Page 2 of Falling for the Queen Mother

The relief on Elise’s face magnified. "That would be wonderful, but please wake me up when you're ready to hand her back. Even what you've done so far is appreciated."

It had been a while since he'd done much maneuvering with a baby on his shoulder, but Nate managed to reach down into his backpack and pull out the blanket he kept with him when he traveled. "Get some sleep."

Elise accepted the blanket and pulled it around her shoulders. It only took a few minutes for her to doze off.

Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't been in first class. It seemed like forever since he'd seen his own grandchildren, and he'd always loved the tiny baby stage. He'd often taken a shift - or two -so his late wife could rest when their kids were little.

He waited for the familiar twinge to appear inside. The one that reminded him just how much he still missed her. To his surprise, it didn't come. It hadn't come as often as it used to, but he'd guessed thinking about their grandbabies would trigger it.

The rest of the flight passed much more quickly than he would have expected and by the time they landed, he'd learned quite a bit.

He still had a knack as a baby whisperer. He still remembered how to give a bottle. The mum sitting next to him was a single mum hoping to start a new life in a new country. Her parents had disowned her when she told them about the baby. The baby's father wasn't around. She didn't offer any more details, and Nate didn't press for them.

When he discovered that she didn't have an actual place to stay beyond two nights at a small airport motel, Nate knew that would never do. Rather than letting them go to a motel with a questionable cleaning crew and no security of any kind, he made an excuse to invite them to stay at the same hotel he was - something about reward points that were going to expire if he didn't use them. He'd have offered to share his two-bedroom suite if he thought it wouldn't seem weird and that she would accept.

The arrival at the hotel went almost as smoothly as it could. The second room he'd reserved via the app as they waited for Emilia's checked luggage wasn't ready, but Nate assured her he wouldn't be there but a few minutes before leaving for a meeting, and she was welcome to stay in his suite until her room was ready.

Reluctantly, she agreed, but Nate suspected it was only because she was desperate for some real sleep.

The porter followed them with their bags. Nate once again held the baby as he used his phone to unlock the door, but when he walked in, he stopped in his tracks.

Someone was already in the suite.

And he was pretty sure she was a queen.

Queen Mother Alaina didn't know for certain who was going to be entering the suite. She knew his name was Nathaniel and that he was a historian of some sort, but she had no idea he'd be carrying an infant.

"Hi." He held the door open for a young lady to enter.

They were followed by a porter with their bags.

The man held out a hand toward her, but didn't bow or dip his head like most people did. Could he not know who she was?

"I'm Nathaniel Dougherty - Nate. I work with Madeleine Woodward Middleton in Eastern Novigradia."

Alaina shook his hand, and found herself a little shocked at the current of electricity she felt flow between them. "Alaina." She didn't give her titles like others often did when she was introduced to them. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Nathaniel held her hand for a couple of seconds longer than necessary then stepped to the side once he released it. "This is Emilia Hardin." He looked at the baby in his arms and bounced her lightly. "She and this little one, Alice, were next to me on the flight. We bonded."

Interesting. Clearly, he was no stranger to infants, and the baby slept on snuggled into his shoulder.

Alaina shook hands with the other woman, whose expression told her that the young lady knew who she was.

Emilia dipped into a curtsy. "It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am."

The expression on Nathaniel's face changed only slightly.

"You as well. Welcome to Southern Santiero. Have you ever visited us before?"

"No, ma'am." She seemed to hesitate before going on. "I wanted a fresh start for a lot of reasons. I saw the queen, Queen Victoria that is, talking about her homeland and decided this was where I wanted to go. For me and my baby. For our future."

"I'm biased, of course, but I think you've made an excellent choice. Do you have family or friends in the country?"

Emilia glanced behind her. "Just Nate and we only met on the flight over. I don't have much family left anymore. I don't really have any family left. It's just the two of us."

The door to the suite opened, letting in a member of Alaina's security team. Though the look on the woman's face remained carefully neutral, Alaina knew she wasn't happy about the addition of an extra adult and child into the suite without being notified first.

In fact, Alaina was surprised it had taken this long for her to enter.