The Prince’s Pregnant Challenge(21)

“Like what you see?”

Liane instantly felt mortified. He had caught her staring at him. She kept her cool. “Narcissism is unattractive,” she said. Jean Pierre laughed as he left the room.

“Your mouth says one thing, your body says another,” he said.

Liane put the protein shaker against her face to cool off. Jean Pierre was right. She had been admiring him and she hated that. She threw the protein shaker in the sink and went to check on the baby. It was weird not being around her. She often panicked that something was wrong.

Later that day, Macee and Prince Louis came over dinner. Liane was very excited to see her sister. She needed to see other people. It was not fun seeing Jean Pierre every single day and arguing over everything.

“You are suffocating me,” Macee said during her hug with Liane. Her older sister was holding onto her very tightly.

“I am sorry, porcupine. I am just so glad to see you,” Liane said. She released her sister from her embrace and led her to the dining room.

“It hasn’t been that long, Annie. I know I should come more often but Charles,” Macee expressed the rest of her sentence with a groan. Liane laughed.

“I know, Charles is a piece of work,” Liane said. She could relate.

“So, where is my niece?”

“She is sleeping.”

Macee frowned. She was really looking forward to seeing her niece. Macee sat down at the table. Jean Pierre and the prince were speaking in the hallway. They walked in moments later and joined them at the table.

“And how are you, Jean Pierre?” Macee asked him.

“I am well, thank you. I trust that you are also?” he asked as he replied to her. Macee smiled at him.

“I am.”

The maids had already set the table and once everyone was seated, brought in the food and dished it out for them. Macee and Prince Louis sat next to each other, which forced Liane and Jean Pierre to sit next to each other. Macee could see just how uncomfortable they both were and she couldn’t help but find it amusing.

“Why are you guys taking so long to name the baby?” Macee asked, as she bit into her food.

“Apparently, we cannot seem to agree on any names,” Liane said. She was annoyed about it and had grown tired of calling her baby, “baby or little one”.

“My wife has some interesting choices,” Jean Pierre said.

“It's not me with the interesting choices. He tried to name the baby, Beatrice.”

Macee started laughing. “I am sorry but that is awful,” she said. Prince Louis looked at her as if to say she had said something inappropriate.

“That is what I said.”

Jean Pierre was starting to see just how similar Macee was to Liane. It was crazy. “What about Dorothy?” he asked.

“Oh my God!” Liane and Macee said at the same time. They looked at each other. “That is even worse,” they said at the same time. Prince Louis sipped his wine and watched everything unfold. Jean Pierre's jaw dropped open.

“It's not that bad,” he defended the name.

“He seems to favour old lady names,” Liane said.

“This is exactly why we still do not have a name.”

“Sidonia.”

“We are not naming her after a city.”

“Simone,” Prince Louis said. He had been keeping out of the conversation but then the name popped into his head. Macee gasped and looked at him.

“Simone!” Jean Pierre and Liane said with excitement. They looked at each other and frowned. They rarely agreed on anything.

“Yay,” Macee said and clapped her hands. “Seems like we have a name,” she added.

“Hallelujah,” Liane said. She could finally call her baby something. She finally had a name.

The maids poured them some red wine. Before Macee could start drinking hers, Liane was already half way through her own glass. Macee dropped her jaw.

“Did I marry a secret alcoholic?” Jean Pierre asked.

“I became one when I married you,” she replied. Macee and the prince looked at each other. There was no end to their arguments. They just drank their wine quietly.

Liane pouted after she shut the front door. She did not want her sister to go. She was now left alone with Jean Pierre. They could not even pretend to get along because they were holding the baby, as she was asleep.

They both sat in the living room quietly. It was awkward. Liane went to pick up the remote and switched on the television. They needed some sort of distraction. Jean Pierre watched her walk back to her seat. She was wearing a short blue dress, which made her legs look even longer. He blinked a few times and looked away.

“Pick a channel already,” he said to her. She was flipping through channels constantly.