Today, reconciliation didn't seem likely for Nick and his father, not with the way Mr. Harris stood standoffish. Why had he come along, if he didn't want to fix things with his son?
She forced a smile. "You three must be hungry after your trip. Supper is still on the table. Come this way, and you can meet my sisters."
Her wedding day to Nick had been such a blur, she couldn't have said whether his parents had met Eloise and the other princesses or not. The wedding had taken place in a huge, old cathedral nearby. Nick’s parents and sister had stayed in the castle, though things had been bustling and busy and then after they’d left on their honeymoon, she didn’t know which of the princesses would’ve play hostess.
Maybe her sisters would be distraction enough from the disaster this was turning out to be.
5
"You should've let one of the staff put that together for you." Mia looked over the mishmash of small metal parts belonging to the tiny bicycle her husband was attempting to put together.
It was late, and the different segments of the royal family had gone their separate ways. She and her small family had settled into their suite for the night.
It had been Ethan's idea to purchase a small bike with training wheels for Penny, but she hadn't expected this late-night construction project in their sitting room.
"I want to do it myself," he said. Or at least that's what she thought he'd said. He had a flashlight pinched between his lips, aimed at the paper instructions near his bent knee.
"Why don't you turn the lights on?" she asked.
"No way. I don't want to wake her up."
They shared a commiserating glance. Penny was a notoriously light sleeper, and just getting her to sleep in her own bed was a huge accomplishment for them. She still crawled into their bed sometimes in the night and often begged to sleep with them at bedtime.
"Besides, I'm almost done." He went back to the page, tapping a finger on the corner.
The many unattached pieces discounted his statement. The handlebars and seat were attached, but the bike was upside down, and neither wheel was attached.
She sighed. "I'll help."
She sat on the floor next to him and pulled the instruction sheet to herself. "Flashlight. What step are you on?"
He handed her the small flashlight. "Seven. Or F."
She wrinkled her nose.
"Hey, it's not going to fall apart when I'm done with it."
"That remains to be seen."
She handed him the nut and bolt that belonged on the front wheel, nudging his knee as she did.
"Don't critique me too hard. This might be my only time to put a bike together." He said the words casually, and his head remained down, focused on his work.
Her heart squeezed. While getting pregnant had been easy for them, she'd had a difficult last trimester. She'd been ordered to bed rest for several weeks before the birth. And they'd had a scare at the delivery. Or rather, Ethan had had the worst part of the scare as she'd almost slipped away. The doctors had revived her, but it had been a near thing.
After consulting with several physicians who'd been unanimous in their diagnosis that another pregnancy might kill her, she and Ethan had both agreed that Penny would be their only child.
She just hadn't expected it to hurt so much.
For a while after Penny's birth, Mia had lived in a place of fear and clung tightly to her newborn daughter, content in the decision they'd made.
But now...now...it felt as if their family were incomplete. There was a hole that more children should fill.
"Did you see the little boy who followed Penny around all evening at the orphanage?" She asked the question carefully, not looking at him but focusing on the pieces of metal at her fingertips.
She handed him another nut and bolt, smiling softly when he spun the wheel he'd attached.
"Hard to miss," he said with a quiet chuckle. "She was acting like a little mommy, bossing him around. He seemed to like it, though."
A hot knot rose in Mia's throat. Even Penny sensed that there should be a little brother or sister for her to mother. Mia could imagine it so easily...
Except for the part where she wasn't alive to see her children grow up.
"Have you ever thought about adopting?" he asked.
"Have you?"
He nodded, twisting one last nut and then looking at her. "Some. I wasn't sure how you'd feel after everything, and I didn't want to rush you if you weren't ready to talk about more kids. Or if you'd decided you didn't want more at all."
Her heart panged at the sensitive cowboy. Since the beginning, he'd cared for her needs, always putting her above his own. How had she gotten so lucky?
"Adopting a child—or children—into the royal family would be unprecedented," she said.
He nodded. But his eyes searched her face as if he knew she wasn't finished.
"Of course, three cowboys marrying into the royal family was also unprecedented,” she said. “And I shouldn't even mention Kylie."
He grinned. "So you're saying it could be an option?"
She nodded slowly, letting the idea slide over her. It seemed to fill a special notch in her heart. It felt right.
"I'll have to talk to Eloise, of course."
He nodded again. He was so easygoing, her cowboy. Having to get royal approval didn't faze him. Putting up with Mia’s occasional mood swing didn't either.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather wait?” she asked. “You'd talked about going to university, and that got put off because of Penny." And Mia's own fragile health after the birth.
He shrugged. "It's become less important to me. With the staff you've got in place, especially Roberto"—their personal assistant—"I can understand the issues facing the kingdom. I feel I can do my part to help you. There will be years when the children are older that I can go back to school, if it still seems like I need to."
Somehow as they'd been talking, he'd edged closer, or maybe she had. Now their knees bumped, and he leaned even closer, making their shoulders bump as well.
"I love you," he whispered.
"Mmm, me too," she murmured just before their lips met.
6
"Mommy, Daddy! Mommy, Daddy!"
Ethan pried one eye open as he felt a small torpedo of energy hit the end of the bed.
The digital bedside clock read five-fifteen.
"I just had a very bad dream," Mia muttered.
His arm was wrapped around her waist, and he felt her shift slightly. The bed bounced as Penny crawled from the foot to snuggle between them, dislodging his arm and burrowing into the tiny space between them.
"Santa came! He came!" came the excited squeak. It was accompanied by a wiggle, as if she was so thrilled she couldn't be still.
It was still pitch dark in the room, only a sliver of faint light coming in from where Penny had pushed open their bedroom door.
"It's too early," Mia said, voice rough with sleep.
He couldn't help but smile, remembering several Christmases when it had been just him and his dad, where he'd snuck into his dad's room before the crack of dawn.
"Stop it," Mia complained sleepily, somehow knowing. "You're encouraging her." But her hand snuck onto his pillow and caressed the hair at his nape tenderly.
He couldn't help it. Having a young child meant seeing Christmas through her eyes, and getting to experience the wonder of it all over again. A few nights ago, they'd allowed Penny to stay up late, and they'd spent an hour walking along the streets in Glorvaird's quaint downtown, looking at the lights displays. The day they'd decorated the tree in the palace's huge atrium, she'd been a ball of energy and had clustered ornaments all along the bottom two feet of the tree.
He loved every second.
Mia and Penny were his family now. He’d lost all contact with his stepbrothers when they'd refused to see him after a judge had removed them from his custody. For a while, he'd mourned the loss of the relationship that could've been. Until Cody had knocked so
me sense into him. He'd done everything in his power to build a good relationship with his stepbrothers, and they'd refused. Now he poured his focus and attention to the ladies who were his world. And maybe the idea of adding more children through adoption.
"Go back to sleep, you two," Mia mumbled drowsily.
If he could convince Penny to doze off, the three of them might catch another hour or so of sleep.
But their daughter wriggled again. "Presents!"
Penny sat up. He could feel it, even if he couldn't see her.
"Ethan..." Mia groaned.
But he sat up too. "Presents."
Penny squealed as he picked her up off the bed and bounced her in his arms. For one moment, he buried his nose in her sweet-smelling little-girl curls.
They headed for the parlor, where he and Mia had piled gifts and a half-hidden bike behind the smaller tree they'd chosen for the personal rooms.
"Let's have some breakfast and let Mommy wake up," he murmured to his daughter. Over his shoulder he called out, "You've got fifteen minutes to join us."
He closed the door before the pillow Mia launched could hit them.
7
Nick woke to an empty bed. Where was she?
It was Christmas morning, and he'd really hoped to spend a sleepy, slow morning in bed with his wife. The royal family would be exchanging gifts at a late lunch.
At least that was what he'd hoped before the surprise Kylie had perpetrated on him last night. His parents and little sister, in Glorvaird for the holiday.
He propped himself up on one elbow and rummaged in the drawer of his nightstand until he found the small wrapped gift he'd chosen for Kylie. Inside was a small white-gold pendant he'd commissioned for her—a representation of the cabin where they'd hidden out when assassins had been targeting her. He wanted to give it to her before they had to put on their nice faces and join the rest of his family. He and Gideon had a special surprise for her during the family Christmas exchange.
Except she was nowhere to be found.
He visited the bathroom—also empty—and made a cursory attempt to tame his bedhead. His sleep T-shirt and flannel pajama pants would have to do as he opened the door from the bedroom and into their private sitting room.
His dad and Kylie were huddled in a quiet conversation. He guessed his fifteen-year-old sister was sleeping in, the childlike excitement of Christmas long gone. No idea where Mom was.
Dad and Kylie had their backs to him, both seated at the small circular table for two in their breakfast nook. Two steaming cups of coffee and a basket of muffins were on the table. So Kylie must've called down to the kitchens. After last night's feast, most of the staff had the day off.
He should really announce his presence, but after the tension on Dad's face last night, he wasn't in any hurry to face the man. So he stayed in the doorway.
"...mysterious amount deposited in my bank account late last year," Dad was saying. "A large amount."
Kylie toyed with the sugar spoon in her cup. "I'm afraid I wouldn't know anything about that."
"I don't want some princess paying me off so I'll forget what bad decisions my son made."
Nick came off the wall, hurt for himself and offended on Kylie's behalf.
But she didn't seem to need his help. "Did you know," she began, cool and collected, "that each member of the royal house of Glorvaird receives a salary? Royals and spouses alike? Do you know why Nick receives compensation?"
Dad shook his head slightly, but even from behind, Nick could see Kylie had piqued his interest.
"When he joined the royal family, Nick took over as head of several committees. He manages the royal healthcare initiative and is a special advisor to the Glorvaird police, along with several other important jobs. The skills that you and Marcia taught him growing up have served him well."
Dad sat silently for a minute. "He didn't learn it from me. His Ma is the people person."
Wasn't that the truth?
Kylie wasn't done. "If Nick chose to make a gift of part of his salary, and I'm not saying he did, he was probably hoping to be absolved of everything that happened before. With Kara and your money."
His dad was silent for another long moment. Big talker, his pops. "What happened with that girl wasn't his fault. He don't owe me nothin'."
Kylie laid her hand on his dad's forearm. "I lost my mom a little over three years ago. I would do anything to spend one more Christmas with her."
Nick could hear the raw hurt in her voice. He wanted to go to her, but he held back a little longer. She hadn't mentioned her mom in a while, and he'd wondered if she'd been missing her, but hadn't brought it up. Now he had his answer. Hopefully, it would make the gift he and Gideon had found for her that much more poignant.
Kylie went on. "The reason I invited you here was because the best Christmas present I can give Nick would be for the two of you to come to an understanding about what happened."
His heart thumped. Kylie had done a lot of organizing to get his family here. And he was tired of this rift between himself and his dad. It was time to do something about this.
He came off the door, clearing his throat as he did so. Kylie’s and Dad's heads turned toward him.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for my part in what happened. I should’ve been more suspicious of Farah when she wanted details about all of the people in my life." That apology wasn't comfortable, but it was done. It was up to Dad to accept it.
Dad came out of his chair, one hand remaining on the chair back. "It wasn't your fault, son. Everybody in town saw how that girl broke your heart. I guess she blindsided all of us. It’s just hard…to have lost so much."
That might be as close to forgiveness as his dad could come. And Nick would take it. He moved forward, and Dad met him halfway in a man-hug, complete with backslaps.
He met Kylie's beaming gaze over Dad's shoulder. Just then, Mom and Gentry came tumbling out of the second bedroom in the suite, both vying for coffee and ratcheting the noise up by a decibel or so.
And ratcheting up the joy in his heart.
Kylie had been right. This Christmas would forever be special to him. His dad was back in his life.
8
Alessandra came down the long, curved staircase in the castle's foyer. She'd been nauseated and hadn't wanted to join the family until she felt better. And she'd sent Gideon ahead because he was fairly bouncing with anticipation about some gift he and Nick had gotten for Kylie. Also, he'd mumbled something about checking on Pieter on his way out the door.
She couldn't help but be amused by his interest in her cousin. He had been incredibly suspicious of Pieter in the beginning, as Pieter's now-deceased mother had been mentally unstable and at one point had hired assassins to target Alessandra's family. But when Gideon and Pieter had spent several weeks together in the States trying to locate Kylie—who hadn't known she was a princess at the time—they'd forged something of an alliance. It helped that the threat was long gone.
Although she wouldn't say that Gideon and Pieter were best friends, the fact that her husband was worried about Pieter's holiday proposal said enough in itself.
Now she could hear the rumble of voices from the family gathered in the atrium around the grandiose Christmas tree. As she entered the room, she saw Ethan and Mia sitting on the floor, Mia holding Penny on her lap as the three giggled about something. Kylie and Nick and Nick's family were gathered on the opposite side of the tree. The brother and sister seemed to be having an animated discussion. Eloise and Cody were seated together on a settee in between the two other families. There was a fine tension coiled in Eloise's shoulders, though she spoke kindly with McKenna, who was seated on a settee nearby. And there was Pieter, in conversation with Gideon near the door. Her cousin had that same tension he'd carried last night—nervous anticipation, maybe—and since there didn't appear to be a sparkly ring on McKenna's finger, the proposal must not have happened yet.
"There you are." Gideon reached for her and wra
pped his arm gently around her waist. He didn't ask after her condition verbally, but she felt his tender perusal anyway.
"I hope everyone wasn't waiting on me." She smiled at Pieter and didn’t acknowledge Gideon's subtle worry. There were at least seven months left in her pregnancy. He was going to have to get used to her being slightly under the weather.
Eloise rose and greeted her with a kiss, and the others murmured hellos and Merry Christmases as Gideon settled her on a settee between Eloise and where Mia and Ethan sat on the floor. Pieter joined McKenna on the sofa.
Of course they let the impatient three-year-old go first, and Penny tore into her gifts with abandon, making everyone laugh at her antics.
Alessandra opened a beautiful hand-knitted scarf from McKenna and a pair of dazzling diamond earrings from her sister Mia. She was distracted from the pile of gifts at her feet when Gideon nudged her knee.
He jerked his chin toward Kylie, and Alessandra saw her half-sister opening a package wrapped in bright, shiny red paper.
"What is it?" Kylie asked her husband, who was leaning close, watching avidly. It must've been a rhetorical question, because she was still ripping into the package.
She folded back the paper and revealed a small stack of faded letters. She read from the first one and then looked up at Nick with a tremble in her lips.
"Are these...?"
"From the king to your mother." He nodded to Gideon. "Gid and I found them, with some help from Eloise's personal assistant. I don't think he ever sent them."
Her eyes had taken on a glassy sheen. She hugged the letters to chest. "I can't wait to read them."
Alessandra knew her sister sometimes felt adrift after her mother’s death years ago, so hopefully this look into her heritage would answer some questions and give her closure.
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