by Noelle Adams
“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.
Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER, I WOKE up to discover that Henry had slung his arm over my stomach sometime during the night, holding me in place.
I was sleeping on my back, and he was sleeping on his stomach, but he’d reached out to hold on to me at some point, and I couldn’t move because of it.
Groggy and comfortable, I smiled as I focused on him in the morning light. He was breathing slow and heavy, and his thick eyelashes were particularly noticeable against his tanned skin. He was completely naked, and the covers had slid down to his waist.
I yanked them up since my shoulders were chilly, and he mumbled in his sleep.
Figuring he wasn’t long from waking up himself, I amused myself by looking at my rings—a lovely antique diamond ring and a gold band with intricate engraving, both on the ring finger of my left hand.
I still wasn’t used to seeing them there.
We were in a lovely chalet in the Alps, and we’d just had the last night of our honeymoon. It was Christmas Eve today, and we’d need to return to Villemont to join in the holiday celebrations.
“It’s not morning already, is it?” Henry mumbled.
I glanced over and saw his eyes were open just a slit. “I’m afraid so.”
He groaned and moved his arm off me so he could roll over onto his back. “Fuck. I guess we have to go back.”
“It won’t be that bad. It’s Christmas.”
He gave me a sleepy smile. “Yeah. Although I’d gladly delay Christmas for a longer honeymoon.”
Giggling, I scooted over to cuddle up at his side. “No such luck.”
He grabbed my left hand and brought it up so he could kiss my finger just over the rings. “So how do you feel about marrying a prince?”
“How do you think I feel?”
He met my gaze. It was impossible to doubt the joy in his eyes, and I was pretty sure he’d see it reflected in mine too.
The past year hadn’t been easy. The media storm had been just as frenzied as we’d feared, and there had been many weeks when I’d wanted to hide under the covers and I’d had to hold a very angry, protective Henry back from knocking heads together. But the worst was over, and the publicity about the wedding had been more about a prince’s marriage than about my history.
I’d continued with my philosophy degree, and I had one more semester left before I finished my master’s. Henry and I would split our time between Minneapolis and Villemont until I was done. I didn’t have anything specific I wanted to do with the degree, but it was important to me that I finished it.
And I’d gotten through this year without taking a drink or doing something stupid. Henry and my father had been right. I was stronger than I thought, and I had people to help me through.
I was hopeful for the future. I could do more than just hold on.
“It’s just eight,” Henry said.
“I know.”
“We don’t have to leave until eleven.”
“And your point is?”
His eyes took on a heat I was very familiar with as he pulled me over on top of him. “Our honeymoon isn’t over yet.”
SEVERAL HOURS LATER, we were in the back seat of a limo as it drove through the main street of the old city, which was all decked out for Christmas.
People were crowded onto the sidewalks, cheering as we drove by, and the crowds grew progressively larger as we neared the palace. I knew the courtyard would be filled to capacity for the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony.
I was the one who would light the tree this year.
“Your mother has been really busy with arranging all this,” I said, turning from the window to look back at Henry.
He smiled. “She does love a hoopla.” He said the last word carefully, as if he wasn’t used to using it.
I laughed. “You’ve been talking to Jack. He’s always using that word.”
“It’s a good one.” He scooted over so he could put an arm around me. “So you’re really all right with all this?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I am. I wouldn’t want it every day, but occasionally isn’t too bad. This is part of you, and I love you, so I have no complaints.”
“Good.”
I still wasn’t sure of my suitability for being a queen, but Henry’s father was just in his early fifties. It would hopefully be decades before I would be put in that position.
By then, I’d probably be able to handle it.
And until then I had Henry and our families and the family we’d be starting for ourselves.
There was nothing I wanted more.
The limo drove us in through the palace gates, taking us to my second Christmas—and the rest of my life—with my prince.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: If you haven’t yet read them, be sure to read the first three Rothman Royal stories, A Princess Next Door (about Amalie and Jack), A Princess for a Bride (about Victoria and Edward), and A Princess in Waiting (about Lisette and Alex).
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About Noelle Adams
NOELLE HANDWROTE HER first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she writes full time, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances. For more information, please check out her website: noelle-adams.com.