Read Online Scandal With a Prince by Nicole Burnham - Free Book Online

before, which spurred her to a defensive answer.   “Ask what you like. I have never lied to you and never will.”
    He leveled a doubtful look at her as he opened the folder and pulled out a map of the hotel’s conference rooms.   “You said you discovered you were pregnant about a month after returning home?”
    “More like six weeks.   But yes, when I was back at school.”
    “Why didn’t you contact me?”
    “I tried.”
    “Not hard enough.”   He ran his index finger over the map, then tapped it as if he’d asked about the setup of a particular room.   “I didn’t hear so much as a whisper from you.”
    No thanks to your staff.
    She bit back the response and chose her words deliberately.   “If you remember, we left things on a casual note.   While you knew how to contact me if you wanted, I had no way to reach you directly.   Only a number that connected me to a secretary named Dagmar.”   The woman she’d come to think of as Stefano’s personal firewall, programmed to eliminate potential threats before they could infiltrate the palace network and gain access to the royal family.
    What irked her is that she shouldn’t have been seen as a threat.
    He shrugged as if nothing Megan said surprised him.   “Dagmar’s retired now, but she used to be my personal secretary, which is why I gave you that number.   She did everything—booked my travel, arranged my calendar, handled my correspondence—and yes, she fielded my calls.”
    “Even personal calls?”  
    “Yes.   I’m forced to change cell phones frequently in order to keep the number confidential.   I discovered long ago that it’s easier to route calls through a secretary than it is to constantly update my phone number with acquaintances.   Only my secretary and immediate family have it.”  
    “Maybe easier for you.   Not for me.”
    Frown lines puckered   his brow.   “Dagmar was discreet and efficient.   If you called and gave her your name, it would have been routed directly to me.   It’s standard procedure for all my personal calls.”
    “Mine weren’t.”
    He opened his mouth as if to argue, then looked past Megan and smiled as the waiter approached to take their orders and refill their coffee.   Stefano asked for a spinach, tomato, and feta omelet with rye toast while Megan simply told the waiter to bring her usual order.
    Once the waiter was out of hearing range, Stefano asked, “You eat here often?”
    “I live in the hotel, so they know me well.”
    “Ah.   I wondered, given your position here.”   He squinted at her, appearing to digest the information.   His expression left her unsettled.   “And what’s the usual?”
    “You won’t believe me.”
    He circled his hand, encouraging her to tell him anyway.  
    “Spinach, tomato, and feta omelet.   Rye toast.”
    That earned her another frown, but instead of commenting, he went back to the original topic.   “Are you certain you spoke to Dagmar herself?   Not someone who referred you to Dagmar?”
    “At least four times, which is why I remember her name.   She said, ‘Thank you for your call.   I have noted your information and Prince Stefano will contact you at his convenience.’   Those were her exact words each time I phoned.   It was as if I were talking to a recording.”
    “Dagmar was nothing if not consistent.”   He turned to a new page in the folio, keeping up the pretense of a business meeting.   “And you gave her your full name?”
    For Anna’s sake, she fought to remain patient.   “Of course I did.   I told her that we’d been assigned to the same project group in Venezuela, thinking she could use that information to verify my identity if necessary.   I told her it was important that you contact me and left her two different phone numbers and my e-mail address.”
    “Did you…I assume you didn’t tell her what the call was about?”  
    How stupid did he think she was?   “Only my parents know that you’re