Page 1 of Twins for the Secret Prince (Even More Babies #8)

PIETER

P ieter paused at the bottom of the marble steps, looking up at the building that stood majestically before him.

With his identity hidden by the mask he’d chosen for the ball, he could indulge in the briefest moment of pretense.

The palace looked golden in the midsummer light, the evening sun warming its marble facade, an abundance of lanterns lining the many steps that led to the entrance.

It was breathtaking in the truest sense, and a direct contrast to the stark military barracks he usually called home.

That this was also his home, by virtue of being the second-born son of the queen of Laagestein and her American-born husband, had become more and more disconcerting to Pieter over the years, as he moved from the blissful ignorance of childhood to adolescence, when he’d become acutely aware of his privilege.

Now, at the age of thirty-three, Pieter was sure that he’d found the place where he belonged.

That place was not in the royal palace but in the military, where he had carved out an impressive career that had gone from strength to strength.

The pride he took in each commendation, in each promotion, was unlike anything he’d ever felt as a prince.

He wanted to work for a living. He wanted to do something purposeful with his life, to be seen as a man who had earned his place in life, and not been handed everything on a silver platter.

Nonetheless, he loved his parents and was looking forward to spending time with them during his two-day leave.

The Midsummer Ball was his favorite party of the year; he loved the mystery and hint of illicitness that came with a masquerade ball, not only because it gave him a chance to shroud his identity for the night.

For this year’s theme, creatures of the forest, he had commissioned a resin mask in the shape of an Iberian lynx.

Sleek and more than a little dangerous, Pieter hoped to embody some of the creature’s qualities throughout the evening.

Inside the ballroom, he instantly caught sight of his parents, who were dancing cheek-to-cheek on a raised stage that was their dance floor for the night.

The queen and king consort didn’t have the opportunity to blend in with the crowd, as Pieter did.

Instead, the security detail ensured that they were visible and protected from the rest of the revelers all evening.

Rather than making his way to the stage right away to greet his parents, Pieter accepted a glass of champagne from one of the masked waiters and mingled with the crowd.

“It looks like we were made for each other,” someone whispered into his ear.

Pieter spun around and saw a tall, willowy woman in a teal silk gown and a cat mask. “I’m not a domestic tabby cat. I’m a lynx. Out of your league,” he said, as haughtily as he could manage.

“I’m not a tabby cat. I’m a lynx, too! Rude!” The woman huffed before turning on her heel and disappearing into the crowd.

Pieter smiled to himself. He’d been joking, but in truth, she did look more like someone’s pet cat.

“Breaking hearts already?” a petite owl in a crimson gown asked, tilting her head to look at Pieter. “Not much of a Prince Charming now, are you?”

“Tilda,” Pieter said, taking her hand and kissing the top of it gently. “I was hoping you’d be here tonight.”

“And I was hoping you’d ask me to dance.”

“Okay, then. Care to dance?” Pieter asked.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Pieter put his hand on Tilda’s tiny waist and steered her through the crowd onto the dance floor. “How did you know it was me?”

“Hmm, let’s see. Taller than anyone else in the room, with a head of hair that looks like someone has just finished making a pile of butter curls.”

“Butter curls? I don’t know if that’s a compliment or an insult.”

“Whichever way you take it, let’s just say you have very distinctive hair.”

“I guess next year I’ll have to wear a wig as well as a mask,” Pieter said, effortlessly leading Tilda in a waltz.

“How is military life?”

“Excellent, thanks. How is life with you?”

“I’m very well,” Tilda said, not dropping eye contact. “Although I wish I saw you more than once a year.”

Tilda had been Pieter’s one and only serious girlfriend.

They’d been together for nearly two years in their late teens, but Pieter had broken it off when he realized he was never going to feel as seriously about Tilda as she felt about him.

He suspected that she was waiting for him, still, even though he’d been honest with her about his feelings.

“The military is my life, Tilda,” he said and watched as she dropped her head while they continued to move around the dance floor.

“I know it. I guess I was hoping for a little midsummer magic,” she said sadly as the song ended. “Take care of yourself, Pieter.”

Pieter watched her walk away and decided there was no time like the present to say hello to his parents. As he approached the stage, his mother recognized her youngest son and held both arms out to him. “Pieter! My boy!” she said, pulling him close and lifting his mask to kiss him on the cheeks.

“You’re revealing my identity!” he mock-admonished, hugging her back.

“Son,” his father said, clapping him on the back. “Your mother and I need a word with you before the night is out.”

Pieter gave a curt nod. “Let me get something to eat first. I’m ravenous.”

“That’s because they only feed you tins of beans and sausages,” his mother said, her eyes sparkling. “And gruel for breakfast. Go and fatten yourself up on proper food, and we’ll talk later.”

Just as Pieter was shoveling the first spoonful of delicious shellfish stew into his mouth, he felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice purred in his ear, “It’s a little-known fact that watching a cat eat shellfish is just about the sexiest thing a badger can see.”

“Are badgers known for their voyeuristic tendencies?” Pieter asked, smiling.

“This badger is,” said a voice he knew well. Very well, at one point in his life. “Hello, Pieter. You’re looking well.”

“So are you, Marianne,” Pieter replied, mirroring her actions and giving her the once-over. “You look gorgeous tonight.” And she did, in her long emerald gown, which fitted over her ample curves as though it had been sculpted to her body.

“It certainly looks like you’re getting in plenty of physical exercise.”

“That’s life in the military.”

“I wouldn’t know. I prefer to get my exercise in other ways, as you might remember.”

Pieter remembered. He and Marianne had had a brief but very memorable affair a few years earlier, and it had ended when she’d given him an ultimatum — marry her, or she’d find someone who would.

“How’s married life?” he asked.

“Boring,” she said, eyes twinkling from underneath the mask. “In fact, I was hoping to perhaps find something to spice up my life tonight.”

“This stew is pretty spicy,” he said.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I was thinking it’s been a while since I saw your bedroom. I’d love to see what you’ve done with the place.”

“It hasn’t changed since I was twelve,” Pieter said, which was almost the truth.

“Maybe you could show it to me anyway,” Marianne purred.

“As much as I’d love to, that goes against my moral code.”

“What does? Showing an old friend your private quarters?”

“You’re married, Marianne. That makes you off-limits.”

“Well, I never took you for a boring old curmudgeon,” Marianne said huffily. “Your loss, Prince Pieter.”

Pieter watched as she sidled away with only the briefest of glances over her shoulder. A second later, Tilda was standing by his side.

“I take it she was hoping to rekindle things with you?” she said quietly.

“Maybe,” Pieter said, not wanting to talk about it with Tilda, of all people. “Care to dance?”

“Actually, your father asked me to tell you to meet him and your mother in their private room. They want to talk to you now, apparently.” Tilda gave him an anxious look and added, “Nothing serious, I hope?”

“If you don’t consider their complete disappointment in me nothing serious, then no,” Pieter said, grimacing.

“How could they ever be disappointed in you?”

“For joining the military and not staying here. For refusing to come back to royal duties full-time. For not being my brother.”

To Tilda’s credit, she didn’t try to pretend that any of what he’d just said wasn’t true.

“Come on, I’ll walk you there,” she said, looping her arm through his.

She was such a good, true friend, and Pieter thought for the hundredth time how disappointed he was in himself for not being able to love her the way she deserved to be.

When they reached the door to his parents’ private chambers, the footman nodded at him, and Pieter told Tilda he’d come and find her afterward. He opened the door and saw his parents dancing together in the center of the room, like it was their own tiny, private ballroom.

“Sweetheart!” his mother called out, gliding over to him like she was dancing on ice. “Come and dance with us!”

“I don’t know if you are aware of this or not, Mother, but I’m not seven anymore.”

“And the world’s a sadder place for it,” his mother said, frowning. “Your father and I used to love it when you would dance with us.”

Pieter shot a look at his father, whose own face showed every sign of being disappointed in his son rather than nostalgic about old times.

“You wanted to speak to me?” he asked, not taking his eyes off of his father.

“We do,” his father said. His strong, clear voice hinted at his past as one of the most sought-after stage actors of his generation — up until he’d met and fallen in love with the queen of Laagestein. “Sit.”

Pieter waited as his parents sat together on a plush loveseat, and then he sat in a tall armchair opposite them.

“Are you enjoying the ball, dear?” the queen asked, still beaming.

“I am. It’s my favorite night of the year.”

“We know, dear. It’s the night when all of the creatures of the forest come out to play. We’ve noticed several hopping around quite close to wherever you happen to be. And, of course, there’s dear, sweet Tilda.”

“Yes, she is dear and sweet,” Pieter agreed.

“That’s what we want to talk about,” his father said, voice booming. “We think it’s time you settled down. If not with Tilda, then with someone very like her.”

“We think she’s perfect for you, dear,” his mother added. “I know you’ve said you didn’t fall head over heels in love with her, but it’s clear that you love her as a friend. Strong marriages have been built on much less.”

Pieter couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Tilda deserves to be married to someone who does fall head over heels in love with her,” he said.

“I do love her, but not in the way that would lead to her ultimate happiness. And anyway,” he added, his voice rising, “why is my love life any of your business?”

“Don’t pretend to be na?ve,” his father said. “You know that with all of the privileges you enjoy as a member of this family, there are obligations too. Marriage is one of them. You’re almost in your mid-thirties now, and it’s time you settled down.”

Pieter’s brother Jan, the heir to the Laagestein throne, had himself married at the age of thirty-three, three years earlier, and already had two small children.

“Look, I know my life is taking a different path than Jan’s and the one you seem to hope I would take.

But I belong in the military. It’s where I can make a real difference. ”

“A difference?” his father thundered. “You’re deluded if you think you’re making any difference there.”

“Oh really?” Pieter countered. “I have a feeling my superior officers — the ones who keep promoting me — would disagree with you. Unless of course you think that they’re promoting me because of who my parents are.”

“Of course we don’t think that,” his mother said, while his father glared, the look on his face evidence that he thought exactly that .

“I know you’re both disappointed in me for choosing a life that doesn’t revolve around this palace, but I’ve found my calling. Some people live their entire lives without finding what they’re good at. I’ve found it, and I don’t want to give it up. Not yet, anyway.”

“You have a duty as a member of this family,” his father insisted.

“To do what, exactly?” Pieter asked, unable to hide his frustration. “To wait around here like a spare part until somebody finds an event for me to attend? Which, by the way, I would only be attending because none of the three of you could go.”

As the words spare part came out of his mouth, Pieter saw his mother flinch. She’d spent most of his life trying to convince him that he wasn’t inferior to his brother in any way, that she loved him just as much, and that he had as much worth not just in her eyes but in the eyes of the public.

Except that wasn’t the case. He’d known it from the time he was a boy. It was no way to spend one’s life, he’d always thought, living in someone else’s shadow. No, Pieter had carved his own path, and he was thriving.

“Would it really be so bad coming back to live with us?” his mother asked, sounding on the verge of tears.

The prince held his mother’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “No, Mother, of course it wouldn’t. It’s not that at all. It’s that I belong in the military. Like I’ve said, I can do important work there.”

“Unlike the trivial work that the rest of the family does you mean?” his father asked angrily. Pieter didn’t answer, just stared back at his father defiantly. “Look, Pieter, this isn’t really up for discussion. You’re coming back to the royal family full-time, and that’s all there is to it.”

Pieter released his mother’s hand and stood up to face his father. “Or what?”

“There is no ‘or what’ here. These are our orders.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You can’t refuse. All it takes is one phone call and we’ll have you released from military duties.”

Pieter was so frustrated that he wanted to scream. Instead, he stayed as calm as he could and said, “Aren’t you forgetting something? I have dual citizenship. If you try to force me to come back here, I can choose to live in the United States.”

His father snorted. “You think we’re going to believe that you’d rather live there than here, in the palace of Laagestein?”

“If you’re forcing me out of the military here, I’ll join it there.”

“Pieter, you don’t know what you’re saying,” his mother said, looking devastated.

“You wouldn’t,” his father said. “I’ll make the call first thing in the morning. We’ll have them pack your things and send them here.”

“If you make that call, I’m leaving. This is no bluff.”

Pieter’s parents exchanged looks, and then his father sneered. “Fine, you go and see how much fun you have over there. You’ll be back here with your tail between your legs in no time.”

“We’ll see about that,” Pieter said, striding out of the room without a backward glance.