The Prince's Holiday Baby (Reigning Men, 3),Used

Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Prince Eric Santiago lied when he told his best friend that he had a plane to catch. The truth was, his pilot wasn't coming to pick him up for the return trip to Tesoro del Mar until the following morning, but after almost two weeks with Scott Delsey and his soontobewife, Eric needed some space. Spending so much time with the blissful couple and seeing how in love they were only made him more aware of what was missing from his own life.When he'd accepted the invitation to visit Scott's ranch in Texas, he'd thought his friend might want to offer him a job at DELconnex, his communications company. On more than one occasion in the past, Scott had mentioned that he could use someone with Eric's education and experience, though they both knew Eric had no intention of leaving the Tesorian navy.Now, of course, the situation had changed, and Eric was willing to consider any possibilities his friend presented. It turned out one of those possibilities was to stand up as the best man at Scott's wedding.It seemed that everywhere around him people were getting married and having babies. First it was his eldest brother, Rowan, who had been forced by tragedy and tradition to the altar. Luckily for him, he'd managed to fall in love along the way. After six years of marriage, he and Lara were happier than the day they'd exchanged their vows, even withor maybe because ofthe two active young sons who did their best to run their parents ragged.Three years after Rowan pledged 'till death do us part,' their youngest brother, Marcus, had found a woman who inspired him to do the same. Recently, he and Jewel had welcomed their first child into the worlda beautiful baby girl who looked just like her mother and already exhibited the legendary charm of her father.Both of his brothers had lucked out, and Eric was genuinely happy for them. But the only mistress Eric had ever been committed to was the seaand she'd tossed him aside, carelessly discarding everything he'd given her and taking away everything he was.As he drove his rented Mercedes northeast toward San Antonio, he forced himself to acknowledge the truth he'd been avoiding for too longhe wasn't just alone, he was lonely.He envied what Rowan had with Lara, what Marcus had with Jewel, what Scott had with Fiona. And he wondered why he'd never met a woman who made him think in terms of marriage and forever. Okay, having spent the better part of the last twelve years on board a ship might have something to do with it. Add to that the uncertainty of never knowing if the women he'd been with were genuinely interested in him or only attracted to his title or his uniform, and it probably wasn't surprising that he'd reached the age of thirtysix without ever having been in a longterm, committed relationship. Still, the realization wasn't going to fill his life or keep him warm in bed at night.The rumble of his stomach finally broke through his introspection and a neon sign announcing Shea's Bar & Grill snagged his attention.Despite the fact that the building was smack in the middle of nowhere, there were several vehiclesmostly dustcovered pickup trucksin the parking lot. His empty stomach again protested his decision to leave his friend's ranch before dinner and he flicked on his indicator to make the turn.He parked his shiny rental between an ancient red pickup and a mudsplattered Jeep and sat for a moment, wondering if he would look as out of place in the bar as his vehicle did in the parking lot. A man who'd grown up in the public eye wouldn't usually worry about such things, but Eric had become more sensitive to the attentionand the speculation that surrounded himsince the accident.He pushed out of the car, slowly limped toward the entrance. The deliberate, unhurried movements helped ease the stiffness from his hip so that he was walking almost normally by the time he reached the door. His therapist had warned that he m