Five days later, I was trying not to think about Henry.

And not doing a very good job.

I was at my father’s fancy penthouse apartment on a Friday evening, and I was chopping vegetables for the pasta I was making.

I’d spent the past few days going shopping or to movies with my friends and going to museums or fancy restaurants with my father, who’d practically stopped working completely this week so he could spend more time with me than usual.

Christmas was on Monday, and then the following Monday was New Year’s.

Then Henry would come back, and he’d want to know what I’d decided.

The thought of him standing in front of me was thrilling and exciting and intoxicating.

And absolutely terrifying.

I still couldn’t resolve the disparate emotions he provoked in me in a way that gave me peace.

I was hoping it would come soon.

“You didn’t have to cook, you know,” my dad said, coming into the kitchen. He’d been going through some email in his office, but he must have finished up what he needed.

“I know. But I’m tired of eating out. And I like to cook sometimes.” I moved the celery I’d chopped in a neat pile next to the chopped onions.

He poured himself a glass of sparkling mineral water from the bottle on the counter. He never drank wine anymore, and I knew it was out of consideration for me. He sat down on a stool at the counter. “It looks good.”

“It doesn’t look like anything yet.” I’d started now on the mushrooms.

“Well, those piles all look very neat and professional.”

I laughed out loud and kept laughing as I sliced.

When I glanced back, my dad was smiling at me fondly. “I haven’t heard you laugh much this week.”

I nodded, my eyes focused on my knife, although I’d slowed down my slicing. “Yeah.”

He was silent until I’d finished the mushrooms. He was so silent that I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking and turned around to face him.

His smile had faded to something serious. “Are you sure you just want to hang out here for Christmas?”

“Of course,” I said, my eyes widening in surprise. “I thought we’d both agreed to that.”

“We had. And it sounds good to me. But I want you to have a really good Christmas.”

“I am going to have a good Christmas. Just with you.”

He was still gazing at me soberly. “You’d be happier with Henry.”

“Dad, please—”

“I know you’re confused, but I’m just saying. You’d be happier with him. Both of us know it.”

I swallowed hard. I’d cried on and off this week but not regularly. I’d mostly felt like I was in a stupor of emotional exhaustion and couldn’t feel anything intensely. But my throat was starting to ache now. “I told you. I don’t know what I want.”

“You do know what you want. You’re just scared of it.”

“I have every reason to be scared. You’re saying I should just forget what he did, how he tricked me.”

“No. I’m not saying you should forget it.”

“And you’re saying that it doesn’t matter that being with him means I’d be dating a prince in the eyes of the world and maybe even one day end up as a queen? You’re saying I’d be able to handle it.”

“I know it wouldn’t be your first choice, but of course you could handle it. Why couldn’t you?”

“Because… all the stress, all the attention… What if I… what if I…”

“What if you what? Be a little less than perfect?”

“No! What if I fall apart again?” The question came out as a broken wail.

He nodded as if he’d expected me to say exactly that. “That’s the thing that’s really holding you back. I know Henry hurt you and that you’ll need to forgive him. But the real problem isn’t that you can’t trust him. That’s not what you’re really afraid of. What you’re afraid of is trusting yourself. You think if you loosen your hold on this one thing, you’ll lose control of everything.”

The truth of his words hit me—like that blow I’d known was coming. I gave a ragged gasp and hugged my arms to my chest.

“I know how hard you’ve worked these past years, how far you’ve come.” My dad’s voice was slow, almost matter-of-fact—the way he always addressed things that were really serious. “I’ve seen it. I’m so proud of you. You should be proud of yourself. But you still don’t think you’re strong enough to let go even a little or face anything more than what’s in your life right now.”

I was shaking helplessly, my arms still wrapped around myself tightly. “What if I’m not? What if I add more—make my life bigger—and it all falls apart? What if… what if I fall back down into that… that abyss?”

“I don’t think you will, but if you start falling, you won’t be alone in it the way you felt before. Henry isn’t going anywhere. That much seems obvious. And even if he did, I’m stronger now too. And I promise that I’m always going to be here. I won’t let you fall very far.”

I choked on a little sob, knowing it was true, knowing that I could trust in him even if I couldn’t always trust myself.

And I realized something else.

I could trust in Henry too. His hiding the truth from me and his being a prince had made it even harder—exactly as my father had said—but it hadn’t made it impossible.

I sniffed and gave my dad a wobbly smile. “So… so what do you think I should do?”

“I think you should talk to Henry.”

“Just… just call him up?”

“You could. Or…” He cleared his throat and stood up. “We have a standing invitation to go to Villemont for Christmas. His parents invited us a couple of months ago.”

“Henry invited me too,” I admitted.

“Well, there we go. We can get on a plane tomorrow and be there for Christmas Eve.”

“But… but…” I was shaking still, but it was from pure excitement now. I wasn’t sure how it had happened, but that block I hadn’t been able to get around had simply disappeared.

“But what?”

“I told him we’d talk again after New Year’s.”

“And you think he won’t be out of his mind happy to see you earlier?”

“I… I don’t know.”

My dad chuckled. “If he isn’t, then it’s just as well to find out about it now so you don’t waste the rest of the holidays mooning over him.”

I gasped. “I wasn’t mooning!”

His chuckle turned into full-fledged laughter. “I’ll go make arrangements. Do you want to call Henry first?”

I froze for a moment, my mind racing. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. “I… I don’t know. Maybe it will be easier to see him in person.”

“Okay. I’ll give his dad a call since someone needs to know that we’re coming. I’ll go get everything ready for us to leave tomorrow, and you can finish dinner. I’m famished.”

He was about ready to leave the kitchen, but I stepped over and pulled him into a hug. “Thanks, Dad.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

***

Almost exactly twenty-four hours later, my father and I were being driven in through the main gates of Villemont in a hired car.

We’d flown to New York and then to Geneva, and we’d had to get up at four this morning to make our first flight. I was exhausted and nervous and overwhelmed and wondering if I’d made a big mistake.

I’d never been to Villemont—a tiny country that spanned only twenty-five square miles and had a population of around fifteen thousand. It wasn’t very far from Geneva, and the drive through the Alps would have been picturesque if I hadn’t been so worried about the snow.

It was coming down pretty hard when we drove down the main street of the city that led up to the palace.

It was a charming historic city—very similar to other cities I’d been to in Europe that dated back three or four hundred years. The streets were narrow and some were cobblestone, and most of the main streets were decked out for Christmas.

I stared out the window while my dad worked on emails on his phone, and I tried not to think about what it meant that we were coming here—visiting the Rothman family, the royal family of Villemont, for Christmas.

When we reached the walls that surrounded the palace ground, I was so nervous I was almost shaking with it.

What if Henry had changed his mind in the week we’d been apart?

What if he’d been having second thoughts about hooking up with a woman who was as high maintenance as me, who had my kind of baggage, who wasn’t sure she could even manage a relationship?

What if he’d returned home and realized I hadn’t been all that special to him after all?

“It will be fine, princess,” my dad murmured, reaching out to put a hand on my arm in a brief, supportive touch.

“Yeah.”

I didn’t have time to say more because the car had stopped at the foot of the stone steps that led up to the front entrance.

“Ready?” my dad asked.

“Yeah. Ready.” I started to open my car door, but a footman who’d come down the steps beat me to it.

They must have known who we were and been expecting us because no one questioned us or ran us through a security check or anything. I was standing next to my father when I noticed someone running down the steps toward us.

I recognized her almost immediately. Amalie. Henry’s sister.

“April!” she called breathlessly. She was beaming at me as she drew near, and she embraced me like we were old friends, although I’d only met her the one time. “We’re so glad you’re here.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling flustered and self-conscious. I glanced up the stairs but didn’t see Henry coming down them, although Jack was following his wife at a slightly slower pace.

“Does your coming here mean good news for Henry?” Amalie asked, her eyes searching my face the way her brother’s often did.

“I… I don’t really know what it means.”

Amalie nodded, still smiling. “That’s okay. I’m still so happy you’re here.” She reached out for Jack’s hand as he came to stand beside her. “I told Henry over and over that he needed to tell you the truth. I told him it wouldn’t be good when you found out. But did he listen? No. He didn’t.”

“Amalie,” Jack murmured, looking like he was hiding a smile. “Let them get inside before we wade into deep waters.”

“Oh.” Amalie looked briefly guilty before she smiled too. “I’m sorry. I was so excited that I ran out and wasn’t thinking that you’re standing here in the snow.” She gave a friendly smile to my father. “Welcome, Mr. Northam. We’re very glad to have you here.”

“Thank you,” my father said, looking faintly amused.

“My father and mother are waiting inside. They’ll be glad to see you.”

“And…” I couldn’t quite finish my sentence.

Evidently I didn’t need to. “Henry is out right now.”

My heart dropped ridiculously. “Oh. That’s okay.”

“He said he was going for a walk in the snow. I tried to keep him home since I knew you were coming, but he said he needed to get out. He’s not been in a nice mood this week.”

I was trying to hide my confusion and disappointment, but I must not have done a very good job.

“Oh,” Amalie said, her eyes widening. “He doesn’t know you were coming.”

“He doesn’t?” I squeaked, the clench in my chest releasing in a rush of relief.

“No. We didn’t tell him. I kept worrying… I was afraid, after everything, you might end up changing your mind and not come after all. And then he would be… I didn’t want to crush him like that, so we didn’t tell him.” She flashed a little dimple next to her mouth. “He will be very surprised.”

We’d started up the steps, but there were a lot of them and the snow had made them slick so it wasn’t a quick walk up.

“I told Henry,” Amalie said, evidently not finished with our earlier conversation, “that he needed to tell you who he was after the first week. I did the same thing to Jack, you know. We got involved, and I didn’t tell him I was a princess. So I can speak from experience that it’s not a good idea.”

I looked up at Jack’s relaxed face, and he gave me a little smile. “She did do that to me.”

“And did you… What did you do?”

“I was kind of hurt. Of course. But then I remembered I was in love with her and I’d never been a princess, so I didn’t know what it was like.”

I felt a stab of guilt. I hadn’t been nearly as patient and understanding as Jack must have been.

“But it was different with me,” Jack went on. “We just happened to live on the same hall. She didn’t get to know me on purpose, hiding who she was intentionally.”

“Shh,” Amalie said, nudging him with her elbow. “You’re making it sound worse than it was.”

“It was bad,” Jack said, his voice more serious. “It was really bad. If you’d done the same thing to me, I’m sure I would have forgiven you eventually. But I’m not sure I would have been able to come spend Christmas with your family so soon.” He gave me a little wink. “You’re a better person than me.”

I swallowed, feeling more overwhelmed than ever by this conversation by these two people I barely knew, before we’d even gotten in the door.

My dad didn’t say anything at all, but he put a hand on my back briefly as we made it up the steps.

Then we were going inside, and the king and queen were waiting to greet us.

It wasn’t a big hoopla as I’d feared it might be. There wasn’t any sort of ceremony, and the only people present were Henry’s parents, Jack, and Amalie. We chatted for a few minutes, and everyone was pleasant and not too stuffy, and no one mentioned Henry, which was a relief.

Then we were sent to our rooms, being told that dinner would be in a couple of hours.

Amalie came up with us, and we reached my father’s room first. Once he’d gone in, Amalie walked with me into mine, which was just across the hall.

“It’s lovely,” I said. The furniture was antique, and the décor was comfortable and elegant. But it wasn’t particularly luxurious. Henry had said his family wasn’t really wealthy, despite their titles, and he’d evidently been telling the truth. The palace was old, but it wasn’t incredibly fancy or intimidating. I liked the room though, so my compliment was sincere.

“I’ve always liked this room.” Amalie was about to say something else when there was a knock on the door. Assuming it was my dad with a question, I called out, “Come on in!”

Instead of my father, two young women came in. One was taller and blonder than the other, but they were both clearly Amalie’s sisters. They had the same lovely skin and wide smile.

“We had to come meet you,” the blonder one said. “I’m Victoria. This is Lisette.”

I greeted them. All three of them seemed sweet and sincere and not at all spoiled—not even as spoiled as I was. They reminded me of Henry, so I loved them immediately, although I felt a little on the spot as they all smiled and stared at me.

“Does this mean you’ve forgiven Henry?” Victoria asked, her blue eyes clever and direct. “Please say you have. I know he was an ass for not telling you who he was, but he’s really such a good, kind person, and he’s so in love with you.”

I blinked, a shiver of pleasure rushing through me at the words, causing my cheeks to flush hotly.

“Victoria,” Lisette whispered. “Don’t put her on the spot like that. You could at least try to lead into it more subtly.”

Victoria shook her head. “I don’t do subtle.”

“She doesn’t,” Amalie agreed. After a pause, she prompted, “So do you think you can forgive him?”

I sighed. There was no sense in dissembling or trying to keep the conversation casual. All three of his sisters obviously loved Henry a lot and wanted him to be happy. “I… I think so. I mean, I think I already have. It’s just…” They were all looking at me, waiting for me to continue. “It’s complicated. For me. It’s just complicated.”

“He’ll wait if you want to go slow. He’s really very patient and sensitive—for a man, that is,” Victoria said. “And I think he fell for you before he’d even met you.”

“Victoria,” Lisette whispered again, this time giving her sister a little push on the shoulder.

“Why shouldn’t we tell her? Maybe it would help her to know.” Victoria nodded, clearly resolved in continuing her explanation. “It was our mother’s idea, naturally, that you and he should get together. You’ve only met her briefly, but you’ll see fairly soon what she’s like. After meeting your father a few months ago, she got it in her head that you two might be a good match. So she started telling Henry all about you.”

“I’m sure there was plenty to tell,” I murmured. “And I can’t believe she’d be very excited about me after she saw some of the stories out there.”

Amalie and Victoria exchanged a look, and I knew immediately that what I’d said was true.

“She was… a little less enthusiastic,” Victoria admitted.

Lisette broke in, “But it really doesn’t matter to us. We don’t care about tabloids. They printed horrible things about me and my fiancé, Alex. We know exactly what they’re like.”

“As I said, the tabloid stuff wasn’t important to Henry,” Victoria said, taking control of the conversation again. “There has been nothing in those for years about you anyway. But our mother did find a clip from a news show about you with an interview and shots of that literacy program you run.”

“Oh yeah,” I said, remembering when that had been filmed more than a year ago. I’d been trying to build up the publicity for the program, and I’d gotten one of the news shows to cover it. “How did she dig that up?”

“I have no idea,” Victoria replied. “But she did, and Henry watched it. He’d been reluctant at first—as he always was about our mother’s attempts to find him a match—but after he watched that clip, he wasn’t reluctant anymore.”

“He wasn’t reluctant at all,” Amalie agreed, smiling in the same way her sister was.

“I think he fell for you a little bit right then,” Victoria concluded. “And that’s why he came up with that foolish scheme to meet you in a different context. It was bound to fail, but he didn’t want you to know him as a prince. He wanted you to know him just as Henry.”

I wasn’t sure why, but hearing that little story almost knocked me off my feet. I sat down on the upholstered bench at the foot of the bed and couldn’t think of anything to say.

“It was never about your money for him,” Lisette put in. “Henry’s not like that.”

I knew he wasn’t like that. It was one of the reasons learning the truth had hit me so hard—since it had so completely contradicted everything I’d believed about him.

“He wanted you for you from the beginning,” Amalie added. “And I can understand that you might not want all the attention you’d get from being with him, but it’s really not as bad as you might fear. We’re so tiny no one pays much attention to us. We often have to beg the news to cover our events. There will be some stories, I’m sure, but it will pass quickly.”

“We’re really a very nice family,” Lisette added. “I’m marrying a man who has no money or family or anything, and everyone has been very supportive.”

“Henry is so in love with you he doesn’t know what to do with himself,” Victoria said, as if she wanted to add one more iron to the fire.

I stared at them each in turn for a minute, breathing faster and harder. My heart was pounding so loudly I was sure they could hear it. I could feel my pulse in my ears, in my feet.

What they told me was true. It was the Henry I’d always known. The Henry I loved. And a family that wasn’t cold and judgmental.

I’d be an absolute fool to let him go, no matter what kind of title and lineage he possessed.

“When is Henry going to be home?” I asked at last, my voice breaking slightly.

Amalie’s face broke out in a wide smile, and Victoria clapped her hands together. Lisette gave a little giggle. They obviously knew I’d come to some sort of conclusion.

“I truly don’t know,” Amalie replied.

Victoria was already on her phone. She waited a moment, and then she said to whomever she’d called up, “Where are you?”

It was obviously Henry she was talking to. She waited a minute while he must have answered. Then she said, “All right. Good. Try to hurry.” After another pause, she said, “It’s not an emergency. We’re just all waiting for you.”

She rolled her eyes at whatever Henry had said. “Fine. Walk faster.”

When she disconnected the call, she smiled. “He’s almost back. He’ll be coming in through the back gate of the palace grounds. You can go and meet him if you want.”

I stood up.

“It’s snowing out!” Amalie protested.

“I don’t mind the snow.” The domestic staff had brought my luggage up and already unpacked most of it. I found the boots I’d brought with me and pulled them on. Then I found a knit cap and put it on over my hair before I put on my coat. “If you’ll point me in the right direction, I’ll go meet him.”

The Rothman sisters were clearly thrilled and excited by this plan, and they all went downstairs with me. We went out a side entrance, and they showed me a paved walk through the garden, telling me if I stayed straight on the walk, it would take me to the gate where Henry would be returning.

To my relief, they didn’t all come with me to meet him, so I walked alone down the walk they’d indicated.

It was snowing even harder than ever now, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell Henry had been doing taking a long walk in this weather. The wind was picking up too, blowing the top surface of the snow up off the ground and blowing it around with the big flakes that were falling.

I pulled my coat tight around my neck and trudged through the accumulated snow on the path. I couldn’t walk quickly, and soon I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me.

Maybe this had been a stupid idea. It would be much more comfortable to wait for Henry inside where it was warm and dry.

I’d just been so excited to see him.

I was so focused on staying upright and putting one foot in front of the other that I was surprised to see a figure a few feet in front of me. There was no way to tell who it was. It had a dark coat on. That’s all I could see.

I tried to blink the snow out of my eyes and take another step toward the approaching figure, but my boots didn’t pull out of the snow as easily as I’d been expecting, and the resistance tripped me up.

I couldn’t stop myself. I fell forward into the snow.

“Are you all right?” a voice came out of the wind. The figure had reached me now and was trying to help me up. “You shouldn’t be out here in the snow.”

It was Henry. I knew without doubt that it was. I still couldn’t see his face, but I would recognize his voice anywhere.

His tone had been kind and concerned, and his hands were supportive, but I realized he had no idea who I was.

I’d traveled halfway around the world and then hiked out in a blizzard for him, and he couldn’t bother to even recognize me.

I scowled. “Well, you shouldn’t be out here in the snow either. What kind of idiot decides that this is a good day to take a hike?”

His hands had been on my upper arms after he’d pulled me back up to my feet, but now I felt them clamp down so hard they actually hurt. “April?”

“Yes, it’s April. And I’m cold and covered in snow, and I want to go back inside.”

He made a strangled sound and pulled me into a fierce hug without any warning at all. Between my coat and his, I couldn’t really feel his body, but his arms were very strong and very tight.

I didn’t object to the arrangement.

“What are you doing here, schatzi?” he asked hoarsely, his face buried against my shoulder. “I’m not hallucinating, am I?”

“No, you’re not hallucinating. A hallucination wouldn’t be nearly so cold. My dad and I came to visit. For Christmas.”

Henry had released me from the hug, but now he’d taken my face in both his hands. He was leaning very close, trying to see my face. “You came all this way? But why?”

“Because I wanted to see you.”

He made another one of those helpless sounds—something akin to a choked sob. Then he was trying to kiss me.

I had no objections to kissing him, but I wasn’t feeling very stable in the snow. I had to hold on to him to stay on my feet.

As I might have expected, down we both tumbled into the snow.

Henry didn’t seem at all fazed by this development. He just sat up and pulled me toward him again. This time when he tried to kiss me, it actually worked.

It wasn’t a very deep kiss, but I had no complaints in the world. He was Henry, and being with him even on the ground in the snow just felt right.

Exactly right.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” he said, putting his arms around me again. “I was so afraid that you’d take the time to think and decide you just didn’t want me.”

“I do want you,” I admitted. “And I didn’t need as much time as I thought to figure it out.”

“I’m glad.”

I still couldn’t see his face very well, and it was bothering me. I wanted to see his eyes, his expression so I could reassure myself of the depth of his feelings. “Your sisters were very happy to see me too.”

“I’ll bet. Did they smother you?”

“Yes. Kind of. But they were very sweet.”

“They’ve been worried about me. I’ve been…”

“You’ve been what?”

“I’ve been kind of down this week. So they’ve been pestering me endlessly to try to make me feel better.”

“Oh.” I swallowed hard. “They told me that you were in love with me.”

I felt Henry stiffen slightly as I leaned against him. “They told you that?” he asked thickly.

“Yes. They did.” I paused. “Were they right?”

“I don’t want to scare you away, schatzi. Not when I’ve just gotten you back.”

“You won’t.”

I heard him take a breath. “Then yes. They were right. I know it’s been less than a month, but I’m completely in love with you. Head over heels. The whole thing.”

“Oh.”

“You’re the one who wanted to know,” he said when I didn’t say anything else.

“I know I did.”

“And you’ve got nothing else to say to me?”

I adjusted my position and stretched my face up so it was just an inch or two away from his. That way I could actually see his eyes and the creases on the side of his mouth. “I think I might love you too,” I whispered.

He groaned in palpable relief and kissed me hard again. This time we were doing better, really getting into it, but I got too excited and pushed against him too hard, and he fell back into the snow, taking me with him.

We managed to extricate ourselves from the tangle and then hauled ourselves up to our feet.

Together we went back into the palace.

It would be a lot easier to kiss inside anyway.

***

We had to dry ourselves off and then greet Henry’s sisters and then my father, all of whom seemed genuinely happy for us.

Then it was time to change for dinner, and the dinner itself lasted for more than an hour.

I was happy. Everything was good. And Henry was beside me with a light in his eyes I’d never seen so on fire before.

But still… I was happy when dinner was over and everyone had gone their own way so Henry and I could finally be alone.

After we said good night to my father, Henry took me by the hand and wordlessly led me up some stairs and through a number of hallways until we finally reached a door.

It led into a bedroom and sitting room that was obviously his.

I beamed at him as he closed the door.

Then he surprised me by putting his hands on my shoulders and asking me urgently, “I can’t believe I forgot to ask you earlier. You’re not… you’re not pregnant, are you?”

I blinked in surprise. “Oh. Oh, no.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure. I’m not pregnant.”

He nodded and let out a breath, but I saw something flicker across his face for just a moment.

I gasped as I recognized it. “You’re disappointed?”

“No. Of course not. This is far better for everyone.”

“I know that. But I saw that look on your face. And you were a little disappointed!”

He gave me a sheepish smile. “I’m really not. It’s better if a baby isn’t an accident. But I guess part of me… a little part of me… liked the idea of you having my baby.”

God help me, I melted just a little.

I managed to give him a little sniff. “Our baby.”

“Our baby,” he affirmed. “But I know we’re not ready for that, so that part of me shouldn’t be indulged.” He paused and gave me that crooked little smile. “Yet.”

I gave him a playful slap on the chest, amazed that I wasn’t even scared by the words.

It didn’t seem scary—or at least not much. It just seemed right. That I could be with Henry. That we could build a life together. And that maybe one day we could even have a family.

“Now come on,” he said, taking me by the hand again and drawing me farther into the room.

I didn’t resist. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to bed.”

“Bed? But it’s not even ten o’clock.”

“We’re not going to sleep.”

He’d reached the bed, and he swung me down so I was on my back, looking up at him. “But what about your parents? Do you think they’ll approve of us—”

“I don’t really care if they approve. And they’re not going to know anyway. I’m all by myself on this wing, and I can’t wait any longer to be with you again.”

I didn’t feel much like waiting myself.

Our first round didn’t last very long. We were both eager and excited, and we fumbled to get each other’s clothes off and then made love in a clumsy rush. But after another hour, we tried it again, and this time was slower, longer, deeply tender.

I went to sleep knowing for sure that if I could make love to this man for the rest of my life, then I was going to do it.

***

The next day was Christmas Eve, and I spent it in a whirlwind of activity, as Henry showed us around Villemont, and then we participated in a number of celebrations, concluding with midnight mass at the cathedral.

I snuck into Henry’s room after that, but I went back to my own room before six the following morning. When I’d showered and dressed, I went downstairs to the breakfast room, where the family trickled in for breakfast every morning.

I wanted to make sure I was up bright and early so Henry’s mother wouldn’t think I was lazy or a late sleeper.

Everyone else seemed to like me, but I’d picked up only cool vibes underneath her politeness.

Despite my conscious attempts to get up early, I was startled and unsettled to discover that she was the only person in the room when I arrived.

What a way to start Christmas morning—an awkward conversation with your boyfriend’s disapproving mother, who also happens to be a queen.

“Good morning, dear. Happy Christmas,” she murmured coolly, her eyes not lifting from the paper she was reading. She had evidently grown up in London, and she spoke with a crisp British accent.

“Merry Christmas, ma’am.” Henry had said his parents didn’t stand on ceremony in their private lives, but I felt like I had to give her some verbal sign of respect.

When she didn’t stop reading her paper, I went to put some food on my plate. There was a full breakfast laid out, as there had been yesterday morning, with the added treat of hot cinnamon buns.

I wasn’t very hungry, in addition to being nervous and uncomfortable, so I didn’t put much on my plate. When I’d gotten what I wanted, I sat down to the left of the queen, who was sitting at the foot of the table.

She lifted her eyes to me as she took a sip of tea.

I gave her a slightly wobbly smile.

I couldn’t stand undercurrents like this. I always felt better when tension was broached. And I wanted Henry in my life for as long as possible.

So I said, “I know that I’m not anything like the kind of girlfriend you would have chosen for Henry.”

She arched her perfectly manicured eyebrows. “Why do you say that, dear?”

I blinked. “Because of my… my past, all that stuff in the tabloids about me.”

“It is unfortunate. They targeted my youngest and her fiancé not so many months ago.”

I realized her words were a kindness—she was blaming the tabloids rather than me. But I wanted to be as honest as possible. “She mentioned that, and Henry told me about it. What they did to Lisette and Alex is inexcusable. But my situation is different. I wasn’t innocently living my life. I wanted the attention. I was lonely, and I felt unloved, and I did a lot of really stupid things. It wasn’t just the tabloids hounding me. It was me.” I paused, wondering why I’d spilled all this and probably given Henry’s mother a worse impression of me than she’d already had. “But I’ve changed. I have.”

“I know you have. The way you’ve turned your life around is quite impressive.”

This was another kindness. “But I can’t change my past, and I know it’s the last thing you’d want Henry to have to deal with.”

“It can be dealt with.” She took another sip of her tea as if she’d said everything she needed to say.

I didn’t feel quite the same way. “I do love him. Henry.”

Her eyebrows arched up again. “Of course you do, dear. Why else would you be willing to put up with the media storm once it’s made public that you’re with my son?”

I swallowed hard. It was going to be terrible. I knew it was going to be terrible.

“He loves you too.”

I’d been staring down at my plate, and I was so surprised by the words that I actually looked around to make sure it was the queen who had spoken them. But she was the only one in the room.

“Would I have preferred for Henry to have an easier time of it? Naturally. But he loves you, and he’s chosen you, so we will deal with what comes.”

I stared at her for a moment until I realized she was telling me the truth. She wasn’t holding some sort of grudge against me for letting my trashy life infect her perfect golden boy. She knew what was coming, and she’d accepted it.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

She gave me a little smile. “If I may, I do have a suggestion for you.”

“Of course.”

“If you’re willing, we could take a lot of power out of the hunt to uncover your past by telling your own story.”

“What do you mean, ma’am?”

“We can get ahead of it. I can arrange for a couple of interviews for you, paired with the announcement that you’re dating Henry, and you can tell the story our way.”

“I don’t want to lie or… or sugarcoat my past.”

“No sugarcoating. You could tell your story exactly as you just told it to me. The public loves a redemption story. And if you’ve already admitted everything, the tabloids will have much less fodder. There will still be stories, but they won’t have the same teeth. If you’re willing.”

“I would be,” I said sincerely. “I’d be happy to, if you think it would help.” I actually hated the thought of it, but I instinctively knew she was right. And I’d do anything to help calm the waters.

“Excellent.” She gave a little nod as she sipped her tea. “You’re a very brave girl.”

I experienced a wash of pleasure at the dry compliment. She meant it. She at least appreciated something about me. And she wasn’t going to do anything to try to block my relationship with Henry.

She was actually trying to help it along.

“Although…” I said, thinking of something else.

“Yes, dear?”

“We shouldn’t go through all this unless Henry thinks it’s a good idea.”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

I swallowed. “It implies that he and I are… very serious.”

She gave a little laugh. “Of course he’s serious about you. I’ve been trying to get him to settle down for years now, and I started to wonder if it would ever happen. I should have known he’d do it in his own way.” She met my eyes across the table. “He will marry you, dear, if you’ll have him. That’s why I think it would be wise to take control of the story in the media.”

My cheeks flushed hot—with self-consciousness and pleasure both. “Oh.” I swallowed hard. “Well, then… I’m good with the strategy, as long as Henry is good with it too.”

“As long as Henry is good with what?” Henry’s voice came from the doorway, surprising me so much I jumped.

When I turned around, I smiled to see Henry, looking quite scrumptious in a dark red sweater and a pair of gray trousers, with my father coming into the room behind him.

I shared a little smile with my dad.

“Good morning, gentleman,” his mother said.

“Good morning,” Henry said, frowning as he came to sit in the chair beside me. “As long as I’m good with what?” He was clearly worried about the conversation that had taken place in his absence.

“Why do you look so disapproving?” the queen asked coolly. “April and I have been having a very good conversation about a plan for dealing with the media. But she was worried that you wouldn’t be pleased with it because it implied you were serious about her. So I simply told her that you would marry her.”

“Mother!” Henry sounded and looked horrified. He leaned toward me and murmured in my ear, “I’m so sorry. She’s always like this. Please don’t get scared away.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “I’m not scared,” I told him.

I could see the relief on his face, paired with naked affection, as he smiled at me, causing those adorable creases to appear on the corners of his mouth.

“Of course she’s not scared,” his mother said. “Why would she be? She’s a very sensible young lady.”

“Oh, that’s high praise,” Victoria said, coming into the room just then with her handsome, quiet husband. (I’d literally never heard him say a word yet.) “You have nothing to worry about now.”

Coming in behind them were Amalie and Jack, so the conversation broke up to friendly, casual small talk.

After filling his plate, my father came to sit on my right. Henry was on the other side, and he just ate off my plate.

Lisette and her husband, Alex, who was friendly, earnest, and cute, came in after a few minutes, so the entire family was present.

Henry had reached under the table to hold my hand, and I felt a wave of warm happiness.

This was what Christmas was supposed to be like. I’d never had one like it before.

It felt like my family had grown.

It didn’t matter if this family was royal or if Henry was a prince. It didn’t matter that the stupid things I’d done in the past could never be fully forgotten.

Nothing would make me happier than this.