“I really just don’t want to sleep, Marcus,” Kyra said, beaming. “I’m enjoying this quiet moment, now that everyone’s gone.”
Marcus’s palms started to sweat. If Kyra wasn’t going to close her eyes, then now was as good a time as any to ask the question he’d been wanting to ask for a while now. He pulled a shiny silver box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a stunning four karat diamond, pear-shaped and encircled with tiny diamond studs.
When Kyra realized what he was doing, her eyes grew wide and teary.
“Kyra, I know our relationship hasn’t exactly been conventional,” he began. “It started off with a one-night stand and quickly advanced to the possibility of an instant family, right?”
Kyra laughed through her tears at this and nodded.
“But I feel certain that it must have been meant to be. Without a shred of doubt, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We can be as conventional or as unconventional as you want from here on out,” he said. “As long as we’re together.”
She squeezed his hand. “Oh, Marcus.”
“Will you do me the great honor of being my partner in this unpredictable life? Kyra, will you marry me?”
“I will,” she said and tilted her chin up to kiss him. He slipped the ring on her finger and she gave it a long look.
“That’s a hell of a ring, Marcus. Nice choice,” she said.
“It was my great-grandmother’s,” he said. “My mother gave it to me to give to you.”
Kyra placed a hand over her heart, clearly touched by his family’s approval of passing on an heirloom.
He leaned in to kiss her again, and she whispered in his ear. “I say we go for unconventional all the way.”
Nose to nose, Marcus grinned back at her.
“Great,” he said. “I’m all in for that.”
He dug into his briefcase and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.
“I snuck it in,” he said, and Kyra shook her head, a laugh on her lips. “How about a toast?”
“Why not?” she said. “But only a sip for me. I’m nursing.”
Marcus looked perplexed for a moment then knocked a fist lightly on his head.
“I didn’t even think about that,” he said.
“No worries. I can have a sip.”
“To a future that is as wonderfully surprising as our life together has been so far. You have changed my life, Kyra.”
She held up a plastic cup that had hardly a splash of whiskey inside.
“I’ve tamed the wild prince, right?” she joked.
“I’m not completely tame,” he said and gave a quiet growl. “I’m wild about my daughter and my future wife. I’m crazy for you and for the idea of us getting to spend the rest of our lives together.”
“Marcus, you’ve changed my life too, you know.” Kyra leaned her head onto his cheek.
“Yep,” he said and sipped his whiskey. “Knocked you up the day I met you.”
“I’m serious,” she said, and he stared into her eyes. “You’ve given me the most beautiful gift I could ever ask for. Just look at her.”
Marcus beamed at their daughter.
“I love you, Kyra,” he said, and without waiting for her to respond he planted a kiss on her lips that promised days and years of joy ahead of them.
As they kissed, the baby began to fuss. A deep voice broke their private moment.
“Is it all right if I hold my granddaughter?”
It was King Hanson. He walked into the hospital room, and without invitation approached Kyra’s bed.
Smiling, Kyra held Lea out to her grandfather. As the king took the baby into his arms, something in his demeanor seemed to shift. All sternness melted from his face, and a smile lit up his cheeks like sunshine.
“Oh, she’s so beautiful,” he said and turned to Marcus. “Son, I know I was less than encouraging about your choice to become a father, but I have to admit I was wrong.”
Marcus didn’t know what to say.
“Baby Lea is the absolute best achievement of your life,” the king said. “Family is everything, Marcus.”
Marcus and Kyra smiled.
“Hands down,” Marcus agreed.
“And Kyra.” King Hanson turned his eyes to her. “Please accept my apology for my harsh behavior toward you. I hope you know I’m tough on Marcus out of love. But I never should have said those things to you.”
“It’s forgotten already,” she said.
“Thank you both for bringing Lea into the world and into our family.” King Hanson stared once more at the baby and cooed. “You’ve made me a grandpa.”
Kyra and Marcus laughed at the smitten look on the king’s face.
Marcus had never felt so filled with joy in his whole life. Later that evening, he sat in a recliner next to a sleeping Kyra, thinking that his father was right. Family was unquestionably the most important aspect of life. He let his eyes fall over Kyra’s sweet face, grateful above all that she’d given him the chance to prove himself and be both her partner and a father to Lea. For all the outlandish experiences he’d ever had in his storied life, being in this place with Kyra and their child was by far the best. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, daddy dreams playing behind his eyes.
End of The Playboy Prince’s Pregnant American
Sovalon Royals Book Two
The Billionaire Prince’s Stubborn Assistant, 16 July 2020
The Playboy Prince’s Pregnant American, 23 July 2020
The Billionaire Prince’s Single Mother, 30 July 2020
PS: Do you want to be swept off your feet? Then keep reading for exclusive extracts from The Billionaire Prince’s Single Mother and The Tycoon’s Pregnant Lover.
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About Leslie
Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
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BLURB
After being ditched by his fiancée before they’d even reached the altar, Prince Aldon of Sovalon heads to his quiet, secluded Thistledown Castle to lick his wounds and try to find some peace. Instead, he finds his gorgeous groundskeeper, Piper McKenzie, and her five-year-old, not-so-quiet daughter, Willa. Though he thought he was longing for solitude, Aldon finds himself delightfully distracted by Piper again and again. Piper is not only beautiful, she’s loving, caring, and opening his eyes to things he’d never noticed before.