Read Online The Prince's Secret Baby by Christine Rimmer - Free Book Online

Sovereign Princess, you said?”
    “Yes. My mother holds the throne. My father is Prince Consort and my brother Maximilian is the heir apparent. Before Max had his son and daughter, I was second in line to the throne.”

Chapter Four
    S ydney gaped up at him. “A prince. You’re telling me that you’re a prince? And not just as in, ‘a prince of a guy,’ but a real prince? A…royal prince?”
    He chuckled. “My darling, yes. That is, more or less, what I’m telling you.”
    “Um. More or less?”
    “The truth is that Montedoro is ruled by a prince, not a king. And, in terms of his or her title, a ruling prince is said to have a throne, but not a crown. And only those who are the children or grandchildren of ruling kings or queens, or are the spouses of royalty, are given the honorific of royal. However, in the sense that ‘royal’ means ‘ruling,’ yes. I am of the royal family of Montedoro, or more correctly, the princely family. And even though we are not addressed as royal, both our family coat of arms and our individual monograms contain the image of a crown.”
    She was still gaping. “I don’t think I understood a word you just said.”
    He frowned. “I see your point. Perhaps that was more information than you require at the moment.”
    A prince. A prince of Montedoro. Should she have known this? “Wait. Evan Bravo. I remember now. Your dad was in the movies, right?”
    He nodded. “It was a big story in all the newspapers and tabloids of the day. My mother married a film actor and he returned with her to Montedoro, where they had many children and lived happily ever after.” He gave a wry smile. “Sydney, you look pale. Would you like to sit down?”
    “No. No, really. I’m fine. Just fine.”
    “Perhaps you would like to see my diplomatic passport… .”
    “Ohmigod. No. Really. I believe you. I do.” Still, she couldn’t help looking around nervously, half expecting Ashton Kutcher and the Punk’d camera crew to be making their appearance any second now. She turned her gaze up to him again and tried to look stern. “You should have told me.”
    “I know.” He did seem honestly contrite. “But the moment never seemed right. I wanted you to know me, at least a little, before we got into all of that.”
    “Last night. At the Mansion. The nervous host…”
    “Yes. I’m staying there. He knows who I am.” He took her chin, tipped it up to him. “But none of that matters.”
    “Rule. Of course it matters.”
    “Only if you let it. To me, what matters most of all, more than anything, is this…” And he lowered his dark head and claimed her lips.
    And by the time that kiss was through, she was inclined to agree with him. “Oh, Rule…” She clung to him, feeling light-headed and slightly weak in the knees.
    “I’ll leave you now,” he said ruefully, stroking her hair, his eyes full of tenderness and understanding. She thought how crazy she was for him—and how she would look him up on Google the minute he was out the door. One side of his mouth curled up in the gorgeous half smile that totally enchanted her. He said, “You’ll have time to look me up on the internet before I come to collect you for the evening.”
    She shook her head. “You know me too well. How is that possible? We only met yesterday.”
    “Forgive me. For taking so long to tell you…”
    “I’ll consider forgiving you as soon as my head stops spinning.”
    “One last kiss…”
    She gave it. She simply could not resist him—and beyond that, she didn’t want to resist him.
    When he lifted his head that time, he released her. She opened the door and watched him jog down the front walk to his waiting limousine.
    As soon as the long, black car disappeared from sight, she shut the front door and went upstairs to get with Lani about her plans for the evening.
    She found her friend on her knees filling the tub. Trev sat on the bathroom floor in his training pants, putting a new face on his Mr. Potato