PRINCE CHARMING: A Secret Baby Stepbrother Romance (24 page)

“What?”

He picked up her left hand. “Olivia, will you marry me? Today?”

“I, uh… Can we do that?” she asked as a smile broke across her face.

“Why the hell not? I love you, and I’m going to marry the woman I love.”

Olivia thought about it for barely a second before she said yes and smothered him with kisses, tackling him to the bed.

“Oh, that’s awesome,” Helen said from the doorway. “I’ll… uh, be downstairs until you’re dressed.”

The door closed, but Olivia didn’t hear it. She was getting married to the man she loved, and no matter what happened, they were going to get their happily ever after.

***

The flight back to the Isle of Bijoux was more nerve-wracking than her first trip there, but Quincy held Olivia’s hand the whole time, glancing every now and then at the ring on her left hand that sparkled in the sunlight. He kissed her hand as the plane descended for the landing and the reality of what they were about to do really hit home.

“It’ll be fine,” he whispered when she started shaking. “No matter what, I’m by your side.”

“Right. Right, except you’re probably about to lose everything, so no, it’s great,” she mumbled.

“Olivia, look at me.”

She turned to face him and immediately felt her body relax when she saw the love in his eyes. He kissed her sweetly and told her again everything would be fine. When they exited the plane, though, she lost most of her good feelings. King Lamont and several of the bodyguards from the palace waited on the tarmac to gather the prince and his stepsister, now his wife. Quincy took Olivia’s hand tightly in his, and they walked slowly to him. The king’s eyes went from his son’s face to their clasped hands… and the bulge under Olivia’s tight t-shirt.

“Both of you are coming with me, right now,” he growled, his voice shaking with barely controlled rage.

“Fine,” Quincy said. “But if you are going to blow up once we get back to the palace, you can direct everything to me, Father, not Olivia.”

His words set Lamont off, and for the first time, Olivia saw the king’s face turn crimson as he lost it. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You ran out on your own wedding! Parliament is calling for your crown, and you come back to me with the woman who is your stepsister and she’s pregnant!”

“And my wife,” Quincy said, holding up Olivia’s hand. “We got married, Father.”

His eyes widened at the ring, and he yelled in pure frustration. “You idiot! You are going to lose everything! What were you thinking?”

“We love each other,” Quincy said and put himself between Lamont and Olivia. “I love her, Father, just as you loved Mother.”

“This is an outrage! Your mother is going to be beside herself,” he yelled over Quincy’s shoulder at Olivia. “Once she knows what happened, I don’t know what she’ll do, but I do know you two are getting this annulled, today! You are not going to marry your stepsister!”

Quincy yelled back, but Olivia had stopped listening. Her stomach clenched painfully, and suddenly, the world spun around her. Something was wrong. She tried to say something, but her words were drowned out by their yelling. She stepped forward and grabbed Quincy’s shoulder. He turned to hold her back, but he gripped her arms when she faltered.

“Olivia? Olivia?”

“Wrong… the baby,” she whispered. Everything went dark, and her last thought was of losing their child before they ever had a chance to meet it.

***

Quincy paced up and down the hall of the hospital, waiting to hear about Olivia. By the time the ambulance had arrived, she’d been bleeding and Quincy feared the worst for her and the baby. He didn’t care anymore about his kingdom or his dad. He just needed to know that Olivia was going to make it.

Lamont stood at the other end of the hall and hadn’t taken his eyes off his son the whole time. Melinda was on her way, too, but Quincy didn’t want to deal with anyone until he knew what was going on.

“Son,” Lamont said as he approached him finally, “we need to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Gigi and her parents… They are going to claim your crown.”

Quincy’s hands curled into fists and for the first time in his life he wanted to hit his father. “Seriously? My wife, the woman I love, is lying in a hospital bed, possibly losing our child, and you’re going to talk to me about my damn crown?”

“It’s your life, Quincy.”

“No, she is my life. That baby, if it survives, is my life. I can’t follow the same path you did, Dad. I just can’t! I love her, and I am not going to give her up, not for anyone. Not even you.”

He turned away from Lamont and ran a hand through his hair. Why was it taking so damn long? He couldn’t take this much longer, and his dad continually watching him with that look of disbelief wasn’t helping at all. What didn’t he understand about how he felt for Olivia? He loved her deeply and nothing was going to change that, ever.

“Dad, just go away, please,” he said, desperate to be alone.

“Lamont? What’s going on?” Melinda called as she entered the hall. “Where’s Olivia?”

“She’s still in there,” Lamont said. “We don’t know anything yet.”

“You said she was… pregnant, but I don’t understand.”

Lamont nodded to Quincy. “You might want to ask him what’s going on and maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

Melinda looked from one to the other, shaking her head. “What are you saying? Quincy? You and Olivia… you… you got her pregnant?”

“And married—they got married in Nebraska!” Lamont fumed, but to Quincy’s surprise, Melinda turned around and very politely told him to calm down and walk it off. Lamont’s mouth dropped open, but he did as his wife said and stalked down the hall.

“Well,” Melinda said, her hands shaking as she took a seat in the hall. “This is definitely not what I was expecting.”

Quincy sat down beside her when she patted the plastic chair. “It just happened,” he said quietly. “We fell in love and when she went back home—”

“You couldn’t let her go,” Melinda said and patted his hand. “I understand completely.”

“You do?” He frowned, wondering if she was just being nice, but the look in her eyes was genuine.

“It’s what I felt for your dad when I was here the first time. Sometimes, love doesn’t give you a choice of who, and… well, I guess you and my daughter were supposed to be together. This is just a difficult situation.”

“But you’re not mad at me or her?”

Melinda shrugged. “I’m a bit disappointed my daughter didn’t confide in me, but no, how can I be mad? Hopefully, you two are going to make me a grandmother,” she said, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. There was too much worry there. “She’ll be fine. She’s a strong one.”’

Quincy let out a nervous laugh. “I know. She left me so I could take my crown and not lose it because of what we did together.”

“She loves you. That’s what people do when they’re in love.”

“What about my dad?”

“Well, I can tell you right now he’s going to have to change something, because there is no way the isle will want the Pentacrafts to take over.”

Quincy’s brow furrowed when he saw the anger on her face at the thought and a mischievous glint in her eyes. “How would you know that?”

“You think I don’t listen to gossip around the isle?” She patted his leg. “I have been making it a point to see who the people really want, and let me tell you, they all said the same thing. If that family takes over in any capacity, they will do something they’ve never done before.”

“What?”

“Rebel until your father puts you on the throne.”

Quincy laughed with her at the thought of their peaceful island people rising up to rebel. The image was short-lived when a doctor emerged from the end of the hall and made his way towards them. Quincy took Melinda’s hand, and together, they stood to hear the news.

“Olivia is fine. She’s resting now,” the doctor said.

“And the baby?” Quincy asked.

“Just fine, too. They underwent some stress, which caused the bleeding and dizziness, so I’m ordering bedrest for a few weeks, but all three of them are doing just fine. You can see her if you’d like, one at a time.”

Quincy nodded. He paused when the doctor’s words registered. “Three? You said three?”

The doctor beamed and patted him on the shoulder. “That’s correct, Your Highness. She is pregnant with twins.”

Melinda squealed and hugged Quincy tightly before telling him to go to her. “I’ll take care of your dad. Just go and tell her I love her and I’ll see her soon.”

Quincy walked down the hall and into the room the doctor indicated. He took a deep breath and hurried inside to see Olivia sitting up with a huge smile on her face. “Thank God,” he whispered and went to her, kissing her fiercely. “You feel alright?”

“Better, yeah. Did they tell you? Twins, Quincy… We’re going to have twins.”

He rested his forehead against hers and nodded. “I know. I can’t believe it.” He kissed her again and took her hands. “Your mom’s here.”

Olivia’s face paled. “Oh, God. Does she hate you—is she pissed?”

“Surprisingly, no. She was shocked, but she’s not mad.”

“And your dad?”

“Let me worry about him. I have some very good information that the people would not let me lose my crown, no matter what Parliament says.” He hugged her close. “You are supposed to rest and that means no worrying. Everything will be just fine.”

She didn’t look too sure, and when the door opened again, his dad was there, a resigned look on his face. “We need to talk for a moment please.” He glanced at Olivia and tried to smile. “I’m glad you’re doing better, my dear.”

“Perhaps you should apologize to her,” Quincy said tightly.

Lamont straightened and cleared his throat. “I have come to apologize to you both. Olivia, I am especially sorry for my reaction.”

“No,” she said. “I understand, really. It’s a scandal, and we didn’t mean for it to happen. It just… did.”

“I know, and I can’t say that I blame either one of you. The heart wants what it wants sometimes,” he sighed. “You two just happen to be step-siblings. Now, I don’t approve of what happened under my roof and of the fact that you two wed without my blessing, however…” He held up a hand when Quincy opened his mouth to argue. “However, if your mother were still alive today, she would kill me if I tried to tear a family apart.”

Olivia and Quincy glanced at each other and back at him. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that somehow, I will make this work. But,” he said, looking intently at them both, “your children will be raised in the palace, on this isle. They will be royalty, after all, and I will have them raised as such.”

Quincy smiled and took the hand his dad offered him. “Thank you, Dad.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “This is going to be one hell of a fight with Parliament.”

“You’re the king, remember? Make them hear you,” Quincy said. “And I will stand by your side the whole time.”

Lamont grinned and looked at Olivia. “It took you to change him into the king he has to be. Thank you, my dear.”

Olivia smiled. “You’re welcome. Ready to be a grandpa?”

Lamont’s face paled, and he cleared his throat, shifting as his son laughed. “We’ll worry about that when we get there.”

Quincy bent and kissed Olivia again, his hands holding her belly with her. He couldn’t wait until the babies arrived. It couldn’t happen soon enough.

Chapter 19

Four Months Later…

Olivia peeled her dress from her body and longed for the cold fall days in Nebraska. She sipped her iced tea and watched the waves crashing against the cove. She was stretched out on a blanket in the sand enjoying the peace of the afternoon. Her feet were swollen, and the last two days had been longer than she’d expected.

But an official royal wedding and coronation had been long overdue, according to Lamont.

She’d been ordered back to bedrest until the babies were born, her little prince- and princess-to-be. Quincy had been ecstatic, and for the last few months, he’d been busy with his dad, planning for the birth of their children. Olivia let them at it while she and her mom spent their days being spoiled rotten as the new darlings of the isle kingdom. The first few weeks after returning had been rough with Parliament, but the people fell in so love with Olivia that the thought of her being their queen and already having children put them over the edge. They celebrated in the streets until Parliament finally gave up the argument and Lamont and Quincy walked out successful, sending the Pentacrafts on their way.

Olivia smiled as she set her glass down and watched Quincy walk up out of the waves, water dripping off him and making her lick her lips with need. She hadn’t been cleared for sex, but there were so many other things they could do to each other.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he said as he sat down beside her on the blanket, kissing her deeply while his hand held her belly.

“Can’t help it.”

“I think we should get you out of the sun for a while,” he said and tucked her hair behind her ears. “You’re red.”