Did Nico know how lucky he was? Or what I would give to be a part of something like this?
I got to my task making my cookies and the frosting. I was caught up in what I was doing, even humming along mindlessly as someone started singing “Jingle Bells” in Italian. I finished up, frosted them, and put them on a pretty plate. It was probably real china.
Nico grabbed me. “Come help serve.” He handed me a plate of what looked like shredded beef. It smelled divine.
In the great hall there were dozens of tables set up full of families. Some of the people I recognized. I saw Giacomo at one table, and he was actually smiling. The tables had been set just as lavishly as they had been for the royal family. There were too many people to serve them individually, so we set the plates down in the center of the tables so that they could help themselves. The Fiorellis were all smiles and compliments. The happiness was overwhelming and pervasive. Like it was seeping into every pore and I couldn’t help but feel really happy too.
I noticed Dante and Rafe with giant sacks, distributing gifts to each of the children there. The queen and Nico were passing out presents to the staff members. I leaned against a wall just watching. This was what I wished I could do for the children back home. No kid should go without Christmas. I knew this far too well from personal experience.
Dessert was put out, and I noticed with satisfaction that my cookies went pretty quickly. I also noticed Nico with a handful of them. He brought them and me back into the kitchen where the entire family had assembled to eat their own lunch. I finally got to try a bit of everything, and I was surprised at how well this family could cook.
“Do I get some of those cookies?” I asked Nico.
He shook his head. “Never. They are all mine.” Then he proceeded to eat one right after the other, which made me laugh.
“Didn’t your mother teach you to share?”
“I share very well, Katerina. You’re the one who won’t let me share.” He said it with a wolfish grin, a small bit of frosting on the corner of his lips. I reached over to wipe it away, and he went very still for a moment, until that mischievous gleam returned to his eyes.
Even in a room surrounded with people, the tension between us sparked and crackled, until it felt like a living thing.
I didn’t think I’d be able to hold out for much longer.
“Would you like to come with me this afternoon?” Nico asked, breaking into my thoughts.
“Where?” Because if he said to the ends of the earth, I was pretty sure I was in.
“The hospital. I have some more gifts to deliver.”
“I would love that,” I told him.
“I need to change,” he said, looking down at his jeans and T-shirt, which he looked much better in than he had any right to.
“Time to suit up?” I asked. “Do I have to change, too?”
“You look perfect no matter what you’re wearing,” he said, giving my hand a squeeze and telling me he would meet me at the car. I returned to my room and brushed my hair, putting it up in a ponytail. I decided since I wasn’t a royal, I could wear a sweater and jeans if I wanted to. I grabbed my winter coat.
I stopped by Lemon’s room to let her know where I was going. Chiara was there, giving her a pedicure. When I explained where I was headed off to, Lemon and Chiara exchanged a look. Chiara got a small smile on her face, and Lemon looked way too smug.
“It’s for the article,” I told her, annoyed.
“Of course it is, darlin’. I didn’t say anything. Have fun.”
I made it outside before Nico, and a black town car waited for us. A few minutes after I’d climbed in, Nico arrived, kissing me on the cheek. His hair was still damp, and he smelled the way I imagined heaven smelled. “Ready?” he asked. I could only nod.
He explained a little about what we would be doing. Every Christmas the king used to visit the children in the cancer ward in the hospital. Since he could no longer do that, Nico had asked to fill in. He usually went alone because there were activities planned for the extended family that would go throughout the next week, so most of his immediate family would be busy entertaining them.
We arrived with his security, and a man dressed as Father Christmas was waiting for us. He was like Santa, only his coat went down to the floor. We were escorted upstairs to the cancer ward. The sight of all those little bald heads wrenched my heart. I walked behind Father Christmas as he distributed the gifts, not knowing what anyone was saying, but loving the delight and joy on the kids’ faces as he spent time with each one, making them feel special. There was truly nothing better in the world than a happy child.
I turned around with a grin, wanting to share the moment with Nico. I saw him talking to some parents, and he handed them a white envelope. The mother started crying after she opened the envelope, and her husband wrapped his arms around her, saying something intent to Nico and shaking his hand. I’d have to find out later what that was about. I watched as he went to each parent in the room, handing all of them envelopes.
After the gifts had been distributed, we stayed and played with the children for a little while. We had a tea party and built block towers and drew pictures and blew bubbles. I couldn’t stop smiling at Nico. I loved this. I lived for this stuff.
Hours later, we finally left after a lot of hugs and grazies. Nico offered to take me to dinner at a small café that he knew was open on Christmas. When we arrived though, we were the only ones there. I doubted it was typically open on Christmas and wondered how much he’d paid to reserve the whole restaurant for us.
The waitress seemed more than happy to be waiting on us. Maybe a little too happy. She was pretty in that full curves Italian way, her dark hair trailing down her back. I wanted to yank on it and tell her to get away from . . .
From what? My man? My boyfriend? My potential love interest? The guy I was hanging out with?
I was getting totally irrational again. “Back at the hospital, what were those envelopes for?” I hoped to head off my own spiral before I got too out of control.
“Those were for the families to help with their medical expenses and other bills.”
“Is this from your charity that we went to the ball for?”
Nico accepted his drink from the waitress and thanked her. “Yes. The foundation is dedicated to not only finding a cure for cancer, but helping to support the families financially.”
“Why cancer?”
Nico’s eyes went dark. I’d never seen him like that before. “My brother, Luca, was only seven when he died from leukemia. That is why we provide funds for a cure. It was a devastating time in my family’s lives. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. So if I can do anything to make things just a little easier . . .”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, slipping my hand into his. Luca wasn’t my brother, but hearing about his death had a profound effect on me. I had this swell of grief and overwhelming sympathy for Nico. He gripped my hand tightly. “How old were you?”
“I was thirteen. I’ve never felt so helpless. He was an amazing person. I’ve never met anyone so loving and kind. So brave at the end. In some ways, you remind me of him. I think he would have liked you.”
“It sounds like I would have liked him, too.”
Our food arrived, and we fell into silence, eating. I was surprised at how hungry I was. I think all this emotion was burning too many calories or something.
We finished eating, and neither one of us wanted to hang around the café. It was starting to get dark, and Nico offered to go for a walk so that he could show me some of the city. He put my hand on the crook of his arm, and I walked as closely to him as I could. I told myself it was just so that I could stay warm. Yep, a lie.
He pointed out some of his favorite shops and told me stories about the people who ran them. The streets were all empty, with the families in their homes celebrating. It felt like we were the only two people in the whole world.
Rounding a corner, Nico showed me the town square where the wi
nter carnival would begin the next day. He mentioned the kids at the hospital again, saying that since they couldn’t come to the carnival, he would send the carnival to them. They would be visited by jugglers, clowns, princesses, and superheroes.
“Sometimes I think you might be a superhero,” I told him.
“Not a superhero. Just a humble prince.” Which made me laugh.
“You really are wonderful, do you know that?” I think my admission surprised both of us. I couldn’t believe I’d said it, and he stopped to stare at me. My heart beat double-time, and I opened my mouth again, wanting to undo what I’d just done. One of my last lines of defense was not letting him know what I really thought about him.
“I do know that, yes,” he said with a teasing lilt in his voice.
“Humility is not a strongly ingrained trait in your family, is it?”
“We have the rest of the world to tear us down. Take my sister, Violetta. She struggles sometimes with her weight. Not too long ago the European tabloids were calling her ‘Violetta Fatarelli.’”
Violetta didn’t seem like she had a weight problem. She seemed very normal, very pretty, to me. It went to show that you didn’t always know about people’s private problems.
“That’s so mean.”
“I hate tabloids,” Nico said under his breath as he began walking away, pulling me along with him. I flashed back to Seamus O’Brien, and my stomach bottomed out. Nico would be furious with me if he knew what I had considered doing. It would ruin everything.
I had to make sure he never, ever knew.
“We should go back home,” Nico said, heading toward the car. “It’s getting late. Did you want to end our evening?”
I didn’t. I shook my head.
“Good. There was something I wanted to show you.”
“What did you have in mind?”
He smiled at me. “What I have in mind and what we’re going to do are two very different things, cuore mio.”
Oh, frak.
Nico led me into the family’s private drawing room. “I thought you might enjoy the tree’s lights at night.”
The Yule log, or its cousin, was still burning in the fireplace. All the lights were off except for those on the tree. He walked over to one of the couches, removing the back pillows and throwing them on the floor. He took off his coat, his tie, undid his cufflinks, and started unbuttoning his shirt.
I was fairly alarmed. Not alarmed enough that I did anything to stop him, but alarmed. “What are you, uh, doing?”
“Getting comfortable.” Fortunately (unfortunately?) he had a white undershirt on. He sat down on the couch to take off his shoes, and I did the same. What were we doing? After he’d removed the second one, he looked at the tree. “What is that?”
I looked at the tree. It looked normal (as normal as a five-hundred-foot-tall tree could look) to me. “What are you talking about?”
“Right there. You don’t see it?”
“All I see is the tree.”
He stood up and went over to the Christmas tree, peering between the branches. He reached in and pulled out a present wrapped in purple wrapping paper with silver snowflakes all over it. He opened the card and read it. “To Kat. Looks like Father Christmas hid an extra present for you.”
He walked back with the present and handed it to me. My heart thundered in my chest, and I was glad I was sitting down because my knees felt like melted snow. I took it from him, and he sat down next to me with that “I know something you don’t know” look on his face.
“What is it?” I asked.
“How would I know? I’m not Father Christmas.” His eyes danced with merriment.
“Is it a board game?” I asked, and he laughed.
“No.”
“Legos?”
“Still no. Open it.”
I pulled the paper off and started crying. Inside the box was the Millennium Princess Holiday Barbie, just as I remembered her, with her blue velvet dress and tiny tiara.
“You like it?”
For a second I couldn’t speak. The tears blinded my eyes and made my voice choke. “This is the best present ever. How did you do this?” I sounded so wobbly and broken.
“eBay. A seller in France had it.”
“But I just told you yesterday.” I wiped the escaping tears from my cheeks.
“It was not easy to arrange. Make sure to thank Giacomo for his help. He went and retrieved it for me.”
My nose was running. Totally embarrassing. I gripped the box tightly, stunned that he had done this. That he had gone to all this trouble to restore something from my childhood that had meant the world to me.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice thick. “You can’t possibly imagine what this means to me.” I put my hand over my mouth, trying to catch my breath.
“I’m glad. You’re welcome.”
“Why would you do this? I don’t understand.”
“I had hoped it would make you smile. If I’d known it would make you cry . . .” he teased.
I shook my head. “These are happy tears. I’m just overwhelmed. You’re overwhelming.”
He looked at me intently, his eyes glittering even in this light. “I don’t want to overwhelm you.”
“I know.” But he still did. I wasn’t prepared for this. I didn’t have the right thing to say or do.
So I stood up, putting some distance between us so that I could collect my thoughts and myself. I wasn’t normally the crying type, and he had reduced me to a puddle of tears with just a doll. I put the Barbie on the small table next to the couch, watching as the Christmas lights reflected off the plastic surface of the box.
No one had ever treated me this way. No one had ever cared about me the way Nico did. How did I thank him? How could I let him know what was in my heart? How he had moved me and made me feel things I didn’t know existed?
Nico lay out on the couch, putting one of the pillows behind his head. “Come here.”
There was just enough room for me to lie on my side next to him. I stayed put.
“You won’t?” I clarified.
“I won’t. I promised. I would like to hold you, though.”
How could I say no to that after my present? Not to mention the fact that I was all for being held. Especially with the vulnerable way that I was feeling right now.
I lay down, nestling my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his right arm around my shoulders, and I put my right arm across his chest. He put his free hand on top of mine. He rested his head against mine. He took in a deep breath. “Apples,” he sighed.
He closed his eyes and five seconds later had passed out. I had no intention of staying there. I decided to stay and enjoy the cuddling for a few minutes, and then I would get up and go to bed.
His breathing was deep and even. I was mesmerized by him. I felt like I only existed to watch him and hold him. His black hair flopped over his forehead, and his wasted-on-a-boy long black lashes rested on his cheekbones. He looked boyish in his sleep, and I could see a glimpse of what he must have looked like when he was little. I smiled. It felt amazing to be with him, like I was warm all over, just by being close to him.
A torrent of emotion flowed through me. This felt good. It felt right. It felt like this was where I had always belonged.
But the last weird emotion I had, right before I accidentally drifted off, was the feeling that I had finally come home.
The sun had just barely started to rise when I woke up. I had a small moment of disorientation, not sure where I was or what was going on. I quickly remembered because Nico had shifted at some point in the night and was lying on his side, facing me. He still had his arms wrapped around me, and our legs were intertwined. I had never been this physically close to someone. My nerves were hyperaware and sensitive at every point where our bodies made contact. And there were a lot of contact points.
Our faces were practically touching. A low, steady thud started in the base of my stomach, and my blood sizzled and snapped.
“What?” My voice sounded stupid.
He opened his eyes, and his piercing blue gaze turned the thudding into drumming. “Waking up every morning with you in my arms.”
“I thought you said you had insomnia.”
“I do. Last night was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in I don’t know how long.” He started tracing patterns on my back with his fingers, running them up and down, making me cold and hot at the same time. “It seems I’ll just have to fall asleep with you every night if I ever want to sleep that well again.”
“If I was with you every night, we both know there would be no sleeping going on.” It was probably one of the boldest things I’d ever said.
He gave me a lazy grin. “That’s true.”
Then his fingers were in my hair, and I stretched into it like a purring cat, wanting more. I closed my eyes for a second, reveling in the sensations. I tightened my hold on him, without even realizing it. I only knew I wanted to be closer to him.
His fingers stilled, and I opened my eyes to look at him. He was staring at my face. It was more than a little disconcerting. “What are you looking at?”
“I’m counting your freckles.”
I put my hands over my nose. “Don’t do that.”
“Why?”
“I hate my freckles.”
“They’re adorable.” He moved my hands and kissed the bridge of my nose. He was lucky I didn’t actually spontaneously combust and set us both on fire. “You’re adorable. Beautiful.”
I glanced off to the side, not able to endure the intensity of his gaze. I saw my doll on the table and melted all over again. My pulse skittered wildly.
I looked back at him, studying him in return. He hadn’t pressured me or made me feel dumb or dumped me or anything that I expected a man to do if I told him I wouldn’t kiss him. He had respected me. Spoiled me beyond belief. Wooed me with his words and his actions. Had proved himself reliable and worthy of my trust in every way.
Royal Date Page 15
