The Prince's Pregnant Challenge (The Royals of Monaco, #2)

By Leslie North

The Royals of Monaco Book 2

Title Page

Copyright Page

Also By Leslie North

The Prince's Pregnant Challenge (The Royals of Monaco, #2)

Dedications

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Epilogue

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1 year ago

I
hope he isn’t here again
, Liane thought to herself.

She arrived at the country club on a sunny Thursday afternoon. It seemed busier than usual, which was strange to her. She had been going to the club at the same time every week for several years because it was normally quiet and the perfect time for her to relieve some stress from all those princess lessons. Betrothed to the Crown Prince of Monaco for the past ten years and preparing to be the crown princess took a toll on her. While she understood that this was a political alliance and not one based on love, the expectations placed upon her at an early age weren’t easy and she had missed out on having a normal childhood.

Liane went to the changing rooms to change into her riding gear. She heard the other women talking about Jean Pierre, the queen's nephew. Sighing to herself, he was there today, why couldn’t he come on a different day instead of the one day she had to herself. Everyone was always trying to meet members of the royal family and Jean Pierre’s reputation as a partier made sure that there was always a large crowd of people following him around. Ignoring their chatter, she dressed and headed out to the stables.

Finding her mare, she rubbed her nose while the stable hand helped saddle her. Taking the reins, she walked her out to the yard before mounting her. Turning toward the track, they trotted out to the course and she immediately began to relax. The afternoon breeze lifted her hair as they broke into a canter and then a gallop. There were days Liane wished that they could simply jump the fence and run away. Being engaged to the Crown Prince put a tremendous amount of pressure on her in terms of behaviour. Liane saw her friend Tracey waving at her and slowed down to speak to her.

“Jean Pierre is here, and you are out riding?” Tracey asked Liane, as she dismounted.

“What else should I be doing?” Liane asked. She was out of breath.

“You do not want to see?”

“See what?” Liane was not interested in Jean Pierre. He was a darling with the media and always seemed to have a different woman on his arm. She disliked his playboy attitude and couldn’t understand why he didn’t use his notoriety for something more meaningful.

“Oh that's right; you are to wed the Crown Prince. So naturally, you do not desire any other man.”

Liane laughed.

“I do not blame you. Prince Louis is very attractive. If I was engaged to him, I would not be interested in any another man either.”

Liane sighed. Their engagement was nothing more than a business transaction between two old families. “Even if I was not engaged, Jean Pierre is not my type,” Liane replied.

Tracey frowned. “He is everyone's type.”

Liane knew she would never win with Tracey. She put her gloves back on and got back on her horse. She had been friends with Tracey since they were in primary school. They were both from powerful families and even if they hadn’t met in school, they would be interacting constantly as they both ran in the same circles.

After two more runs around the track, Liane dismounted as she and Tracey headed to the stables. On their way there, they ran into Jean Pierre who was surrounded by his entourage as he led his horse out. Tracey greeted him with a smile, but he did not even bother to acknowledge her. He was so full of himself and that was what Liane detested most about him.

Admittedly, Jean Pierre was a good-looking man. One of the taller members of his family, he was more than six feet tall and had an average build. His hair was sandy brown and had highlights from spending so much time in the sun. As he smiled at a joke, Liane could see that his smile did not make it to his sombre grey eyes.

“Did he just walk past me without even greeting me?” Tracey asked.

“Are you surprised?” Liane asked. Liane shook her head as she hugged Tracey. “Don’t take it so hard, he does it to everyone,” she told her before she bid her friend farewell and left. She needed to get back home promptly as there was an important dinner that evening. There was always a function to attend. It had gotten worse now, as her wedding date grew closer. It was exhausting but she could not back out of the marriage. And she knew that she should be excited, this was her wedding day, but she simply couldn’t generate any enthusiasm. It wasn’t that the Crown Prince was undesirable, but she didn’t know him. In the ten plus years since this arrangement was made, she had very little interaction with the prince. You would think that if you were going to marry someone, you might at least want to get to know her, but the prince showed very little interest in spending time with her. Sighing, Liane kept reminding herself that this was a political union and while she didn’t love the prince, perhaps in time, she would at least grow fond of him.

She arrived home and rushed upstairs to get dressed for the dinner. She walked into her bedroom, still wrapped in a towel to find her baby sister lying on her bed. “Hey, baby girl,” Liane said, as she walked to her closet to find something suitable to wear.

“Hi, Annie,” Macee replied.

“Are you staying for dinner?”

“Definitely not.”

Liane smiled. As the youngest, Macee and their mother did not see eye to eye on many things and Liane was fairly sure that many of Macee’s antics were designed simply to rub their mother the wrong way. Not that she could blame her. As the oldest and the one betrothed to the Crown Prince of Monaco, the expectations laid upon her at an early age prevented her from living the life she would have preferred. In fact, she was often jealous of her sister’s free spirit. Macee truly hated these dinners their mother organised and Liane did not blame her; they were such a bore.

“How was the country club?” Macee asked. That was another thing she was not into, as she disliked the sort of people who went there. If they were anything like the people their mother invited to the house when she wanted to brag about Liane, then they were not of interest to her, as they valued wealth and prestige more than family and friends.

“It was fine,” Liane replied.

“Just fine, of course nothing interesting happened.”

“Riding was interesting.”

Macee laughed. “My dear sister really knows how to have fun,” she said sarcastically. Liane laughed.

“Where are you off to while I sit through another one of mother’s dinners?”

“Go-karting,” Macee said with a smile and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Stay out of trouble.”

“I never get in trouble.”

Liane whipped her head in Macee's direction and raised her eyebrows at her. Macee laughed as she stood up from the bed. She waved at Liane and walked out of her bedroom.

Liane dressed quickly and pinned up her hair before rushing downstairs to meet her parents. Her other sister, Francesca, was also there. Unlike Macee, she
always
attended the dinners and events her mother organised.

Colonel and Mrs LeBlanc greeted the guests, as they arrived. As the highest-ranking officer in the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Roi, Colonel LeBlanc was an advisor to the king and a long-time friend. As Mrs LeBlanc introduced everyone, she made a point of reminding her guests that Liane was engaged to the Crown Prince, something that was continually the subject of conversation for their mother. Since their father’s promotion to Colonel and the decision to unite the two families in marriage, their mother’s thirst for power and prestige was endless. And these dinner parties were always subject to political gain as the guests vied for Liane’s attention, which annoyed her. They could not simply take interest in her, as a person. Their lust for power was too obvious as everyone jockeyed to be friends of the crown.

10 months ago

L
iane was counting down the hours until she could go riding again. She needed to release all the stress that had built up inside her. Charles, the royal tutor, who was assisting her in her princess lessons was driving her crazy. She had been training under him for the past ten years and he still treated her as if she was that same eleven-year-old girl all those years ago.

Liane was finally free of Charles and off to the country club. Her mother insisted that she have a driver given her pending role as princess. Normally, Liane didn’t mind having a chauffeur as it gave her time to think, but there were occasions when she preferred to drive herself if only to contemplate driving as far away as possible.

When Liane arrived at the country club, she saw her friend, Tracey getting out of her car. Even at that distance, she could see that she had highlighted her already blonde hair. “You look lovely,” she said to her as she walked up to hug her friend. Tracey flipped her blonde locks with a smile.

“Thank you,” she said. “I too need to get engaged,” she added as they walked into the building. “After all, I am not getting any younger.”

Liane laughed and shook her head. They were both the same age and she was certainly not rushing into marriage, even though she was engaged and did not have a choice. When they got into the changing rooms, Liane changed into her riding gear but Tracey just sat there. She had no intentions of changing. Liane asked her why, “Oh hon, you know I don’t come here for the horses,” Tracey replied, as she waved her hand dismissively. “While you may find horseback riding a stress reliever, I’d much rather watch all those yummy men in their tight britches.” Liane laughed at the faces Tracey made as she described her idea of fun.

The two of them headed out to the stables. Liane frowned when she saw Jean Pierre taking her horse out of her stall. She quickly strode up to him. “Hey! That is my horse, why are you taking her?” she demanded.

“I wish to ride her. Don’t worry, you will be compensated greatly,” he replied to her without even glancing her way. He carried on walking to the tracks with her mare. Liane gave Tracey a puzzled look.

“I do not want any compensation, I want you to release my horse,” Liane replied as she followed him out to the tracks.

“That is your choice, but I am riding your horse.”

Liane could not figure out what was wrong with him. He had his own horse that he rode regularly. So why the sudden desire for hers?