Jennifer Faye - Heiress's Royal Baby Bombshell

One-night miracle...

For the crown prince!

In this The Cattaneos’ Christmas Miracles story, rebel royal Max believes his infertility has cost him the throne—until heiress Noemi reveals she’s carrying his baby! And with his country’s future at stake, Max must claim his heir! Noemi is hesitant and fiercely protective of their unborn baby, but at his snow-covered palace, can Max offer her the most precious Christmas gift ever—the chance to become a family?

Award-winning author JENNIFER FAYE pens fun, heart-warming, contemporary romances, filled with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published, with books translated into nine languages, she is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award. She has also won the CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, been named a TOP PICK author, and has been nominated for numerous other awards.

Also by Jennifer Faye

Once Upon a Fairytale miniseries

Beauty and Her Boss

Miss White and the Seventh Heir

The Cattaneos’ Christmas Miracles collection

Cinderella’s New York Christmas by Scarlet Wilson

Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell

And look out for the next book

CEO’s Marriage Miracle by Sophie Pembroke

Available December 2018

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell

Jennifer Faye

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07830-6

HEIRESS’S ROYAL BABY BOMBSHELL

© 2018 Harlequin Books S.A.

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

A CASUAL PARTY full of joy and hope for the future was just what she needed.

It was her chance to forget that her opinions were unwanted and disregarded. That acknowledgment sliced deep into her heart. But she refused to become a silent shadow in her own family.

Noemi Cattaneo, heiress to the Cattaneo Jewels dynasty, welcomed the loud music and the sound of laughter. After yet another argument with her older brother, Sebastian, she needed space. She took a drink from her second glass of pink champagne. When was he ever going to treat her like an adult instead of his kid sister and realize that her opinions had merit?

She took another sip of bubbly, hoping to cool off her rising temper. Every time she recalled her brother saying that being a silent partner suited her, frustration bubbled within her. How dare he tell her to stick to modeling! There was more to her than her looks—a lot more. And she refused to spend the evening worrying about her brother.

Someone bumped into her. The champagne sloshed over the edge of the glass and onto Noemi’s new white dress. She glanced down at the pink stain starting at her chest and streaking down to her midsection.

She might need to cool off, but this wasn’t how she’d intended to do it. Noemi’s gaze lifted as she looked around for the klutz who’d bumped into her, but she couldn’t pinpoint the culprit. They hadn’t hung around to express their regret. Maybe coming to this engagement party hadn’t been such a good idea.

She searched the crowd for Stephania, her friend who’d convinced her to come to the party. As Noemi’s gaze scanned the room, it strayed across a man with mysterious hazel eyes. He was standing across the room surrounded by a half dozen eager, smiling women. Even though each woman appeared to be vying for his attention, he was staring at Noemi. Her pulse quickened. This wasn’t the first time that she’d noticed him staring her way.

“Hey, Noemi,” Stephania said. “What are you doing standing over here all alone?”

“Apparently getting champagne spilled on me.”

Stephania gasped when she saw the stain. “I’m sure they have some club soda around here.”

Noemi shook her head. “I’ll just go home.”

“But you can’t leave yet. We just got here. Besides, if you go home, you’ll just mope around.”

And think about how her brother refused to give her any respect. Noemi hated to admit it but Stephania was right. Her gaze strayed to the tall sexy stranger. His eyes caught and held hers. Her pulse quickened. Perhaps there was a reason to stay.

Twenty or so minutes later, with the help of club soda, paper towels and a hair dryer, Noemi’s dress was once again presentable. By then, she’d talked some sense into herself about the attractive man whose gaze seemed to follow her around the room. He was probably the type who enjoyed the chase—not the capture.

However, there was something slightly familiar about him. Not one to keep up with gossip or who to know, Noemi couldn’t place him. But if he was at this exclusive gathering, he must be someone important.

She glanced around the room but didn’t see any sign of him. Disappointment assailed her. This wasn’t like her. She could take guys or leave them. She thought of asking Stephania if she knew the man’s name but shrugged off the idea. Her life had enough complications. She didn’t need more.

But just the same, her mood had dimmed. Her problems once again started to crowd in around the edges of her mind. Needing some fresh air, she stepped out onto the terrace. There was just enough of the evening sun for her to admire the distant mountain range as a gentle breeze caressed her skin.