A Royal Baby Surprise (The Sherdana 2)

After reconnecting briefly with his father, Nic headed to the room he’d been given until his suite could be dried out. The oddity of the incident left him shaking his head. How could a pair of two-year-old girls be as much trouble as everyone said?

As his mother had promised, a pile of dossiers had been left on the desk. Shrugging out of his blazer, Nic picked up the stack and counted. There were eight. He had twenty minutes before the tailor arrived to measure him for a whole new wardrobe. The clothes he’d traveled in today had belonged to Christian, as had most of what he’d worn the past ten days. Of the three brothers, Christian spent the most time at the Greek villa.

Nic settled into a chair in front of the unlit fireplace and selected a file at random. The photo clipped to the inside showed a stunning brunette with vivacious blue eyes and full lips. She was the twenty-five-year-old daughter of an Italian count, had gotten her MBA at Harvard and now worked for a global conglomerate headquartered in Paris. She spoke four languages and was admired for being fashionable as well as active on the charity circuit. In short, she was perfect.

He dropped the file onto the floor at his feet and opened the next one. This one was a blonde. Again beautiful. British born. The sister of a viscount. A human rights lawyer.

The next. Brunette. Pretty with big brown eyes and an alluring smile. A local girl. Her family owned the largest winery in Sherdana. She played cello for the Vienna Philharmonic.

Then another blonde. Bewitching green eyes. Daughter of a Danish baron. A model and television personality.

On and on. Each woman strikingly beautiful, accomplished and with a flawless pedigree.

Nic felt like a prize bull.

Replaying the conversation with his mother, he recognized he shouldn’t have ignored Brooke’s concerns that their relationship would come under scrutiny. He’d deliberately underestimated his mother’s perceptiveness. But he didn’t regret bringing Brooke to meet his family.

What he wasn’t so happy about, however, was how little time they would have together in the days between now and her eventual departure. Being forced by propriety to keep his distance would be much more difficult now that he’d opened the door to what could have been if only he wasn’t bound to his country.

At the same moment he threw the last folder onto the floor, a knock sounded on his door. Calling permission to enter, Nic got to his feet and scooped up the dossiers, depositing them back on the desk before turning to face the tailor and his small army of assistants who were to dress Nic.

While the suits he tried on were marked and pinned, Nic fell to thinking about Brooke. He hadn’t seen her since leaving the plane and wondered how she’d coped in the hours they’d been apart. Despite the nervousness she’d shown during the flight, he suspected she’d figured out a way to charm everyone she’d encountered. He knew she was supposed to meet with Gabriel’s wife right away and wondered how that had gone.

He was eager to meet Olivia. He already knew she was beautiful, intelligent and a strong crusader for children’s health and welfare. The citizens loved her and after the drama surrounding her emergency hysterectomy and her subsequent secret elopement with Gabriel so did the media. But Nic was fascinated by how she’d caused such drastic changes in his brother.

The tailor finished his preliminary work and departed. Alone once more, Nic dressed for dinner. Family evenings were for the most part casual and Nic left his room wearing navy slacks and a crisp white shirt he’d purchased at a department store in California. His fashionable younger brother would be appalled that Nic was dressing off the rack. Nic was smiling at the thought as he joined Gabriel and his new bride in the family’s private drawing room.

“You’ve made my brother a very happy man,” Nic told Olivia, kissing her cheek in greeting. “I haven’t seen him smile this much since we were children.”

From her location snuggled beneath her husband’s possessive arm, the blonde stared up at Gabriel with eyes filled with such love that a knot formed in Nic’s gut. At that instant, any lingering resentment he’d felt at the uncomfortable position Gabriel’s choice had put him in vanished. His brother deserved to be happy. The responsibility of the country would one day rest on Gabriel’s shoulders and being married to the woman he loved would make his burden lighter.

r /> This drew Nic’s thoughts back to the dossiers in his room. He was glad there hadn’t been a redhead among them. Brooke was a singular marvel in his mind. Marrying a woman with similar hair color was out of the question. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life wishing his wife’s red hair framed a different face.

Brooke hadn’t made an appearance by the time Nic’s parents entered the drawing room and he wondered for one brief moment if she’d let her anxiety get the better of her. He was seconds away from sending a maid to check on her when the door opened and Brooke stumbled in, unsteady in heels that appeared too large for her.

She wore a long-sleeved, gold, lace dress that flattered her curves, but conflicted with her usual carefree style. She wasn’t wearing her usual long necklace that drew attention to the swell of her breasts, and she’d left her collection of bracelets behind. The look was sophisticated, elegant and formal, except for her hair, which spiraled and bounced around her shoulders like a living thing.

“Dr. Davis, welcome.” Gabriel and Olivia had approached her while Nic stood there gaping at her transformation.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Brooke was saying as he finally approached. “I only meant to close my eyes for fifteen minutes. Then next thing I know it’s six-thirty. Thank heavens I showered before I sacked out. Of course this is what happens to my hair when I just let it go. If I’d had a few more minutes, I could have done something to it but I had such a hard time deciding which dress to wear. They were all so beautiful.”

“You look lovely.” Olivia gave her a warm smile and drew her arm through Brooke’s in a show of affection and support. “Why don’t I introduce you to Gabriel and Nic’s parents.”

“You mean the king and queen?” Brooke whispered, her gaze shooting to the couple enjoying a predinner cocktail. They appeared to be ignoring the knot of young people.

“They are eager to meet you,” Gabriel said.

Brooke’s lips quirked in a wry smile. “That’s sweet of you to say.” She took a clumsy step and smiled apologetically at Olivia. “I’m usually less awkward than this.”

“The shoes are a little large for you,” Olivia said, giving the gold laser-cut pumps a critical look. “I didn’t realize your feet were so much smaller than mine. Perhaps you have something of your own that would fit better? I could send a maid to fetch something.”

“Are you kidding me?” Brooke retorted, her voice feverish as she took her next step with more deliberation and improved grace. “These are Louboutin glass slippers. I’m Cinderella.”

Gabriel waited a beat before following his wife. He caught Nic’s eye and smirked. “I like her.”

“So do I,” Nic replied, his voice low and subdued.

Not that it should have mattered to Nic, but his brother’s words sent gratitude and relief rushing into his chest. It was good to know he had at least two people in the palace, Gabriel and Olivia, who would understand how wretched doing the right thing could feel.