself. She absolutely hated crying, hated the predicament she was in, but hated even more that she was pulling in an innocent child.

“I’m scared,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

She jerked when Luc’s hand slid over her cheek. Focusing back on him, she saw something in his eyes she hadn’t expected...fear. Obviously, she wasn’t the only one with insecurities.

“No matter what happened prior to this moment, I won’t leave you alone with a baby.” He dropped his hand, but didn’t step back. “Our baby.”

When he stood so close, smelling so amazingly familiar and feeling so sexy against her, Kate couldn’t think straight. She wished she didn’t still want him, wished she’d never lied to him to begin with. And she truly wished something as beautiful as creating a life with the man she loved hadn’t been tainted because of her lies.

“I don’t want our baby to suffer from my actions,” she told him. “I want to be able to work with you on this, and I know the timing—”

She cut herself off with a sad laugh. “Sorry. There would be no good timing,” she corrected. “I just meant with the throne, your birthday and all of that on your mind, I didn’t mean to add to your stress, but you needed to know.”

When he said nothing, Kate carefully turned. There was no way to avoid rubbing up against him, because he’d barely moved since he’d trapped her against the door.

Luc’s hands came up to cup her shoulders as he moved in behind her.

“Who are you, Kate?” he whispered.

Her head dropped against the wood as she tried to ignore all of the ways her body responded to his. Tried and failed miserably.

“Are you the efficient assistant? The woman who stands up for me to the public? Are you the woman who lied to me for selfish reasons? Or are you the woman who claims to love me and who’s now carrying my child?”

Drawing in a shaky breath, Kate glanced over her shoulder just enough to catch his gaze. “I’m all of them.”

“Part of me hates you for what you did.” Luc’s eyes darted down to her lips. “I wish I still didn’t want you so damn much.”

Breath caught in Kate’s throat as Luc pushed away and stalked back to his desk. He kept his back to her, as if that revelation had cost him dearly. She had no doubt he hadn’t meant to let that slip, and as much as she wanted to revel in his obvious discomfort over the fact that he wanted her, Kate had to put this baby first, above all else.

Even the fact that her own heart was still beating for only one man.

Fourteen

He hadn’t planned on taking Kate to Greece for his best friend’s wedding, but once she had opened her heart to him and bared her soul, Luc wasn’t able to deny the fact that he still wanted her.

Plans were taking root in his mind and he was going to have to take action. Perhaps he could have Kate, the crown and his child without ever putting his heart on the line where she was concerned. Surely she’d stay for the sake of their child. Why not make it official, so he could keep the title that was rightfully his?