Pregnant with a Royal Baby!(13)

"So confusion is the way to go, if I can't beguile them with my good looks and charm?"

He sneaked another peek at her as the elevator door opened on the big  square foyer before his apartment. "Oh, I wouldn't discount your charm  just yet."

She looked up at him. He gazed down at her. With the huge hall just  outside the door empty and quiet, the tiny elevator suddenly felt  intimate.

Gazing into his eyes, she remembered how he'd pulled her to him outside  her apartment door and kissed her like a man so crazy about a woman he  couldn't resist her.

So maybe he did think she had charm.

The elevator door began to close and without looking away Dominic caught it, forcing it open again.

"We better go."

"Yeah."

Neither of them moved. Something hummed between them. She'd say it was  the same something that had brought him to her condo door all those  weeks ago, the same something that drew them to her bed, except in the  past two days she'd made him laugh and he wasn't going to make her talk  about her dad.

He took a step closer to her and her breath shivered. Her lips tingled  from wanting to kiss him. But he stayed where he was, close enough to  touch, but not making a move to kiss her, though his eyes shimmered with  need.

The air filled with something hot and tempting. She knew she could  easily label this lust, but she knew something else was at work here.  They really were forming a team. And the pull of that, the longing not  to be alone in this deal, fighting for herself and her rights, but  having somebody fight with her, was even stronger than the lust that had  driven them that night.

That scared her silly.

But his gaze held hers.

And everything inside her trembled with yearning.

She longed for the day she'd met him, when she didn't fear their future  because she didn't think they had a future, and she wondered what it  would be like to let her guard down again-                       
       
           



       

But Dom had warned her not to spin fairy tales. And life had taught her  that good things could turn bad in the blink of an eye. Not more than  twenty minutes ago, she'd been worried about comparing him to her dad.  Now she wanted to kiss him? To trust him?

Everything was happening too fast.

This was a ruse. Nothing more. And she was going to get hurt if she didn't stop trying to spin that fairy tale.

She turned and walked out of the elevator to the apartment and to her suite.





CHAPTER FIVE

DOMINIC ATE A very quiet, disappointing lunch. No matter how he tried to  engage Ginny, she'd smile distantly and pop a bite of food into her  mouth so she didn't have to talk to him. Glad to see her eating for the  sake of the baby, he couldn't allow himself the luxury of being upset  that she wasn't talking to him.

Still, it made him nuts.

They were perfectly fine in that elevator until the conversation about  her charming the press. She could charm the press. And without effort.  But something about that one simple comment had made her quiet. Distant.

He probably shouldn't have mentioned it. Her ability with them was so  natural that if he hadn't pointed it out to her, she would have used it  without thought. But he liked talking to her and he liked it when they  were getting along. Their natural connection would be what would make  the charade work.

Then they'd had that moment of looking into each other's eyes, and for  twenty seconds he'd thought he wouldn't be able to resist kissing her.  But he had. He'd remembered his dad, the weakness that plagued him after  Dom's mother's death. He knew he couldn't afford a marriage with real  emotion. And when he kissed her, he felt things he couldn't define or  describe. So he stepped back, away from a kiss he wanted, to prove he  didn't need it.

That should have made her happy. God knew it made him happy to see he  could resist her. She should be happy, too. Instead, she was distant.

He left her after lunch and spent four grueling hours in parliament.  Tired and somewhat disgusted, he returned to his palace apartment to  find Sally and Joshua, the clothier, sitting on one sofa with Ginny  alone on the sofa across from them. Though Sally was frustrated, Joshua  looked to be the picture of patience as he ran down the benefits of a  list of designers.

Ginny frowned. "I know what I like. I know what I look good in. It just  seems so sterile to be picking a gown this way. I always imagined myself  trying things on."

Joshua smiled patiently. "Most women would kill for the chance to choose a designer to make a unique gown."

Ginny only sighed and glanced at the photo array of designers and their creations.

Sally shook her head. "What difference does it make? For Pete's sake.  This wedding is just for show. It's not real. The gown doesn't have to  reflect you. It just has to be beautiful. Something fit for a princess."

Ginny finally noticed Dom standing in the foyer by the door, but she  quickly looked away. Still, he'd seen the naked misery in her eyes.

She straightened her shoulders, as if seeing him reminded her of her  duty to him, and she pointed at one of the photo arrays. "This one. I'd  like this designer."

Sally sighed with relief and rose. "We'll contact him."

Joshua rose, too. He bowed. "I am at your service."

Sally said, "Good because she still has a wardrobe to choose. Two pair  of jeans and a green dress with cardigan won't be enough clothes for two  days let alone over two years."

Joshua on her heels, Sally headed for the white double doors. "You'll be  required to meet with Joshua again tomorrow afternoon, Ginny."

"That's Ms. Jones," Dominic said, suddenly annoyed. "She may not be a  princess yet. But she will be. And when she is she will be your boss."

Sally quietly gasped and stepped back, but she quickly recovered. Bowing to Dominic, she said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Joshua all but quivered with fear. New to the palace, because the king  and the two princes rarely required help in choosing suits or having  them made, he glanced from Dom to Sally, wide-eyed.

Sally opened the door and left. Joshua scampered after her.

Ginny blew her breath out on a long sigh. "You shouldn't have yelled at  her. It wasn't her fault that I'm having trouble choosing. And our time  is running out. She's right to be annoyed with me."

He walked to the bar and poured himself a Scotch. "Oh, sweetie. You have so much to learn about being a princess."

"I'm not going to be vapid and spoiled."

"Of course, you're not. But you can't let staff belittle you."                       
       
           



       

"As I said, she was right to be annoyed with me."

"Again. No. You are the member of the royal family here. If you want to  take until the day before the wedding to choose your dress, that's what  you do. Then they scramble."

She laughed.

He sat beside her on the sofa. "So, are you really happy with the designer you chose?"

She shrugged. "He's as good as any."

He caught her chin and nudged her to face him. "As good as any isn't  good enough. I want you to be happy the day you get married. It may not  be forever, but it's your first wedding."

"That's what I keep thinking."

"So what would you do if you were getting married for keeps?"

"I'd have a lot of pink roses."

"What else?"

"My two friends would be bridesmaids."

"You can have that." He sipped his Scotch. "What else?"

"I don't know. I always imagined my mom and me picking things out." She peeked up at him. "She has great taste."

He laughed. "Really?"

"Well, actually, we have about the same taste. But picking a gown is  just something a girl wants to do with her mom. You know. Second opinion  and all that." She took a deep breath, blew it out, then looked Dom in  the eye. "My picture is going to go around the world. I'd like for it to  be a good one."

He nodded. "That's something I'm so accustomed to I forget that others  aren't." He rose from the sofa. "I have a dinner meeting tonight that's  going to segue into a bigger meeting with several members of parliament.  Why don't you call your friends on Skype and invite them to be your  bridesmaids?"

She looked up at him, her eyes round and blue and honest. She was one of  the most naturally beautiful women he'd ever met. She was also being a  much better sport about this marriage than a lot of women would be. She  hadn't asked for anything. She just did as she was told. And if she  didn't talk to him, maybe that was his fault? He'd told her not to  expect a long, happy marriage. If she held herself back, maybe that's  what she felt she needed to do.

"Really? I can have bridesmaids?"

"As many as you want." On impulse he bent down and kissed her cheek.  "Would a wedding without bridesmaids really look authentic?"