The Doctor Takes a Princess / Pregnant with the Prince's Child: The Doctor Takes a Princess / Pregnant with the Prince's Child

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She felt dizzy with a want and need she denied on a regular basis. It was as if she was suffering from a more delicious version of altitude sickness. His mouth against hers made her hotter with every stroke of his tongue. More than anything, she wanted to feel him against her.

“Ryder,” she whispered, tugging at his tie and dropping her mouth to his neck.

He gave a groan of arousal. “Come home with me. Now,” he said, squeezing her derriere with one hand and clasping her breast with the other.

Too tempted for words, she felt the tug and pull of duty and courtesy over her own needs. Bloody hell, why couldn’t she just this once be selfish, irresponsible and rude? A sound of complete frustration bubbled from her throat. Because she just couldn’t. She was in the States on official business from Chantaine and she’d been assigned to represent a cause important to her and her people.

“I can’t,” she finally managed. “It would just be wrong and rude and it’s not just about me. I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I don’t know what it is about you, but you make me want to be more reckless than I’ve ever been in my life. More reckless than flying down Deadman’s Hill on my bicycle with no hands when I was ten.”

Bridget felt the same way, but she was holding on by the barest thread of self-restraint. Suddenly the door whooshed open and closed, sending her heart into her throat. Her head cleared enough to realize this situation could provide the press with an opportunity to paint her family in a bad light.

She held her breath, waiting for a voice, but none sounded.

“It’s okay,” he said as if he understood without her saying a word. “Whoever opened the door must have glanced inside and not spotted us. I’ll leave first, then you wait a minute or two before you leave. I’ll warn you if it looks like there’s a crowd waiting for you.”

She paused, then nodded slowly.

Ryder gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze and kissed her quickly, then walked toward the door. Bridget stood frozen to the floor for several breaths and gave herself a quick shake. She moved to the door and listened, but the door was too thick. She couldn’t hear anything. Counting to a hundred, she cracked open the door and peeked outside. No crowd. No photogs. Relief coursed through her and she stepped outside.

“Your Highness, I was worried about you,” Robert said from behind her.

Her stomach muscles tightened and she quickly turned. “Robert, how kind of you.”

“What were you doing in there?” he asked.

“My sense of direction is dismal,” she said. “I went right when I should have turned left. Thank you for coming to my rescue. Now I can return to our table.”

He slid his hand behind her waist and she automatically stiffened, but he seemed to ignore her response. “We can leave, if you like. I could take you to my condo….”

“Again, you’re being kind, but we’re here for an important cause.” “Afterward—”

“It’s been a full day for me flying from Chicago. I appreciate your understanding that I’ll be desperate to finally retire,” she said. One of her advisers had instructed her that one should speak to another person as if they possessed good qualities … even if they didn’t.

“Another time, then,” Robert said, clearly disappointed.

Bridget gave a noncommittal smile, careful not to offer any false hope.

When Bridget didn’t hear from Ryder for three days, she began to get peeved. Actually, she was peeved after day one. He’d behaved like he was starving for her and couldn’t wait another moment, then didn’t call. She considered calling him at least a dozen times, but her busy schedule aided her in her restraint.

On Tuesday, however, she was scheduled to meet with a preventative adult health specialist in preparation for a video she would be filming with the doctor as a public service announcement for Chantaine.

Afterward, she meandered down the hall past his office. She noticed Ryder wasn’t there, but his assistant was. Bridget gave in to temptation and stepped into the office. “Hello. I was wondering if Dr. McCall is in today.”

The assistant sighed. “Dr. McCall is making rounds and seeing interns, but he may need to leave early for family reasons. May I take a message?”

“Not necessary,” she demurred, but wondered what those family reasons were. “Are the twins okay?” she couldn’t help asking.

The assistant nodded. “I think so. It’s the nanny—” The phone rang. “Excuse me.”

The nanny! The nanny she’d selected for Ryder and the boys had been as perfect as humanly possible. Perhaps more perfect. What could have possibly happened? Resisting the urge to grill the assistant about her, she forced herself to walk away. Her fingers itched to call him, but she didn’t. It would be rude to interrupt his appointments with patients or the residents.

Bothered, bothered, bothered, she stalked through the hallway. The pediatric department head saw her and stopped in front of her, smiling. “Your Highness, what a pleasure to see you.”

“Thank you, Doctor. How are you?” she said more than asked.

“Great. Would you like to get together for dinner?” he asked.

“I would, but I must confess my immediate schedule is quite demanding. Perhaps some other time,” she said.

“I’ll keep asking,” he said and gave her a charming smile that didn’t move her one iota.

Brooding, she walked down the hall and out of the hospital to the limo that awaited her. A text would be less intrusive, she decided, and sent a message. Two minutes later, she received a response. Nanny had emergency appendectomy. Juggling with backup.

WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL ME? she texted in return.

Her phone rang one moment later and she answered. “Hello.”

“It’s been crazy. I’ve even had to ask Marshall for help.”

“Why didn’t you ask me?” she demanded.

“You told me your schedule was picking up. I figured you wouldn’t have time,” he said.

True, she thought, but she was still bothered. “You still should have called me.”

“You’re a busy princess. What could you have done?” he asked.

Good question. She closed her eyes. “I could have rearranged my schedule so I could help you.”

Silence followed. “You would do that?”

She bit her lip. “Yes.”

“I didn’t think of that.”

“Clearly,” she said.

He chuckled. “In that case, can you come over tomorrow afternoon? My part-time nanny needs a break.”

“I’ll confirm by five o’clock tonight,” she said. “I have to make a few calls.”

“Impressive,” he said. “I bet your reschedules are going to be disappointed. Too bad,” he said without a trace of sympathy.

She laughed. “I’ll call you later,” she said and they hung up and her heart felt ten times lighter.

The following afternoon, Bridget relieved the backup nanny while the twins were sleeping. From previous experience, she knew her moments of silence were numbered. She used the time to prepare bottles and snacks for the boys.

Sure enough, the first cry sounded. She raced upstairs and opened the door. Travis was sitting up in his crib wearing a frowny face.

“Hello, sweet boy,” she whispered.

He paused mid-wail and stared at her wide-eyed.

“Hi,” she whispered and smiled.

Travis smiled and lifted his fingers to his mouth.

Bridget changed his diaper. Seconds later, Tyler awakened and began to babble. Tyler was the happier baby. He was a bit more fearful, but when he woke up, he didn’t start crying immediately.

Bridget wound Travis’s mobile and turned her attention to Tyler. She took each baby downstairs ready to put them in their high chairs. Snacks, bottles, books, Baby Einstein and finally Ryder arrived carrying a bottle of wine.

“How’s everybody?” he asked, his gaze skimming over her and the boys, then back to her. “Did they wear you out?”

“Not too much yet,” she said. “It helps to have a plan.”

He nodded. “With alternatives. I ordered Italian, not pizza. It should be delivered soon.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“I’m hoping to lure you into staying the night,” he said.

“Ha, ha,” she said. “The trouble with luring me after an afternoon with the twins is that I’ll be comatose by nine o’clock at the latest. I talked to your part-time sitter and she told me Suzanne will be out for a few more days. Is that true?”

He nodded. “She had laparoscopic surgery, so her recovery should be much easier than if she’d had an open appendectomy.”

“Then I think the next step is to get a list of your backup sitters and inform them of the situation and make a schedule for the children’s care. So if you don’t mind giving me your names and contact information, I can try to get it straight tomorrow.”

He blinked at her in amazement. “You’re deceptively incredible,” he said. “You give this impression of being lighthearted and maybe a little superficial. Then you turn around and volunteer to take care of my boys, recruit doctors for your country and make countless appearances.”

“Oooh, I like that. Deceptively incredible,” she said, a bit embarrassed by his flattery. “Many of us are underestimated. It can be a hindrance and a benefit. I try to find the benefit.”

Ryder leaned toward her, studying her face. “Have you always been underestimated?”

She considered his question for a moment, then nodded. “I think so. I’m number four out of six and female, so I think I got lost in the mix. I’m not sure my father ever really knew my name, and my mother was beginning to realize that her marriage to my father was not going to be a fairy tale.”

“Why not?”

“You must swear to never repeat this,” she said.

“I swear, although I’m not sure anyone I know would be interested,” he said.

“True enough,” she said. “My father was a total philanderer. Heaven knows, my mother tried. I mean, six children? She was a true soldier, though, and gave him two sons. Bless her.”

“So what do you want for yourself?” he asked. “You don’t want the kind of marriage your parents had.”

“Who would?” she said and took a deep breath. “I haven’t thought a lot about it. Whenever Stefan has brought up the idea of my marrying someone, I just start laughing and don’t stop. Infuriates the blazes out of him,” she said, and smiled.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said.

His eyes felt as if they bored a hole through her brain, and Bridget realized one of the reasons she was drawn to Ryder was because she couldn’t fool him. It was both a source of frustration and relief.

“I’m still figuring it out. For a long time, I’ve enjoyed the notion of being the eccentric princess who lives in Italy most of the year and always has an Italian boyfriend as her escort.”

“Italian boyfriend,” he echoed, clearly not pleased.

“You have to agree, it’s the antithesis of my current life.”

“And I suspect this life wouldn’t include children,” he continued with a frown.

Feeling defensive, she bit her lip. “Admit it. The life you’d planned didn’t include children … at least for a long while, did it?”

He hesitated.

“Be honest. I was,” she said.

“No,” he finally admitted. “But not because I was in Italy with an Italian girlfriend.”

“No, you were planning to do something more important. A career in medicine. Perfectly noble and worthy, but it would be hard to make a child a priority when you have the kind of passion you do for your career. A child would be … inconvenient.”