Winter Love

by Kennedy Fox

  She glances up at me, her cheeks flushing. "What?"

  I reach out and trace the line of her arm, smiling. "Nothing. I'm just enjoying you while you luxuriate in all of this."

  She looks around, eyeing the reindeer. "I imagine that it was very difficult to get them up the stairs."

  I shrug. "I'll admit, I wouldn't know. I had a lot of help setting all of this up."

  "Still." She takes another bite of her cookie and her gaze slides over to the trees, and the massive piles of presents underneath. "Please tell me that those boxes are just decoration."

  I chuckle. "Actually, they are all real. But they're not for you. We have a tradition here in the palace that all of the staff can bring their children in and their children can open one present."

  Margot presses a hand to her heart. "I love that. Do you know what the presents are?"

  I shake my head. "No, not at all. Last year, I think the children received money and a toy of some kind. I assume that they get the same sort of thing this year. But I don't know. Why, do you want to open one of the presents?”

  Margot rolls her eyes but smiles. "No. I'm just curious."

  Looking at all the presents, I cock my head. “I’m thinking about leaving the trees up and letting the children come in and grab a present. What do you think?"

  She sucks in a breath and looks at me. "I think that sounds wonderful. If I had received that treatment as a child, I would have been very grateful."

  My lips quirk. "Of that, I have no doubt. I just want to make sure that you get all the Jul love that you deserve. I have a feeling that you didn't get enough when you were growing up. And I can't do much about the past… but I can try to give you the Jul you deserve now."

  Margot sets her glass aside, scooting closer to me on the couch. I move the plate of cookies and she puts her legs over mine, moving her arms over my chest to cling to my body.

  I feel very loved and very seen right now, which makes me feel a little emotional. Dropping my head to the crown of her head, I inhale her feminine scent and think of how lucky I am.

  As if she can read my thoughts, she says them out loud. "We are very lucky. You know that? Not everybody finds what we have found in each other. And that's not even beginning to address the wealth that you were born into.”

  I nod. "I know. I was just thinking about that, sort of."

  She pulls back, glancing up at my face, her soulful eyes pinning me. "We should share the wealth. It is a holiday after all."

  For a second, I narrow my gaze on her face. "Are you talking about starting a family?"

  She pulls a face. "No. I mean… I do want to start a family. But I mean that we should be more charitable. I have been trying to figure out exactly how lately. Something that will help children and people experiencing homelessness… That would be a good start…"

  I nod slowly. "What you are saying makes sense. Do you have any ideas about how we go about that?"

  She looks away, her cheeks flushing. "Nothing more than minor ramblings. I do think that we could be doing so much more for the children of Denmark, though."

  Eyeing her for a long moment, I sigh silently. "You just let me know when you are ready to tackle that subject. I may not be the most active person in the world when it comes to charity, but I have an almost endless supply of money. And I trust you to spend it wisely. Okay?"

  She looks at me, screwing up her face. “You trust me, huh?"

  My laugh is barely more than a rumble in my chest. “Ja, I do. You've only ever been very up front with me. I hope that you trust me in the same way."

  I reach out and brush a strand of her hair back, tucking it behind her ear. She reaches out and puts her hand over mine, nuzzling her face against my fingers. "I do. I don't trust easily. I think that was whipped into me when I was pretty young. But when I do trust someone the way I trust you, I always feel secure whenever they are around. And since you're around me all the time, I always feel safe."

  A warm feeling spreads through my chest at her words. "I'm glad."

  She scrunches up her face. Looking around, she heaves an exaggerated sigh. "I feel like I should've brought something for you to unwrap. It seems silly to be in such a festive setting and have no present for you."

  I wiggle my eyebrows. "You know how you were just telling me that you want to start a family?"

  Margot looks at me, a little surprised. "Well… Yeah. I wanted to start the ball rolling, at least."

  "Here in Copenhagen, or at least amongst the royal family, it's traditional to wait for a year between the wedding and having your first baby. I know that we haven't done anything that's traditional yet, but I feel like that's not an unreasonable time frame to set out."

  Her expression darkens just a little bit. She bites her lower lip, seeming hesitant. "What if it just happens? I mean… It could. It's not like I'm on birth control or anything. If we are talking about family planning, we should really be considering all our options. Like using condoms, at the very least."

  I give her a wry smile. "Let's not go too far with that. We are a married couple. We are in the financial place to take care of any children. And we are not averse to the idea of having kids. Besides, it feels so much better to fuck you without anything between us, even such a thin layer of latex." I shoot her a smirk. "I'm willing to take the risk if you are."

  She shakes her head at me, a knowing smile on her lips. "Somehow, I knew that was going to be your answer."

  I bite my lip, arching my eyebrows. "Are you going to give me grief about this? Or can I have one of the servants bring your first present in?"

  Her eyes widen and she sits up a little bit. "What? Wait, really?"

  I grin at her. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

  Moving her legs aside, I stand up and head out into the hallway. The palace servant that I asked to be there is right where I expect him to be. I glance at him briefly, smiling tightly. "Bring the present in, please."

  He fiddles with his phone and I head back into the room, beckoning to Margot. "Come on. Come over here and let me cover your eyes."

  She bounds up off the couch, her excitement and curiosity almost getting the better of her. I pull her over, putting her in front of my body and covering her eyes. The puppy wrangler, for lack of a better term, pokes her head in the doorway. I nod to her, a smile spreading across my face.

  When she guides the puppy in, leading it into the ballroom, I can almost feel my excitement growing. The puppy is dark eyed with a dark brown head and a dark brown splash across her back. What makes her special is the white markings on the rest of her body, complete with small brown spots dappling her legs and stomach. She's the dictionary definition of an old Danish pointer, and I can't wait until Margot sees her.

  I wait until the puppy and the handler are only a few steps in front of us before I hold up my hand, signaling to the handler to wait. Then I whisper in Margot's ear. "Open your eyes."

  Stepping aside, I look at Margot's face. Her reaction is amazing: first she is wide-eyed, then she's excited, and then she immediately burst into tears. "Is that…" she chokes out. She looks at me, tears staining her cheeks. "Is that for me?"

  I grin, nodding. "Yup." Looking at the handler, I thank her. "We’ll take it from here. Margot, you can grab her. She's an old Danish pointer, the same royal line that has always been in my family…”

  Stepping closer, I take the leash from the handler, leading the puppy towards Margot. Margot kneels down, her hands already out. And the puppy runs straight to Margot, not showing the least bit of concern that Margot might be a danger.

  I watch as she hugs the puppy to her chest, laughing as it licks her face and struggles to get free of her hold. Margot lets her go, her tears almost overwhelming her. "Are you a good girl? I bet you are. Are you growing up too fast?" She looks up at me, wiping her tears away. "What's her name?"

  My mouth turns up at the corners. "That's for you to decide."

  She shakes her head a little bit. "Come here. I don't
want to move too far from the puppy but I need to hug you right now."

  I smile as I drop the puppy’s leash, going to sit beside my wife. My breath gets a little knocked out of me by how forcefully Margot hugs me, her pink up do starting to fall. I hug her back, putting out my hand to pet the wiggly puppy as she ventures over to sniff me.

  Her wet tongue on my hand feels like a reward of its own.

  Margot pulls back, looking up at me, tears still shining in her eyes. "Thank you, Stellan. This is the best gift that anyone could've ever gotten me. I've never even considered owning a dog but I am more glad than I can say that this was your gift."

  I chuckle. "You are very welcome, skatter."

  She leans close, offering her lips up to me. And I give her a little growl, kissing her as I pull her closer. The puppy begs our attention in the next moment, running up between us and putting her paws on both of us with a tiny bark. We break apart with a laugh, but my gaze never leaves Margot's face.

  "I love you, wife. Never forget that."

  Margot gives the puppy her hand to lick, grinning at me. "I'm the luckiest woman in the world, Stellan. I love you more than I can say."

  A fresh batch of tears shines in her eyes. I smile and slip an arm around her waist, content.

  Chapter Four

  Climbing the steps that lead to the second floor of the palace, I feel more tired than I can ever remember feeling. Pippa is right behind me, climbing stairs elegantly as always. I make it to the landing and push myself onward, casting a glance at her. She looks absolutely amazing, from her elegant red tresses that flow down her back to her white haute couture down. Head to toe, Pippa always looks absolutely impeccable.

  I feel as if I’ve been wrung out to dry even though I'm also wearing a frilly pink designer gown. Even under normal circumstances, I can't compete with gorgeous, glowing Pippa. I heave a sigh. Her brow hunches a little as she looks me up and down. When she speaks, it's with a posh English accent.

  "And what's the matter with you?"

  We walk down the hallway towards my chambers. I draw myself up and sigh. "It just seemed like that gala we were at was going to go on forever. No one told me that being Queen meant an endless number of galas." I roll my eyes, emphasizing that what I'm saying is silly.

  Pippa smiles. "I imagine that you are pretty ready to take those heels off. I noticed that you have made more of an effort to wear high heels recently."

  I finally reach the doorway to my chambers and push it open, running inside and kicking my shoes off. I sigh with relief and stretch my arms up over my head. "God, yes. I'm trying to be more royal. But a lifetime of wearing Converse hasn't properly prepared me for such fancy footwear. Not to mention, I've been feeling run down for like two weeks. I'm so tired that I might go to bed before ten p.m. tonight." I wrinkle my nose. "Is it ten yet?"

  Pippa arches a brow. "It's only eight p.m. It just seems later because the sun goes down by four. That's Denmark in December for you…" She passes a glance around the living area and then heads over to one of the herringbone-covered couches, collapsing on it and pulling off her shoes.

  I reach behind myself and find my zipper at the very top of my shoulders, then pull it down. I sigh as a great deal of pressure is released from my rib cage. When I look up, I see Pippa arching a brow at me again.

  "What?" I ask.

  I shimmy out of the fancy dress, leaving me only in a white shift. I don't feel at all self-conscious in front of Pippa, who was my first college roommate and has been a longtime friend.

  Pippa is the reason that I'm the Queen of Denmark, essentially. She introduced Stellan and I at a sketchy club in New York… And the rest is history, I guess.

  Pippa's lips twitch. "Nothing. I'm just getting used to seeing you as the Queen of Denmark and then seeing you… Well, as yourself. Two different people, that's all."

  I carefully hang my dress over the back of a chair and then join her on the couch. "It's taking some getting used to from my side, too. Believe me."

  She scrunches up her nose and sighs. "I don't suppose you want to drink, do you?"

  I pull a face. "No, not really. I just have been feeling like I’ve had the flu for a couple of weeks. Well… not the flu exactly? It's like the flu except that I have no respiratory symptoms. What is that, you think?"

  Pippa purses her lips. "Have your breasts been tender?"

  I give her an odd look. "What? Why?"

  She holds up her hand, ticking things off as she makes a list. "You've been feeling really run down. You want to sleep all the time. You have an aversion to alcohol…"

  I interrupt. "I wouldn't say that. I don't have an aversion. I just am too tired to drink. I think it's just being on royal duty all the time."

  She sits up, eyeing me. "Or you could be pregnant."

  I freeze. Scowling at her, I shake my head a little. "I'm sure it's nothing. Just a little cold or something. You know, the cold without the sneezing and coughing or being congested."

  Pippa favors me with a look. "Have you and Stellan been trying to prevent pregnancy in any way?"

  My cheeks redden. I look away from her, mumbling my response. "No. But it hasn't been that long since I've had my period. I mean…" I squint, trying to count the weeks. "It's been… Four weeks? No, that's not right. It's been…"

  Her lips quirk. "If you can't remember, that's not a good sign. Or maybe it is, depending on whether or not you want a baby. Either way, you would think that the king and queen of Denmark would have this under greater control. It's a little bit funny."

  I shoot her a glare. "It is not funny. And anyway, it takes people ages to get pregnant. Right?"

  She rolls her eyes. "Wrong. It takes some people a long time to get pregnant. But not everyone. If you guys aren't using condoms and you're not taking the pill, you had to have thought this out already…"

  I shake my head. "No, I'm sure I'm not. My mom always tells me stories about how she never thought she was going to get pregnant. In fact, she thought that she couldn't get pregnant until me. But I was relatively late in her life, I think. She was pushing forty by the time she had me."

  Pippa looks at me for a long moment. "Have you taken a pregnancy test?"

  I give her a funny look. "Never."

  She gets up off the couch and starts putting her feet back in your shoes. I watch her, frowning. When she starts heading out of the room, I call out to her.

  "Where are you going?"

  She just waves a hand at me, rushing out of the room. She's gone for some time before I decide that I ought to get more comfortable. Heading through the door to my private chamber, I change into more comfortable pajamas and wash my face.

  Pippa stands in the doorway when I finish my beauty routine. I arch a brow at her. "Did you find whatever you were looking for?"

  To my complete surprise, Pippa holds up a little box, long and rectangular and with Danish scrawled all over it. Even though I can't read the words, I can guess from the picture just what it is. She's clutching a pregnancy test.

  I turn to her, rolling my eyes. "I hardly think that's necessary. I'm telling you, it took my mother forever to conceive me."

  She looks at me flatly, holding out the test to me. "Take the test. That way you know for sure. And by the way, the housemaids are stocked to the gills with these things. Just for future notice."

  My eyes widen. I take the test from her. "You asked one of the housemaids for this? You know that they are all terrible gossips. Every single one of them is on the payroll of somebody that I probably don't want to know my personal news."

  She wrinkles her nose. "I know. That's why I told them it was for me."

  I bust out laughing at that. "Wait, really? Oh, the housemaids are probably all atwitter right now, trying to figure out if you and Lars are going to be getting married."

  Lars is Stellan's brother and he has also been Pippa's best male friend since they were preteens. She shakes her head at me and starts closing the bathroom door. “You pee on the s
tick. I'll be right here, waiting with baited breath."

  Rolling my eyes, I quickly follow the instructions on the box.

  The whole time I keep thinking: there's no way that I could be pregnant. It's just not something that I have planned for or in any way prepared myself for. I mean, I know that what Pippa said is right? It's not that. It's just…

  I set the test down on the sink, washing my hands. The entire time, I’m trying to think of when the last time I had my period was. The longer I think about it, the more anxious I get. I am completely certain that I have no idea what I'm even panicking about at this point.

  Pippa knocks on the door. "Are you done?"

  I let out a long exhale. "Yes. Come in."

  Staring down at the pregnancy test, I feel chills throughout my entire body. Pippa opens the door and comes into the bathroom, staring at the test over my shoulder. I look up into the mirror, taking us both in. I am short and I have cupcake pink hair. She's tall and glamorous, with fire red locks.

  I currently look like a dead person, all the blood drained from my face. She takes one look at me and points to the bathtub. "Take a seat. We don't want you passing out."

  I do as she says, feeling immense relief at the very act of sitting. I remember faintly some piece of information floating through my head, something about how you should lower your head between your knees and try to breathe.

  Oh my God

  Oh my God.

  Stellan and I just talked about this not two days ago. I said that I wanted to start a family. And he countered with the fact that he wants to wait a full year. Simple as that.

  I close my eyes and suck in a breath.

  What if…

  “Um, Margot? This test says that you're pregnant."

  At the sound of Pippa's voice, I set up ramrod straight and my eyes fly open. "That's not possible! How… Why…"

  My eyes fill with tears. Pippa takes one look at me, sets the pregnancy test down on the sink, and flies to my side. "Whoa, whoa. I didn't realize that you would get upset about this. I thought you wanted kids!”