Page 1 of Pregnant With His Majesty's Heir

CHAPTER ONE

HE’DBARELYMOVED. The man whose face would make a sculptor weep and women stare.

More than stare. A couple of young, confident women had ventured across the restaurant, all shiny smiles and eager body language, only to return to their table disappointed.

The man with the wide shoulders, brooding expression and stunning amber eyes beneath night-dark hair wasn’t in the mood for company.

He wasn’t surly and he’d been perfectly polite to Aurélie, more polite than a lot of customers, but when he wasn’t speaking with her, his face settled into stark lines. Even the way he was backed into that corner alcove for two, with his broad back against the ancient stone wall, seemed somehow defensive. As if ready to repel unwanted intrusion.

His face would be arresting at any time with those powerful, spare lines and generous mouth. But something about his sombre air and the pleat of a frown on his forehead caught Aurélie’s attention. The way the frown intensified when his phone vibrated on the table. The way he refused to pick it up, spending the evening staring into space from under dark eyebrows or, occasionally, watching Aurélie as she wended through the tables.

It wasn’t a busy night. So late in winter Annecy’s tourist numbers had dropped. This town near the French Alps would attract them again as the weather warmed.

Aurélie told herself that was why her attention kept returning to Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome, because he was by far the most fascinating patron in the half empty restaurant.

She was honest enough to admit to a frisson of excitement as he’d followed her to his table. She’d been hyper-aware of his tall frame behind her and the intoxicating scent of the outdoors and warm male spice that tantalised when he passed her to take his seat.

Her awareness was grounded in intense attraction.

And something more. The conviction that something was wrong.

It was there in the whitened grip of his fingers around his drink. In the single-minded way he’d downed the first glass of wine as if he needed it badly. Yet now he seemed to have forgotten all about the drink in his hand. It was as if a dark cloud hovered over that corner, despite the dazzling effect of those stunning eyes and the couple of brief smiles he’d given her.

What would it be like if his smile reached his eyes?

Aurélie forced down a shiver of speculation as she cleared a table. The two Spanish guys had drunk their way through the meal and were ready to party. One still hadn’t given up his determined flirtation. As she leaned forward, he lifted his hand as if reaching for her bottom. Instantly Aurélie tipped the plate she held. Another centimetre and he’d wear gooey cheese from leftover raclette. Meeting her stare, he raised his palm in apology.

From the corner of her eye she saw the man in the corner stiffen and put down his glass. Earlier, when the young Spaniard had first tried to touch her, the stranger had started to rise as if to intervene.

But she didn’t need help. A few friendly but pointed words in Spanish reminded them that she wasn’t on the menu. On the way to the kitchen she gave the man in the corner a discreet smile of acknowledgement. He responded with the tiniest tilt of his head.

Something caught hard in Aurélie’s chest at the knowledge that he was watching out for her. She wasn’t used to gallantry or protectiveness.

That had to be why her eyes kept seeking him out.

That and his aura of tightly restrained emotion. She felt it like a zap of energy whenever she approached his table. More so when those fiercely bright eyes locked on her, sending a shimmer of heat through her.

Or maybe she was projecting her own feelings onto him.

Her life was at a turning point. Opportunity lay ahead, but it had come at a cost. Stoically she told herself it was better to know than merely to suspect as she’d done for years. Yet it was hard having her suspicion proved true. That no matter how hard she tried she wasn’t special enough to matter to those closest to her. She was on her own. Her family had finally stopped pretending otherwise.

Aurélie blinked and smiled at a customer looking to pay, ignoring the hollow ache behind her ribs. She refused to wallow in self-pity. She’d do what she’d always done, put her head down and work hard.

The difference was that now she had a real opportunity for change. This time she’d grab it with both hands and make the most of it. It was time she stopped playing safe and took a chance.

Lucien watched the waitress beam at a customer, her smile lighting up her face. There was a radiance about the woman that kept drawing his gaze and dragging his thoughts from the well of darkness that encompassed him.

It wasn’t just her dimple-cheeked grin as she swapped comments with customers in at least four different languages. Or the vibrant red hair, pulled back in a bouncing ponytail that gleamed like jewels and firelight.

His eyes followed her quick, supple movements, a mix of grace and strength as she manoeuvred through the tables carrying laden plates. Then there was her easy humour. Even when that drunken lout tried to grope her, she’d used humour underscored by steel to put the guy in his place yet leave him smiling.

And sometimes, as if to remind Lucien that he wasn’t completely cut off from the rest of the world, her eyes would catch on his. The effect was startling. Each time warmth began to trickle painfully through his frozen being.

Since the news had reached him this morning it felt as if a wall of ice separated him from the rest of the world. Lucien knew it was shock and when it wore off everything would be far too real.

Strangely, when she met his eyes,thatconnection felt real. She looked at him and he imagined he saw acceptance and understanding. A warmth that, despite his need to be alone with his grief, beckoned invitingly.

What he didn’t see was the voracious eagerness those other women had shown when they’d come to his table uninvited. As if he’d make their raucous girls’ night out complete.

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