Royal Holiday Bride
Page 20
Her lips curved. “In that case, Merry Christmas, Your Majesty.”
And then, right there at the top of the steps and with thousands of jubilant Ardenans watching, the king kissed his queen.
Epilogue
KING DANTE WEDS TESORIAN PRINCESS
by Alex Girard
Snow is an extremely rare occurrence in Saint Georgios. Such a rare occurrence, in fact, that any amount of snowfall would usually be front-page news. But on the first official day of winter, not even a blizzard could have upstaged the pre-Christmas nuptials of His Majesty the King Dante Romero of Ardena to Her Highness Princess Marissa Leandres of Tesoro del Mar.
Just as the bells of Sacred Heart began to toll in celebration of their marriage, the people who had braved the unseasonably cold weather to line the streets in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the king and his new queen were treated to a lovely display of fluffy white flakes swirling in the sky—and then, the lovelier image of the bride as she exited the church with her groom.
It was a picture-perfect moment, made even more perfect when the royal couple shared their first kiss as husband and wife and the crowd roared its approval.
The royal wedding was a celebration for the whole nation, but it was also very much a family affair. The bride was attended by both of the groom’s sisters, Princesses Francesca and Leticia, and her niece Princess Sierra, with another niece, Princess Riley, as her flower girl. The groom’s best man was his father, and his brothers, Princes Jovanni and Matteo, performed ushering duties.
In the midst of all of the carefully orchestrated pageantry, there were moments of spontaneity (the flower girl climbing the cake table to see the decorations at the very top), and possibly some hints of romance on the horizon (the groom’s youngest brother danced mostly with the bride’s eldest niece). And by the time the cake was cut and the dancing was done, the snow had stopped falling.
But it was evident to anyone who witnessed the exchange of vows that the newlyweds weren’t worried about the weather…they were just looking forward to their holiday honeymoon.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-8201-8
ROYAL HOLIDAY BRIDE
Copyright © 2011 by Brenda Harlen
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book please contact us at Customer_eCare@Harlequin.ca.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
*Family Business
**Logan’s Legacy Revisited
†Reigning Men
††Back in Business
‡The Foleys and the McCords
‡‡Brides and Babies
~Montana Mavericks: Thunder Canyon Cowboys