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His Pregnant Royal Bride
Amy Ruttan


Nurse Shay Labadie’s one exquisite night of passion with Dr Dante Affini was meant to be a beautiful memory. But now Shay’s expecting…and Dante is expecting her to take his hand in marriage!Dante’s proposal is shocking enough and then he drops an even bigger bombshell—he’s not just a doctor, he’s a prince! Now, to win his child and the woman he loves Dante will have to prove he can master his most important role yet—as the husband Shay deserves…







Pregnant with the prince’s baby

Nurse Shay Labadie’s one exquisite night of passion with Dr. Dante Affini was meant to be a beautiful memory. But now Shay’s expecting...and Dante is expecting her to take his hand in marriage!

Dante’s proposal is shocking enough, but then he drops an even bigger bombshell—he’s not just a doctor, he’s a prince! Now to win his child and the woman he loves, Dante will have to prove he can master his most important role yet—as the husband Shay deserves...


Dear Reader (#ucbb52889-2b9d-55f6-ae6d-6c3003fbe77b),

Thank you for picking up a copy of His Pregnant Royal Bride.

I was privileged to write this duet with one of my absolute favorite people, Robin Gianna. When our editor asked if I wanted to write a duet with her for my fourteenth book for Mills & Boon Medical Romance I answered with a resounding yes!

The best part of writing this duet was when Robin, me and our editor were all at the RWA Nationals conference in San Diego and we got to hash out the timeline and plot soaking in the sun by the pool. Those kinds of editorial meetings don’t happen very often!

Nurse practitioner Shay Labadie has had a pretty rough hand in life, but it doesn’t deter her from doing work all over the world, bringing medicine to those in need. She’s quite admirable, and her first name is for a friend whom I also find admirable.

Dr Dante Affini has also been dealt several blows, but has led more of a charmed life being an Italian prince. Though he thinks it’s far from charming—and after a one-night stand leaves Shay with a baby she thinks he’s her Prince Charming either.

I hope you enjoy Shay and Dante’s story.

I love hearing from readers, so please drop by my website, amyruttan.com (http://www.amyruttan.com), or give me a shout on Twitter @ruttanamy (https://twitter.com/ruttanamy).

With warmest wishes,

Amy Ruttan


His Pregnant Royal Bride

Amy Ruttan






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


Born and raised just outside Toronto, Ontario, AMY RUTTAN fled the big city to settle down with the country boy of her dreams. After the birth of her second child Amy was lucky enough to realise her lifelong dream of becoming a romance author. When she’s not furiously typing away at her computer she’s mum to three wonderful children who use her as a personal taxi and chef.

Books by Amy Ruttan

Mills & Boon Medical Romance

Hot Latin Docs

Alejandro’s Sexy Secret

The Hollywood Hills Clinic

Perfect Rivals...

Sealed by a Valentine’s Kiss

His Shock Valentine’s Proposal

Craving Her Ex-Army Doc

Tempting Nashville’s Celebrity Doc

Unwrapped by the Duke

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk) for more titles.


This book is dedicated to Robin, my partner in crime for this duet. You were awesome, and I would work with you again in a heartbeat. I’m so glad we got to meet face-to-face finally!

For my friend Shay, who is just as giving and admirable as my heroine. You do so much and ask for nothing. So glad we’re friends.

And of course Laura, my editor extraordinaire, who concocted this idea. Also for Tilda, who always helps out with my AFS and keywords and for stepping in while the rest of us were in California.


Contents

Cover (#u2a7d366e-e83c-5e5f-8009-f84ee79ece83)

Back Cover Text (#u01466aa0-0736-595c-913c-0f6ce2ac70b4)

Dear Reader (#u3550b225-9380-5cf4-96ac-f596b0494440)

Title Page (#ua202fe0f-290b-5389-b84d-d5b75b318dff)

About the Author (#u3926b4f4-5357-541f-88b5-d038c490a25f)

Dedication (#u90b7878f-5aea-5edb-99e3-70e21c7eda82)

PROLOGUE (#ub430f43f-8012-57b4-b980-7b73c63e196d)

CHAPTER ONE (#ucdd73e00-736a-52e9-8cd5-5a1128743097)

CHAPTER TWO (#u01266dbb-9d17-58a8-aa42-3abd0654e770)

CHAPTER THREE (#uf8adf239-7d3c-508f-9c93-34445a1a0f1b)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)


PROLOGUE (#ucbb52889-2b9d-55f6-ae6d-6c3003fbe77b)

“THAT HAS TO be the most monotonous lecturer that I’ve ever had the displeasure to listen to,” Shay teased as she took a sip of her pineapple cocktail. She glanced over shyly at Dr. Dante Affini, who was attending the same conference on trauma simulation as her in Honolulu. She felt as if she was talking too loudly, which was something she always did in the presence of a man she found utterly attractive. And Dr. Dante Affini was all that and more. Just a few days with him and she was a lost woman. Add in the tropical setting and drinks...

It was a perfect paradise.

Shay had intended to throw herself completely into her work, as she always did, but on the first day of the conference she’d bumped into Italian surgeon Dr. Dante Affini looking perplexed. He hadn’t known where to go and she’d helped him.

Since she’d let him know that she was attending the same presentations as him, they’d been inseparable. She didn’t mind in the least. Dante was handsome, charming, intelligent and single.

She bit her lip, blood heating her cheeks. What was she doing? She didn’t get involved with doctors, but with Dante it was hard not to.

He didn’t look down his nose at her for being a nurse practitioner. Usually at these kind of conferences the nurses stuck together and the physicians stuck together. Except Dante seemed to be the exception. He’d turned down golfing, dinners and drinks with the other surgeons to accompany her. They’d attended the same lectures and seemed to agree on the same approaches to medicine.

Now the conference was winding up and it had been Dante’s idea to get drinks.

She knew she shouldn’t have accepted his invitation. It was not something she was used to doing, but this was sort of a work vacation and for once, Shay thought, why not?

Dante was charming, sexy, and she’d been so busy with her work for the last couple of years that maybe it was the perfect time to kick back and have some fun.

“Sì, that was most terrible.” He shuddered and took a drink of his pineapple juice, then turned around, his dark eyes flickering out over the water. “It is a beautiful night.”

Shay nodded. “The breeze is nice. It was sweltering in that room.”

“Yes, it was most unpleasant.” He waved his hand in a sweeping arc. “This, however, is paradise.”

And he wasn’t wrong. The sun was setting, like molten gold against the turquoise water. Palm trees swayed gently in the breeze and the sky was darkening. Soon it would be full of stars as the hotel where the conference was being held was off the beaten track. It was on the North Shore and there wasn’t much else around it. No city, no noise and no distractions. It was heavenly.

“I wish I had more time to explore,” Shay said wistfully. “I never traveled much until I joined the United World Wide Health Association, but that’s for work and I don’t get a lot of downtime on assignments. It’s all about the work.”

Dante shook his head. “That is no way to live life.”

“Maybe not, but I love what I do.”

He smiled at her, that charming, sexy, crooked smile she was getting used to seeing every day. She was going to miss it when the conference was over.

“Of course, who am I to talk about living life, cara? My main focus is also my work.”

“See, then why harass me?” she teased.

“Still, when you take an assignment somewhere, you must have time off.”

Shay shrugged. “A little bit, but lately my assignments have been to mainly Third World countries after they’ve suffered a natural disaster and it really isn’t safe to wander away from base camp to take in the sights.”

Dante grinned. “Did I mention how incredibly brave you are, cara? I admire that about you.”

Warmth flooded her cheeks. She could listen to Dante talk all night. He had such a dreamy Italian accent but spoke English so fluently.

“I just do my job,” Shay said, brushing off the compliment, because she was proud of the work she did. It was a way to honor her mother, who should be alive still, if it weren’t for Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. The ill-effects of a poisoned house had prematurely taken the life of her mother, in the end.

It was at that moment that Shay knew what direction she had to take her life.

She’d worked hard to get where she was.

Now her job was to train other nurses and first responders by using simulation, so that they could go into the war zones, the disaster areas, and save lives, because that was all that mattered.

Saving lives.

“You do more than that, cara. I see it—you care about people and that’s what makes you special.” That smile disappeared and he fiddled with the straw in his drink. “Not everyone cares so much about others.”

She was glad that the sun was setting, so that he couldn’t see the blush he was causing.

Dante affected her in a way no man had in a long time. She was nervous around him. Giddy.

If she were anywhere else, she’d distance herself from him, but because she’d never see him again she figured it was okay to engage in harmless flirtation.

In a fantasy.

Not that anything would happen between the two of them.

Says who?

“Thank you,” she finally said, trying to shake out the naughty thoughts suddenly traipsing across her mind.

“So let’s do something about your lack of exploring,” Dante said, setting down his empty glass on the bar. “Come.”

“What?” she asked, confused.

“Look, it’s our last night in paradise. Let’s walk down to the beach and take a walk through the waves, follow the shore. It’s a beautiful night.”

“I don’t know...”

What’re you waiting for?

She glanced up at Dante, who stood in front of her, those dark eyes twinkling in the waning sunlight, the breeze making his short mop of ebony curls stir. His white cotton shirt billowed, so she could see the outline of his hard, muscular chest. His bronzed skin glowing in the waning light and, of course, that lopsided smile.

“What about the luau? Aren’t we supposed to go there and network? You’ve traveled so far to attend this, don’t you want to mingle?”

He snorted. “I have done enough networking to last a lifetime. For once I’ve no desire to talk about medicine. Tonight is a beautiful night. Let’s go.”

Go.

“Okay,” Shay said, not needing any more convincing. She finished her drink and set her empty glass down on the bar and took his hand. It was strong and she was surprised how easily her hand slipped into his. She hoped he didn’t notice that her nails were much too short, that her palms were rough from the hard physical work. She envied well-manicured nails, perfectly coifed hair, women who had time for makeup and clothes that weren’t torn, stained or scrubs.

Only Dante didn’t seem to care.

She couldn’t believe that he’d chosen to spend all his free time with her this week.

A surgeon and a nurse.

Don’t worry about that now. Just enjoy it. Live the fantasy for one night.

They walked away from the bar, down a winding sandy path to the beach. It was tranquil and a bit deserted at the moment. It was perfect.

“Hold on,” she said. She let go of Dante’s hand.

“What’re you doing?” he asked.

“Taking off my shoes. The sand is getting in and I hate that feeling of sand in your shoes.”

He chuckled. “Good idea.”

They kicked off their shoes and carried them as they headed down to the shore. The sun was almost gone, as if it were disappearing behind a curtain of water. It was picture-perfect. The water licked at their toes as they walked in silence along the shoreline.

It was the perfect end to the conference.

Tomorrow she’d be flying back to New Orleans for a short time and then off on her next assignment to the Middle East. Always moving, as she’d been doing her whole life. No stability. No roots. New Orleans was just a base for her, but it really wasn’t home since her mother died and she didn’t know why she kept returning to it.

“You seem sad all of a sudden, cara.”

The way he called her cara made her tremble with anticipation.

“I was just thinking how wonderful this week has been.” She bit her lip and sighed. “It’s been amazing getting to know you, Dante.”

He smiled and then ran his knuckles across her cheek. “I’ve enjoyed my time with you as well, cara.”

Shay’s pulse began to race and she closed her eyes, his touch making her heart skip a beat, and then, before she had a chance to say anything else, his lips claimed hers.

She dropped her shoes to the sand and sank into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close.

Dante’s kiss deepened, his tongue pushing past her lips; it was a kiss that seared her soul.

“Shay,” he whispered, his mouth still close to her, his hands cupping her face. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. You’re so beautiful, so wonderful...” He kissed her again.

“I don’t want this to end,” she whispered against his ear as he held her close, his hands drifting down her back.

“Me neither.”

“Then let’s not let tonight end.” She took his hand. “Let’s go to your room...”

“Are you sure, cara?” he asked.

“Positive. We can just have tonight. I’m not looking for anything long-term, Dante.”

Just passion. Unforgettable passion.

That was what she craved right now.

He smiled. “I want tonight too.”

Dante took her hand and they picked up their shoes and headed back to the hotel, to his room and something wonderful that she’d always remember...

* * *

Dante didn’t know what he was thinking when he bent down to kiss Shay, other than that the need to connect with her was so totally overwhelming. With the tropical wind blowing wisps of her honey-blonde hair around her heart-shaped face, he couldn’t resist her siren call.

He didn’t know what possessed him, other than absolute desire and need, because he’d sworn when Olivia broke his heart he’d keep away from women. Love was a loss of control and he hated losing that loss of control.

Only from the moment he’d met Shay, when she’d reached out to help him, he couldn’t help himself. He knew he should’ve stayed away, but couldn’t. Her brown eyes were warm, friendly, and the more he got to know her, the more he felt completely at ease with her.

To the point where his carefully constructed walls came down.

“Cara, I want you so bad,” he whispered against her neck.

“I want you too,” she said, her breath hot against his skin. It drove him wild.

It’s only for one night.

And he had to keep reminding himself of that. That it was only one night.

She only wants tonight. I can give her tonight.

His heart didn’t have to get hurt.

You don’t have one-night stands, a little voice reminded him, but he shook that thought away. His brother did and he fared just fine. Dante was not his father. He wasn’t married, he wasn’t hurting anyone, they were both consenting adults.

This was what his younger brother, Enzo, lived by; he could do that too, if only for one night.

Shay sighed as he ran his fingers through her silky hair as she wrapped her arms around him. Her long, delicate fingers tickling at the nape of his neck.

Mio Dio. It was only for tonight.

He could give himself over to one night. One night didn’t mean forever.

It couldn’t.


CHAPTER ONE (#ucbb52889-2b9d-55f6-ae6d-6c3003fbe77b)

DANTE CLENCHED HIS fists as he jammed them into the pockets of his crisp white lab coat. Everything about him was controlled and ordered. Only today his schedule was off, and he was not in the mood for meeting the practitioner from America and running a simulation lab with him. And it wasn’t just for one day; he’d then have him working under him as a surgical nurse in his operating room for twelve weeks.

Twelve weeks might not seem long in the grand scheme of things, but if Dante and this nurse practitioner didn’t get along, then twelve weeks would feel like an eternity.

He remembered the last American from the United World Wide Health Association he’d worked with two years ago and that had been a nightmare. She’d been totally unorganized and needed constant guidance, which had driven him crazy.

Not all Americans are bad.

And his mood lightened as he thought of Shay and that stolen night in Oahu. She was the first woman he’d been with since Olivia had crushed his heart. Shay was one American he could get used to having around. Even now, months later, he could still feel her lips on his.

Only she was off who knew where on her latest assignment and he had to make nice with a stranger. Someone he didn’t trust, and it brought back why he was in a bad mood.

His father. Someone else he absolutely didn’t trust.

At dinner last night with his younger brother, Enzo, Dante had learned that their father, Prince Marco Affini, had once again sold off more of the family land. And he was eyeing the land their late mother had left in trust for Dante and Enzo until they married and produced an heir. At least their father couldn’t sell it off yet. Unless they married before they turned thirty-five and produced an heir within a year of that marriage. Last night Enzo had reminded Dante once again that soon Dante would be turning thirty-five in a matter of months, without a marriage in sight.

Dante was painfully aware that his villa on Lido di Venezia was in danger of being sold as well, because that had been his maternal grandfather’s home.

The villa on the sandbar, a ten-minute ferry ride from Venice proper, was part of Dante’s inheritance. It would be his as long as he married and produced an heir by the time he was thirty-five, according to the stipulations of the trust fund and the marriage contract between his parents, as his mother had been a commoner and his father of royal blood.

And his thirty-fifth birthday was approaching fast, without a wife or heir in sight.

And whose fault was that?

It was his. He knew it; he just didn’t have any desire to get married after what had happened with his ex, Olivia, and he didn’t want to have a child out of wedlock. Even if he did, that wouldn’t help him recover his inheritance, such were the archaic terms of the trust.

If he didn’t get married and have a child, he would lose his home, everything that was meant for him by his late mother, including his beloved vineyard in Tuscany.

His grandfather had worked that vineyard. It was his pride and joy. Even though the family had money, his maternal grandfather always took pride in working his land. A work ethic that Dante had picked up on. He loved saving lives and he loved the life that bloomed in his vineyard in Tuscany.

Dante loved it there.

He loved working the land himself as well and the thought of someone else owning it was too much to bear.

It kept him awake most nights and he had the legal receipts to prove that he’d tried to get around the trust his mother signed on her wedding day, but it was ironclad. His father had the upper hand, until Dante and Enzo were married.

Dante downed the shot of espresso he’d grabbed before he headed to the lecture hall where he’d welcome the new United World Wide Health Association nurses and first responders who had come from all over Italy to join the organization. Here they’d learn what they needed to know, and then they would disperse over the world, providing health care.

Dante admired them and, even though he didn’t want to be here and meet with his new associate from the United States, he knew he couldn’t take his frustrations out on them.

He took a deep breath, ran his hand through his dark hair as he glanced in a mirror briefly, cursing inwardly for not having shaved the stubble from his face, and he hated the dark circles under his eyes, but he hadn’t got much sleep last night.

Once, he’d had the chance to save all the land meant for him, but that had cost him his heart and he swore he would never fall into that trap again. He just had to get used to the fact he was going to lose it all.

He was going to let down his brother and the memory of his mother.

His father would sell it all off and Dante would have to find a new place to live in a matter of a few months. He shook his head as he tried not to think about that now. He had to be charming and affable as the head of trauma at the Ospedale San Pietro.

Bracing himself now, Dante opened the door, ready to greet the American.

“Ciao, I’m Dr. Dante Affini, Head of...”

The nurse turned, just slightly, and Dante couldn’t believe who he was looking at. His pulse raced and a rare smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It was Shay!

She looked stunning. She was absolutely glowing, her cheeks rosy with a bloom she didn’t have before.

Her honey-blonde hair wasn’t as long as he remembered. She’d cut it, shorter in a bob, but it suited her delicate heart-shaped face. Those dark brown eyes of hers were warm and welcoming as she smiled at him, her pink lips soft and inviting. He could still feel them pressed against his. A blush rose in her round, creamy cheeks, deepening the healthy glow. Her lithe frame was fuller, but the curves suited her. “Hello, Dante.”

“Shay?” Dante whispered, and then he smiled, realizing it was her who was here to work with him. “What are you doing here? I thought...I thought Daniel Lucey was going to be running this program.”

“He was,” Shay said. “But something came up for him, so I jumped at the chance to come to Italy and take an easier job for a while.”

“An easier job? You’re never one to back away from a challenge, cara.”

A pink blush deepened on her cheeks and she tucked away an errant silky strand behind her ear. “I know, but I have no choice.” She bit her lip. “Dante, I took this job because...because I’m pregnant.”

Pregnant. Shay was having a baby?

It hit him and for a moment he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. Well, that explained the glow and the newly acquired curves. And then another realization struck him...

“Is it... Is it mine?”

“Yes.” She bit her lip in a way that had driven him wild before but now filled him with a sense of trepidation.

A baby.

He had put up the walls to protect himself for a reason and he’d been a fool for letting her in back in Oahu.

It had been a moment of complete weakness on his part.

Dante scrubbed a hand over his face.

Why didn’t she tell me? Was he really the father? Olivia had led him to believe that she carried his baby, only then he’d found out she’d tricked him. She’d already been pregnant when they’d slept together. Olivia had viewed Dante as perfect daddy material for another man’s child...

He was angry. Angry at himself for thinking Shay might be different, but apparently not. He should’ve known better—a week and a one-night stand were no time to get to know someone. To trust someone.

A pink blush tinged her creamy cheeks. “I took this job so that I could tell you in person.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you contact me before you showed up here? As soon as you found out? It’s been months, Shay. You can understand my trepidation. My anger, surely?”

She winced. “I know. But I’ve only very recently found out myself, Dante. I’m sixteen weeks.”

“Four months in and you expect me to believe that you just found out?” Dante scoffed.

“Yes. I was working in a war-torn area. My periods have always been irregular and I put their absence down to stress and travel. I wasn’t keeping that close an eye on dates, but something told me that it had been too long. I took a test, which came out positive, but then there was no way to contact you. Communication was spotty.”

Dante saw red. “You were pregnant in a war zone?”

Her eyes narrowed. “There are lots of pregnant women in war zones.”

Dante cursed under his breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Sure sounded like it.” She crossed her arms and he noticed her breasts were fuller and he recalled at that moment the way his hands fit so nicely around them.

Get control of yourself.

“Fine. So you couldn’t get word to me.”

“No, I thought it would be news better delivered in person.”

“I want a paternity test,” he demanded.

Shocked and hurt, Shay glared at him. “It’s your baby, Dante. I haven’t been with anyone else.”

“You didn’t even know you were pregnant right away, so you understand my hesitancy. We used protection,” he said.

“A faulty condom. They’re not infallible.” Shay sighed. “And I don’t sleep around. I don’t sleep with strangers.”

“Wasn’t I a stranger, cara?”

She shot him daggers. “I didn’t come here to make you a father, Dante. I actually took the job because it paid well, so that I could take a longer maternity leave when I return to the States.”

“So you considered not telling me?”

“Of course not. You have the right to know about your child, Dante. What I’m saying is that I don’t expect anything from you.”

Everything was sinking in and he was having a hard time processing for a moment. He wanted to believe that she was telling him the truth, but he’d been burned before. And thanks to his father’s indiscretions the entire world seemed to know that he was a prince, poised to inherit a vast estate of land and money. Wasn’t that what had drawn Olivia to him?

Of course, if Shay was pregnant with his child, it solved all of his problems.

He had to be married and have an heir by the time he was thirty-five. There was nothing in the will that stated he had to stay married. And while Olivia had made him very wary of marriage, he had wanted to be a father for as long as he could remember. He wanted the happy family he’d never had growing up. Plus, he knew that Shay was passionate about her job. She wouldn’t want to settle down in Italy with him—hadn’t she told him that she feared staying in one place for too long? What if he could get full custody of the baby? Have the child he’d always wanted without risking his heart.

“Dante, say something. Anything,” Shay said. “I know this must be a terrible shock.”

Before he could say anything there was a knock on his door. His assistant poked her head round it. “Dr. Affini? The trainees are gathered in the lecture theatre and are waiting for you.”

Dante acknowledged the woman before he turned back to Shay. “We’ll talk later. We have a job to do.”

Shay smiled, relieved. “Yes. We have a job to do.”

He’d let her have relief for now, but this was far from over.

* * *

Shay had wanted to tell Dante that she was pregnant from the moment she’d found out. She was frustrated when she realized she’d put their child in danger, and then when he’d insinuated that, she’d felt even guiltier. She wasn’t irresponsible. Once she’d known she was expecting, she’d been flown out, leaving her free to take over this assignment from her colleague Daniel, who’d sadly just been diagnosed with stage two colon cancer. She’d dreaded telling Dante here, at work, but she respected him and he deserved to know about their child. She also wanted him to know that she didn’t expect anything.

She wasn’t looking for a marriage or even for him to be part of the child’s life if he didn’t want to be.

She knew firsthand what it was like when a man was forced into staying.

Her own father had made that painfully clear to her until the day he’d left her and her mother.

So she knew what it was like to be rejected by her father and she didn’t want that for her child. And that was why she’d been terrified of telling Dante. Terrified he’d reject her and the baby, which would make the next twelve weeks working with him miserable.

Glad to be able to focus for the moment on the job at hand, Shay took the time it took them to make their way to the lecture theatre to chat about the assignment with Dante.

“I think I’m pretty much up-to-date on what Daniel was planning to do and how he was going to implement the simulation and training program,” Shay said as she skimmed through the binder that she’d been given as she’d boarded the plane.

“So, what happened to Daniel?” Dante asked.

“Cancer,” Shay said sadly.

“That’s too bad. I wish him a speedy recovery, but I wish they had told me he wasn’t coming.” Dante rubbed his dimpled chin, and those butterflies that liked to dance around in the pit of her stomach months ago were starting up again. She’d forgotten how he affected her. He was still so handsome, the stubble on his chin suited him and she resisted the urge to tuck back the errant strand of his thick black hair.

“I thought you had been informed that Daniel was no longer coming,” she said.

“Clearly not,” he snapped.

“Dante, you’re clearly not okay with this.”

“I’m fine,” he said, and he took the binder from her, not even looking at her.

She knew he wasn’t. This was not the same man she’d spent a fairy-tale week with in Oahu. Then again, she hadn’t really been herself either. Like when she’d decided to throw caution to the wind and have a one-night stand.

“Okay, you’re fine, then. Shall we go and talk to the trainees? They are waiting.”

“Of course.” Dante didn’t even look at Shay as he opened the door on the far side of the room. It was as if he was angry that she was here.

Can you blame him?

They walked out onto the stage of the small lecture theatre. The first two rows were filled with new United World Wide Health Association recruits, men and women who would be taking a crash course in first response and trauma.

Dante’s job was to teach them trauma surgery and Shay was going to run them through a course of simulations. Based on situations she’d found herself in when she’d first started with the United World Wide Health Association.

She kind of envied all those hopeful faces, the thirty-odd new recruits. Her first days in the UWWHA working the field were some of her favorite times. Before she took this assignment she’d been going to take a field job in the Middle East to help vaccinate refugees.

Only that was before she’d found out she was pregnant. She couldn’t go then and had been weighing up her options, and then this position had become available. The more romantically minded would probably call it fate.

This would be her last foreign assignment for a long time and she was going to make the most of it.

Her career and her unborn child mattered to her. She was going to make sure her son or daughter had a good life and this job in Venice would give her a strong foundation. Even if she had to give up on her dreams for now.

The recruits were from all over Italy and some from Switzerland and France. They could all speak English and French, which Shay understood, and she was glad when Dante started to speak French to them over Italian, which she was still trying to pick up.

If her news had shaken him before, Dante didn’t show it now as he spoke highly of the United World Wide Health Association and the twelve-week training program they would be completing at the hospital under his and Shay’s guidance.

A baby hadn’t been in her plans either, but it had happened and she was going to be a good mother and continue with her career. Even if it was going in a slightly different direction than she’d thought. She wouldn’t pine away after a man who didn’t want her as her mother had done.

“Your dad’ll come back, Shay. You’ll see. I’m his wife. He went to Alaska to work for the crab season. He’ll be back and he’ll take us all up to Alaska.”

Of course, he never did come back.

He was still alive, the last Shay heard, but didn’t want anything to do with her.

He’d moved on and he certainly didn’t care that their house had been destroyed by Katrina and that his wife had died soon after from mold poisoning.

“Shay Labadie will explain the simulation scenarios you’ll be going through.” Dante stepped away from the podium and Shay shook the thoughts of her father from her head.

She was here to do a job.

And she always did a good job. Always saw a position through to the end, no matter what life threw at her.

She got up and explained the simulations that she would be running them through and answered questions. When she was done, the director of the UWWHA took the podium and she went and stood beside Dante. There was tension pouring off him and he barely looked at her.

Not that she could blame him.

She had dropped the fact that he was going to be a father on his lap.

She would’ve been more surprised if he weren’t shocked by the prospect.

Once the director finished talking, there was a mix and mingle session, so that everyone could get to know one another. Shay walked toward the stairs at the end of the stage, but Dante grabbed her arm, holding her back.

“A moment per favore, Shay.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “First, I was serious when I said I would like a paternity test done.”

“Okay.” He’d been right when he’d reminded her that they were strangers who’d slept together, much as it smarted that her word wasn’t enough to convince him that she didn’t sleep around. “Anything else?”

“This is hard for me to say.”

“Dante, you don’t have to do anything. I already told you that I’m not asking for anything.”

“I know you’re not,” he said quickly. “I am.”

“What...I... You’re what?” Shay didn’t know how to take that response. Now she was shocked, so she asked cautiously, “What’re you asking for?”

“Not much. Just that if the paternity test proves that I’m the father—”

“Which it will,” she interrupted.

“If it does,” he said through clenched teeth, “I want you to marry me.”

Of all the things she’d thought he’d say, that wasn’t one of them.

She hadn’t been expecting that.


CHAPTER TWO (#ucbb52889-2b9d-55f6-ae6d-6c3003fbe77b)

“YOU WANT...WHAT?” Shay was trying to process what Dante had said and she wasn’t sure that she completely understood him. “Could you repeat that?”

“I said that if the paternity test proves I’m the father I want you to marry me.” There was no smile on his face, no glint in his eye letting her know that he was joking, because he had to be joking, right? Men just didn’t ask women they’d slept with once to marry them, did they?

“That’s what I thought you said, but then I was thinking that there was no way you could be asking me that.” She tried to move past him, because this was a bit crazy. This was not the Dante she remembered, the Dante she knew.

You don’t know Dante, remember?

And she didn’t. Usually she knew the men she slept with a bit better, but when she’d been in Oahu she’d thrown caution to the wind when she’d succumbed to Dante’s kiss.

Even now, standing here in front of him, she had a hard time trying to forget the way his arms had felt around her. The way he’d whispered cara in her ear.

This reaction to him is why you’re pregnant in the first place.

“Well, I’m not asking you,” he said.

“You’re crazy.” She tried to leave.

He stepped in front of her to block her. “I’m not asking you, Shay. I’m telling you. If I’m the father, we will get married.”

What?

“You’re telling me?” She cleared her throat. “Seriously?”

Dante nodded. “Yes. You will marry me.”

Shay tried not to laugh at the absurdity of it. This was not real life.

“And what about the paternity test you’re so adamant I take?”

He glared at her. “I only want marriage if the test proves I’m the father.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Which was absurd. She hadn’t been with anyone since him, and before him there’d been no one else for a long time.

“Won’t it?”

She crossed her arms, glaring at him. Suddenly she was having a hard time finding him charming. Sexy, yes, but charming—heck, no. More annoying than anything.

“You’re the father,” she replied icily.

“Then you will marry me once we receive the results.”

She snorted. “How romantic.”

“Nothing about this is romantic, cara.” The endearment he used on her, his voice still deep and rich. She could hear that whisper in her ears: cara.

“Do you love me?” she asked point-blank, shaking those thoughts from her head.

He cocked his eyebrows. “This has nothing to do with love.”

“So the answer is no,” she said.

“Were you expecting me to say yes? Other than one week together, we don’t know each other.”

“Exactly, so why would I marry you?”

He frowned. “To give our child legitimacy. A stable home. The guarantee that it will have two parents. This is a business arrangement for the sake of the child.”

The premise of giving her child a good home life was very tempting, but she knew how this played out. She’d been that child after all and she wouldn’t put her child through that. Through the resentment, bitterness and heartache. To the point that her father had walked away and didn’t even want to see her again.

No, she didn’t want that for her baby.

She didn’t want her baby to feel that pain. Only he seemed to really want this baby and her father had never wanted her.

Another parent involved, especially a stationary one, means you can pursue assignments anywhere in the world.

“I’m not going to marry you,” she said. “I’m here to work.” She tried to leave the room, but he stepped in front of her, grabbing her by the arm, his dark eyes blazing.

“I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”

“I think I do,” she snapped, shrugging her arm out of his grip.

“So I’m not to have access to my child?” he demanded.

“I never said that.”

“You won’t marry me. So that means I won’t see this child. You’re only in Italy for twelve weeks. Then what happens? You won’t even be here when our child is born.”

“Dante, I’m not denying you access to your child. I want you to be part of his or her life. We don’t have to get married to raise this child. We don’t even need to live in the same country.”

He opened his mouth to say more when his pager buzzed. He looked down. “Incoming trauma, dannazione. This conversation isn’t over.” He stormed out of the room, his white lab coat billowing out behind him from his long strides. He was a force of nature to be reckoned with.

Shay breathed an inward sigh of relief, because for now she was able to get a breather, but she knew that this was probably far from over.

Dante stuck his head back into the room. “Are you coming, Shay? There is incoming trauma and you’re to be my nurse for the next twelve weeks. I need you by my side.”

By his side.

Only she wasn’t sure she was going to survive the next twelve weeks. By the way things were going she was either going to kill him or fall in love with him.

And succumbing to the passion, the desire, she felt for him was not an option. Neither was falling in love.

She had to guard her heart.

Shay was not her mother and wouldn’t be easily persuaded by loving a man. This was her life and she was going to live by her own wit.

“Of course.”

She shook her head; she had to get back in the game and focus on her work here. This was her job and, when she’d found out that she was pregnant after one night of forbidden passion, she’d sworn that she wasn’t going to let the pregnancy interfere with her job performance. She was a damn good nurse practitioner and simulation trainer. And that wasn’t going to change.

Even though she was starting to blossom and her center of gravity was shifting, she was able to keep up with Dante’s quick pace as they navigated the hallways through the hospital. He finally slowed down when they entered the trauma ward, where there was a flurry of activity. Shay could see water ambulances outside a set of automatic doors, where they were bringing in stretchers of patients.

“What happened?” Dante asked in Italian, that much she understood. The man spoke quickly and then pointed to where Dante was needed.

“Shay, this way,” Dante called, waving his hand and directing her to follow him.

They entered a private treatment bay, where a man lay seriously wounded.

“He’s American. Your presence might calm him,” Dante whispered.

Shay nodded. “What happened?”

“A vaporetto was tossed when a large cruise ship came into the lagoon. The cruise ship sent a wave into St. Mark’s Square and there were some injuries there as well.”

“Vaporetto?” Shay asked as she pulled on a trauma gown and gloves.

“Water taxi,” Dante said as he pulled on his own gloves. “This has been happening more and more. Especially during the summer months, when the tourists flock the city. Too much traffic.” He shook his head with disgust.

Shay nodded and headed over to the patient, who was conscious and had a mask on. His brown eyes were wide with fear as he looked around the room.

“I can’t understand a word,” he mumbled through the oxygen mask.

“Me neither,” Shay said gently. “I’m learning, though.”

“You’re American?” he asked, a hint of relief in his voice.

“I am. I’m a nurse practitioner with the United World Wide Health Association. Can you tell me what happened?”

“I don’t know, I don’t remember. One moment my wife and I were taking a water taxi from Lido di Venezia to St. Mark’s, and then the next thing I know we’re in the water. Oh, goodness, where is my wife?”

“What is her name?” Shay asked.

“Jennifer Sanders.”

“I’ll find her for you in a moment,” Shay said gently. “It’s important we make sure you’re okay first.”

“I can’t move. I can’t feel my legs,” the man said, his voice rising in panic.

Dante shot her a concerned look. “What is your name, signor?”

The man looked at Dante. “Are you the doctor?”

“Sì. Can you tell me your name?”

“James, but my friends call me Jim.”

Dante smiled at him. “I’m going to examine your abdomen. Tell me if anything hurts, and then we’ll get an MRI of your spine.”

The man nodded. Shay lifted his shirt and there was dark bruising; his belly was distended, which was a sign there was internal bleeding. The bleeding would have to be stopped before they could worry about his back. In this case internal bleeding trumped paralysis.

The man cried out when Dante did a palpation over his spleen.

“We need to get a CT scan of his abdomen, see how bad the bleeding is,” Dante whispered to Shay.

“Where do I go to order that?” she asked.

“I will. You stay with him. Prep him for the procedures.” Dante left the room.

Shay calmed their patient down and got an IV started, drawing the blood work needed before surgery. She had no doubt that with extensive bruising and pain Jim would need surgery and fast.

“What’s your name?” Jim asked.

“Shay Labadie,” she said as she took his vitals, writing them down.

“Baton Rouge?” he asked.

“No, close, though. New Orleans proper.” She smiled.

“I thought it was a Louisiana accent. I’m from Mississippi. Picayune to be exact.”

“Not far, then.” She smiled at him warmly, trying to reassure him as his blood pressure was rising.

He grinned faintly as his eyes rolled back into his head and the monitors went into alarm.

“I need a crash cart!” she shouted, slamming her hand against the code blue button as the rest of the team in the room jumped into action. Some situations transcended the language barrier.

* * *

“Nurse Labadie, if you contact Dr. Prescarrie, he is the neurologist. He’ll be able to determine the extent of the nerve damage in our patient.” Dante wanted to keep Shay busy, keep her away from the OR table, but she didn’t budge. She stood by his side, passing him the instruments he needed without him having to ask for them.

She knew exactly what he needed and when.

And she was so calm about it. That was what bothered him the most. As if nothing fazed her.

She was good at her job.

Though he shouldn’t be surprised. He’d been impressed by her when they were in Oahu together at the conference. Only he hadn’t got to see her actually work. Now he had that privilege, but he was also very aware of the fact that she was pregnant.

With his child.

Maybe your child.

He was still reeling over the realization Shay was here and pregnant with his child as he removed Mr. Sanders’s badly damaged spleen.

“I will contact him, but does he speak English?” she asked.

“He speaks French and I know that you can speak that. I heard you speak that before.”

“Okay, I’ll have him paged once Mr. Sanders is stable.” She handed him a cautery that he didn’t ask for, but damn if he didn’t need it right at that moment.

“Grazie,” he said grudgingly.

“You seem tense, Dr. Affini,” Shay remarked.

“Of course I’m tense. I have a man open on the table.”

And you’ve just walked back into my life carrying my baby.

Her presence here totally threw his controlled world off balance. Thoughts of Shay were kept to the privacy of his memories. To the nights he was alone and lonely, wishing he could have more than he was allotted in life. That was when he thought of Shay and their time together.

He’d romanticized her. The one stolen moment he could treasure forever and now she was here and he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

Her presence unnerved him completely.

“Is there anything I can do to ease your tension?” she asked. “I mean, if my job as a scrub nurse isn’t up to scratch...”

“It’s fine. There is nothing you can do. Well, there is one thing, but you refused.” He quickly glanced over at her and he could see her brow furrow above that surgical mask.

“This is not the time to discuss it.” There was a hint of warning in her voice.

Dante raised his eyebrows. He’d never heard Shay speak in that tone before. Even at the conference when there were idiots either hitting on her or talking over her, because she was just a nurse, she’d always smiled sweetly and taken them down a peg. This was something different.

A clear warning.

“Why not? I like chatting while I work.” He didn’t, but he liked getting under her skin the way she got under his.

She snorted. “You didn’t seem very receptive to talking before.”

“It depends what the subject is,” he teased.

“Well, I can say in no uncertain terms the subject you want to discuss, Dr. Affini, is off-limits.”

He chuckled but didn’t say anything further to her as he completed the splenectomy and stabilized the patient. Once he was done, Shay walked away from him and he could see her on the operating theatre’s phone, obviously paging Dr. Prescarrie about Mr. Sanders’s spinal injuries.

Not only was he impressed by her skill in a surgical situation, but he admired her strength. Women in his circles usually would balk under interrogation. Of course, women in his circles, women like Olivia, wouldn’t even be in an operating theatre, getting their hands dirty.

“What you do is noble, Dante. It’s just that I don’t want to hear about it. Can’t you just keep that to yourself?”

“And what am I supposed to talk about, Olivia? Fashion, cars?”

“The vineyards and, yes, it wouldn’t hurt you to immerse yourself in the world of privilege you were born into.”

Dante snorted as he pulled off his gloves and gown, disposing of them.

Olivia had hated that he was a trauma surgeon, working in a public hospital rather than in a private clinic. And his choice of surgery. Why couldn’t he do something like plastic surgery?

In her mind, a prince who was a surgeon needed to do something glamorous that dealt with the glitterati, not just anybody who stumbled in through the doors.

Only that wasn’t him. That was his father’s world and he loathed it.

Dante might be a prince, poised to inherit a large vineyard in Tuscany and his villa on the Lido di Venezia, as well as a hefty sum of money, but Prince was just a title. It wasn’t as if he were a member of the British royal family set to inherit the throne.

Being a prince was just a status in Italy. Nothing more.

His work as a surgeon meant so much more to him.

Working with his hands, doing something important whether it was tending the vines as his grandfather so lovingly had or saving a life.

That was what mattered to him.

Just like the baby that Shay was carrying inside her.

If it’s yours.

Even though there was no long-term future for Shay and him, he was determined to be a good father if she would just let him.

“Dr. Prescarrie should be down soon,” Shay remarked, coming into the scrub room. “He insisted on his own scrub nurse, though.”

“As well he should,” Dante said as he washed his hands. “You’re on my service.”

Shay rolled her neck and winced.

“Are you well?” he asked, concerned, seeing the discomfort etched on her face.

“Yes, just tired. I’m still getting used to the time change. A bit jet-lagged still.”

“Why don’t you go home and rest?”

She frowned. “I’m fine. I can still work and my shift isn’t over yet.”

“Shay, you need to take care of yourself. You’re possibly carrying my baby.”

There was a gasp behind them and they both spun around to see another nurse standing there, her brown eyes wide with shock as she looked between them.

“Sì?” Dante asked in exasperation and frustration. He had no doubt that the nurse had overheard.

“Siamo spiacenti, il Principe, non volevo interromperla.” She was apologizing for interrupting them, but Mrs. Sanders was being treated for a broken wrist and was inquiring after her husband. The patient was worried. Dante told the nurse that he would be there shortly to speak to her.

The nurse nodded and left.

Shay was standing there just as stunned. “She just called you il Principe. Why did she refer to you as the Prince?”

Dante sighed. This was what he’d wanted to avoid.

It was a title and a burden to him.

He was Dante and nothing more.

“Because I am,” Dante said.

“You’re a prince? A real prince?”

“Sì...” Dante sighed. “I am, so your child will also inherit my title if the child is mine. You may be carrying a royal baby.”

* * *

“Shay!”

Shay just shook her head and kept walking. She was trying to process what Dante had said to her: that her child was going to have a royal title. Only if the baby was his and that annoyed her even more. He was so suspicious of her. She hadn’t known that he was a prince, so he couldn’t accuse her of fortune hunting.

But maybe that’s why he’s so suspicious of paternity?

This was all just too surreal.

Of course, it was only fitting that he drop a bombshell on her, just as she’d done to him.

“Shay!”

She stopped and sighed. She couldn’t act like this. This was not professional and she’d promised herself that she would be above all professional when dealing with Dante. She was an adult and this was their child.

“I’m sorry, Dante,” she said. “I guess it was a bit of a shock to find out who you are.”

“It doesn’t change who I am, though,” he said gently.

“How would I know that? I barely know you.” She shook her head. “We’re strangers.”

He sighed at that. “This is true. One week at a conference means nothing.”

“I do realize we have to get to know each other if we’re both going to be involved in this child’s life.”

“Sì, I agree. Which is why you will marry me if the test is positive.”

Shay rolled her eyes. “Not this again. I’m not marrying you, Dante. I’m not going to marry someone I don’t love.”

“I’m not talking about a marriage of love,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m talking about a marriage of convenience. Just for a year. You live under my roof and we pretend to be man and wife in public.”

“Dante, I’m only here for twelve weeks.”

“So? You’re going on maternity leave when you get back to the United States, sì?”

“Yes, but...I have to go back to the States. My work visa is only good for twelve weeks.”

“If we marry, then you won’t need a visa. You say it’s my child, so why not have our child here, in my country?”

“I...I can’t—I won’t—give up my life, Dante.”

“After a year is over, then you can walk away. With our child, as long as I have parental rights. I will continue to financially support the child.”

“What do you gain from this?” she asked, confused. It all seemed too easy.

“An heir.” He dragged his hand through his dark hair. “I will support the child either way, but while you’re here in Italy, under my roof, I can protect you. Care for you.”

She bit her lip, mulling it over, but she didn’t want to marry. Ever.

Unless it was for love. Absolute, head-over-heels, can’t-get-enough-of-each-other love. She let a hand drift over her belly.

“I can’t, Dante,” she said.

He frowned. “You’re confused. Of course you are. I can see it. You should know that the baby won’t inherit any of my family land if he or she is not legitimized.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Shay asked. “Perhaps it’s better for our baby to be away from all of that.”

His eyes narrowed. “I take my family history very seriously. Being an Affini heir is a thing of pride.”

And then she felt bad because she was insulting him. His values.

Dante was not American. He came from a completely different world than she did.

How can you have family pride when you know nothing about the name you were born with?

Still, she couldn’t agree to marry him. Not now. She needed time to think and she wanted to talk to her friend and colleague, Aubrey, about it. She was so confused.

“We should go and talk to Mrs. Sanders. I’m sure she’s worried.” She turned and kept walking toward the room where Mrs. Sanders had got her broken wrist taken care of. Dante thankfully took the hint as he fell into step beside her.

Mrs. Sanders was lying in a bed, her wrist in a cast, and Shay could see the pain and worry etched on her face. She opened her eyes when they walked into the room.

“Please tell me you have word on my husband,” Mrs. Sanders said.

“I’m Dr. Affini and I did the surgery on your husband.”

“Were you told why he went to surgery?” Shay asked gently.

“He had internal bleeding?” Mrs. Sanders said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “That’s all I know.”

“Your husband had major lacerations to his spleen,” Dante said gently. “I had to remove it.”

Shay rubbed the patient’s shoulder as she began to cry.

“He came through the splenectomy well,” Dante said. “Dr. Prescarrie is our neurologist. He is going to check out your husband’s spine.”

“Why?” Mrs. Sanders asked, her eyes tracking to Shay and then back to Dante.

“He was complaining of loss of sensation before we took him into surgery,” Dante said. “Dr. Prescarrie will be able to determine if the paralysis is temporary and what damage was done to the spine. We take loss of function very seriously.”

“Oh, no. This is our thirtieth anniversary. Our kids surprised us with this trip to Italy. We’re on a tour, you see...”

“Were you with the tour company when it happened?” Shay asked.

Mrs. Sanders shook her head. “No, we were having some free time in Venice. We’re leaving for Tuscany tomorrow.”

“Give me the number of the tour operator and I’ll explain what happened. She can contact your family.”

“It’s in my purse over there.” She inclined her head. “Thankfully, I wasn’t thrown into the water. Our passports are in there too if you need them.”

Shay smiled and brought Mrs. Sanders her purse, holding it open so the patient could pull out the information. Shay took it.

“I’ll call the tour operator and they’ll take care of your belongings and everything,” Shay said. “Don’t you worry. Just rest.”

Mrs. Sanders nodded and clutched her purse with her good arm.

“Dr. Prescarrie will update you on your husband as soon as possible, Signora Sanders. For now you’ll stay in this room. Try to rest.” Dante patted the patient’s leg and they walked out of her room. Dante stopped at the nurses’ station to give instructions to the staff about Mrs. Sanders’s stay, before he headed back toward Shay.

“That was very good of you to say you’ll call the tour company.”

“Well, they’re so far from home.” Shay glanced down at the information in her hand. “Is there a place I can call from in private?”

“Sì, follow me.” Dante held out his arm and led her to another part of the hospital until they were standing in front of an office. “This is my office and you may use the telephone in there to contact the tour operator.”

He opened the door for her and flicked on the lights.

“Thank you, Dante.”

He shrugged. “Take your time, but before you go I want to finish our conversation.”

“I thought we were finished with that particular conversation.”

A small smile twitched his lips. “No, we’re not finished. Far from it. Besides, you have a test to go through, cara.”

Dante shut the door and walked away, leaving Shay alone in his office. She breathed a sigh of relief as she took a seat in his leather office chair and punched in the number. She was connected right away to the tour operator and she explained the situation to them. Everything was worked out. Their room in Venice would be held for them for as long as they needed and the tour company would contact the emergency contacts in their file.

The tour company would also contact the insurance and everything would be taken care of.

Satisfied, Shay disconnected the call and leaned back in Dante’s swivel chair. She closed her eyes and the baby fluttered around, feeling like a butterfly. Reminding her again that she was working a bit too hard.

The ob-gyn she’d seen in the United States had said she could do this work, but he had warned her to take it easy.

The only reason she had clearance to take this job was because it was less strenuous than the assignment she was originally on. Running a training and simulation program, as well as assisting a trauma surgeon in the operating theatre, should be a breeze.

The problem was, she hadn’t taken a break.

Her blood sugar was dropping and she needed to eat something.

Something decent.

And she needed rest.

Dante might think their conversation wasn’t over, but as far as she was concerned it was for the evening. She was going to head back to the villa she and her friend Danica were sharing, eat and get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day; she was going to run her first simulation.

She got up and found her way back to the small office she had been given on the other side of the hospital. She grabbed her purse and sweater. She headed toward the back door and from there it was a short walk to the house the United World Wide Health Association had rented for their staff.

If she had a moment, she’d talk to Dante again and tell him again that she wasn’t going to marry him.

Convenience or not, she was a big girl and could take care of herself.

She didn’t need his protection.

As she stepped outside she was blinded by flashing lights and a rush of people crowded her, pressing her back against the wall. She shielded her face, but she couldn’t understand what they were asking her.

She caught a few words, like prince and baby.

Then there was a roar and string of loud, harsh words and strong arms came around her, pulling her close, and she realized it was Dante, shielding her. She clung to him as he shouted at the group of reporters and ushered her back inside. Once they were back inside and the shouting from the mob of reporters was drowned out, she sighed in relief.

“What in the world...?”

“The press got word that you might be carrying my heir,” Dante snapped.

“That’s what they were asking me?”

“Sì,” he said, his dark eyes twinkling with a dangerous light, his hands on his hips, and he began to curse in Italian again.

“I thought that Italian princes were common?” Shay said, mimicking him. “I mean, not like the British royal family...”

“Yes, but with my family there is a bit more scandal. So my brother and I are often in the spotlight. We’re favorites of the paparazzi.”

“And I just gave them their latest scoop.” She ran a hand over her belly. “Is this going to happen all the time?”

Dante scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sì.”

“So that’s what you meant by protecting me?” she asked.

He nodded curtly. “Where are you staying?”

“At the United World Wide Health Association house. It’s not far from here.”

He shook his head. “Not tonight, you’re not. You’re coming to my place.”

“I am not!” she said, getting annoyed with him.

“You’re going to cause a bigger scandal if you don’t agree to my marriage suggestion, especially if the child is mine,” Dante snapped. “You could ruin my reputation at this hospital.”

Shay bit her lip. She didn’t want to ruin his career or his reputation. “You want a marriage of convenience?”

“Sì, that way I can protect you. I have a restraining order against the paparazzi and it will protect you also, if you marry me.”

“So just on paper we’ll be married.”

“Sì, but to make it look real you will have to move into my home for a year.” He rolled his neck and tugged at the collar of his shirt, as if it were suffocating him. It clearly bothered him just as much as it bothered her.

“Do you have enough room?” Shay asked.

He chuckled. “I have an entire villa to myself on the Lido di Venezia. I can give you your own wing if you desire. Just say yes. Let me protect you and our child.”

Even though she should say no, she didn’t want paparazzi stopping her and accosting her when she moved around Venice. Especially where there was a language barrier. Dante could keep them at bay. She ran her hand over her belly again.

This was his baby too. Even if he didn’t believe it at the moment.

What choice did she have? It was just for a year. Only she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t agree to the marriage.

“You’re coming with me,” Dante said. “We’ll get the paternity test done now, put this doubt to rest.”

“I don’t have a say in this?”

“No, you don’t.”

And she had a feeling this was one of many arguments she was going to have with him over the course of the next twelve weeks. He’d won this round, but she’d win the next.


CHAPTER THREE (#ucbb52889-2b9d-55f6-ae6d-6c3003fbe77b)

“YOU DID WHAT?”

Dante glanced into his office, where Shay was curled up on his sofa, sleeping. She was resting after the paternity test. Now they were waiting for the results and Dr. Tucci promised to rush them. Before they left, Dante was going to make sure that they were at least on their way to being man and wife, even if Shay kept saying no. He was still having a hard time trusting her, but deep down he felt as if this child was his. So he was going to make sure she married him. Then he could protect the trust his mother left and have something for his child. His child wouldn’t have to worry about the future the way his father made Enzo and him so worried. Dante wouldn’t sell off his child’s inheritance just because he or she wasn’t married by the time they were thirty-five. He wouldn’t have such a foolish restriction.

Once he brought Shay back to his villa, the press couldn’t hound her. If she stayed by his side, she’d be safe as well.

There were still a few steps he had to take. Like convincing her to say yes and stay in Italy. If the child was his, he’d do the right thing to protect his child.

And if it’s not?

He glanced at Shay sleeping so peacefully and he didn’t even want to think of her betraying him the way Olivia had. His memory of Shay had been so pure and untainted.

The memory of their night together was the only thing besides the vineyard and surgery that made him happy. If she betrayed his trust like Olivia, that memory would be shattered. He’d have nothing pure to cling to when the loneliness gnawed at him.

“Dante, are you even listening to me?” Enzo asked on the other end of the phone.

“Scusate, it’s been a trying day.” He rubbed his temple where a tension headache was forming.

“I would say so,” Enzo commiserated on the other end.

“I’m getting married. I just have to obtain a Nulla Osta as quickly as possible.”

“She’s not Italian?” Enzo asked.

“She’s American.”

“Why do you want to marry an American?”

“She’s carrying my child.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sì, I believe it is mine.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“The paternity test results will be ready soon.” Dante sighed.

There was silence on the other end. “Dante, I know I have been bugging you to get married, but...did she even agree?”

“Not yet.”

“Not yet?” Enzo asked.

“You don’t have to say anything else,” Dante said, cutting his brother off. He knew exactly where Enzo was going with this and he didn’t want to be reminded about Olivia and the baby that wasn’t his right now.

Shay was not Olivia.

“I don’t want you to get hurt again,” Enzo said gently. “It killed me to see you so hurt last time.”

“I appreciate that, Enzo. However, if this is my baby, I will marry her.”

“What if she’s after your money? Your title? Even if the baby is yours, she could be just after the same things that Olivia was.”

“She’s not,” Dante said. “She’s already refused to marry me, remember? Several times. It’s almost getting embarrassing now.”

Enzo laughed. “Still...”

“No, there is no still. Shay’s not after my money or anything. There will be ground rules to this marriage. It’s just a marriage of convenience. Nothing more. She can continue to do her work, our baby will be protected and I will keep my inheritance. The trust Mother signed over to Father before she knew any better.”

“What do you need from me?” Enzo asked.

“She’s staying at our place.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our childhood home, the one that was sold off before mother died and is now being rented to the United World Wide Health Association. She’s staying there.”

“Ah, so you want me to go collect her stuff?”

“Or at least tell someone there to collect it for her and then bring it to my place. That’s where she’ll be staying from now on. She was mobbed on her way out of the hospital this evening. The whole world will soon know about the Affini heir.”

“I can’t believe you did it, Dante. I can’t believe you’re going to get married and have an heir all within a year and so close to the cutoff date. You did it. You saved Grandfather’s vineyard and Mamma’s villa.”

A smile crept across Dante’s face as the reality sank in.

He had. He’d managed to keep a hold of all that was promised to him. All that money and land wouldn’t pass back into their father’s greedy hands. The land he loved so much, the vineyard, all of it would be saved. The relief that washed over him in that moment was almost palpable.

“Could you go and talk to her roommate as soon as possible?” Dante asked. “She’s tired and I’m taking her back to my villa. She needs her rest.”

“Sì, I’ll go there as soon as I finish up at the clinic.”

“Grazie.” Dante hung up the phone and then knelt beside Shay. She looked so peaceful sleeping, her face at ease, those long blond eyelashes brushing the tops of her round cheeks. He resisted the urge to reach out and run his thumb across those smooth, soft cheeks or to kiss her pink lips as he had back in Oahu.

The memory of which was still imprinted onto his soul. And pregnancy just made her all the more beautiful.

She glowed.

Don’t. Don’t get attached. The results aren’t in. Don’t set yourself up for hurt.

“Shay,” he said gently. “Wake up.”

She roused. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s time to leave. The paparazzi are still waiting out back, but I have a water taxi waiting for us to take us to Lido di Venezia. They won’t follow us there.”

“And the results of the test?”

“They’ll be ready tomorrow morning. Come, stay at my place tonight, where I can keep you safe.”




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