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Rene let out a gruff laugh, surprised all over again at how much he’d come to like Lord. They had been forced to spend a lot of time together by default in the early days of his marriage to Melody—a rushed affair after Mel and he had discovered they had hit the jackpot in Wales—because their wives were inseparable.
But somehow the animosity and antagonism which had driven his early association with Lord had turned to an unlikely friendship. He’d come to enjoy Travis’ healthy irreverence for monarchy but also to respect his deep, abiding love for Isabelle, a woman Rene had always had a great deal of respect for too. But new fatherhood had added an additional bond between them, because Travis had looked to him for advice ever since Isabelle had become pregnant—completely by accident, according to Melody—six months ago.
‘Two heirs for the price of one,’ Rene said, unable to resist ribbing the guy just a little. ‘Your Privy Council must be overjoyed.’
‘Yeah, don’t even get me started on that…’ Travis groaned. ‘Belle’s already freaking out about what we’re going to do if the first twin is a girl and the second a boy. She figures it’s not fair for the male heir to inherit the throne, but apparently Androvia’s rules of succession are strict on male primogeniture…’
‘Tell her to change the rules then. We did,’ he said simply.
Travis stopped dead. ‘Seriously? You did that?’
‘Yup. I signed the decree two days before Mia was born,’ he said. ‘Because Satlzaland’s rules of succession have never been subject to an act of parliament, the sovereign can adjust them by decree. I’m pretty sure the same is true for Androvia.’ It had required some work on his part and they hadn’t informed the press yet—because they’d already had enough press scrutiny to last them a lifetime. But, even so, the decision that his monarchy would be one where the line of succession was no longer determined by sex had been the easiest he’d ever made. It also had the added benefit of being a decision which would have infuriated his father.
The act of signing that decree had finally confirmed to him that he was no longer bound by that man’s anger or his lack of trust in his abilities any longer. After a course of therapy—encouraged by his wife—Rene had come to understand that his father had always blamed him, a tiny baby at the time, for his mother’s death, and punished him accordingly. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to forgive his father for allowing his grief to become so toxic, but at least he knew now that he had never been responsible, as a child or a man, for the dark legacy of his father’s pain.
‘Cool,’ Travis replied. ‘I’ll let Belle know—it’ll be one less thing for her to stress about,’ he finished, sounding relieved. ‘To be honest, the whole unplanned pregnancy thing already threw her for a loop, and now the news that we’re having two babies has been a double whammy.’ It was Travis’s turn to grin. ‘Not gonna lie, though, it’s kind of hot, seeing her panic about becoming a mother when I already know she’ll be awesome. But then her superpower has always been overthinking stuff.’
Rene laughed. ‘While yours is going with the flow.’
Travis nodded and grinned. ‘We’re opposites for sure. It’s what makes us such a great team, kind of like you guys.’
‘True,’ Rene agreed.
Mel’s courage and positivity and work ethic had turned out to be a productive and passionate counterpoint to his cynicism. They were both hard-headed though, and they’d had more than a few disagreements over the past year—not least about Melody’s dedication to her role as his consort. He didn’t want her working too hard and while she’d been pregnant he’d had to lay down the law a few times—and when that hadn’t worked, because she was still as stubborn and contrary as ever, he’d seduced her into a puddle of need.
As they strolled into the salon his gaze tracked to his wife, now deep in conversation with her mother and Isabelle. Her head lifted and her gaze met his, almost as if she could sense him watching her. The awareness in her expression made his pulse spike and need swell again.
The doctor had said they were good to go now and had been for weeks. But he’d been holding off. He’d chosen to sleep in an adjoining bedroom after the birth, not wanting to intrude on her while they were both snatching sleep in between dealing with Mia, because they’d made the decision not to employ a nanny just yet. But Mia was sleeping much better now. And he was struggling to sleep himself without Mel beside him.
Tonight, perhaps it was time he took the initiative. If she wasn’t ready for sex, he would just have to channel the memory of those twelve terrifying hours of labour and deal with it, but he wasn’t sure he could survive much longer without being able to touch her, to hold her.
As she stared at him now, the hot look in her eyes made the heat—and yearning—in his gut grow. But how did he know he was interpreting that look correctly and it wasn’t just wishful thinking on his part?
He broke eye contact first, then patted Travis on the back. ‘You need any tips, Travis,’ he said, feeling for the guy, having two babies to deal with in a few months’ time, ‘I’ll be happy to help. But all you really have to do is love them unconditionally.’ He stroked his daughter’s back and inhaled the baby scent he’d become addicted to. ‘And they make that easy for you.’
‘Yeah, kind of like their moms, I guess,’ Travis replied with a wry smile. ‘Thanks, man. But don’t be surprised if I’m calling you at two a.m. asking you how to change a diaper.’
They both laughed. But as they went to join their wives, Rene knew, whatever happened tonight, everything would work out. Because he loved Melody unconditionally. And always would.
* * *
Mel stood silently at the door of their daughter’s nursery and watched Rene gently stroke their baby’s back. Love pressed against her heart, even as the heat—which had been driving her to distraction for weeks now—made her core soften and ache. In nothing but a pair of pyjama bottoms, which hung low on his hips, even from the back, her husband looked good enough to eat. Her nipples peaked painfully against sheer silk as she imagined kissing his skin, inhaling the scent of bergamot and cedar she adored, and feeling him hot and heavy inside her again. She had been fully healed for weeks now, and taking contraception for over a month, but while she’d seen flashes of the fierce hunger she remembered in his eyes, he hadn’t touched her since Mia’s birth.
It was driving her insane but also feeding insecurities she thought she had buried when they’d conceived Mia a year ago now.
But at least now she had a plan—one she and Isabelle had been hatching together for over a week, after Mel had finally got the guts up to confide in her best friend.
She’d changed into the see-through negligee Isabelle had loaned her that afternoon five minutes ago, as soon as Rene had collected the baby after Mia’s final feed to put her down for the night. A nervous smile curved her lips as she remembered Isabelle’s whispered words as she’d handed over the garment before Travis had escorted her to their helicopter.
‘This never fails to get Travis going—but it’s no good to me at the moment. In fact, I doubt I’ll ever be able to fit into it again.’
But Mel’s smile at the memory of Isabelle’s disgruntled expression faded as the nerves returned while she watched Rene press his hand to their child’s back as she settled, clearly unaware of Mel’s presence.
What would she do if he didn’t want her any more? She’d read how that could happen to some men once they’d witnessed their partner giving birth—and Rene had been nothing if not frantic during those hours.
That said, he’d been so loving and supportive and attentive—with her and Mia—ever since their daughter had been born.
Mel frowned. In fact, at times he’d been a little too attentive. She suspected they were going to have trouble with Mia when she got older because her daddy doted on her so much. And they’d had more than a few cross words because Rene had shown his dictatorial side, demanding she not ‘overtax’ herself since before the birth, even though she was perfectly healthy, had a staff of people ready to help if she needed it and she adored her job.