Page 40 of Royal Surrogate 1

I try to assuage that small voice in the back of my head by reminding myself that she at least appears happy—her smile is as wide as I’ve seen it since we’ve arrived. She seems almost…relieved.

“Shall we, then?” Renae asks, placing her hand on my arm as she guides me to the door. “We don’t want to keep your parents waiting.”

I can hardly believe she’s real. I should say something—tell her about that twenty-year clause, warn her that there’s more to those papers…

But I don’t. I can’t. I don’t know if it’s that I’m stunned silent by her beauty or just the fact that she was willing to jump so blindly into a contractual marriage with me.

Of course, I haven’t really considered that part of it yet, either. I also could have told her that my father stripped out my portion of the contract that said I could continue to see other women. Certainly, when Renae finds out that part, she’ll be pleased, even if it does mean having to live twenty years with me.

Twenty years. I gulp. I can’t even contemplate how long that truly is. How old will I even be in twenty years?—?

My thoughts are interrupted with an elbow to my ribs.

“Earth to Caspar.” Renae grins up at me. “Are you all right? You look like you’re a million miles away.”

I give her my most charming of smiles. “Only because I’m with the world’s most beautiful woman.”

She lifts a brow. “I already signed the papers. It isn’t like you need to woo me, you know. I’m a sure thing.” Her cheeks flush. “You know what I mean.”

“But it’s true.” If I wasn’t so distracted by what I’d just done, I might have gone back on my promise of not touching her. She’s breathtaking—I’m sure my cousin loaned her the cocktail dress she’s wearing, but it couldn’t be more stunning on her figure, hugging her in all the right places.

“You’re so full of it,” she says, giving me a playful roll of her eyes. “What are you so worried about? You look like you’re about to have your last supper.”

“Ah, well…” We’ve neared the entry to the dining room, and I stop, turning to her.

I should tell her now, I think. Tell her what she just signed enjoins her with this family for the next twenty years. Surely that’s not a prison she wants to commit to.

“Well?” She grins up at me. “What is it? They can’t be that bad. Your father agreed to our contract. We won.”

I look into her eyes. I want to tell her. I do. I open my mouth to tell her we can still tear the damn contract up—that I won’t hold her accountable for her signature if she doesn’t want me to—but instead, I’m jabbed again in the ribs.

This time, it’s by my brother Benedict.

“Is this her? My new sister-in-law?” He gives her an overly royal bow. “It’s good to meet you, my lady.”

Renae dips into a proper curtsy. “And you as well, my lord.”

“Renae, this is my brother, Lord Benedict.” I swat the back of his head as he rises. “Where is your lovely wife?”

“Ah. Quinn is unfortunately upstairs with our daughter. She seems to have caught a stomach bug somewhere between here and Wilderly Springs. You’d love it, Brother. There’s vomitus everywhere.”

“My favorite.” I give him a polite smile. “Shouldn’t you be upstairs assisting?”

“Quinn has a handle on it.” He grins. “Besides, it’s her turn. I took care of diarrhea day last month, so I got a get out of jail free card on this one.”

“That seems fair,” Renae smiles at him.

“Just think, Brother.” Benedict drapes his arm across my shoulder. “In a year or two, you and Renae will have a routine down, too. She’ll get to clean up the puke, and you’ll be the one cleaning up the?—”

“Oh no,” Renae interrupts, shaking her head with a laugh. “That’s all on Caspar.”

“Really?” Benedict turns to look at me. “You’ve come to that arrangement already?”

“Yes, definitely,” Renae says, nodding. “All baby eruptions will be taken care of by Caspar. Or the nanny.”

“Ha!” Benedict slaps me on the shoulder before turning to the door and leading us into the dining room. “A nanny. That isn’t going to happen.” He laughs before he turns to Renae. “Do you really want a nanny?”

“No, of course not.” Her smile falls. “I mean, if it was up to me, I’d raise…” She puts on a plastic smile. “You know what? It really doesn’t matter. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to work all of that out after our child arrives.”

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