Royal Heirs Required (The Sherdana 1)

“Noelle is very talented. You will all look beautiful.” The queen nodded in satisfaction. “I must say, you’ve accepted this situation with Gabriel’s children much better than most women would in your position.”

“It’s hard to imagine anyone not adoring those precious two,” Olivia admitted, but she understood what the queen was getting at. “I love children. Helping to make their lives better is the foundation for all my charity work. I would be a wretched person and a hypocrite if I turned my back on Bethany and Karina because of who their mother was.” And what Marissa had meant to Gabriel.

“They certainly have taken to you,” the queen said. “And you seem to have everything it takes to be an excellent mother.”

“Thank you.”

The queen’s praise should have allowed Olivia to relax, but the tick of her biological clock sounded loud in her ears.

Eight

“How was the trip?” Christian asked as he and Gabriel crossed the tarmac toward the waiting limo. “I hope you brought me a present.”

“Naturally.” Gabriel hoisted his briefcase and deposited it in his brother’s hands. “It’s filled with all sort of things I’m sure you’ll find vastly interesting.”

“Unlike you?”

“Technology is more your and Nic’s thing.” Gabriel was aware that the trip had been less productive than he’d hoped. Mostly because he’d had a hard time concentrating. Thoughts of Olivia had intruded with a frequency he’d found troubling. “You probably should have gone instead of me, but it was something I needed to do. I want to encourage more technology firms to move to Sherdana. The best way for me to do that is to speak to companies that might be looking at expansion.”

“I’ll bet you hated it.”

Gabriel shot Christian a quelling look. “I can’t expect to enjoy every aspect of my position. Some things must be done no matter how painful. This was one of them.”

“Is your future wife another?”

This time Christian laughed out loud at his brother’s sharp look.

“How I feel about my future bride is none of your business.”

“Come on, you’ve got to be a lot happier about having to get married these days. From what I hear, you two have been acting like a couple kids in love.”

Gabriel growled in displeasure, but couldn’t ignore the electric charge that surged through him at the mere thought of seeing Olivia again and feeling her soft lips yield beneath his. Each of the past four nights he’d gone to bed alone and found himself unable to sleep. Plagued by memories of Olivia’s smiles and her sassy sensuality, he’d lain with his hands behind his head, staring up at the blank ceiling and doing his best to ignore his erection.

Cold showers had become his 2:00 a.m. ritual. How had she bewitched him in such a short time?

“Neither one of us is in love,” Gabriel muttered. “But I won’t deny we’re compatible.” He leveled a hard gaze at his brother, warning him to drop the matter.

“Not in love?” Christian cocked his head. “Maybe you’re not. But are you sure about her?”

Christian’s question roused a memory of the last evening before his trip. He’d almost succumbed to Olivia’s plea to spend the night. She’d seemed so vulnerable, her characteristic confidence lacking. But that didn’t mean she was in love with him.

“Ridiculous,” he said. “We’ve only spent a couple weeks in each other’s company.”

“You don’t believe in love at first sight?”

Gabriel regarded his brother’s serious expression with curiosity. “Do you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Is that why you do your best to chase every woman away who gets too close?” Gabriel wondered if his brother was taunting him or if he was offering Gabriel a rare glimpse into his psyche. “Have none of them made you feel as if you were clobbered by something beyond your understanding or control?”

Something flared in Christian’s gaze but was quickly gone. His mocking smile returned. “Who wants to settle down with one woman when there’s a banquet of lovelies to sample?”

“One of these days someone will appeal to your palate and you’ll find that you can’t get enough of that particular delicacy.”

“Is that what happened to you?”

“I’m getting married because I have to.” Gabriel was well aware that he’d dodged the question and not with any finesse.