Page 19 of Twins for the Secret Prince (Even More Babies #8)

EVA

P ieter’s face had gone pale, like he was bracing himself for bad news.

Was it possible he already knew what she was about to tell him?

Eva didn’t think so, since the only other person in the world who knew she was pregnant was Ali, the medic.

And Ali wouldn’t break the bonds of confidentiality, of that she was sure.

She took a deep breath and put her hands on her stomach, willing herself not to faint as she told him the news. “I know this must be a shock, me showing up like this. But I have something to tell you, and I wanted you to hear this in person.”

Pieter nodded once, and she saw him gulp. “I’m very happy to see you. Thank you for coming all this way. Won’t you sit down?” he asked, sinking into a chair and gesturing at the one beside it.

Even though she was battling nausea and nervousness, Eva shook her head. She wanted to stay exactly where she was and get this over with. “I’m just going to say it quickly. I’m pregnant.”

Pieter’s mouth dropped open. He stared at her for a moment, silently. His mouth moved as though he was about to say something, but he just continued to stare. Finally, he said, “I thought you’d come here to tell me never to contact you again.”

“What? Why would I come all the way here to say that? That would be insane.”

The color was returning to Pieter’s cheeks. “You’re pregnant ?”

Eva nodded, biting her lip. “I just found out. I mean, maybe I should have expected something, but I honestly didn’t. I fainted during drill and—”

“You fainted? Oh, Eva, were you hurt?” Pieter stood up quickly and put his arms around her, holding her at arm’s length so he could look into her face.

“No, I wasn’t hurt. But Ali took me to the medical center and ran some tests. That’s how I found out.”

“How are you feeling? Do you want a drink? Do you want to sit down? Or lie down?”

“Please don’t fuss, I’m fine. But there’s more. It’s twins, Pieter. We’re expecting twins.”

“ Twins ?” Pieter said loudly, his face breaking into a huge grin. “We’re having two babies?”

“Yep. Two babies — twins,” Eva said, smiling at his reaction.

“Eva, this is wonderful! I mean, I think it’s wonderful. Do you think it’s wonderful?”

Beaming, Eva said, “Yes, I do. I think it’s wonderful.”

“We’re going to be parents!”

“Yes, we are.”

“To twins!”

“To twins,” she said, her hands on her stomach again.

Pieter laughed. “This is the best news I’ve ever had in my entire life!”

“I’m glad you think so,” Eva said, relieved.

“Don’t you think it’s the best news you’ve ever had in your whole life?”

The smile on his face as he said that filled her with hope and happiness. “It’s pretty great. And I’m relieved that you think it’s great.”

“Eva, I have something to tell you now. I was just upstairs, practicing how I was going to tell my parents that I planned to go back to Alaska.”

“Really? You were planning on going back? But why?”

“To tell you I love you.”

Eva’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Pieter,” she said, tilting her head up to his. They kissed, slowly and tenderly, undoing the past few weeks in an instant.

“You’re the most wonderful woman in the world,” Pieter said, stroking her cheek. “I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

“We need to talk about the future,” Eva said softly.

“You mean as in where are the four of us going to live?”

Eva began to cry, tears of relief and joy mixing with tears of worry about how they were going to figure everything out. “That’s what I mean.”

“And of course it might not be just the four of us,” Pieter said. “I mean, the four of us to start, but then there might be more of us.”

Eva pulled back and stared into his face. “One thing at a time, Pieter.”

“Okay, you’re right. One thing at a time.” He kissed her again and then asked, “Are you hungry? Thirsty? Did you get any decent food on the flight? I’ll bet you’re hungry.”

“I’m fine, Pieter. Let’s talk first, and then we can get some food.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you what — it’s very difficult to find somewhere in this place where we can talk without being interrupted. Why don’t I give you a tour of the grounds, and I’ll have a picnic delivered to the orangery. No one will disturb us there.”

“The orangery? I don’t even know what that is, but okay.” Eva looked around, taking in the impressive, imposing room in which they stood. “This is quite the place.”

He smiled. “I’ll show you around the palace later. Let’s walk around the gardens.”

They stepped outside into the warm morning sunshine and walked through a well-tended garden teaming with herbaceous plants. Bees buzzed around purple lavender flowers, and butterflies flitted across a row of plants Eva didn’t recognize, all in glorious shades of orange and yellow.

“What a beautiful garden,” Eva said breathlessly.

“This is my mother’s passion project — the physic garden. It’s full of plants that medics and healers would have used in past times to treat common complaints and illnesses.”

Eva took in a deep breath, inhaling the sweet aroma. “Does your mother take care of this garden?”

“She designed it. To be honest, she leaves the day-to-day tending of it to the gardeners, but it is one of her favorite places. She loves it out here.”

“I can see why,” Eva said, smiling.

They walked past more flower beds into a stiflingly warm greenhouse, which was home to the royal family’s collection of rare orchids. Eva thought they were all very beautiful, but she was happy when they passed through it and were back outside into the fresh air.

After a couple of minutes, Pieter said, “We’re now entering the royal arboretum. We have species here collected by my ancestors when they were on their travels around the world. The arboretum is so well-known that my mother is often given tree specimens by visiting dignitaries.”

Eva stopped suddenly and asked, “Is it important to you that your children grow up here at the palace?”

Pieter paused for a moment and then said, “I haven’t really had time to think about it. I had a nice life growing up here until I got old enough to really question my privilege.”

They walked on, listening to the sound of the gentle breeze rustling the leaves of the trees.

“I mean, it’s so beautiful here, don’t get me wrong,” Eva said. “But I find this all very intimidating. I’m not sure I’d ever feel at home here.”

“I understand,” Pieter said. “Living in a palace isn’t for everyone.” He shot Eva a sidelong look, and they both laughed.

“I know how ridiculous I must sound, saying that I don’t think I could live in a palace. It’s just that I’m a simple girl with simple tastes, you know?”

“I think I do,” Pieter replied, taking her hand. “I think that’s why I like being in the military. It suits me much more than champagne and caviar.”

He led her to a freestanding glass building, which was dominated by tall tropical plants and trees. A modest-sized table stood in the middle of the space, which was completely covered by a lavish spread of food.

“Is this all for us?” Eva asked, suddenly realizing just how hungry she was.

Pieter pulled out her chair, helped Eva into it and said, “It’s all for us. Don’t go hungry.” He poured them each a cup of tea and told Eva to help herself to the sandwiches and pastries that adorned the tiered cake stand.

“This is bliss,” Eva said, biting into a glazed strawberry tart. “Do you eat like this every day?”

“Well, I live in barracks unless I’m on leave for royal duties, so no, I don’t. But when I lived here full-time, yes. There was never a shortage of delicious food.”

“I could get used to this, I think,” Eva said, feeling more content than she remembered being in a very long time.

“Could you though, Eva? Could you really give up your military career to live here?”

Eva finished chewing and then said, “It was just a figure of speech. Actually, I don’t know if I’d ever get used to it. And I really don’t know if I could quit the military.”

“I think my parents finally understand that I can’t quit, either.”

Eva sipped her tea and then asked, “What was it really like, growing up here? In the royal spotlight, I mean.”

“My early memories are nothing but happy,” he said. “Truly, I couldn’t dream of a better childhood. But by the time I was old enough to understand how much we had, compared to how little other people had, I couldn’t seem to enjoy it anymore.”

“You became conflicted?” Eva asked.

“I did. That’s not to say that my mother and brother don’t feel the same way, they just handle it in a different way. I handled it by finding my calling outside of the palace.”

“Were you very unhappy?”

“Again, not until I reached a certain age. I was likely shielded from the pressure when I was really young. But around the time I started to question my privilege, I found I could hardly stand having my photograph taken every time I went out. I’m still not comfortable with everyone looking at me.”

Eva took a sip of water, then asked, “How do you feel about your children growing up the way you did?”

“Again, I’m conflicted. I want them to have every advantage in life, to never have to want for anything. But after what I went through, I’m not sure how comfortable I’d feel about them being in the royal spotlight, as you call it.”

“So what are we going to do?” Eva looked at Pieter, realizing that this would take teamwork and she needed to put her headstrong tendencies aside for this decision.

Pieter was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “I think the only answer is to live in Alaska.”

“But you’ll be homesick for Laagestein.”

Pieter nodded once. “I’m sure I will. But we can come back to visit.”

“What will your parents say?”

“I guess we’d better tell them,” Pieter said, taking a deep breath. He made a call and told the person at the other end of the line to ask his parents to meet him in the orangery, as a matter of urgency.

Eva bit the side of her lip. “What a way to meet them — being introduced as the woman who’s stealing their son away to the other side of the world.”

“I won’t lie to you, it’s going to come as something of a shock to them. I haven’t told them anything about you.”

“Oh, great. This is going to be fun.”

“But I did tell my brother, Jan. He told me I should hurry back to Alaska to tell you how I really feel about you. He said this might be the only shot at love I have, and I’d better not squander it.”

“Have you really never been in love before, Pieter?”

He reached out and took Eva’s hands in his. “Never.”

“Me neither,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears. They kissed, tenderly, sealing their love.

They broke apart a few minutes later when they heard the sound of voices. “Pieter, darling, are you in here? What’s so urgent that we had to come running over?”

Eva looked over her shoulder to see a tall, willowy woman with silver-blond hair walking slightly ahead of an even taller man with dark brown hair. They looked like movie stars with their good looks and elegant style.

“Mother, Father, I would like you to meet Sergeant Eva Bailey. We worked together in Alaska. Eva, these are my parents, the queen and king consort of Laagestein.”

Eva stood up as gracefully as she could and shook their hands as she said, “I’m very pleased to meet you both.”

“And you’ve come all the way from America to talk to Pieter? Is something wrong?” the queen asked.

“Please, won’t you both join us?” Pieter said, gesturing toward the chairs on the other side of the table. “I’ll pour you some tea.”

Pieter’s father’s eyes bored into Eva, making her feel distinctly uncomfortable. “You’d better tell us what this is all about, Pieter,” he said in an unfriendly voice.

“I will, Father. Eva surprised me with a visit because she has some important news. You see, we fell in love when I was stationed at her base in Alaska.”

“You fell in love?” Pieter’s mother asked incredulously. “And this is the first I’m hearing of it?”

“I’m sorry, Mother. But Eva and I decided it would be too difficult to carry on a long-distance relationship.” As he spoke, Pieter looked at Eva quickly.

“So, you’ve come to tell Pieter you want to make a go of it after all, is that it?” the queen asked Eva, not unkindly.

“Mother, we have some news. I’m moving to Alaska to be with Eva. I know I’ve only just come back home, but we’ve decided our future is there.”

The look on Pieter’s father’s face could best be described as a scowl. “So this is why you’re here? To steal our son away from us?”

Before Eva could answer, Pieter’s mother said, “Oh Pieter, please don’t leave again. Why can’t you both live here?”

Pieter said, “There’s more. We’re going to be parents. Eva’s expecting twins.”

At first, neither of Pieter’s parents spoke. They looked from Eva to Pieter and back again as the news sank in. Then, the queen’s eyes filled with tears, and she reached out and took one of Eva’s hands in hers, and one of Pieter’s in her other hand.

“This is the most amazing news!” she cried. “We’ll get started designing the nursery right away. I insist on you both staying here at the palace until we fix up one of the country estates for you and the babies.”

In a gentle voice, Pieter said, “Thank you, Mother, for such a generous offer. But we’ve discussed it, and we want our children to grow up having as normal lives as possible. That’s not possible here.”

“But you had a wonderful childhood!” the queen protested. “Think of everything we can offer your children! Our grandchildren!”

“Mother, that’s true. We want you to play a big part in their lives. But we want them to have the freedom to choose who they want to be —away from the royal spotlight,” he added, looking quickly at Eva.

No one said anything for a long time. Eva thought the best move was just to sit in silence, lest she make things worse. Finally, Pieter’s mother smiled and said, “Okay. I understand. I wish you were making different choices, but I’m going to count my blessings. This is wonderful news.”

Pieter’s father pulled his wife close and kissed her cheek. “We’re going to be grandparents again. And twins! Double trouble.”

Eva saw Pieter and his father exchange a look, and they smiled at each other.

“Welcome to the family, darling Eva,” the queen said, squeezing her hand. “We can’t wait to get to know you and meet our gorgeous grandbabies.”