“He changed when he became king.”
“It was inevitable, but underneath he is the same man who taught you to swim, who took time from a schedule most would not to be a dad to his children as well as their royal father.”
Mich sighed and Kiki reached out to take his hand. “Be nice, he loves you.”
He stared down at her. “How can you say that?”
“Because he’s so much like my dad.”
“Your dad is a billionaire, not a king.”
“Same thing.” She winked up at Mich.
He shook his head. “You’re going to be trouble, Kiki Scorsolini.”
“You are just figuring this out?”
* * *
The following days were filled with frantic activity. A diplomatic reception that had been in the works for over six months was suddenly the venue by which the marriage would be announced. There was no more talk of Kiki’s suitability or ending her marriage before it had really begun.
It had been decided that the pregnancy would not be announced until Kiki had reached her second trimester. It was not an uncommon practice, so would hopefully minimize speculation on the reason for Kiki and Mich’s elopement.
King Claudio hadn’t warmed up exactly, but he’d stopped glaring at her like Public Enemy Number One. So, she took that as a win.
Kiki wasn’t worried. The man would come around. He just had to do it in his own time. Her own dad wasn’t exactly all sunshine and approval with Mich, though he was showing a bit more tolerance each day for the man who had dared to marry his daughter.
A lot more worrying was Giannetta Bellini, the daughter of one of Isole dei Re’s top diplomats. And apparently a very good friend of the family.
Also the woman who had expected to marry Principe Vittoro Micheli Scorsolini, if Kiki didn’t miss her guess.
The woman had already been helping Therese plan the reception and had managed to insert herself in the middle of its transformation to formal wedding announcement and reception. She’d dropped several oblique comments that implied she thought the wedding announcement premature, going so far as to suggest they keep the elopement under wraps completely until a traditional wedding could be planned.
Yeah, that was going to work. Events like that in their world? Took a minimum of a year to pull together; Kiki’s mom would have preferred two, she was sure. She dreaded her five-year anniversary. She just knew Amber Menendez was going to use it as an excuse to do a formal wedding with a renewal of vows.
Queen Therese had finally told Giannetta about Kiki’s pregnancy, no doubt to shut down the suggestions, and because the woman was such a trusted friend of the family.
Therese hadn’t seen the fury on the younger woman’s face when she heard the news. Kiki had, though. She’d told Mich about it, and he’d just laughed, telling her that she, Kiki, was the woman he’d married. If his own father didn’t get a vote, friends definitely didn’t.
* * *
Kiki wore a strapless vintage Alexander McQueen gown her mother had convinced the design house to pull out of their vault to the reception. Her finery didn’t stop there by any means, though. She wore a choker and ornate earrings set in platinum with stones to match her wedding rings, a bridal gift from her parents. The complementary ruby-and-diamond tiara, placed carefully amid her gold and brown curls swept up in an elegant pile, had been a gift from the king and queen.
“You look like a princess, even if you never expected to be one,” Mich said, his gaze hot with admiration.
She smiled up at him as they waited in the formal reception line for the first guests to be allowed into the cavernous ballroom. “Thank you. I like the prince togs, too. Who knew epaulets could be so sexy?”
He laughed, looking amazing in the formal suit of Isole dei Re royalty, identical to his father’s but for the subtle difference that proclaimed him prince and heir rather than king.
They had been greeting guests as they arrived for two hours when a tall man, who could give her husband a run for his money in the whole “too gorgeous for words” category, arrived.
Only this guy’s eyes? Were cold like January in upstate New York.
“Prince Vittoro, may I extend our most sincere congratulations on behalf of Volyarus and my family?” Hottie McHotterson said.
Mich introduced her, revealing the man was the Prince of Volyarus. Goose bumps chased up her arm when the imposing man bent over her hand.
The Volyarussian prince moved on and Kiki fanned herself. “Wow. Who was that guy?”
“I introduced you,” Mich said with some asperity.
“Yes, but he’s kind of intense, isn’t he?”
“He’s the perfect prince. My father only wishes I was as dutiful and committed to my country’s welfare.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. They never had dealt with the accusation the king had made in that first volatile meeting after the wedding.
“So, you were just in Palermo on vacation?” she asked after greeting another guest.
“No. I was on business, I told you.”
“For Isole dei Re.”
“We run many interests to support our island country’s economy.”
“Uh-huh. You took a long break after university before diving into the country’s business though, right? Traveled the world. Dated beautiful women. Played with the other young royals of the world.”
He did another introduction and then laughed drily. “Not a chance. I took over my current position a week after getting my MBA from Harvard.”
“I’d say you’re pretty darn dutiful and committed to the best interests of your country then.”
Mich didn’t reply, but he was smiling when she looked at him.
TWO DAYS LATER, Kiki had her first ultrasound.
They couldn’t tell the baby’s sex, but everything looked good. The doctor questioned the dates, saying the baby and Kiki’s uterus were measuring a week smaller than they should be.
But there could be no doubt on the timing for when she got pregnant, so the due date remained the same on her charts.
Kiki was surprised later that afternoon to be called into the king’s office. Mich was already there, looking as clueless as Kiki about what his father wanted.
Giannetta was also there, and Kiki did not take that as a good sign.
“It grieves me to have this conversation with you, but Giannetta has brought something to my attention that cannot be ignored.”
Showing good instincts, Mich slid his arm around Kiki’s waist. “What is going on, Dad?”
King Claudio’s lips tilted slightly at the familiar address. “Giannetta has informed me that your ultrasound,” he said to Kiki, “measures a week smaller than dates provided by you and my son would indicate.”
“But you already knew—” Mich started, but his father shook his head just slightly.
Kiki didn’t know what was going on, but she did know she was tired of Giannetta being in her business. “Yes. Now, can someone please explain to me why this woman is privy to my medical records?”
“Precisely,” King Claudio said, giving Giannetta a frigid stare.
“But you said you were concerned, too. You can’t