Winning the Queen's Heart: Contemporary Christian Romance (The Brides of Belles Montagnes Book 2) (17 page)

Taking care, she stood and took it from him. “How wonderful!” It was not the first jersey she had received and would not be the last, but every time, it overwhelmed her. Carefully, she slid her arms in. Alexander had already put his on. She sat back down, exclaiming over the jersey.

“May we get a picture, ma’am?” Antonin asked.

“Of course!” They all gathered around the chair. Alexander knelt on one knee at her side, with Antonin on the other. The official photographer took several pictures with his own camera then several more with the cameras or phones of the guests.

By the time they left a few minutes later, Christiana had to admit she was worn out. “I think I would like to go rest now, Alexander.” Originally, she had tried to convince him to let her stay for the next meeting, now but knew he had been right to veto the idea.

He accompanied her back to her room, helping to pull the covers up over her legs after Diana helped her change into something more comfortable than her pants’ suit.

“Rest well,” he whispered, squeezing her hand. “I’ll see you later.”

Chapter 18

Christopher lifted Alexander off his feet in a giant hug when he walked into the palace apartment. “I hear you’re gonna be a dad, brother.”

Alexander groaned. “Don’t believe everything you read in the tabloids. You of all people should know that. Weren’t you supposed to be having a baby with that girl? Or one of a dozen others?” How many times had the tabloids linked one or both of them to a girl who was supposedly pregnant? Not just the one that ended Christopher’s relationship with Margie McCoy.

“True. But neither of us were sleeping with anyone at the time, so it was easy to know there was no truth to the allegations. Now, brother dear, you’re married. And your wife is quite the hottie of the royalty world.”

Alexander glared. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

“What?” Christopher shrugged. “The queen is hot.”

“Thank you for your assessment, Christopher.” Both brothers turned to see Queen Christiana walking into the room.

Alexander grabbed his brother’s arm and leaned close. “My wife is beautiful. Gorgeous. And
hot
. All of those adjectives. But she deserves your respect because she is the queen of the country where your family does a lot of business. She deserves it because she is my wife. Some women would not take offense at your statements, and if she were one of them, I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but I’m warning you...”

Christopher looked taken aback. “Chill, big brother.”

“We’ll talk later.” He turned and walked quickly to Christiana’s side, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

“Leave your brother alone.” She settled into the chair he’d learned was her favorite, a large one his mother had always called a “grandma chair” because it was big enough for a grandma to sit with a grandchild and read a book. If he and Christiana were more conventional, and she weren’t the queen, he would share it with her. Instead, he took a seat on the end of the couch closest to her. His parents and brother were seated around the living area a moment later.

“We do have some news to share,” he told them without preamble. “This time, the papers are correct.” He took her hand. “Christiana is about ten weeks pregnant. She’s had a difficult time, and there is a history of miscarriage in her family so we don’t plan to announce it for several more weeks.”

Christopher whooped, both arms lifted in victory. “I knew it!”

Mom looked like she was about to cry. “Oh! You two! I didn’t believe a word I read, but I’m so glad!” Dad just grinned and let the others do the talking. “When are you due?” Mom went on, not letting Christiana answer. “If you’re ten weeks, that’s around Christmas, so September?”

Christiana could only nod.

“Oh, good. We planned to spend most of the fall here already.” She clapped her hands like a giddy schoolgirl. “Our first grandchild!”

Christopher rolled his eyes. “At least the tabloids were wrong all the other times. Otherwise, you’d have a dozen already, starting when you were forty. You would have hated that.”

“The tabloids?” Christiana looked puzzled. “Why would the tabloids follow either one of you?”

Alexander rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, we haven’t really talked about one part of my life. You know I spent several years in LA, right?”

“Yes.”

“Christopher and I starred in a teen sit-com but under Mom’s maiden name. There was already a Christopher Mayfield in the Screen Actors Guild, so we used the last name Slate.”

Christiana gasped. “You’re Alexander and Christopher Slate? From
2 Cool 4 School?
”

Was his royal wife a fangirl? Alexander glanced at Christopher who raised a brow.

“I had one of your posters in my dorm room. Addie gave it to me. She
loved
the show. I loved the freedom Alex and Chris enjoyed. I never had that.”

“Addie?”

“Queen Adeline of Montevaro. But that’s not important. How could you not tell me?”

Alexander shrugged. “It didn’t seem necessary. It ended nearly ten years ago. I’ve been out of the industry ever since. I felt, we both did, that continuing would only lead to us being asked to compromise our morals. If you watched the show, you know Alex and Chris kissed a girl or two but nothing more was even hinted at until the wedding episode at the end. And then not until
after
the wedding. The writers and producers wanted to take things further more than once. There was even talk of Alex’s girlfriend being the teen pregnancy, but Mom and Dad put their foot down.”

Christiana still seemed to be in shock.

“We both returned to Serenity Landing for college, and the rest is just like I told you. With the change in last names and letting our hair go back to its natural color rather than the light blond it was on the show, we don’t get recognized very often. We’ve turned down all of the ‘where are they now’ shows and offers to do a reunion, though that has more to do with how C’s relationship with Margie McCoy ended than the show itself, I think. All the offers come through the agent we still retain. I don’t think our real names are public knowledge at all, though I’m a bit surprised someone didn’t put two and two together after the wedding.”

“Your faces were all over the news in the States.” Christopher laced his fingers behind his head. “There are a few people who know enough to put it together, but if they did they kept their mouths shut.”

That made Alexander frown. “Blackmail?”

“Why? What would they gain? If it did come out that the star of
2 Cool 4 School
married the queen of Ravenzario, what does it change? A bit more interest from twenty-somethings who fancied themselves in love with you in high school? There’s no gain.”

“Believe me, we thought it through.” Dad joined the conversation. “We talked about it with Tony and the palace security team as soon as you told us about the engagement. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to worry. They’ll keep an eye on any fan mail that may come for Alexander Slate, but it’s unlikely for two reasons. First, someone has to put it all together. Second, someone would have to get close enough to one of you two, or now the baby, to be a threat. We believe the worst that could happen would be accusations of an affair. All of us know they would be completely groundless. Hold yourself above reproach with other women, and there’s no concern.” Dad raised an eyebrow of his own. “And I know you know to do that, so I don’t see a problem, except that your wife had no idea.”

Alexander gently squeezed Christiana’s hand. “We’ll talk more later, okay?”

She nodded.

“I’m more interested in baby names.” Mom clapped her hands again. “Have you picked any out yet?”

“No. We haven’t had a chance to discuss them in depth yet.” He didn’t tell them he’d only known for a few days, and he felt Christiana relax a bit when he didn’t mention it. “I think both of us are waiting to breathe a sigh of relief when this first trimester and the worst of the danger is over.”

Mom and Dad exchanged a glance. “I think that’s wise,” Mom said. “We debated whether to tell you this, but we, too, had a couple of miscarriages. We’d only ever planned on two children and when twins came along, we thought we were done. God had different ideas, though neither pregnancy lasted much past the positive test.”

Alexander felt sucker punched.

“But for whatever reason, God chose to give us those babies for a short period of time. We praised him at the time. So often with babies that are miscarried that early, it is because of something outside of the mother’s control. Perhaps a genetic disorder or any number of other reasons. It has given me great empathy for women who miscarry. I’ve worked with the pregnancy center in Serenity Landing for many years and counseled more women than I can count in the process.”

Dad cut in. “I’ve talked with the dads. He’s not the one whose body carries the baby or changes through pregnancy, but those dads feel a deep sense of loss as well.”

Alexander interrupted. “I’d rather not talk about miscarriages. Both of us are concerned enough as it is, without dwelling on the possibility. Now, dinner is ready whenever we are. Who else wants to eat?”

Christopher jumped up. “Me!”

Everyone laughed, though Alexander noted Christiana’s laugh was subdued. She remained so throughout the meal. His family left to stay in another part of the palace rather than take a boat ride over to the property.

Once they’d both changed into their pajamas, Alexander went to check on her. “Are you all right?”

Already settled in the bed, she gave a slight shake of her head. “I know your parents meant well, but...” One tear after another slid down her cheeks. “Thank you for changing the subject.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and scooted over until he sat next to her. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he pulled her close to him, feeling hot tears land on his bare chest. He whispered a prayer for peace over her.

“I am supposed to be strong,” she whispered. “I am the queen. I should not rely on anyone to be strong for me. It is my job.”

“Sh,” he breathed into her hair. “
‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’
It’s not your job to be strong, love. It’s your job to rest in the One strong enough for all of us.”

“Stay with me?” she whispered. “Please? I do not want to be alone.”

“Of course.” Somehow, he managed to keep an arm around her and slide under the covers at the same time. With his wife’s head heavy on his chest and her tears weighing down his heart, he prayed for peace for them both.

PHOTO: Prince Alexander's family arrives at the palace

~

Lending fuel to the pregnancy speculation, Prince Alexander's family visited the palace last night. Reportedly, the trip has been planned for some time, but the palace would neither confirm nor deny anything. The family did stay overnight rather than moving to their own property on nearby Bianisola.

Neither Queen Christiana not Prince Alexander has anything scheduled with the public today.

Chapter 19

“You’re not Alexander.”

The man who looked a lot like the prince consort chuckled. “Nope. I’m his twin brother, Christopher.” He held out a hand to shake Lizbeth’s. “He’s home with the queen today and, since I’m in town, he asked me to cover for him today.” He held up a file folder. “Everything I need to know is in here. Let’s go over a few things, then we’ll walk over to the chapel. There are a few vendors here with options set up.”

It didn’t surprise Lizbeth. The queen had passed out in the last few days. Valentine’s Day had always been lonely, but this year, she’d managed to sneak in a few hours with Robert. Since meeting his parents and telling them the truth at Christmas, it had been a bit easier for her, knowing they were praying about it. They’d seen the news together and spent several minutes praying for the queen. She wanted to ask for more information but something held her back. Instead, Lizbeth pulled out her own binder. Yvette remained quiet. She’d been more involved, but there still seemed to be something a bit off about it. The meeting with the seamstress had gone much better than Lizbeth could have hoped and the sketches would be ready in the next week.

After a few minutes of going over some details, the three of them crossed the property, riding in something Christopher called a Gator. Lizbeth had never heard the term before, but, on a cold, gray day, it was much nicer than walking.

“All right.” Christopher looked in his binder. “We have three florists, four bakers, and five photographers. I know it sounds overwhelming, but we need to get moving on all of this. All of them have been approved by the security teams and both royal photographers. We talked about having the royal photographers do the wedding photos, but, it was decided to use a wedding photographer. When you head over to the palace after this, the head chef will discuss the reception dinner with you.”

Overwhelming was one word for it. Each of the florists was set up in a different corner of the chapel with their vision for the princess to look at. They also had portfolios with other work they’d done, just in case. The photographers had their photos staged all around, including in some of the pews. The bakers were still setting up in the entry. They’d get to them last.