Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

"Conner, so does Cooper actually have ties to the royal family here?" Annie asked.

Conner crooked a finger, beckoning her closer. "Come here, I'll let you in on a secret."

Annie leaned in, eager for the scoop. A second later, Conner flashed a wicked grin and gently nipped her earlobe. "Conner!" she squeaked.

The hospital garden echoed with laughter-Conner's deep, carefree chuckles, followed by a playful yelp as Annie gave him a swift, harmless smack.

Eldoria Havenbrook, Maplewood Estates.

"Mommy, come play with me," Henry pleaded, climbing onto the sofa and wrapping his pudgy arms around his mom's neck, nuzzling in for some love.

Mia glanced at her phone, reading Annie's latest message. "Weird. Kristen's never studied abroad. But the Crown Prince everyone's talking about? He did."

"Mommy-" Henry whined, tilting his little head, watching her with big, hopeful eyes. His chubby hands framed her face, gently turning her toward him. In his sweetest baby voice, he urged, "Look at your baby, Mommy!"

Mia turned to meet his gaze, then scooped him up in a hug. "Give Mommy just a minute to finish this, and then I'll play with you, okay?"

"I'll sit with you while you look," Henry insisted.

you even read

but he

Kristen's photo. "That's

wrinkled his nose and stage-whispered, "Mommy, he's

prince's photo and chuckled.

word "ugly" jogged her memory. "Hey, sweetheart,

replied with a cheeky

thought, holding perfectly still. Sensing her distraction, Henry

he focused on

tapping away with

is your uncle friends with

blinked up

night, Andre came home after a late work

spotted Henry perched on Mia's lap. "Henry, hop off your mom's knees. Mia's been teaching all day, she's tired. Come here, let Daddy give you

ran into his dad's arms, who lifted him high. Henry poked his own cheek and bragged, "Daddy,

little boys," Andre teased, still a bit tipsy,

“Let's see if