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Louisa laughed. Sometimes she thought her two friends were competing to see who could dote on their daughter the most.

The idea of asking Marianna’s husband, Ryan, to invest in her project had happened completely by accident. Literally. Louisa had almost knocked him over the day she had taken the palazzo off the market. As luck would have it, he’d been looking for a new start-up project. Neither Nico nor Marianna had any idea until the partnership was official.

Naturally, when he found out, Nico had teased her about going behind his back. In reality, he was excited for her. It was a sign of how good things were going between them that they could joke about that terrible night last fall.

A tap on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts. “Nico told me to have you join him in the other room,” Marianna said.

It never failed. As soon as she heard Nico’s name, a shiver ran down Louisa’s spine. The man would forever have that effect on her. “Did he say what he wanted?”

The brunette waved her hand. “You know my brother tells me nothing. I think he and Angelo are up to something. I saw them and Rafe with their heads together. Their poor, poor wives.”

“You might want to include yourself in that category,” Louisa reminded her. “Whatever they’re up to, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Ryan’s involved, too.”

“He’d better not be.”

The two of them walked toward what was now the hotel lobby. Of all the changes that the palazzo was undergoing, this was the most drastic. What had been the plain entranceway was now a richly appointed lobby. Louisa had done her best to keep the structural changes to a minimum, although she did concede to installing a small built-in counter that served as both the front desk and concierge location.

The staircase remained the same, however. Richly polished, the stairs made a welcoming statement to everyone who walked in. It was in a group gathered around the bottom banister post that Louisa found her man. He was talking with his brother, Angelo, and Angelo’s wife, Kayla, who had flown in from New York City. Rafe and Dani were also chatting.

Nico stepped to the side slightly, drawing her attention, and her heart stuttered. He sure could wear a tuxedo. Wasn’t fair. Tomorrow he would be back in his T-shirt and jeans and would look just as sexy. Worse, she’d bet he would look just as good fifty years from now, while she’d probably end up with gray hair and a thickening waist.

So you think the two of you will be together in fifty years, do you?
Nico caught her eye and winked.

Yeah, she decided. She did.

At her arrival, Nico leaned in and whispered something in Angelo’s ear. His brother nodded. “There you are,
bella mia
!” he greeted. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her into a lingering kiss. Same as she did whenever Nico touched her, Louisa melted into his embrace. Such an overt public display of affection surprised her. She chalked it up to the champagne and the atmosphere.

“I missed you,” Nico whispered before releasing her.

“Down, boy. This dress isn’t made for manhandling.” She smoothed the wrinkles from the pink chiffon skirt before whispering in return, “I missed you, too.

“Is that why you wanted to see me?” she asked. Not that she would ever turn down a kiss, but again, even for Nico, the behavior seemed extreme.

“The kiss was merely a bonus. I was looking for you because I have a surprise.”

“For me?”

“No, for my brother, Angelo. Cover your eyes.”

Louisa did what she was told and seconds later, she felt Nico’s breath tickling her ear. “I wanted to do something to congratulate you for everything you’ve done with the palazzo. Carlos, he would be proud. I know I am.”

Warmth filled her from head to toe. She didn’t need a surprise. Nico’s respect meant everything. “Okay,” he whispered. “Open them.”

“Nico, I don’t need— Mom?”

The silver-haired woman standing at the foot of the stairs offered her a watery smile. “Hello, Louisa.”

“I—” She couldn’t believe her mother was standing the lobby. “How—”

“Signor Amatucci flew me here. He wanted me to see what you’ve done. It’s wonderful, sweetheart.”

“Mom...” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Instead, she ran and threw her arms around the woman, holding on to her as tightly as she could. “I missed you so much,” she managed to choke out. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized just how much. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, sweetheart, I am. I let us grow apart, but I promise I won’t let that happen again.” Pulling away, her mother cupped her face like she used to do when Louisa was a little girl and had a bad dream. “Okay?”

Louisa nodded. This was the best surprise she could imagine. “Thank you,” she said when Nico joined them.

“My pleasure,” he replied before looking serious “You’re not angry I went behind your back?”

“Are you kidding? No way.” If anything, his kindness only made her love him more. A pretty amazing feat, since she already loved him more than seemed possible.

She saw the same love in Nico’s eyes. “Good. Because a woman should always be able to share her engagement with her mother.”

Her engagement? A warm frisson passed through her at the words. She’d be lying if the idea of spending the rest of her life with Nico hadn’t crossed her mind during these past few months. Trying to imagine life without him was... Well, it was like staring at a blank wall.

Still, she wasn’t about to let him know that. The man needed to be kept on his toes, after all. Arms folded, she lifted her chin and said in her most haughty voice, “There you go, taking charge again. What makes you think we’re getting married?”

“A man can hope, can’t he?” Nico said, reaching into his pocket. Louisa gasped when she saw the small velvet box.

Bending on one knee, he held it out to her with a shaking hand. “Louisa Harrison, my beautiful, haughty American princess, you are the only woman I will ever love. Will you marry me?”

There was only one answer she could give. Same as there could only be one man she would ever want to be with forever. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, I will marry you, Nico Amatucci.”

He pulled her into another kiss, and this time Louisa didn’t care how wrinkled her dress got. As his lips slanted over hers and the crowd burst into applause, she felt the last ghosts of her life with Steven disappear forever. She’d found a new life, a new home, a new love, here, in the vineyards of Monte Calanetti.

And they were better than she’d ever dreamed possible.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from
PREGNANT WITH A ROYAL BABY!
by Susan Meier.

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Pregnant with a Royal Baby!

by Susan Meier

CHAPTER ONE

W
HEN
THE
DOORBELL
to her condo rang, Virginia Jones, Ginny for short, had just gotten out of the shower after a long, long day at Jefferson High School in Terra Mas, Texas. Her school was the last on a list of places Prince Dominic Sancho of Xaviera, a small island country between Spain and Algeria, was visiting on a goodwill tour. As guidance counselor, she’d shown him the school and introduced him to staff, then herded the kids into the gymnasium, where he’d given an hour-long talk on global economics: how the world was a much smaller place than it had been before the internet.

She’d loved the talk, but she’d liked looking at Prince Dominic even more. Tall and broad shouldered, he filled out the formal uniform of his royalty like a man meant to be a king. His dark eyes sparkled with amusement at the antics of “her” kids. His full lips had never stopped smiling.

If it were permitted for grown women to swoon, she would have made a fool of herself with him that afternoon. As it was, common sense had kept her professional. And now she was tired. Not up for a visitor.

Her doorbell rang again.

She gave her glass of wine a longing look before she rose from her sofa.

“I’m coming.” She said it just as she reached the door. Going up on tiptoes, she peeked through the peephole. When she saw Prince Dominic, she gasped and jumped back.

Her doorbell rang again.

She peered down at her sweatpants and tank top, ran a hand along her still-wet long blond hair and knew this would go down in the annals of her life as one of her most embarrassing moments.

With no choice, she pasted a smile on her face and opened the door.

He laughed. “I caught you at a bad time.”

“Unfortunately.” Just looking at him made her heart speed up. He’d removed the royal uniform and replaced it with a lightweight white V-neck sweater and jeans. Not a hair of his shiny black curls was out of place. His dark eyes sparkled with amusement.

“You probably think all Americans are idiots.”

“No, I think the United States is a very comfortable country.” He paused long enough to lift his perfect lips into a warm smile. “Are you going to invite me in?”

She motioned for him to come in with a wave of her hand and kept hyperventilation at bay only by a miracle of self-discipline. She had a
prince
entering her house. A good-looking, good-natured, good
everything
prince.

As she closed the door, he said, “I’d actually come here tonight to see if you’d like to have dinner with me.” He shrugged. “And show me your town.”

She had to work to keep her eyes from bugging. He wanted to take her
out
? Then she realized his request made sense. She’d shown him the school. Of course, she was the prime candidate to show him the town. He was not asking her out.

“Then I thought maybe we’d fly to Los Angeles and go to a club.”

She let her eyes bulge. Okay. He
was
asking her out. “You want to go clubbing?”

“Don’t you like to dance?”

Her heart tripped over itself in her chest. “I love to dance.”

He smiled. “Me, too. I’m afraid I don’t get to dance often, though. Duty supersedes fun. Please say you’ll come with me.”

“I’d love to.”

Though he was in jeans, he looked good enough to eat, so she slithered into her prettiest red party dress, put on her best makeup and slid into tall black sandals.

They had dinner at the local Italian restaurant, with his bodyguards unobtrusively eating at the tables beside theirs, then they actually got on his royal jet and flew to LA, where they’d danced until three. He should have dropped her off at her building lobby. Instead, he came up to her condo, and the few kisses they’d shared in his limo turned into passionate lovemaking. The best sex of her life. She’d kissed him goodbye at the door in her one and only fancy robe—which she’d retrieved from her closet when he made the call to his driver that he was ready. Then just when she was about to shower for school again, he called her.

“Thank you.”

The sweetness of his words caused her throat to tighten. Her voice was soft and breathless when she said, “You’re welcome.”

“I’m sorry we’ll never meet again.”

“Me, too.”

But in a way she wasn’t. She’d had a wonderful fairy-tale night with a prince, something she could hold in her heart forever. There would be no need to worry if he would be a good king or a bad king; no need to know if he did stupid things like hog the bathroom; no need to worry if the stress of his job would make him an alcoholic, as her dad had been. No need to know the real Prince Dominic Sancho.

There had been one glorious, wonderful night. No regrets and no worries about the future. The way she liked all her relationships.