Their Royal Baby Gift Read online

  Christmas at the Harrington Park Hotel

  From London, with love...

  It’s official! The Harrington Park Hotel is finally back in the hands of the family that founded it. And James, Sally and Hugo—the children of the hotel’s late and great owner, Rupert—are determined to return it to its former glory. Just in time for the festive season!

  But it’s not just the Harrington Park Hotel that could do with a little holiday magic... It’s the love lives of the Harrington siblings, who until now had drifted apart. This Christmas in Regent’s Park, redemption and love might be closer than they think.

  Discover Chloe and James’s story in Christmas Reunion in Paris by Liz Fielding

  Read Edward and Sally’s story in Their Royal Baby Gift by Kandy Shepherd

  Available now!

  And look out for Erin and Hugo’s story in Stolen Kiss with Her Billionaire Boss by Susan Meier

  Coming soon!

  Dear Reader,

  “Do you fall in love with your heroes as you write them?” a reader recently asked me. The answer is a resounding yes! Every single one.

  None more so than gorgeous Edward, the hero of Their Royal Baby Gift. He’s crown prince to an ancient kingdom, and feisty designer Sally Harrington describes him as “handsome, hot and honorable.”

  Edward and lovely Sally meet by chance and the attraction is instant and compelling. But the obstacles in the way of them finding happiness together seem impossible to overcome. I hope you fall in love with Edward along with Sally as they journey toward the happy-ever-after they both so richly deserve.

  I loved writing Their Royal Baby Gift, the second book in the Christmas at the Harrington Park Hotel trilogy, alongside my wonderful fellow authors Liz Fielding and Susan Meier.

  Even though we live in different countries—Liz in the UK, Susan in the US and me in Australia—we know each other well, having met at writerly gatherings over the years and also online. To be able to discuss our characters, the three fascinating Harrington siblings, and their stories with them was such fun.

  Warm regards,

  Kandy

  Their Royal Baby Gift

  Kandy Shepherd

  Kandy Shepherd swapped a career as a magazine editor for a life writing romance. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her husband, daughter and lots of pets. She believes in love at first sight and real-life romance—they worked for her! Kandy loves to hear from her readers. Visit her at kandyshepherd.com.

  Books by Kandy Shepherd

  Harlequin Romance

  Sydney Brides

  Gift-Wrapped in Her Wedding Dress

  Crown Prince’s Chosen Bride

  The Bridesmaid’s Baby Bump

  A Diamond in Her Stocking

  From Paradise...to Pregnant!

  Hired by the Brooding Billionaire

  Greek Tycoon’s Mistletoe Proposal

  Conveniently Wed to the Greek

  Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon

  Best Man and the Runaway Bride

  Second Chance with the Single Dad

  Falling for the Secret Princess

  One Night with Her Millionaire Boss

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  To Deanna Lang, with many thanks not just for your ongoing friendship but for your help in creating my hero Edward’s character and background.

  Praise for

  Kandy Shepherd

  “Falling for the Secret Princess is a sweet and swoon-worthy romance. Author Kandy Shepherd wrote this beautiful romance which would take you far, far away.... As a romance reader this is the ultimate escape. The storyline had plenty of twists and turns and would keep you engrossed till the end. Highly recommended for all readers of romance.”

  —Goodreads

  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Her Inconvenient Christmas Reunion by Nina Singh

  CHAPTER ONE

  SALLY HARRINGTON WAS having fun pretending to be an awestruck tourist as she gawked at the rooftop garden with its towering palm trees, lush tropical plants and enormous infinity swimming pool, all poised a breathtaking sixty storeys high above the city of Singapore. The resort in the sky exceeded all her expectations—it was nothing short of spectacular. No wonder a well-heeled international crowd made it their playground. She snapped photo after photo on her phone’s camera, even taking a few selfies in pursuit of authenticity.

  She was playing Sally the tourist because she wanted to keep her real interest in the roof garden secret. Truth was, she was in Singapore on a confidential research mission on behalf of the iconic Harrington Park Hotel in London that had recently come back into her family’s hands.

  She wasn’t here as a holidaymaker but as a professional designer. Some might say she was conducting a little industrial espionage—whatever you called it, she didn’t want to be caught out. The aesthetics of the roof garden interested her, but also the logistics of how it had been created. Structural support for the weight of the pool and the plantings? Materials brought in by helicopter or crane? Details were vital—she only had seven weeks to create a fabulous roof garden of her own for the splashy, invitation-only Christmas Eve relaunch of the Harrington Park.

  ‘Hotel royalty’ Celebrity magazine called the Harringtons. It was impossible for Sally and her two brothers to fly under the radar in London but here, so far from home, it was easier to be anonymous as she sought inspiration for her ambitious project. And, she had to admit, she’d jumped at the chance to take a break from the total upheaval of the ordered life she had fought so hard to achieve.

  First had been the decision by her and her twin brother James—Jay to family and friends—to use a substantial inheritance from their grandmother to bid for the Harrington Park when it suddenly came onto the market. The luxury hotel on Regent’s Park had been in their family for more than one hundred years until their unscrupulous stepfather had taken it over and run it down. She and Jay had been thwarted in their purchase by a mystery buyer who had turned out to be their estranged older brother, Hugo. Sally hadn’t seen Hugo for seventeen years since he’d left their family when she’d been ten years old and he seventeen. Now he expected her to forgive all and work with him to restore both the hotel and their family’s pride.

  Jay, a top chef with his own award-winning restaurant, had found it easier than she to fall in with Hugo’s plans to bring the hotel back to its former glory. Sally had agreed to oversee the refurbishment of the interiors because she couldn’t bear to see how shabby they had become. She’d said yes to the urban roof garden too, in spite of her initial protests that there simply wasn’t time to undertake such an ambitious project.

  But that didn’t mean she’d thawed towards Hugo. She still remembered her distress when she’d woken up on Christmas morning all those years ago to find her beloved older brother had run away without so much as a goodbye. On top of her father’s death and her mother’s marriage to a man Sally had despised and distrusted, Hugo’s betrayal had been too much to forgive. And now he was back and flinging olive branches at her. A break away in tropical Singapore from both her older brother and chilly London had seemed like a very good idea indeed.

  With the pool behind her, Sally edged back to get a final shot that would encompass the plantings of glorious pink and purple orchids around the restaurant. The tropical afternoon sun beat down on her arms, bare in her sleeveless white linen dress. She thought vaguely about applying more sun cream. Then, distracted, she tripped. In a split second of panicked disbelief and horror she realised she was about to topple backwards, arms windmilling, into the swimming pool.

  She was aware of a collective gasp from the onlookers around the other side of the pool. Then she lost control of her balance and fell, hitting the water on her back. She tried to scream but all she managed was a splutter as the cold water engulfed her and she went under. Her long hair floated over her face, her wedge-heeled sandals made it difficult to kick, her dress tangled around her legs and dragged her down as she struggled. She choked on her terror.

  She couldn’t swim.

  * * *

  Edward Chen was striding past the pool, intent on the agenda of his next meeting for the afternoon, when he saw the woman with the long chestnut hair fall in the water with a splash. Heard the gasps and laughter from the people seated around the other side of the pool. Like him, they no doubt expected her to surface straight away and swim to the edge. But she didn’t. The woman momentarily broke the surface of the water, panic and terror etched on her face, then went under again, leaving only a few bubbles floating on the surface.

  With no thought to his Italian tailor-made linen suit or his handmade leather shoes, Edward dived in. Just a few strong strokes and he was with her. He grabbed her under her arms and kicked hard to take them both to the surface.

  Once clear, he trod water to keep them both afloat. T
he woman blinked the water from her eyes, coughed and spluttered, took in deep gulps of air, gripped his shoulders hard. She tried to say something, but the words were lost in another fit of coughing. Edward realised she was trying to thank him.

  ‘Don’t say anything—just catch your breath,’ he said.

  He steered her towards the shallow steps that led out of the pool. As she shakily emerged from the water, still clinging tightly to him, there was muted applause from the people who had only minutes before laughed at the sight of a fully dressed woman toppling into the pool. Edward cursed under his breath in his own language. Anyone with a cell phone was a potential paparazzo.

  Did they know who he was?

  The woman’s eyes widened in alarm. ‘Please,’ she managed to choke out, ‘get me away from here. I... I...don’t want to draw attention to myself.’

  Edward had every reason not to want to draw attention to himself either. Especially in the company of an attractive young Englishwoman. Even drenched and dripping she was lovely: heart-shaped face, grey eyes, tall and slender. Under the water, with her dark chestnut hair waving around her, she’d looked like a mermaid.

  She was shivering, whether chilled from the cold water of the pool or from shock he couldn’t be sure. Edward was wet through himself and his shoes squelched with each step.

  He couldn’t be seen like this.

  He came from a family that had been rocked to its foundations by scandal. It was vital for his family’s future that he stayed free of it. He dreaded the innuendo and speculation the media would build around his good deed if they got wind of it. The woman’s wet dress clung to her body, making no secret of her curves. She was a scandal in the making.

  He grabbed a striped towel from a stack on a nearby lounger and threw it around her shoulders, another one around himself. ‘Keep your head down and walk as quickly as you can,’ he said.

  She attempted a faster pace but stumbled and he had to put his arm around her to keep her upright. He scarcely broke his stride to pick up the phone she’d dropped when she’d fallen.

  ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘Only...only my pride.’

  ‘Are you staying at this hotel?’

  She shook her head and wet strands flew around her face, sending droplets of water onto him. ‘I... I only came here for lunch. My hotel is in the older part of town.’

  ‘I’m in the penthouse here. There’s a private elevator down to my suite. I’ll take you there.’

  ‘Please.’ She was still shivering, and her eyes didn’t look quite focused.

  He had to get her—and himself—out of here. Edward kept his arm around Ms Mermaid as he ushered her to the discreet private elevator. If people didn’t recognise him, a scandal could be averted.

  Within minutes they were in the expansive suite where he was living while his Singapore house was being gutted and refurbished. He slammed the door behind them and slumped in relief. No one with a camera could follow him here. He turned back into the room. Then realised he had swapped one problem for another. Standing opposite him, dripping water on the marble floor of his hotel suite, was a beautiful stranger—and her presence here could so easily be misconstrued.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I could have drowned.’ Her eyes were huge, her lush mouth trembled. Hair wet and dripping, make-up smudged around her eyes, she was breathtakingly lovely. A red-blooded male, no matter how chivalrous, could not fail to feel a stirring of attraction. ‘I... I can’t swim, not enough to save myself. But you...you saved me.’

  ‘It was the right thing to do,’ Edward said gruffly. He had been brought up to follow a strict code of duty and honour. To help a person in danger was second nature. And there’d been something so desperate in her expression when she’d gone under for the second time. He could not have denied her silent cry for help.

  ‘You were a gentleman. No one else came to my rescue. I’ve never been so frightened in my life. I really thought... I thought it was the end.’

  She started to shake and shiver, her teeth chattering. Edward thought back to his first aid training. His family’s country compound back home was on a private beach. There he’d learned to swim and to keep both himself and others safe in the water. She didn’t appear injured. She didn’t need CPR. What this woman needed was warmth and comfort. He hesitated for only a second before he pulled her into his arms. And was shocked by how good she felt there, her curves pressed to him, how instantly his body reacted to her.

  * * *

  Sally’s thoughts raced. She must be in shock. Why else would she unquestioningly follow an unknown man to his hotel room? Why would she press her body so close to a total stranger? And welcome his comforting hug? His warmth and strength seemed to infuse her, calm her, bring her breathing back to normal. Her reaction could only be from shock. Or some kind of insanity. How else could she explain how much she was enjoying his embrace, the feel of his hard chest, his strong arms around her?

  She’d been too long without the intimate touch of a man.

  ‘I can’t thank you enough.’ Her voice was muffled against his shoulder.

  ‘There’s no need to thank me again,’ he said. His deep, resonant voice with a blur of an American accent to his impeccable English, sent shivers up her spine. Luckily, she’d only just stopped shivering from shock so hoped he wouldn’t notice.

  This was crazy.

  There was something deeply disconcerting about how readily she had relaxed into the embrace of a stranger in that unguarded moment between panic and the relief of rescue. She pulled away from her rescuer, stuttered her thanks. Without his warmth it was chilly in the air-conditioned room. She wrapped her arms around herself, but it was no consolation for the loss of his hug.

  Under the water, Sally’s only thought had been how grateful she was for the man’s help. As he’d guided her out of the pool she’d realised he was very strong and very competent. Now she looked—really looked—up at him. At five foot ten she was tall, but her rescuer was so much taller. Just as she was getting her voice back, she lost it again. The man was catch-your-breath handsome. So good-looking all she could do was stare. Young—older perhaps than her twenty-seven, but not by much—black hair, slashed cheekbones, hot. Although his clothes were dripping all over the floor, his linen suit was obviously well cut and stylish, his watch worth a small fortune. She hoped it was waterproof.

  ‘I... I...tripped,’ she stuttered.

  ‘I saw,’ he said seriously, so seriously she suspected he was trying not to smile.

  ‘The strap on my sandal, it...er...it’s a bit loose.’ Why did she feel she had to explain? she thought, cross at herself for losing her cool. Her heart pounded, not with residual panic but with awareness of how close she stood to this gorgeous, gorgeous man.

  ‘You don’t need to explain,’ he said. ‘It was obviously an accident.’

  ‘It was so sudden. I... I...’ In contrast to the intense heat and humidity outside, the air-conditioning in his suite was icy and she was very wet. She sneezed. ‘Sorry.’ She sneezed again.

  ‘We need to get you out of those wet clothes,’ her rescuer said.

  Sally stilled. Fought a crazy, unbidden thrill at his words which she again blamed on shock. She backed towards the door. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said.

  He frowned. ‘I didn’t mean that. I need to get out of mine too.’

  What had she got herself into? She gauged the distance between herself, him and the door.

  Her rescuer slammed his hand against his forehead. ‘That’s not at all what I meant.’

  ‘What do you mean? Because I’m thinking I need to get the heck out of here.’

  He shrugged. ‘You’re welcome to do that. It would be easier for me. But you did say you didn’t want to draw attention to yourself. Traipsing out of the hotel and hailing a cab with your clothes dripping wet might just—’

  ‘I get it,’ she said.

  She needed to stay incognito. The media had long tentacles.

  Harrington heiress seen escaping hotel in Singapore!