"A week?"
"The week you're at the palace. The time we're getting out. Being seen in public. Having a date or two."
Their eyes met. Their last date had been fantastic. But it was also what had gotten them into this mess.
"I think I still have some more questions."
"About the dates?"
She nodded.
"Like, will we kiss?"
A starburst of tingles exploded in her stomach. She nodded again.
"Yes. We have to pretend we adore each other. That we met and swept each other off our respective feet." He held her gaze. "Which we sort of did."
Memories of holding hands, intimate touches and those unbelievable kisses rippled through her, tightening her chest, sending her pulse into overdrive.
"But sex is off the table." He smiled. "Unless you're interested."
Her heart thumped. She tried to imagine herself resisting that smile, that charm-
Actually, he hadn't been all that charming in this chat, except when it suited him. That was the curse of getting involved with someone she didn't know. She'd met and made love with Prince Charming. She had no idea who the real Prince Dominic was. What if he was like her dad? Only pulling out the charm to get what he wanted?
Oh. No brainer. She could resist that like sour wine at a bad dance club.
"Ginny, this relationship can go any way you want." And the stoic, respectable prince was back. "Behind the walls of this palace we can be as distant or as intimate as you wish. But make no mistake. If you marry me, it's temporary. Don't get stars in your eyes. Don't get any big ideas. This marriage will not become permanent. I had been promised to a princess as part of a treaty and that was what I wanted. A marriage that meant something, accomplished something. A real marriage doesn't work in my world. So this little arrangement will not turn permanent. You need to know that, too, before you decide."
Copyright © 2016 by Linda Susan Meier
ISBN-13: 9781488002922
Saved by the CEO
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Barbara Wallace for her contribution to The Vineyards of Calanetti series.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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www.Harlequin.com
Marrying for the baby's sake
Prince Dominic Sancho has always lived up to his family's royal expectations. Until one irresistibly spontaneous night with teacher Ginny Jones has dramatic repercussions-she's now carrying the next heir to Xaviera's throne! There's only one solution-a royal wedding …
A marriage of convenience is Ginny's worst nightmare, but for their baby's sake, she says "I do." And as the royal couple jet off on their honeymoon, she begins to realize that beneath the royal etiquette, Dominic is a daddy-and loving husband-in the making!
The Princes of Xaviera
Two princes, conveniently wed!
You are cordially invited to celebrate the weddings of Xaviera's most eligible princes...
When Prince Dominic spends one night with Ginny Jones, it comes at a price...a marriage of convenience in order to claim his heir!
Pregnant with a Royal Baby!
Available February 2016
Prince Alex always believed royal rules were made to be broken, but when his royal duty comes calling, it's time for Alex to meet his princess-and wife-to-be!
Coming soon!
For better or for worse, these gorgeous princes are about to claim their brides!
Dear Reader,
From the moment I wrote the first scene of Dom and Ginny's book, Pregnant with a Royal Baby!, I knew this couple was magic. On the outside, they looked like ordinary people. Ginny loved her mom, loved her job and was making a normal life for herself. Dom had spent his thirty years preparing to become a king. Nothing could or would keep him from his carefully planned destiny.
Except a baby. LOL
Babies have a way of changing everything. Dom and Ginny discover this as the pregnancy that forces them to marry slowly becomes a baby to them-a person, a little life they'd created and needed to protect-and the tie that binds them is no longer duty, but love.
Dom and Ginny's journey was one of the most fun, most unexpectedly emotional stories that I've ever written. I know you'll love this couple and this story as much as I did writing it.
Susan Meier
PREGNANT WITH A ROYAL BABY!
Susan Meier
Susan Meier is an author of over fifty books for Harlequin. The Tycoon's Secret Daughter was a RITA® Award finalist, and Nanny for the Millionaire's Twins won the Book Buyer's Best award and was a finalist in the National Readers' Choice Awards. She is married and has three children. One of eleven children, she loves to write about the complexity of families and totally believes in the power of love.
Books by Susan Meier
Harlequin Romance
The Vineyards of Calanetti
A Bride for the Italian Boss
Mothers in a Million
A Father for Her Triplets
The Larkville Legacy
The Billionaire's Baby SOS
First Time Dads!
The Tycoon's Secret Daughter
Nanny for the Millionaire's Twins
Kisses on Her Christmas List
Single Dad's Christmas Miracle
Daring to Trust the Boss
The Twelve Dates of Christmas
Her Brooding Italian Boss
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
To my own Prince Charming, and our marriage, a journey of ups and downs that surprises me every day. Usually in a good way. :)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
WHEN THE DOORBELL to her condo rang, Virginia Jones, Ginny for short, had just gotten out of the shower after a long, long day at Jefferson High School in Terra Mas, Texas. Her school was the last on a list of places Prince Dominic Sancho of Xaviera, a small island country between Spain and Algeria, was visiting on a goodwill tour. As guidance counselor, she'd shown him the school and introduced him to staff, then herded the kids into the gymnasium, where he'd given an hour-long talk on global economics: how the world was a much smaller place than it had been before the internet.
She'd loved the talk, but she'd liked looking at Prince Dominic even more. Tall and broad shouldered, he filled out the formal uniform of his royalty like a man meant to be a king. His dark eyes sparkled with amusement at the antics of "her" kids. His full lips had never stopped smiling.
If it were permitted for grown women to swoon, she would have made a fool of herself with him that afternoon. As it was, common sense had kept her professional. And now she was tired. Not up for a visitor.
Her doorbell rang again.
She gave her glass of wine a longing look before she rose from her sofa.
"I'm coming." She said it just as she reached the door. Going up on tiptoes, she peeked through the peephole. When she saw Prince Dominic, she gasped and jumped back.
Her doorbell rang again.
She peered down at her sweatpants and tank top, ran a hand along her still-wet long blond hair and knew this would go down in the annals of her life as one of her most embarrassing moments.
With no choice, she pasted a smile on her face and opened the door.
He laughed. "I caught you at a bad time."
"Unfortunately." Just looking at him made her heart speed up. He'd removed the royal uniform and replaced it with a lightweight white V-neck sweater and jeans. Not a hair of his shiny black curls was out of place. His dark eyes sparkled with amusement.
"You probably think all Americans are idiots."