Page 10 of Twins for the Secret Prince (Even More Babies #8)

PIETER

P ieter dreamed that he was back in Laagestein, at the royal family’s winter palace on the shores of frozen Lake Westemeer, the country’s largest lake.

He was skating in the center of the lake, gliding along at a brisk pace, the frosty air nipping at his nose and ears.

He was taking in the glorious view — the pine forests stretching as far as the eye could see, the snow-tipped hills in the distance — and thinking how this landscape was in his blood.

To be back in Laagestein was to be back where he belonged.

Someone skated past him in a streak of color, disturbing his revelry. “Hey, slowpoke, get a move on! I’m going to beat you to the other side.” It was Eva, her rosy cheeks accentuated by her poppy-red padded coat. She was skating backwards, making it look easy.

“I didn’t realize we were competing,” Pieter said, smiling at her.

“It’s always a competition with me, baby,” she said, stretching her arms out to him.

Pieter grabbed her hands and together they spun around on the ice.

Eva tipped her head back and laughed, a warm, full-bodied sound that made Pieter’s heart sing.

“I love you, Eva Bailey,” he said, uttering the words he’d never before spoken to a woman.

“I can’t believe how lucky I am, being married to you. ”

Pieter woke with a start, breathing heavily.

His arms were still wrapped around Eva, whose deep breathing told him she was still sound asleep.

He was startled by the dream, perhaps even scared.

After his protestations to his parents about settling down, that was exactly what he’d been about to do in the dream.

Dreams are fiction, not deep revelations about your subconscious, he told himself. He reasoned that his strong physical attraction to Eva, and the way it had played out the night before, had led him to dream what he had. It was nothing more than that.

But even as he dismissed his dream, he couldn’t deny that he had felt so happy, so completely sure that he had found his perfect match, a woman he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with.

In the cold light of dawn, he had to admit that Eva pretty much was his perfect woman.

She was strong and courageous, and she understood how important the military life was to him because she felt exactly the same way.

She was beautiful and sexy, and if last night had been anything to go by, she was completely relaxed about fulfilling her own physical desire.

Plus, she had saved his life, plain and simple. He doubted any other woman would be able to hold a candle to her.

Pieter found himself thinking about what it would be like if Eva came back to Laagestein with him.

Getting married would satisfy his parents’ demands, restoring harmony where at present there was conflict and discord.

Laagestein had much to recommend it. The country was beautiful, safe, clean, and the landscape was stunning.

Marrying into the royal family would mean that Eva would never have to worry about money again.

She’d enjoy a life of privilege like the one Pieter had been born into.

But there were some huge downsides, too.

Eva had been born and raised in Alaska, which wasn’t exactly in close proximity to Laagestein.

This was her home, and she might not be happy about leaving it.

And Eva’s commitment to the military life was as strong as Pieter’s, so there was every chance she’d balk at the idea of leaving it.

He had serious issues with his royal duties and obligations, but he’d had a lifetime to get used to them.

Eva would be walking into such a life without any preparation.

She still didn’t even know his real name, let alone that he was a prince.

He buried his face in the small of her neck and breathed in her intoxicating scent.

She smelled — impossibly, since they’d been in a landslide, a freezing cold river, and out in the wild all night — like caramel sauce and warm, buttered toast. She was, quite simply, amazing.

He could hardly believe how strong his feelings for her were in such a short space of time.

A noise coming from somewhere above echoed off the rocks. “Sergeant Bailey! Sergeant Billings! Can you hear us?”

Pieter recognized Derek’s voice. He shook Eva awake. “Eva, wake up. They’re calling us. The rescue party’s here.”

“What?” Eva said, sitting up quickly and rubbing her eyes. “They’re here?”

“I hear them above us. They must be close.”

They both stood up, smoothed their clothes, and tried to make themselves look as presentable as they possibly could in a few seconds, trying to hide all visible traces of what had happened between them the night before. Pieter cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, “We’re down here!”

“We’re coming! Hold tight!” Derek shouted. There was the sound of quick footsteps and then Derek was there, standing on the edge of the rock face, looking down at them.

“We’re both here, and we’re uninjured,” Eva called up matter-of-factly.

A second later, two more faces appeared over the rock face. Two of the best recruits had joined Derek in the search for their sergeants. “Boy, are we glad to see both of you,” Derek said, beaming.

“Just let me make sure this fire is out and we’ll come right up,” Eva said. The rain was little more than a constant mist rather than the heavy rain it had been, so Eva and Pieter both stomped their boots on the dying embers of the fire, making sure it didn’t spread.

Eva was first to scrabble up onto the rocky ledge above, with a helping hand from Derek. Pieter went next, finding that although his body was stiff from the events of the previous day, it seemed to have healed well. Derek clapped him on the back as Pieter thanked him for coming to their rescue.

“How did you find us?” he asked.

“The smoke from the fire,” Derek said. “We saw it about an hour ago, when the sky had cleared a little, and we set out straight away. It was quite a hike. How did you get so far away?”

Pieter and Eva exchanged a look. “The landslide carried us into a gully,” Eva said. “We couldn’t stay there for the night, so we let the river carry us downstream, to a more hospitable location.”

Pieter fought to keep the images of the freezing, perilous river out of his mind. “It was Sergeant Bailey’s plan,” he said. “She’s the reason you found us both unharmed.”

“Good work, Sergeant Bailey,” Derek said. “Let’s get you both back to base camp and get you a nice hot meal. Then you can tell us all about your wilderness survival experiences.”

Pieter saw the admiration on the faces of the two recruits as they looked at Eva, almost like she was a superhero. When he looked at her, he saw no expression on her face, just grim determination.

“So it’s an hour’s hike back to camp?” she asked briskly.

“Give or take. The rain’s let up mostly but be careful underfoot. It’s dangerous,” Derek said.

Pieter shared a look with Eva, who looked like she was struggling not to say something sarcastic, and then they both burst out laughing, happy and relieved that they’d been found.

“Okay, okay, dumb thing to say after what happened to you yesterday,” Derek said, smiling.

As they started walking, Pieter said, “When we get back, I’m having sausages, and beans, and griddled bread. And coffee. Lots of coffee.”

“I’ll eat anything going,” Eva said. “Everyone basically looks like a giant chicken leg to me right now. I’m famished.”

Because the storm was forecast to return later that morning, bringing with it more strong winds and heavy rain, coupled with the fact that Eva and Pieter had been swept away in a landslide, Derek made the call to end the wilderness training and return to base camp.

When they were reunited with their squads, Pieter noticed that Eva’s recruits looked more than pleased and relieved to see her back; they looked completely thrilled.

As she told them all about the actions she and Pieter had taken to find shelter and warmth, she was magnanimous, never once letting on that she’d been the one who’d come up with the plan and who had also pulled Pieter out of the water.

He saw admiration and respect writ large on the recruits’ faces, and he knew exactly what they were feeling because he shared their sentiments. Eva was a true force of nature.

When Eva got to the part of the story where they were rescued, both squads burst into spontaneous applause.

Pieter joined in and then, when the sound had died down, said, “I want you all to know that I’m clapping for Sergeant Bailey.

The way she told you what happened didn’t make it clear that it was her survival skills that saved us. Thank you, Sergeant Bailey.”

Pieter clapped, and both squads joined in, as did Derek, who looked on at Eva proudly. Looking embarrassed, Eva said simply, “Right, if the storm is coming, we need to get packed up quickly and start moving. We’re clearing out in fifteen minutes.”

The skies opened as soon as they started the trek back to the base, and now, as they drew near, Pieter could feel a wave of tired enthusiasm pass through the recruits.

No doubt they were all looking forward to a warm shower, a hot meal, and the chance to sleep in their own beds tonight. He was no exception.

But when they walked through the doors, Pieter and Eva were told to report to Major Aston’s office immediately. They shared a quick look but didn’t say anything to each other until they were alone.

“I feel like I’m wearing a cloak of guilt,” Eva said in a hushed tone. “I don’t know how he could have found out about what happened between us last night. Unless there were drones out looking for us, but I’m sure we would have heard them.”

Pieter shook his head. “No drones. There’s no way he could have found out about us. Could he?”

“I don’t see how. But then why does he want to see us?”

They were both quiet as they walked to Major Aston’s office. Eva knocked once on his door, and they were told to come in.

“Sergeants, I heard about the landslide. You’re both uninjured?”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

“Good. There’s something I need to speak to you both about. It’s come to my attention that—” Major Aston’s desk phone buzzed, and he kept Pieter and Eva waiting while he handled the call.

“Right. As I was saying, I’ve had reports about unprofessional behavior.”

Pieter gulped, but Eva’s voice was composed as she asked, “Sir?”

“You don’t know what I’m talking about, sergeant?”

“No, sir. I’d like clarification please, sir.”

“Very well. Apparently, the pair of you aren’t able to contain your rivalry. You were one-upping each other in front of the recruits to the point where First Lieutenant Armstrong had to intervene.”

Eva’s eyes widened with understanding and she nodded. “Yes, sir. It’s true that Sergeant Billings and I had some issues when we first got to the training camp. We’re both highly competitive, sir, and we let that get in the way of our professionalism. I apologize. It won’t happen again, sir.”

“No, it won’t, but it never should have happened in the first place, sergeants. Taking your squads out on wilderness training to teach them how to work together, then doing the exact opposite, sends more than mixed messages. It undermines the whole process.”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

“Sir, if I can add,” Pieter said. “It was unprofessional, and I apologize. But I should tell you, sir, that Sergeant Bailey took charge after the landslide and was responsible for our rescue. She should be commended.”

“ I make the decisions about commendations around here, Sergeant Billings,” the major said. “But I’m glad to hear you worked it out. And don’t let it happen again.”

“We won’t, sir,” Eva said.

“It won’t, major,” Pieter agreed.

Outside of his office, Eva held her finger to her lips and motioned for Pieter to follow her. They walked in silence to her office, where she closed and locked the door behind them. “That was a close call,” she said quietly. “It would have been so much worse if he knew what really happened.”

“I almost accidentally told him about that instead of the fact that you saved my bacon.”

“Pete! This is no time for jokes!” Eva admonished.

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to diffuse some of the tension. I was worried too.”

“You know what this means, right? It’s too risky to let anything like that happen again. Especially here on the base.”

“I agree. I’ll have to keep my hands to myself. But still, your door is locked. Maybe we could just—”

“Don’t even joke about it,” Eva said quickly. “I mean it!”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Just joking! Although of course if you decide it’s a good idea, you know where to find me.”

“I’m serious, Pete. We can’t do anything, not even talk about it again. We can’t risk anyone overhearing.”

“Okay. It is a shame, though. I wish we could do it all over again.”

“Well, we can’t.”

“But I bet you want to, too, don’t you?”

Eva shook her head. “I’m not going to stroke your ego for you, Pete.”

His eyebrows shot up, but he resisted making a joke.

“You should go now,” Eva said. “Just remember — don’t tell anyone. And don’t make any comments or jokes about it when you think no one’s around.”

“What if we developed a coded language so that we could talk about it without anyone else understanding us?”

“Go and get a shower, Pete.”

“I get it. What happened under the rock face stays under the rock face.”

He was gratified to see the corners of Eva’s mouth turn up. “You’ve got it. Not a word. Not even coded ones.”

“Okay, okay. But for what it’s worth, I am never going to forget what happened under the rock face.” He leaned down and kissed Eva, quick enough that she couldn’t protest first but deeply enough that he hoped it would leave her wanting more.

“Goodbye, Sergeant Billings,” she said, her voice husky.

“Goodbye, Sergeant Bailey,” Pieter said, holding eye contact with her. “Until the next wilderness training camp.”