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She continued speaking, but his awareness of her voice faded out. Artur couldn’t stop thinking about the baby. Their baby. She was pregnant. He’d sworn to keep his head in the game, but here he was, caught in a whirlwind. Was it a boy or a girl? When was she due? The questions burned in his mind, but it wasn’t the time to ask them...she’d made that clear. Oh, my god, he was going to be a father. What relationship would he have with his child? Was she going back to the States?
He stood up so fast he almost knocked his chair over. “You’ll have to excuse me.” Amy stared up at him, eyes wide. “I have to step out.”
4
Amy took one of her maternity tops from her suitcase and grabbed a hanger from the wardrobe. When she turned to put the top on the hanger she almost collided with the maid, who laughed.
“You’re supposed to be resting.”
She managed a weak smile at the girl, whose name was...Sasha. Yes. Amy’s head was still spinning from the meeting with Artur. That had ended rather abruptly. And wow, had she messed up on that delivery. The look on his face—
She’d never misread an expression so completely in her entire life.
“I know I’m supposed to be resting, Sasha, but I just feel restless after the plane ride.”
“Didn’t you touch down yesterday morning?” Sasha hung up one of her skirts. “I’ve never traveled across the ocean, so I don’t know what it’s like to fly for so long.”
“Yes,” Amy admitted. And she’d felt rested and recovered when she woke up this morning. She’d stayed one night in a hotel at the center of the city in a beautiful suite, and her things had all been brought over while she was in the meeting with Artur. “Yes, I did.”
Sasha glanced at her belly. “I still think you should rest.”
Amy knew when she was being gently told to get out of the way, so she went back out into the living room of her suite.
This place was massive. Too massive for a member of the staff. Honestly, Amy had expected to stay in the hotel until she found a place of her own to rent, but then word had come from the palace that it would be simpler to stay close for the time being. Amy had had a moment of disbelief when she thought the solicitousness was because they’d somehow learned about the baby, but then she’d met Kostya. Kostya had informed her that it was best for her to be immediately on hand. Amy didn’t expect any outright PR disasters, but she was working for them now, so...here she was. In a suite in the guest wing of the royal palace. Guest wing or not, she thought it was fit for a queen.
And...she couldn’t relax. Not after that meeting. Moving helped. Dancing—her usual stress reliever—would be even better, but maybe not with the maid here. She shifted her weight from foot to foot in front of the huge windows while Sasha bustled from her suitcases to the walk-in closet.
“Where are you from, Ms. Branch?”
It took Amy a moment to catch up. “I live in New York City.” She wouldn’t be living there for much longer if she got to head up Holliday’s European office. If she did that, she’d be closer to Artur, if he wanted to see her and the baby. Would he? She wasn’t sure. It hadn’t been as easy to see him as she thought it would be. Her mind needed movement to unravel why it had been so hard, and what she was going to do next.
“Do you have any plans for sightseeing while you’re here?”
“I—” Amy was usually prepared with a list. She didn’t go into any situation without a plan, but now that Sasha had asked, she found herself with nothing to offer. “I was hoping to see the palace,” she said with a laugh. Hopefully that would cover the fact that she hadn’t researched anything about sightseeing landmarks in the capital city. She’d been so swept up in the pregnancy...
“Have you been sick?” Sasha asked on her next trip out.
At first, Amy didn’t know what she was talking about, but then she looked down to where her hand was already resting on her bump. “Oh, no. I was a little tired in the beginning, but otherwise it hasn’t been too bad.”
“That’s good,” said Sasha. “Some women can’t get out of bed. My sister—” She shook her head. “So sick. Are you here until the birth?”
It seemed like a personal question, but Amy had an answer. The Stolvenian National Medical service had a hospital close to the palace. She would go there. It was on her agenda to meet with a few possible OB-GYNs as soon as possible. But giving birth was a whole different story from getting pregnant, as well she knew, and it was...not something she wanted to face. Not right now. So she sidestepped the discussion.
“I’m just here to help Prince Artur with some PR things,” she said with a big smile. “Maybe I’ll combine some sightseeing with a countrywide tour and finish my plans for the birth at a later date.”
Sasha laughed. “A countrywide tour won’t take you long. Stolvenia isn’t all that large.”
Still, the thought had set Amy’s mind to work on something she could figure out—PR. Stolvenia was at least large enough that a tour would mean spending a few weeks on the road. Maybe that would be a good plan for Artur. Part of the problem with the original firm’s stra
tegy was that it had focused entirely too much on international events and connecting Artur with members of the elite class, both within Stolvenia and without. That wouldn’t do much to improve the popularity numbers from the citizens of Stolvenia who weren’t the type to attend fancy galas. In order to help him connect with the majority of the voting public of Stolvenia, they needed to do something else.
They needed to start on a local level.
Amy liked that idea. A few weeks out on the road, engagements with the citizens of Stolvenia—that would be a good starting point. It was something she could bring to him at the next meeting—a neutral topic of conversation, and a suggestion that had the added benefit of getting them away from the palace for a bit. Amy had the sense that being at the political ground zero of the kingdom wouldn’t make it any easier to discuss...personal matters.
Now that she had the bones of a plan figured out, Amy felt better. So much better, in fact, that the itch to run right out of the suite had settled. Her feet hurt a bit. She took in the suite with new eyes. The living area featured a loveseat and two chairs around a little table, along with a little round dining table with two chairs. There were plenty of places to sit and relax. Amy chose the loveseat.
“That’s better,” Sasha said, coming out of the closet. “I’ll finish up in here, and then you’ll be on your own for a bit. If you need anything—”
