HOLIDAY ROYALE

by Christine Rimmer

  She put up a hand, palm out. “I don’t understand. You said you couldn’t love me....”

  “Luce. I was wrong. You’re the one. The only one for me. I’m here because I had to come, to take a chance that maybe you might forgive me for being such a complete ass, for turning you down, for not seeing the truth sooner, for not letting you show me what you’ve been trying to show me. I’m hoping, I’m praying that just maybe it’s not too late.”

  Tears scalded the back of her throat. She gulped them down. “But how? When...?” Her throat clutched and she couldn’t finish.

  “Yesterday,” he said. “Christmas Day. I was at my favorite café in La Cacheron. You remember the one?”

  “I remember, yes.”

  His eyes went bleak. “Vesuvia cornered me there. She started in on me about how I was going to have to marry her.”

  “Because of the Marriage Law, you mean?”

  “That’s right. She started laying out all the reasons why she was the right wife for me. She said she understood me, she knew what I required in a wife. And then, out of nowhere, shocking the hell out of both of us, I just said it. I said it out loud without even stopping to think about it.”

  “Said what?”

  “That what I require is love and forever. That I’m in love with you. That you’re the only one I would ever marry, the only woman for me.”

  The chains of hurt around her heart loosened. The sunny day seemed brighter still. Could this really be happening? Could all of her dreams, every last shining one of them, miraculously come true? “I don’t... Dami, what are you saying? Are you asking me to marry you?”

  He raked a hand back through that thick midnight hair. “I know you’re young. I know it’s probably too soon to be talking about marriage. I was just telling you what I said to Vesuvia, which was only the simple, absolute truth. I love you, Lucy Cordell. I want only you. I want us to have a life together. I’ve been thinking about how we might make that happen. I know your dream is to go to school here. So if you would have me, if you would give me another chance to show you all you mean to me, I would make New York my home base. I would move in upstairs. We would move in upstairs. You could keep this place, if you want it, for your work. Or whatever....”

  Her silly mouth kept trembling and the happy tears wouldn’t stay down. “Oh, Dami. I can’t... I don’t...” She had a million questions. She asked the first one that popped into her head. “But what about the Marriage Law? Don’t you have to marry someone soon?”

  He smiled then, at last, that wonderful, unforgettable killer smile of his. “Yes, if I don’t marry within a year of my next birthday, I lose my titles and all I’ve inherited as a prince of Montedoro. But I do have three brothers ahead of me in line for the throne. And all three of them have children. And after me there are five sisters. The Bravo-Calabrettis will have no problem holding the throne whether I remain a prince or not. And my inheritance aside, I’ve done well for myself. I don’t have to marry anyone to continue living in the style to which I’ve always been accustomed.”

  “So that’s what you meant at Thanksgiving when you said you were going to leave it alone, not worry about the Marriage Law anymore.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And so...you don’t want to marry me?”

  He laughed. “Of course I want to marry you.” He grew serious again. “I just think you need more time to deal with that. And I’m willing to give you as long as you need.”

  “Oh, Dami...”

  “Whenever you’re ready, say the word. We’ll get married tomorrow if that’s what you want.”

  “You mean that?”

  “I do. With all of my heart.”

  “Is this...a dream? Am I still asleep?”

  “No dream, Luce. Real. You and me forever. That’s what I want. I found you—and then I lost you through my own blind pigheadedness. If you’ll only take me back, I will always be here for you, always love you. Always, Luce. I swear it.”

  She didn’t want to break the spell of all this wonderfulness with her deepest fear. But she knew that she had to. “I only... What about the children? What if I can’t have your children?”

  His gaze never wavered. “You’re the one for me. That’s what matters. We’ll deal with the challenges as they come. If we never have children or if we adopt or find a surrogate... Whatever happens, as long as you’re with me, as long as we can face it together, we can get through it. We’ll be all right.”

  “You sound so certain.”

  “I am certain. I was an idiot. Your brother even told me so. But not anymore. Never again.”

  “Noah said you were an idiot?”

  “Yes. He called me on Christmas Eve. He said I was an idiot to leave you. He was right. Luce, I know what I want now. I get it at last. I am absolutely sure that you are the one for me. The question is, what do you want?”

  “Oh, Dami...”

  He watched her, waiting for her answer. His eyes were so bright, full of hope. Full of yearning.

  She saw the truth in him then, and she believed. His heart was hers to take.

  “Yes,” she answered with total conviction. “You’re the one for me, too. Oh, Dami, there’s no one else, there never could be. I love you so much.”

  “Luce.” He opened his arms to her.

  She ran to him. He grabbed her close.

  The kiss they shared made her head spin and her knees go weak. He was her friend, her prince, her hero, her hot and tender holiday lover. And now, at last, on the day after Christmas, he was giving her the gift she wanted most of all. That gift was his love.

  She had his heart and he had hers. Forever belonged to the two of them now. They would claim it hand in hand, together.

  * * * * *

  Watch for Max and Lani’s story,

  THE PRINCE’S CINDERELLA BRIDE,

  coming in May 2014,

  only from Harlequin Special Edition.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE MAVERICK'S CHRISTMAS BABY by Victoria Pade.

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Special Edition story.

  You know that romance is for life. Harlequin Special Edition stories show that every chapter in

  a relationship has its challenges and delights and that love can be renewed with each turn of the page.

  Enjoy six new stories from Harlequin Special Edition every month!

  Visit Harlequin.com to find your next great read.

  We like you—why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks

  Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks

  Read our blog for all the latest news on our authors and books: HarlequinBlog.com

  Subscribe to our newsletter for special offers, new releases, and more!

  Harlequin.com/newsletters

  Chapter One

  “Oh, this is not good...” Nina Crawford said to herself as she cautiously pulled her SUV to a stop at the sign on the isolated country road outside her hometown.

  Mother Nature had not been kind to Rust Creek Falls this year. First a summer flood had devastated the small Montana town, and now—still in the midst of trying to recover from that—it was being hit by a December blizzard.

  The weather report had predicted only a moderate storm that would arrive later tonight. Nina ran her family’s general store in town and, trusting that weather report, when an elderly, arthritic customer on an outlying farm had called in and asked that a heating pad be delivered to her, Nina hadn’t hesitated to leave the store in the hands of her staff and grant that request. And even when that lonely elderly woman had offered Christmas cookies and chamomile tea, Nina still hadn’t had any worries about spending an hour visiting.

  But the sky had grown increasingly ominous and dark with storm clouds, and when the first few flakes began
to fall much earlier than they were supposed to, Nina had left.

  Only to find herself miles from home when the howling winds had whipped that snow into a blinding frenzy.

  Temperatures had plummeted rapidly, and already the snow was freezing to the windows of Nina’s SUV, adding to the limitations of her vision. She rolled down her window, hoping to be able to better see if another vehicle was coming from her left.

  It didn’t help much. Visibility was low. Very, very low.

  She studied the crossroads, searching for anything that might give her an indication that another car was coming. But she didn’t see any approaching headlights in the whiteout conditions, and all she could hear was the screaming wind. So, hoping the coast was clear, she rolled up her window and ventured into her right turn.

  But the moment she got out onto the road she did see headlights. Coming straight for her.

  Trying to avoid a collision she swerved sharply, and so did the other vehicle.

  The next thing Nina knew her SUV was nose-down in a ditch and she’d fallen pregnant-belly-first into the steering wheel.

  Which was when she felt the first pain.

  “No, no, no, no...”

  Fighting the rise of panic, she did what she could to push herself back from the steering wheel—which at that angle was no easy task.

  Her due date was January 13. It was currently two weeks before Christmas. If her baby was born now it would be a month early.

  She couldn’t deliver a month early.

  She couldn’t....

  A pounding on her side window startled her and the fright didn’t help matters.

  “Are you all right?” a man’s voice shouted in to her.

  Her SUV hadn’t hit anything so her airbag hadn’t activated and the engine was still running. But dazed and scared, she didn’t know if she was all right. She just couldn’t think straight.

  Then the door was opened from the outside. And standing there was Dallas Traub!

  It wasn’t exactly encouraging to see a member of the family that had been at odds with her own for generations.

  “Are you all right?” he repeated.

  “I don’t know. I may be going into labor. I think I need help....”

  “Okay, stay calm. My truck is stuck, too, on the other side of the road. But at least it isn’t nearly up on end the way you are. If we can get you out of here you can lie down in my backseat.”

  Fear and the dull ache in her abdomen robbed Nina of the ability to argue. Traub or not, he was all there was and she was going to have to accept his aid.

  “Can you turn off the engine?” he asked.

  That made sense but it hadn’t occurred to Nina. And, yes, she could do that, so she did, leaving the keys in the ignition.

  “I’m glad to see that you can move your arms. Do you have feeling everywhere—arms, legs, hands, feet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you hit your head? Do you have any neck pain?”

  “No, I didn’t hit my head and I don’t have any neck pain. I just hit the steering wheel.”

  “Are you bleeding from anywhere? Did your water break?”

  As odd as it seemed, not even a question that personal sounded out of place at that point.

  “I don’t think I’m bleeding, no. And I’m perfectly dry....”

  “Good. All good,” he judged. “Would it be okay if I lifted you out of there?”

  “I think so....”

  “Let me do all the work,” he advised. Sliding one arm under her legs, the other behind her back, he gently but forcefully pulled her toward him until she found herself extracted from behind the wheel and cradled against his big, masculine chest.

  “Maybe I can walk....” Nina said.

  “We’re not going to take any chances,” he responded, wasting no time heading across the road.

  The man was dressed in a heavy fleece-lined suede jacket, but Nina had to assume that he was all muscle underneath it because he carried her as if she weighed nothing. And when he reached the white truck that was nearly invisible in the snow blowing all around it, he even managed to open the rear door on the double cab.

  Another cramp struck Nina as he eased her onto the backseat and her panic must have been obvious to him because he said, “It’s okay. Just breathe through it. It’ll pass and we’ll get someone out here before you know it.”

  “And if my baby doesn’t wait for that?” Nina nearly shouted over the wind.

  “I’ve been in a delivery room for three of my own kids and birthed more animals than I can count—if it comes to that, I can take care of it. We’ll be fine.”

  It crossed her mind to call him a liar because nothing about this was at all fine. But there was actually something soothing in his composure, in his take-charge attitude, and Traub or not, Nina had to hope that he really could get her through this if need be.

  Just please don’t let there be the need....

  “We should conserve fuel, so I’ll turn on the engine long enough to get it warm in here, then we’ll turn it off again,” he explained, closing the rear door and getting into the front of the cab from the passenger seat to slide across and turn the key in the ignition. “But I’m going to leave my hazards flashing, to make sure anyone approaching can see us in the snow.”

  Warm air instantly drifted back to Nina but she was feeling more uncomfortable lying down, and she pushed herself to sit up to see if that helped.

  It actually did and she explained that. “Just see if you can get someone out here to us,” she instructed.

  That was when he tried his cell phone and found that he had no reception.

  “Try mine,” Nina said, taking it out of the pocket of her wool winter coat to hand to him, fighting renewed panic.

  But her phone was as useless as his was.

  “Oh, God...” Nina lamented as every muscle in her body tensed.

  “Another contraction?” he asked.

  “No, I don’t think so,” she answered, so scared she wasn’t sure what she was feeling beyond that.

  He angled sideways in the front seat. “We’re gonna be fine. I promise,” he said in a way that made her believe it and relax a little again.

  Until he said, “There are pockets out here where you can get cell reception if you just hit one. I’ll walk out a ways and see if maybe—”

  “No! You can’t leave!” Nina said in full-out panic once again. “You know the stories about farmers getting lost in storms like this just trying to find their way between their house and barn. You can’t go!”

  “I do know the stories,” he said.

  Then he slid to the passenger side again and got out of the truck.

  A moment later he climbed into the backseat with her, carrying a thick coil of rope she’d heard him drag out of the truck bed. He rolled down the rear passenger window, held one end of the rope and tossed the rest of the coil through the window. Then he rolled the window up again, catching the rope in a small gap at the top of it.

  “Okay...” he said then, handing her the end of the rope that he’d retained. “Hang on to this, I’ll hang on to the other end and I won’t go any farther than the length of it. If you need me, just yank and I’ll come right back. Otherwise, I’ll use it to make sure I can get back.”

  “You’ll be careful?”

  “I will be. And I’ll leave the engine running to keep you warm in the meantime. All right?”

  “I suppose,” Nina agreed reluctantly, holding on to that rope with a tight fist.

  Dallas Traub wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed. “Everything is going to be okay,” he said confidently.

  Her own hand wasn’t cold, and yet his around it felt even warmer. It was also slightly rough and callused, and the size and strength of it along wi
th those signs of hard ranch work all infused her with more of a sense of calm and a renewed belief that he could and would take care of her. Traub or not. Regardless of what happened.

  Nina even managed to smile weakly. “Be careful,” she said, thinking of his safety, too.

  “I will.”

  He let go of her hand and Nina was surprised to find herself sorry to lose his touch. Which was what she was thinking when he opened the door, ducked under the rope and got out, leaving her alone. And sorry to lose his company, too. His comforting presence.

  The touch, the company, the presence of a Traub.

  She closed her eyes and breathed deeply again, willing herself to settle down for the sake of her baby, willing her baby to rest, to stay put, not to be born today....

  Then another cramp struck.

  “Please, no, not yet,” she begged her unborn child and the fates, as if that could stop things if she really was going into labor.

  How long had Dallas Traub been gone? It seemed like forever and Nina looked across the front seat through the windshield, hoping to spot him. But all she could see was snow.

  She caught sight of herself in the rearview mirror then and realized that the stocking cap she had on was askew. For some odd reason she regretted that Dallas had seen her looking so disheveled, so she straightened the cap. She also gave in to the urge to fluff her hair a bit where the long brown locks cascaded from beneath the cap past her shoulders.

  Her ordinarily pink cheeks were quite pale and she reached up and pinched them to add some color. Her mascara had survived the accident and all that followed it without smudging beneath her very dark brown eyes, but unfortunately her thin, straight nose had a bit of a shine that she didn’t like to see.

  She tried to blot that with the back of her hand, regretting that she’d left her purse in her SUV with her compact in it. And with her lip gloss in it, too.

  Not that, in the midst of possible peril, she was actually thinking about putting on lipstick to accentuate lips she sometimes thought were not full enough. She merely wanted to moisten those lips to keep them from chapping, she told herself. Certainly it wasn’t that she cared at all what she looked like at that moment. Especially to a Traub. When she’d just had a car accident. When she could potentially be going into labor.