Page 15 of Twins for the Secret Prince (Even More Babies #8)

EVA

I n nearly a decade of military life, Eva had grown accustomed to her single status. Being on her own meant not having to answer to anyone, not having to apologize for working as many hours as she did.

Only once in a blue moon did she allow herself to indulge in a what-if line of thinking.

She pictured herself with a husband and children and tried to imagine what such a life would be like.

Without fail, she decided that she preferred her high-pressure, fast-paced life in the military, without attachments or dependents.

The military life suited her and gave her a focus for her abundant energy and drive.

Plus, what she’d told Private Sully was true — moving away from the chaotic family life she’d experienced into the highly structured career she now had was what she’d longed for during her uncertain and unpredictable younger years.

For Eva, it was an honor and a privilege to be serving her country, serving alongside others who had searched for, and found, a sense of purpose and belonging outside of traditional family life.

But Pete’s arrival on the base had disrupted her overarching belief that she was better off single.

She knew, empirically, that it was still true, but Pete had opened up a door to an alternative life, one in which she was loved and cared for.

She knew in the core of her being that Pete wanted more from her than she was prepared to give him, but it didn’t stop her from occasionally wondering what it would be like if she opened her heart and let him in.

Eva was certain that if there was one man she could make a serious relationship work with, it was Pete.

They were good together, for reasons she didn’t fully understand.

But then there was the matter of his European upbringing, and his admission that he wanted to return to his home of Laagestein one day.

That was enough of a barrier to stop any hopeful, wistful thoughts Eva might be having about opening herself up to a relationship with him.

Frustrated, tired of the conflicting feelings that plagued her when she allowed herself to think about her future, Eva realized one evening that avoiding Pete and working at a consistently relentless pace hadn’t worked.

She hadn’t been able to move on, to put him out of her mind completely.

She missed his body, his touch and, she realized, she missed the illicit thrill of sneaking around.

And so it was that, after a couple of weeks of ignoring her physical impulses, Eva decided to just give in.

She knew that Pete was out of the building on duty, and she knew roughly when he’d get back to the base.

She decided to surprise him by sneaking into his office and waiting for him to get back.

For one brief moment, she wondered if he had perhaps moved on in the weeks she’d been ignoring him and rebuffing his advances whenever he’d tried to initiate something between them.

But she knew from the way he still looked at her, which made blood rush to her cheeks whenever she caught him, that his longing was just as strong as hers was.

One night, Eva thought. We’ve stayed away from each other for weeks. We deserve this one night together.

Her lock-picking skills came in handy, and Eva was inside Pete’s office in under a minute.

She took a deep breath and tucked herself into the space beside the door, where she sincerely hoped she’d be invisible to the passing patrol guard.

The room smelled like Pete — his fresh, clean, citrusy scent.

She closed her eyes and remembered how his hands felt on her skin, how his lips felt on hers and the wonderful feeling when their bodies fit together when they became one.

Her lower belly flooded with warmth, the sweet anticipation of what was about to happen.

Certain that Pete’s pleasure would be increased if he found her completely naked, Eva began to slowly undress.

She folded her clothes up as neatly and precisely as she could and tucked them carefully into the space beside her.

In the cool night air, her nipples instantly grew hard, and her skin prickled with goosebumps.

She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed them up and down, trying to warm herself.

Within two minutes, she knew that undressing had been a mistake.

It was far too chilly in the room to stand and wait naked.

She waited a few more long, cold minutes until the security guard passed along the corridor outside the office, and then she moved out from her hiding place and began doing jumping-jacks, pumping her arms and legs to get the blood flowing.

She bounced around behind Pete’s desk, risking a look out the window to check if there were any signs of people returning to the base.

She spun away from the window and something on the desk caught her eye. It was his ID card, which he must have forgotten to take with him. She picked it up, looking closely at his handsome, elegant face. Underneath his photograph was the name Pieter de Winter.

Eva held the card up to the outside light and saw that the ID card was for the Laagestein military.

She was momentarily confused, her mind puzzled by what she saw.

Then the penny dropped, as she realized that Pete Billings and Pieter de Winter were one and the same.

Not only had she been duped into believing that he was from New York, Pete — or Pieter — had lied to her about his name from the moment she’d met him.

She rushed back to where her clothes were neatly stacked in a pile and dressed hurriedly.

She was so angry she could spit, but she was also confused, and hurt, and humiliated.

Everything about their time together had been a lie, she realized.

She wondered if he’d lied about his feelings for her, too.

He’d seemed so genuine, but perhaps he was a master of deception, skilled at making women fall for him by stringing them along with untruths.

Why was he lying about his identity, anyway, she wondered?

What possible reason could he have for coming to their base under an assumed identity?

Was he an impostor? Could he be a spy? Eva ran different scenarios in her mind, but nothing made sense.

She’d been duped, lied to by Pieter, plain and simple.

Just then the door swung open and the overhead light switched on. Pieter was standing in the doorway, looking just as handsome as ever. His eyes lit up when he saw Eva.

“Eva! What a nice surprise! What are you doing here?”

Too angry to speak, Eva strode over to his desk, picked up the ID card, and held it up in front of his face. “ This was a bit of a surprise, let me tell you!” she said angrily. “Maybe you’d like to explain this?”

His smile disappeared. He looked shocked, upset and, finally, remorseful. “Oh, Eva. I didn’t want you to find out this way.”

“Find what out? That you’ve been lying about your name, too?”

“We thought it was for the best.”

“Who thought it was for the best?”

“First Lieutenant Armstrong and I. We’ve known each other for a long time. He knows who I really am.”

“And who exactly are you, Pieter ?”

“My real name is Pieter de Winter.”

“Not Pete Billings.”

“No, not Pete Billings.”

“This whole time, you’ve let me call you by a made-up name.”

“Yes, I have. I’m sorry.”

“So why lie to everyone about it?”

Pieter took a deep breath. “Would you like to sit down so that I can explain?”

“I’ll stay standing, thank you.”

Pieter nodded, his expression contrite. “Okay. Derek and I were roommates at college. That’s how he knows who I really am.”

“But I don’t get it. Why did you have to change your name? Are you here undercover or something?”

“No, nothing like that. There’s something I didn’t tell you about my family, in Laagestein.”

“There’s a lot you haven’t told me, Pieter.”

“I know.”

“So what is it? What about your family?”

He bit the corner of his lip. “I know this is a little hard to believe, but my mother is the queen of Laagestein. My father is an American who married into the royal family.”

“Wait — you’re part of the royal family?”

Pieter nodded. “I am. My older brother, Jan, is heir to the throne. He’ll be king one day. I’m just a prince.”

“ You’re just a prince ? Can you hear yourself right now?”

“I know, it probably sounds crazy to you. But Derek will confirm it.”

“So, what — you ran away from home and joined the US military?”

“Something like that.” Pieter looked very sad as he spoke. “I’m so sorry for lying to you, Eva. Again.”

“Do your parents know you’re here?”

Pieter took a deep breath before answering. “We haven’t spoken since I left Laagestein. But my brother knows. He’s running interference, you could say. My parents told me I had to leave the military — in Laagestein, I mean — and return to full-time royal duties. I refused.”

“You refused and came here instead?”

Pieter nodded. “That’s right.”

Eva was shocked and hurt, and still angry.

All at once she realized that any hope she’d still had of being able to find a way to be with Pieter was dashed.

He was a prince, for heaven’s sake. She was a nobody .

Worse than a nobody. There was no way that someone with her sad lineage, with her messy family background, would be accepted into a royal family.

There was no hope for them, no future. The truth hurt, and she reacted by lashing out in anger. “So what are you going to do, just say sorry and think that’s going to solve everything?”

Pieter shook his head sadly. “I know it won’t solve everything. But I really am sorry.”

“You can shove your apologies, Pieter. You’re a terrible person, taking advantage of me and lying to me this whole time.”

“Eva, I hope you can understand why I did what I did. If we’d met in my country, where I didn’t have to hide who I am, you’d know that I’m an honest man. I’ve hated lying to you!”

“And yet that’s exactly what you’ve done, right from day one!” Eva started to pace across the office.

“I know. I’m sorry. But can’t you see why I couldn’t exactly tell everyone here the truth about my background?”

She stopped and looked at him. “You should always tell the truth. Especially here. Trust is everything.”

“Eva, with respect, you have no idea what life is like for me. You’ve got no idea what it’s like growing up in a royal family.”

“Oh, poor Pieter. You really expect me to feel sorry for you? I think you need to give your head a shake!”

“No, I don’t expect you to feel sorry for me. I’m just saying you have no idea what it’s like being me.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it is going through life with everything handed to you. Being so privileged and entitled must be really, really terrible for you, Pieter.” Eva didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“It is hard when all I want to do is live my life the way I want to, but my parents won’t let me.”

“Maybe they won’t let you because you were born into the royal family, which means you have certain responsibilities and obligations. Not to mention a ton of privileges.”

“It’s not fair, Eva. I didn’t ask to be born into my family. I’m not comfortable with all of the wealth and privilege. I’d rather earn my own living.”

Eva scoffed. “Are you listening to yourself? You’re whining about being a prince, for heaven’s sake! For living in a palace!”

Pieter looked desperately sad, like he was sorely disappointed in Eva for not being able to see where he was coming from. “That’s just it. I don’t want to live in a palace. It’s not the life I want.”

“ This is the life you want instead? You expect me to believe that this beats living like a prince?”

He nodded his head. “This beats living like a prince any day. This is where I’m happy. This is where I can be my own person.”

Eva’s temper flared again. “You know what really makes me mad? For the past few weeks, I’ve been working so hard that I’ve basically run myself into the ground, all because I wanted to make sure I beat you to the promotion.

Here I’ve been worried about beating you because you’re a man, but the truth is I’ll never beat you, Pieter.

Who is going to promote me over a prince ? ”

“Eva, the better sergeant will win. They’re not just going to make me sergeant major because I’m a prince.”

“You just don’t know how the world really works, do you?”

“What does that mean?”

Eva threw her hands in the air. “It means you don’t even recognize your own privilege. You don’t even realize how disadvantaged everyone around you is by your advantage.”

“That’s not fair, Eva. You’re acting like I’ve got my head buried in the sand. I’m very aware of what has been handed to me in life, and I also know what I’ve worked hard to earn, off my own back.”

“No, Pieter, I’ve worked hard to get where I am. You have no idea.”

“No one can ever really know how hard life is for someone else,” Pieter said. “That’s the point I’m trying to make, too.”

“Don’t patronize me. I don’t need you to mansplain this for me.”

“I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Let me make this very clear for you, Pieter. This is my point. You’re an entitled prick who’s been given everything he ever wanted in life, but still has the nerve to complain that his parents are being mean.”

“Oh, Eva. I’m sorry you think that about me.” He shook his head.

“I also think you’re a liar. In fact, I know that about you because of what I’ve found out here tonight.”

“I am very sorry about lying to you, Eva.”

“I’ll make this easy for you. I’m going to carry on acting professionally towards you because I’m not going to risk getting reprimanded again. But whatever this has been between us is over. Completely over, Pieter. Do you understand me?”

He hung his head and nodded. “I understand.”

“Good. Good night, Pieter.”

“Good night, Eva.”

Eva held her head high as she strode out of his office. She’d barely taken two steps along the corridor before the tears came, flooding down her cheeks, dropping down onto the front of her uniform like raindrops.