LITMIR.BIZ

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to become the constitutional monarch of Alma. She was determined to return to Key West and live out her life. She wasn’t interested in being involved with a royal; besides, she’d read in the papers that the heirs would have to marry people with spotless reputations.

      He was really getting into dancing around the room and rapping.

      She applauded when he finished and he turned to look at her.

      “What are you doing here?” he asked, shock apparent on his face.

      His body was tense. She suspected he was a tiny bit embarrassed to be caught rapping. Nerves made her mouthy. She knew that. So she should just say she was sorry for using her friend’s key to get into his penthouse.

      But that wasn’t her way.

      “Hello to you, too, Your Majesty. Should I curtsy or something? I’m not sure of the rules.”

      “Neither am I,” he admitted. “Juan Carlos doesn’t like it when I am seen doing something...well, so American but also undignified.”

      “Your secret is safe with me,” she said. “Who is Juan Carlos?”

      “Juan Carlos Salazar II, my cousin, head of the Montoro Family Trust and advocate of decorum at all times.”

      “He sounds like a stuffed shirt,” she said. “I doubt I’d meet with his approval.”

      “Emily, what are you doing here? And how did you get up here? Security is usually very hard to get past.”

      “I have my ways.”

      “And they are?” he asked.

      “My charm,” she said.

      He shook his head. “I’m going to have to warn them about feisty redheads.”

      “I actually used a key that I procured from your maid service.”

      “You’ve been reduced to criminal behavior. Curiouser and curiouser. Why are you here? Did you decide that you wanted to give me a proper send-off?” he asked. He strode over to her, his big body moving with an economy of motion that captivated her. The same way it had when she’d first glimpsed him in the crowded Key West bar where she worked as a bartender.

      He was tall—well over six feet—and muscly, but he moved with grace and she could honestly watch him all day long.

      “Why are you here, Red? You said goodbye was forever.”

      Goodbye.

      She’d meant it when he’d left. He was a rich guy from Miami and experience had shown her they were only in Key West for one thing. Having given it to him she’d wanted to ensure she didn’t give into temptation a second time.

      “I did mean it.”

      “Help me, Red. I don’t want to jump to conclusions,” he said.

      She chewed her lower lip. Up close she could see the flecks of green in his hazel eyes.

      He was easily one of the most attractive men she’d ever seen. He’d make a killing in Hollywood with those thick eyelashes and those cheekbones. It wouldn’t matter if he could act, just putting him on screen would draw the masses in.

      She wished she were immune.

      “I’m pregnant.”

      He stumbled backward and looked at her as if she’d just started speaking in tongues.

      * * *

      Pregnant!

      He stepped back and walked over to the Bose speaker on the dresser to turn off the music. A baby. From what he knew of the tough-as-nails-bartender, he could guess she wouldn’t be standing in his penthouse apartment if he wasn’t the father. His first reaction was joy.

      A child.

      It wasn’t something he’d ever thought he wanted. He hardly knew Emily so had no idea if she was here for money or something else. But knowing his child was growing inside of her stirred something primal. Something very powerful. The baby was his.

      Maybe that was just because it gave him something to think about other than the recent decision that had been made for him.

      He’d been dreading his trip to Alma. He was flattered that the country that had once driven his family out had come back to them and asked him to be the next king, but he had grown up here in Florida. He didn’t want to be a stuffy royal.

      He didn’t want European paparazzi following him around and trying to catch him doing anything that would bring shame to his family. God, knew he worked and played hard.

      “Rafe?”

      “Yeah?”

      “Did you hear what I said?” Emily asked.

      He had. A baby. Lord knew his father hadn’t been the best and as a result, Rafe had thought he’d never have kids. It wasn’t as if either of his parents had set a great example. And he was still young, but damn if he wasn’t feeling much older every day.

      “Yeah, I did. Are you sure?” he asked at last.

      She gave him a fiery look from those aqua-blue eyes of hers. He’d seen the passionate side of her nature, and he guessed he was about to witness her temper. “Would I be here if I wasn’t?”

      He held his hand up.

      “Slow down, Red. I didn’t mean are you sure it’s mine. I meant...are you sure you’re pregnant?”

      “Damned straight.”

      “I get it. I had to take three at-home pregnancy tests and visit the doctor before I believed it myself. But trust me, Rafe. I’m positive I’m pregnant and that the baby is yours.”

      “This is a little surreal,” he said.

      “I know,” she said, with just a hint of softening on in her tone. “Listen, I know you can’t turn your back on your family and marry me and frankly, we only had one weekend together so I’d have to say no. But...I don’t want this kid to grow up without any knowledge of you.”

      “Me either.”

      She glanced up, surprised.

      To be honest, he sort of surprised himself. But he knew all the things not to do as a dad thanks to his own father. It didn’t seem right for a kid of his to grow up without him. He wanted that. If he had a child, he wanted a chance to share the Montoro legacy...not the one newly sprung on him that came with a throne, but the one he’d carved out for himself in business. “Don’t look shocked.”

      “You’ve kind of got a lot going on right now. And having a kid with me isn’t going to go over well.”

      “Tough,” he said. He still wasn’t sure he wanted to be king of Alma. He and his siblings hadn’t grown up with the attitude that they were royalty. They were regular American kids who’d never expected to go back to Alma. “I still make my own decisions.”

      “I know that,” she said. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve just been so crazy since I realized I was pregnant and alone. I didn’t know what to do. You know my mom raised me by herself...”

      He closed the gap between them again and pulled her into his arms. He hadn’t realized she’d been raised by a single parent. To be honest, a weekend of hot sex didn’t really lend itself to sharing each other’s past like that. “You’re not by yourself.”

      She looked up at him. That little pointed nose of hers was the tiniest bit red and her lip quivered as if she were struggling to keep from crying. That’s when he realized how out of character it was for Emily to be unsure. The baby—his baby—had thrown her for a loop as well.

      “Thanks. I just need...I have no idea. I mean, a kid. I never expected this. But we used protection.”

      “I didn’t the third time, remember? I was out and we...”

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