He got up and paced around her living room and looked for all the world like a normal guy in jeans and a t-shirt. Olivia watched him run a hand through his hair and laugh nervously. She knew exactly how he felt. Her heart hadn’t stopped fluttering since she saw him, and she hadn’t even kissed the damn man yet.
Olivia got to her feet and grabbed his arm. He started to say something, but she stood on her toes and pulled his mouth down to hers. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she shouldn’t, but seeing him, having him hold her, was too much. She needed to feel his arms around her again, her and their baby. Her prince had come back for her, and even if they couldn’t find a way to be together, she was not going to waste this stolen moment.
Her hands tangled in his hair, and she sighed at the feel of his body pressed against hers. It was a dream, it had to be a dream, but he stood before her, solid and still madly in love with her.
“Quincy,” she whispered against his lips, “how did you leave? Do they know where you are?”
“I ran away,” he told her. “I got up this morning and knew I was going to be married to Gigi before the day was over, so I just… I couldn’t do it until I knew why you left. I thought for a minute that maybe you stopped loving me.” He stared at her and his eyes moved lower to her belly. “But I can see now that isn’t the case. I love you, Olivia, and our child, and I don’t give a damn what happens. I’m not leaving you again.”
She backed away and shook her head, trying to clear it. “You can’t just up and leave your kingdom! I can’t have that hanging over my head.”
“You won’t,” he said. “I’m going to turn it all down.”
“No,” she said, “no, you can’t do that! Your father will hate you for it.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but Olivia, I tried to be without you and I barely lasted a month,” he said and took her hands in his. “You can’t tell me it wasn’t just as hard for you.”
She squeezed his hands and quickly pulled away. “That’s not the point!”
“Yes, it is! It’s why I’m here, damn it. I’m either going back with you or not going back at all.”
She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want him to do that for her, but there wasn’t a chance she was going to let him depart her life again, especially now that he knew about the baby. Her hands held her belly, and she caught him staring, his eyes wide with excitement and love, and she tugged on his hand to bring him closer. He immediately wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her to him, and she felt lighter than she had in the whole month away. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she knew no matter what happened, she couldn’t live without him.
“We’re step-siblings,” she whispered against his chest. “It’ll be a scandal.”
“I don’t care,” he replied. “The worst he can do is turn me away, and then we can just live here.”
“You’d have to get a job,” she said and glanced at him with a crooked smile.
“You make it sound as if that would be hard. I will do whatever I have to for you both, Olivia.”
“I can tell, since you walked out on your own wedding and flew here without telling anyone.” Her smile fell as she realized how panicked everyone must be on the isle. “You have to call them, let them know you’re alright! What if they think you were kidnapped?”
The glint of mischief in his eyes told her that wouldn’t be a problem. “Theo and I had a wee bit of a… goodbye before I hopped on the plane.”
“You outran your bodyguards?”
“As if I hadn’t been doing that all my life. So, you said Chinese food for dinner. I’m in.”
How could she turn down her prince? She walked to the kitchen, stopped, and whipped around. “Were you mad at me?”
“What?”
“I caught the look on your face before I fainted. You were mad at me. Did you really come all this way to yell at me before you realized I was pregnant?”
He rubbed the back of his head as his cheeks flushed red. “I was angry with you, I’ll admit it.”
“For doing the right thing?”
Quincy straightened and she saw the prince standing before her. “For making my decision for me. Don’t let this face fool you, I’m still mad at you for not telling me goodbye, or about the baby, for that matter. What did you think I’d do? Toss you out?”
“I knew you’d never let me leave,” she said. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry for food anymore. Her latest appointment had been two weeks ago, and the doctor had said she was fine to have sex if she wanted to. Helen wasn’t home yet and was probably running late.
“What? Are you alright?” Quincy asked as she stared at him. “Olivia?”
She didn’t answer but grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the stairs. The second she reached her room, she shoved him through the doorway and kicked it closed behind her, latching her arms around his neck and kissing him fiercely. He returned the favor as his arms wrapped around her before pulling her shirt up over her head. His hands smoothed down her stomach but paused at her belly and pulled back.
“Wait… Is this safe? The baby?”