Page 7 of Baby Daddy Protector

“Damn straight, you did.” Deacon shook his head and mumbled a curse, looking away. “What the hell kind of assignment are you working there?”

“I ask myself that question on a daily basis.” I laughed. “Seriously, though. I can kind of see her point, ridiculous as it is.”

“Oh, man. You’ve got to tell me everything now.” D sat forward, listening intently as I explained all the politics and intrigue happening behind closed doors in the picturesque little country of Prylea. When I’d finished, D whistled and sat back again. “Wow. Talk about a soap opera. And there’s really no other way to stop this Silvester guy?”

“Other than a temporary marriage and a new heir? Nope. Not that I can see. Her, either. And she’s spent months looking into this.” I sighed. “The king could’ve solved it all years ago by enacting new legislation, but that possibility’s gone now. He’s too sick to even travel at this point, and he doesn’t have the political backing anymore to get it through their parliament. Silvester’s smart. He’d been quietly gathering supporters since he got out of college. Not sure what he’s offered these people, but whatever it is, no one in parliament is willing to even consider changing the laws so that he won’t inherit. They’re all too focused on the favors he’d promised them once he’s in charge.”

“Dude. Wow.” Deacon rubbed his jaw, then narrowed his gaze on me. “How do you feel about this Princess Esme?”

I shrugged. “She’s fine. Nice enough. Smart. Likes to talk too much, but other than that, she’s okay.”

“Are you attracted to her?”

“Huh?” I scrunched my nose. “No. She’s my boss. I mean, Es isn’t ugly. She’s fine.” Understatement on my part. In that red dress, she’d been way prettier than I’d had any business noticing. “Brown hair, hazel eyes, creamy skin.”

“ And you’re on a nickname basis with her too? Cool.”

“What? No.” I scowled. I hadn’t meant for that to slip. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter what I call her or what she looks like. There’s no way anything is happening between us.”

“Right. Sure.” Deacon gave me one of those looks we used to exchange on the battlefield, right before we did the exact opposite of what our enemy expected. His tone said he could see straight through my BS, and I didn’t like it one bit. “Okay. So, I guess my question is, do you agree with her? Is getting married and producing an heir the only way to keep her country safe? Hate to say it, bro, but it sounds like this Silvester guy getting the throne does kind of pose an international threat. Prylea’s a huge supporter of the US military, and we’ve got that big base there. It’s really the only place in the region where we can stage missions for the Middle East without the threat of attack or spies. Maybe you knocking her up could prevent an international incident.”

“That’s it. I’m ending this call now.” I reached for the laptop to close the screen, laughing as Deacon leaned down as if to stop me. “You going to stop being a smartass?”

“Never.” D flashed me a broad grin, all white teeth and snark. “But you love me anyway. Seriously though, dude. Don’t rush to judgment on this. Think it through. Have you ever thought of having a family of your own someday?”

“No.” A firm answer. Blood family only left you alone and broke your heart. Better to make your own family from trusted friends, at least in my opinion. “No kids.”

Deacon scoffed. “C’mon, man. Kids are a blessing. Got two myself. Don’t knock it till you try it. And friends are great, but family always comes first.”

“Not for me.” Hearing Deacon go on about his beautiful wife and daughters only reinforced my beliefs that having a family of my own was not for me. “Not now. Not ever.”

“Well, that’s even better for this situation with the princess, according to your logic.”

“Huh?”

“Look, man.” Deacon sat forward again. “You said you like this Princess Esme, right? She’s smart, talks a lot—which is good because you hardly say a word in social situations.” I flipped him off. D just grinned and continued. “And she’s not ugly, as you so eloquently put it. Do you think she’d make a good queen mother?”

From the time I’d spent around Esme, she seemed kind and warm and patient, all qualities I associated with my own mother, and she’d been excellent. Plus, I’d seen plenty of proof that she was intelligent and thoughtful, not to mention genuinely devoted to her people—the qualities a ruler would need. “Yeah. She’ll be a great queen and mother.”

“There you go then.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“If you’re so sure you don’t want a child, then this is your perfect set-up. You marry into royalty, sire a kid, then walk away.”

“Whoa. Wait a minute. That sounds so cold and calculated and—”

“Logical?”

Damn. Deacon had me there. Before I’d started the Facetime call with him, I had turned on the all-night news network and had caught the tail end of an interview with Silvester. The king wasn’t even dead and buried yet, and that bastard was already running his mouth on TV about his plans for when he took over the rule of Prylea. He was going to close the borders, isolate the country just when it was starting to make its mark on the global stage, and remove the US base from its lands. Yeah. All of those things were awful ideas. Much as I hated to admit it, perhaps Deacon had a point about the whole international incident aspect. Throughout history, marriage contracts had been made to secure countries. Why not now? It would keep Es on the throne and would ensure the important military base would stay open. Looking at it that way, giving Esme what she wanted would make me a freaking patriot. A national hero.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” Deacon said, giving me a knowing smile. “You are, I can tell. Just be sure to let me know ahead of time what the gender is so I can send a baby shower gift, okay?”

This time I did close the laptop on my friend—but only after saying goodbye and promising to call again the next morning for another workout. As I made my way upstairs, I was deep in thought. Could I really do this? Marry Es and have a kid with her, putting aside my past and the future I’d planned to save her throne and her country? It was a lot to agree to.

Then again, so was taking the job in Prylea in the first place, and things had turned out all right there. As I passed Esme’s door on my way to my own quarters on the third floor, I stopped and stared. I wasn’t ready to make a decision just yet, but I was further along than I’d been earlier.

SIX

---