Page 12 of Royal Surrogate 2

“Why not?” Xavier gives a polite nod in my direction before crossing his arms and giving Caspar an exasperated look. “My family has as much right to be here as yours does. You never told me you were planning to use it.”

“You never told me that you were planning to use it,” Caspar counters.

“It’s all right,” I cut in, placing a hand on Caspar’s arm. “They were already here. We can find somewhere else?—”

“But this is our honeymoon. I had the whole thing planned?—”

“Wait, this is supposed to be your honeymoon?” Xavier frowns at us. “Seems a little late for a honeymoon…”

“Yes, well we’re trying to make up for it now, since we never got one in the first place,” Caspar says. “So if you can see it in your heart to vacate the premises, we’d be much obliged.”

“We just got here,” Xavier replies. “I’m not going to let you kick out my family because of your poor planning.”

Noah squirms in Caspar’s arms, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Uncle Caca? You make us go?”

All it takes is one look into that innocent little face and I can see Caspar’s heart melt.

“Of course I’m not making you go,” he insists. “You know I love spending time with you?—”

“You stay?” Instantly Noah’s face lights up, and he grabs Caspar’s shirt in his little fist. “You stay!”

Even Xavier was starting to look resigned. “If it means so much to you, Brother, I suppose we can move Noah into our bedroom and you and Renae can have the other.”

“Stay!” Noah says excitedly. “Caca! Nay-nay! Stay!”

Caspar shoots me a look, silently pleading for help, but I’m not sure what he wants me to say or do. Even I’m not immune to the cuteness that is Noah.

“Of course we’ll stay,” I tell the little boy.

And that seems to settle it. Noah shrieks with excitement until his mother comes out to see what all the fuss is about, and then the next thing I know Caspar and I are moving our bags into the second bedroom.

It certainly is cozy. Despite Caspar’s insistence that it’s a humble place, it’s still nicer than any rickety mountain cabin I’ve ever seen—more of a chalet than a cabin, in my opinion—but it still has a certain charm about it, boasting the same hand-carved woodwork and brightly painted details I’d have expected to see in any quaint, middle-European mountain town. It’s smaller than I expected, too, which means the five of us are going to be mighty friendly over the next few days.

So much for separate rooms, I think, staring at the bed Caspar and I will be sharing for the next few nights. It’s smaller than our bed back home, probably only a double-sized mattress. I don’t even want to think about how I’m going to survive that.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

I jump. I never even heard Caspar come up behind me.

“No, it’s fine,” I tell him. “We’ll make do.” Despite everything, I still don’t feel like I have the right to kick him out of bed. It’s not his fault my hormones are going crazy right now.

Well, it’s sort of his fault, I remind myself, my hand moving to my belly. But I should still be able to control myself. I’m not a monster.

“You should come out back,” Caspar says, apparently eager to change the subject. “It’s the best part of this place.”

I have no interest in lingering in the bedroom, so I agree.

Caspar leads me out onto a wide wooden deck on the back of the cabin, and the minute I step outside I let out a gasp.

There’s a river below us, its impossibly clear water flowing lazily past the deck and curving into the woods beyond. Through a break in the trees, I can see purple mountains rising from the valley beyond, regal against the clear azure sky.

“It’s beautiful,” I say. In fact, it might be one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever seen. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I’m used to lovely mountains and rivers, but there’s something different about this place. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It feels like home and yet, it also feels like I’ve stepped through a portal into somewhere truly magical.

“You like it then?” Beside me, Caspar is wearing one of those cocky grins of his. “I knew you would.”

“You were right.” I don’t even mind feeding his ego a little—this view is worth it. “It’s amazing.” I lean my elbows on the railing, looking down into the flowing water below. “I could stay out here all day.”

“You’re welcome to, if you wish,” he says. “There’s a bench swing under the eaves on that side of the deck—in the evening, it’s the perfect place to watch the sunset.”

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