PRINCE CHARMING: A Secret Baby Stepbrother Romance (21 page)

There was no more Olivia in it for him. Nothing except a crown and the fake love he would give to his new wife.

Chapter 16

The morning of the wedding, everyone bustled around the palace, preparing. The ceremony would take place on the beach, and the reception, of course, would be held in the grand ballroom. Olivia had been in her mom’s room with Helen and all their ladies to get ready since seven that morning.

“You’re going to be gorgeous,” Helen told Melinda as she admired the wedding gown. “This is absolutely stunning!”

“You’ll have to take lots of photos for your mom. I wish she had been able to come, too.”

“After she sees these pics, she’ll hate my dad for making her go on that family reunion trip of his,” she said as she pulled out her cell and started taking pics of everything. “Olivia, you need more coffee or what?”

The last few days leading up to the wedding had been the hardest. Olivia had told her mom she was returning to Nebraska the day after the wedding. There were things she had to take care of. Her mom understood but hoped she’d come back over her fall break so she could visit. Olivia had promised she would, but the trip would be impossible. By then, she’d be nearly six months pregnant and a blimp—a bit difficult to hide a pregnant belly like that.

It was the final day, the final act, and she would see Quincy for the last time. She’d avoided him whenever possible and only spoke to him if he asked her a question at dinner. Every time she heard his laugh, it hurt. When she saw Gigi touch him… that was even worse. She’d hidden away in her room, working on her paintings and listening to Helen gush over Edric.

The two had hit it off, and Edric was already working on getting a visa so he could visit over their winter break. Olivia was happy for her friend and made sure she knew it. The only person she wasn’t happy with was herself.

“No,” she finally said. “I’m fine, just hungry.”

“We just ate an hour ago,” Melinda said.

“Well, I didn’t eat much then,” she said quickly and put a bright smile on her face. “It’s your big day. I’m excited, is all.”

Melinda took her daughter’s hands as her ladies moved with her, trying to curl her hair. “I’m glad you are. I was worried all last night that I was doing something stupid again.”

“Mom, you’ve never done anything stupid. I just want you to be happy.”

“I am—very, very happy,” she said and hugged her daughter close. “Now, you have to start getting ready, too. The ceremony starts in a couple of hours, and we have to pose for pictures first.”

Allete hurried over and pointed Olivia to her dress and a low platform for her to stand on. The dress had been fitted a few weeks ago, but when Olivia stepped into it and Allete tried to zip it up, she muttered curses under her breath in French.

“What’s wrong… Did it rip?”

“No,” she said and tugged on it. Olivia gasped as she tried to suck it in, but it didn’t help. Allete leaned in close and whispered, “I think you maybe have gained a little weight, miss.”

Olivia blanched. She hadn’t even thought of that. “Are you sure it won’t go up?”

“What’s wrong?” Melinda asked from across the room. “It doesn’t fit?”

“Just snug. I must’ve gained some weight. Too much wine, I guess,” Olivia said as she tried to wave away her mom’s worry. “We’ll get it to zip, don’t worry.”

Allete frowned, but she raised her brow and told Olivia to take a deep breath and hold it. With Helen helping to pull the dress together, the two managed to get it zipped up. Olivia let out the breath and gasped. How much weight had she gained?

“Can you breathe?”

Olivia nodded at Helen and managed to breathe in tiny bursts. “Yeah… yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Once the ceremony’s over you can change,” Melinda said. She looked at her daughter with narrowed eyes, and Olivia felt like she was a kid getting caught in a lie all over again. When she was little, she’d never gotten away with anything, and the way her mom kept eyeing her said she knew something was up.

“We must finish your hair or you’ll be late, miss,” one of the ladies said, and Melinda turned back around.

“Sorry, sorry. Can’t have me being late to my own wedding, now can we?”

Olivia held her stomach as the other women laughed. Helen was the only one who noticed and quickly grabbed her friend’s hand, holding it in her own. “One more night,” she whispered. “Then we’re in the homestretch.”

“One more night,” she repeated and prayed she could make it.

***

Quincy didn’t feel anything. Pascal fixed his tux jacket and bowtie, making sure he looked like the perfect prince, but he felt nothing. He tried that morning to be excited for his dad, but he didn’t see his dad getting married. He saw a glimpse of his future self in a month, getting married to the woman he didn’t love. The woman he loved was going to leave the isle and maybe never come back.

And if she did, what then? Would she be able to look him in the eye when he was married to another? Spending his time with another? Sleeping with another?

“Sir, you should probably put a smile on your face,” Pascal whispered. “You look as if you’re going to a funeral.”

“Sorry.”

“Are you not happy for your father, sir?”

“No… no, I am. Just something else on my mind, is all. I’ll try to smile for the ceremony, promise.”

“I hope so. You don’t want the people thinking you’re not happy for him and his new wife.”

“We don’t want that, now do we?” he replied sarcastically. “I’ll be fine, Pascal, really.”

His servant and friend of so many years stepped back and eyed Quincy. “Sir… Quincy, something troubles you, and I think it has to do with your impending wedding to Gigi. If you are that unhappy with your decision, there are other women. It does not have to be her.”

Quincy laid his hand on Pascal’s shoulder. “I know, but sadly she’s the logical choice. I’ll be fine, really. Just have to learn to accept the hand I was dealt, right?”

“Sir, if you talked to your father—”

“Really. I’ll be fine, but I appreciate your concern, as always. Now then, am I presentable or do you need to tweak me some more?”

He saw the question in Pascal’s eyes and the worry as he sighed. Quincy begged him with his eyes to let it go, and his friend bowed his head. “You are ready, sir. They will be waiting for you downstairs, as will your father.”

“Perfect, thank you.”

On his way through the corridor, his thoughts returned to Olivia getting ready with Melinda in her room. He wanted to talk to her before he escorted her down the aisle, but he wasn’t going to get that chance, apparently. They needed to talk, and it was killing him to see her look at him the way she had. Not cold, exactly, but she’d put up a wall to keep herself from getting hurt. Quincy hated that he’d done that to her. He loved the damn woman, and he couldn’t be with her.

He couldn’t do it. He just couldn’t.

“Ah, Son, you look classy,” Lamont said as he paced back and forth in the foyer.

“As do you, Dad. But you look a bit nervous,” he said and smiled, sincerely happy for his dad and laughing at his nervousness. “You need a drink before the ceremony?”

“I never thought I’d get married again,” he admitted.

“I’m happy for you, Dad, really.”

Lamont smiled. “Me too, Son. I was worried what your mother would think, but then I heard her yell at me last night in my dreams.”

“She tell you to stop being a fool and follow your heart?”

Lamont laughed. “Just like always. Right then, let’s get going. Don’t want to be late. Pretty sure Melinda would not like that.” They walked to the waiting car, and Quincy felt his chest tighten at the thought of being so close to Olivia again. He needed one moment alone with her, just five minutes so he could tell her one last time how he felt.

***

Melinda was hidden behind a partition set up on the beach while the guests for the wedding—pretty much the entire isle—found their seats to watch the royal wedding of their beloved king to his new queen. Olivia was to wait at the end of the aisle and greet guests as they entered. It would have been fine except for one thing. Quincy stood by her side, greeting guests as well.

“Thank you for coming,” he said, shaking the hands of an elderly couple. He glanced over, and she hurriedly looked away. “Are you going to say anything to me at all?”

“I have nothing to say at the moment.”
Except I want to take you somewhere private and kiss you and tell you I’m pregnant with our child.
“We’re supposed to be here for our parents, so I’m here.”

“Please, Olivia. Let me talk to my father. I need to find a way to make this work.”

No, stop saying things like that
. Her gut clenched, and she almost let her hand go to the baby but stopped just in time. “I can’t let you do that to your father, or to your kingdom, Quincy. We are doing what we have to do.”

His face scrunched in annoyance and anger and something else she couldn’t place, but there wasn’t time for this. The wedding was happening in a few minutes, and after that, the reception. Then, tomorrow morning, she’d be on a flight back to Nebraska, and this would be a wonderful dream she would get to remember every time she looked at their son or daughter.

“Just let it go, Quincy. Time to do our duties, and then we’re finished,” she said and hoped he didn’t hear the longing in her voice or the hurt underneath that. From the look he shot her, she’d failed miserably.

“Prince Quincy, Princess Olivia, we are ready to begin,” the wedding planner said as she hurried to them. “When the music starts, you will walk down the aisle and part and everything else has been gone over, yes?”

They nodded, and the wedding planner clapped her hands and pointed them to the end of the aisle. Olivia gripped her bouquet tightly and reluctantly slipped her hand into the crook of Quincy’s arm, hating the way that one touch immediately set her nerves on fire. Everything in her said to pull him over by his tux and kiss him hard and deep, but the music started, and they walked forward down the aisle.

“Olivia, please,” he whispered to her.

“Stop it. This is not the time.”

“Are you going to give me the time?”

“When? You’ve been busy with your future wife,” she snapped and took a deep breath to calm herself. They were supposed to be smiling, not arguing as they walked down the aisle.

“I’m telling you, I’m going to try and make this work.”

“No. It will ruin you, and I can’t live with that.” They neared the end of the aisle. “Stop, Quincy please, just… just let me go. I can’t do this.” Her eyes stung with unshed tears, but with her smile, everyone probably thought they were happy tears for her mother. When they reached Lamont and the priest, they separated, though he tried to hang on to her a moment longer.

The music changed, and Olivia forced her gaze away from Quincy’s pained expression to her mom standing at the end of the aisle. The guests stood, and Melinda’s smile brightened her face, but she only had eyes for one person—Lamont. He shifted and cleared his throat as she made her way down the aisle to gasps and happy whispers of the guests smiling at her dress. Olivia was genuinely able to smile at the sight of her happiness and knew from now on, her mom was going to be living the life she’d always wanted.

As the ceremony began and everyone took their seats, Olivia tried to listen to the priest’s words, but her eyes kept shifting to Quincy and she imagined feeling his arms around her as he held her close. His lips against hers, warm and soft as he kissed her long and hard while his hands explored every inch of her body. A fluttering filled her stomach as a visual of them lying together on the beach and in bed passed through her mind. All the times they made love, how he made her feel as he thrust inside her and as they fell over that endless cliff together.

Olivia shifted in the sand, and when she glanced at Quincy, her need to be with him flared to life so badly she almost forgot where she was and run to jump into his arms. If she was worried about a scandal, doing that would surely cause one.

Their eyes locked, and her breath caught painfully in her chest. It was going to be a long night.

Chapter 17

The reception for the royal wedding was grand, and no expense had been spared for the entire Isle of Bijoux to celebrate their king and queen’s marriage. For the most part, it was a festive occasion, and everyone had a smile on their face. Everyone except Quincy.

He’d been standing in the same place for the past hour, watching Olivia talk and laugh with Cheree and Helen. His body wanted to go to her and whisk her away somewhere, but his mind put its foot down, refusing to do what his heart so badly wanted. It nagged at him, over and over, that he was making the wrong decision—screw what his dad would say. This was his life, damn it, and he only got to live it once. Did he really want to let her walk away from him like this?

The night was nearly over, and soon, his dad and Melinda would retire to their room for the night. Once they were off, Quincy could disappear for a while and get the thought of Gigi’s hands groping his butt out of his mind.

“There you are! I brought you more champagne,” Gigi said loudly as she hurried to his side. “Here, have another. You look like you could use it.”