Page 14 of The Royally Broke Billionaire
Once Piper tentatively joined them, Tess amended her introduction. Speaking in a clear calm voice, she said to her brothers and sisters-in-law, “This is Sebastian’s son, Liam.”
As expected, her brothers’ kindhearted wives moved forward to coo and fawn over the adorable cherub, who smiled up at them as if on cue.
Tess’s brothers remained aloof and glared at her husband. When one of the palace’s limo drivers wheeled a cart loaded down with Louis Vuitton suitcases in the Donovan family’s signature print through the palace’s mammoth double doors, Tess rolled her eyes.
It was going to be a long week with her family––or possibly a long month, based on the massive amount of luggage they had brought with them.
Unable to contain herself when a second piled-high cart was wheeled in, Tess asked her brothers, “Are you planning to stay for a year?”
She had intended for the question to be sarcastic, so when Trevor answered, “If that’s how long it takes,” she felt like fainting.
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Tess glared at her brothers. “How did you two even find out about this? We haven’t told anyone outside of the castle’s walls.”
Mo chose that moment to clomp down the stairs. Even though Mo had never been what anyone would call a quiet or graceful woman, something about the palace’s tall ceilings and pristine stone floors made her clattering seem amplified.
As soon as Mo spied the four newcomers in the entryway, she yelled, “Oh, good… you made it!”
“Should have known,” Tess shook her head and muttered to herself. Leave it to her best friend to call in the reinforcements, even though that was the last thing the queen herself wanted right now.
Once her friend reached the landing, Tess hissed in her direction. “Why did you call them?”
“They have the right to know what’s going on.” Mo defended her decision before adding, “Besides, they’re on your side.”
Narrowing her eyes at her best friend, the queen didn’t bother to whisper as she said, “There aren’t any sides to take. Sebastian and I are married. We are a unified team, and Liam is his son.”
When blank stares greeted her, Tess used her hand to indicate her angry brothers. “These two doofs are just going into over-protective goon mode and making things worse.”
All of this drama had Tess more worked up than she’d been in ages. When the wave of nausea swept over her, it was sudden and overpowering. Covering her mouth with the palm of her hand, she realized that she didn’t have long to react. Her eyes bulged as she frantically searched the area, trying to determine if she could make it to a bathroom, or at least somewhere with a trash can and a door to close behind her.
Deciding she didn’t have time to make it to privacy, she lunged at the closest thing she could find. The tall Cloisonné vase was probably worth more than her first car had been, but it was the only available option, short of hurling on the floor for everyone to see.
Sebastian was immediately by her side, patting her back. As soon as she finished, she felt better, until she turned and saw the concerned, wide-eyed stares gawking at her.
Her husband was the first to speak. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
Still in angry bulldog mode, Trey answered for her. “No, she’s not okay. You’ve upset her to the point that she’s physically ill.”
“No, it’s not his fault.” Tess shook her head as she attempted to defend her husband.
“Open your eyes, Tess. It’s completely his fault.” Trevor weighed in with his opinion.
Making a pigheaded decision, Trey said to the other three he had arrived with, “Let’s all leave this island and take Tess with us. She needs some breathing room and time to think over this shocking turn of events.”
The foursome made moves like they were going to do just that. Tess’s mouth fell open at their audacity. “No!” she practically shouted, getting everyone’s attention. “Sebastian is my husband. This is my home, and I’m NOT leaving.”
She glared at each of her brothers, and––to a lesser extent––their wives, letting them all know in no uncertain terms that they weren’t going to bully her into leaving her marriage or her kingdom. There were far too many people relying on her to run away from her problems. Besides, she loved Sebastian beyond reason, and she had no desire to spend any time away from him.
“This is none of your concern,” she spat the words in her brothers’ direction. At their identical stunned stares, she softened a little. Trying to reassure them, she added, “I’m fine.”
“You’re a lot of things, Tess, but fine isn’t one of them.” Trey indicated the vomit vase with a wave of his hand.
Shaking her head and feeling exasperated with them, Tess revealed, “No, that has nothing to do with stress or Piper and Liam’s arrival.”
The sincere concern was etched on both her brothers’ faces as one asked, “Do you have a flu bug?” and the other inquired, “Are you ill?”
Feeling backed into a corner, Tess raised her hand to her forehead. This wasn’t at all how she wanted this to happen, but she didn’t see any other options.
