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Gabe was the first one to spot it and cursed under his breath.
“Your baby mama is headline news,” Gabe said.
His baby mama.
Damn.
“It’s not like that,” he said.
Juan Carlos looked pissed but he was quiet as he simply turned away from Rafe and walked toward the hangar. He couldn’t have known that the press would find out about Emily while they were in the air. Rafe shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels.
Gabe clapped a sympathetic hand on his shoulders before following the rest of their party into the hangar. Rafe’s phone finally connected and he saw he had a dozen missed calls from Emily along with seven text messages that all said the same thing. Call me.
She’d already seen the news.
Of course she had. For a brief moment he wondered if she’d leaked the news, but then he remembered how fierce she was about keeping to herself. It was doubtful that she’d rat herself out.
When Rafe got into the hangar, Gabe immediately introduced him to a tall, dapper man in a white linen suit. Geoff Standings was a British press agent who’d once worked for the British royal family. Apparently he’d been sent by the royal advisers back in Alma to meet Rafe’s plane and start doing damage control.
Gabe didn’t look as amused as he had a few minutes ago.
“We need to fix this,” Gabe said.
“Duh.”
“No, I mean if the people of Alma decide that you are too hot to touch, then I’m going to have to take your place as king. We need to fix this. Now.”
“Fine. Geoff, what do you recommend? I have been planning to introduce Emily to the family, and was even thinking of having a dinner next week where she could meet the members of my family who came with me on the trip. Do you think we should get engaged? Should I marry her?”
“Well, marriage usually is the right step for an illegitimate baby. But in your case I’m going to have to figure this out. I have already sent my assistant to start researching her lineage. Maybe we can find a relation—however distant—to a royal somewhere.”
“If that doesn’t work?” Rafe asked.
“I think we can make a case for you as a love match. Prince William married a commoner and perhaps Alma won’t mind so much if we can make her into a style icon the way Kate is.”
Style icon? Rafe doubted Emily would go for that. He loved her style but it was bohemian and beachy. Not exactly what Geoff was talking about.
Geoff was frantically typing away on his smartphone. “Either way, I’m going to book you some shows so you can get out there. Yes, you need to be engaged to her. I’d like to send a press release out that says she’s your fiancée, not just your ‘baby mama.’ Who do you think leaked this?”
Good question.
“I have to ask her before you say she’s my fiancée. She might get stubborn if she sees that online or in a paper before I ask,” Rafe said.
“Fair enough. Any ideas on the leak?”
“None,” Rafe said. “I think she’s told her mom and her boss and that’s it. Neither of them would tell a reporter.”
“Let me look into it and see if I can find out where the information came from. Where will you be?”
“Key West. You’ve got my cell number, and here is Jose’s as well. He’s my assistant based at Montoro Enterprises headquarters in Miami and he’s at your service.”
Juan Carlos returned. “I’ll take the family out the front of the airport. I’ve had your car brought around. Resolve this, Rafe. This needs to be made right.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll be back in the office in a couple of days to take care of the details of the Alma shipping deal, but I need to go to Key West.”
He didn’t like answering to his cousin and normally wouldn’t have but if Juan Carlos was upset Rafe knew the court advisors in Alma would be as well.
“I was trying to keep this under control,” Rafe said.
“I realize that. That’s why I’m going to help you as much as I can. Alma needs the Montoros back on the throne.”
Juan Carlos gathered the rest of their family. Bella gave Rafe a hug and Gabe shook his head but clapped him on the shoulder before they headed toward the main airport area and the waiting reporters.
No one said another word as Rafe strode out of the airport to his waiting Audi. His phone rang as soon as he was inside. He synched it to Bluetooth and hit the button to answer it.
“Jose here. Have you seen the news? I’m getting calls from morning news shows asking you to come on and tell your story. What should I do?” Jose asked.
“Coordinate with Geoff. He’s the PR expert that the Alma court hired to make the scandal go away. I need some media prepared and he’s the expert. They are all going nuts over this. Any idea where the leak came from?”
