by Caroline Lee
Nova walked with him, and it was the first time they’d been alone since the ride from the palace. Enzio felt he needed to say something, to acknowledge how much he appreciated being here. With her.
“Hey, I meant it earlier,” he said as they approached the closest tree. “Thanks for letting me come, or at least not being too mad I tagged along.”
She shrugged, her hands in her parka’s pockets. “No problem.” A ghost of a smile flitted across her face. “You’ve been really helpful. Thank you.”
Stopping, he turned to face her fully, searching her expression for any sign of mockery.
“What?” she asked. “You look like I insulted your mother.”
“My mother is a queen,” he said in mock affront.
She snorted softly. “Oh yeah, I forgot. I just meant you looked surprised.”
You’ve been really helpful.
“It’s just…” It was his turn to shrug; half embarrassed, half thrilled. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”
Her smile grew until her perfect lips stretched across perfect white teeth. “Well, have you ever wrestled with straw bales before?”
Good God, she really was lovely, wasn’t she?
“No,” he quipped, “and I’ve never fondled a giant man’s torso before either.”
She burst into laughter, and had he thought her lovely before? With her head thrown back, her eyes sparkling in the sun, she was beautiful. Enzio’s breath caught, and he was glad he didn’t have to worry about charming her, because his mind had just turned to pudding.
But his shoe was still annoying him, so he shook himself from her spell, although a large part of him wanted to sit and bask in her light forever, and turned to the tree. He reached out to brace his hand against the trunk while he lifted his foot to reach into his boot…and the tree shifted under his weight.
As he went down into the pile of snow at the base of the tree, he realized they weren’t natural; they’d been brought in as decorations, and they weren’t load-bearing. Then he smacked face-down in the snow, and dimly heard Nova’s laughter.
He spat out the snow and flopped over, glaring up at her with pretend irritation. Truthfully, he’d fall over again and again if it meant he could see her laugh.
Thank God Father’s photographers aren’t here to see any of this.
But this far from Velarno, Father didn’t care what Enzio did. None of them did. Here he wasn’t His Highness Prince Marc Enzio, but just…just Enzio. And he was being helpful.
It took some fumbling to get the tongue of his boot straightened out, and by that time, she’d stopped giggling and his butt was going numb from the cold ground.
That’s when she took her hand out of her pocket and reached down towards him. She wasn’t yet wearing her gloves either, and she was offering him her hand.
He took it.
Fire. The Sun. Stars. A supernova.
Heat flashed up his arm and through his body faster than he would’ve thought possible, until he was sure the snow around him was melting.
If her touch alone did that to him, what would her kiss do?
He allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, but was careful not to break her hold on his hand. Didn’t ever want to break her hold.
They stood, only a breath apart, a world of unspoken words between them. He stared into her lovely blue eyes and wondered if she was as affected as he was.
“May I kiss you, Nova?”
He half-expected her to shut down, to shutter herself when he asked. Of course, he hadn’t been able to stop himself, any more than he’d be able to stop his heart beating, no matter how close it felt that had come to happening.
Because the look in her eyes told him she was seriously considering saying yes. The look in her eyes told him she wanted to kiss him—to touch him—as much as he wanted.
But she was stronger than he was apparently.
Instead of throwing herself at him, instead of shutting down, she cocked her head to one side, that little “V” appearing between her brows as she thought. Finally, she asked, “Do you know the rest of the story of the Star of Aegiria?”
That hadn’t been what he’d expected to hear.
He blinked. “What?”
“You’ve found the names of the two people, but I want to know the rest of the story. What the Star has to do with their story, why it was important enough to create the symbol of the nation for so long. Do you know all that?”
He did actually. Not all of it, but Perla was shipping him the book from Nonna’s collection, and soon he’d have the rest of the details. So he swallowed and shook his head, reminding himself it wasn’t exactly a lie.
“I’ll have more information by our next date, I swear.”
The little smile which tugged at her lips was almost…mysterious. As if she approved of his answer, for a reason only she knew. Then she nodded briskly, let go of his hand, and began to pull on her own gloves.
“I said no more dates.” Her tone was teasing as she peeked up at him. “But maybe we could, you know, hang out again.”
Hang out. That made it sound very…well, very un-princely. He’d spent a decade wooing anything in a skirt—except Laird McRaw, of course—and knew how to take women on dates.
But he’d never just hung out with one.
The thought made him smile hugely. Already missing the warmth of her hand in his, he reached for his own gloves.
“Deal.”
And as they turned back to their work on the Konungyr, Enzio’s heart felt light in a way it never had before. He was being useful, and Nova had said she appreciated him. She’d touched him too, and had looked as if she’d wanted to kiss him.
But kissing her would mean he won the wager, and had no further reason to pursue her. Of course, telling her the complete legend of the Star of Aegiria would mean she would have no further reason to hang out with him.
No kiss yet, but the story wasn’t complete yet either.
As he climbed the ladder to help wrestle the next bale into place, Enzio was smiling. He was right where he should be.
CHAPTER SIX
Was she just supposed to knock? What was the protocol for announcing herself at a prince’s bedroom?
Oh my gosh, I’m standing at a prince’s bedroom!
Nova frowned, scolded her inner monologue, and shifted the wine to her other hand. Wine! Like this was some sort of…of date! A normal date, at least! But no, she was standing in the hallway of the guest wing of a palace, holding a bottle of cheap wine and freaking out that someone was going to see her.
Judge her?
No. If she was being honest with herself—which she almost always was—Nova wasn’t afraid someone would see her going into Enzio’s room. Over the last week, he’d proven that, although the rest of the world saw him as a playboy prince, to her, he was just a man. Enzio.
And she was beginning to suspect she was being charmed by him.
Sticking out her jaw, she raised her hand and rapped smartly on the door. Before she could lower her arm, the door was yanked open, and there he stood, looking breathless and excited and down-to-earth gorgeous in a red wool sweater with reindeer marching smartly across it.
“What are you wearing?”
It wasn’t what she’d meant to blurt out, but it had him blinking and looking down at himself.
“This?” He pulled out the bottom of the sweater—she could see he was wearing a charcoal-grey t-shirt underneath—and grinned sheepishly. “This is my Christmas-tree-decorating shirt. I wear it every Christmas. Perla gave it to me years ago.”
She had to smile in return. “So even in royal families, big sisters give their brothers ugly Christmas sweaters?”
“Blast! You mean the commoners play such hijinks as well?”
It was amazing how easily he made her laugh! And he wasn’t doing it by being charming, he was doing it by being Enzio.
She held up the wine. “Are you ready for some Christmas cheer?”
Expecting e
asy acceptance, she was surprised when he blinked at the bottle, as if in confusion.
“What?” She was getting self-conscious again. “I know it’s not the best vintage, but it’s what I had in my room.”
“I— I don’t…” He met her eyes once more, the confusion giving way to sheepishness. “I’ve never had a woman bring me wine before.”
She shrugged. “I’m your guest, so I thought… Of course, I guess princes are used to better vintages. And less forward women.” This was getting embarrassing.
“Maybe,” he said quietly, in his caramel-smooth voice. “But I like you just as you are.” Before she had a chance to react to that, he reached out and took her hand. “Come on in, Nova.”
At his pull, she followed him inside, and the sound of the door shutting behind was almost cozy. Whereas she should’ve been nervous or angry to be alone in a charmer’s room with him, instead she felt…at peace. Enzio wouldn’t do anything to make her uncomfortable, she knew. He might be a flirt, but she hadn’t seen that side of him since their first day together, and they’d “hung out” as they’d agreed last week in Bergnfjord quite a few times since then.
To her surprise, the fact he was a prince really didn’t matter to her. At all. Perhaps she’d spent enough time around the queen’s sons to be comfortable with them. She definitely didn’t hold Naut Hayes or his brothers Caspian and Kraken to any sort of higher regard. They were just men…and that’s how she saw Enzio.
And his room proved it. There were books stacked on most of the surfaces, which made her smile. He had traveled with a library, and as he opened the wine, she wandered around, dragging her hand across the antique impersonal dresser. The three books stacked up there were a Tolstoy, a book on Roman infantry tactics, and an auto-biography of an American businessman from the turn of the century.
He collects stories, just like me.
The thought made her smile.
Other than the books, the dresser contained only a tatted doily and a framed photograph, clearly part of the guest room décor. She picked it up to study it, and was surprised to see Enzio’s smiling face peering up from the frame.
“Happier days,” he said, coming up behind her with two glasses of wine. “That was taken when I was twelve, I think. The staff always makes sure to move it to whatever room I’m assigned.”
In the photograph, young Enzio had his arm around the shoulders of two of his royal cousins, who looked like Mack and one of the twins. They were standing in front of a boulder, wearing swimming trunks and grinning like they’d been caught in the middle of a glorious time. Prince Kristoff was perched on the rock behind them, and it looked as if he’d just pushed another of his brothers—it was hard to tell which one, thanks to the boy’s angle—off the rock and towards the water.
Enzio handed her a glass and tapped the photo with his free hand. “Mother sent me to stay with them that summer, and Aunt Viktoria took us all to their summer camp.” He smiled sadly. “One of the best summers of my life.”
“Was it nice to be surrounded by boys for a change?”
“It was nice to be surrounded by excitement. My family isn’t exactly the rough-and-tumble type. They’re more the smiling and waving type.”
There wasn’t much she could say. Returning the photo, she offered him a smile. “You said you had a Christmas tree?”
Just like that, his real smile was back. “I do!” With a little flourish, he turned, revealing a three-foot pine already in a stand atop a table by the window. “As you see, I’ve acquired a suitably Aegirian Christmas tree, and we’re going to celebrate some of those traditions you’ve been researching!”
“We’re not going to set things on fire, are we?”
“Of course not! Well, not much. That is, uh…”
When he trailed off, she frowned slightly, not sure what the problem was. “What?”
“You, um… You do decorate Christmas trees, right? And sing carols and eat junk food, right? Or are you more, you know? Pagan?”
She had to laugh. “Enzio, bringing bits of the outdoors inside, celebrating with light and song and good food? Pagan, ha! That’s universal to the human psyche for a mid-winter festival!” She took pity on his awkwardness, and let the woman override the folklorist. “But yes, I’m a Christian. I understand why Christmas is important, and I enjoy the peace and goodwill of the holidays.”
His shoulders slumped a little as he exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. “I guess I should’ve asked earlier, but all that talk with the Konungyr at Bergnfjord, and I got worried.”
“I can appreciate the history without accepting the same beliefs, you know,” she said reproachfully, parroting one of her favorite professors. “I just recognize the symbolism of certain things, like evergreens in a winter ceremony and feasts of plenty in the middle of the leanest season.”
“So how do you feel about traditional decorations?” He pulled out two bowls, one of cranberries and one of popcorn. “Because it’s all I could get my hands on this late. I’m a guest here, you know.”
With a laugh, she grabbed the cranberries and the threaded needle from him. By the time he’d clicked on a playlist on his phone—carols from all different countries began to play softly in the background—Nova had settled herself on a chair beside the tree and was stringing berries.
It was a lovely evening. Snow fell gently outside the window on the other side of the Christmas tree, but inside they were nice and toasty. Enzio had found tall white candles, which he lit and placed around the tree with great ceremony.
“To keep back the dark during the darkest time of year,” he said solemnly.
She nodded, approving. “Someone’s been reading up on folklore.”
“Yeah.” His tone was nonchalant as he began to cut strips of tin foil. “I started hanging out with this expert on folklore, see? And she’s brilliant. I wanted to impress her.”
Nova held up her string of berries, eyeing it critically. “Well, believe me, she’s impressed.”
“Are you?”
At his quiet question, she looked up and met his eyes. He looked…nervous?
“Are you impressed, Nova? I want to impress you, I do. But I don’t know how. All I am is a—a useless prince. But want to be the kind of man who…” His shoulders jerked as he looked down at the strip of shiny foil in his hand. “The kind of man you might like.”
“I do like you.” The words were true, and she made sure her tone showed it. “I like the you you show me, the you no one else has seen. They only get to see the charmer, and I don’t—”
“You don’t like charmers,” he finished with a little twist of his lips. “I know. Why?”
She shrugged as she picked up another berry. Stabbing it with the needle, she asked him, “You really want to know?”
“Nova Willetts, I say this with all honesty. There’s nothing I don’t want to know about you.”
Her lips curved up at the sincerity in his voice. “It’s doctor, actually.”
“Doctor Nova. Got it.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay. So, grad school isn’t easy, you know? There’s a lot of pressure, and once you’ve finished your classwork and are ABD—All But Dissertation—it can get lonely. I wrote my first book before I was even accepted into the program, thanks to a travel program in undergrad. I didn’t get a contract for it until I was in grad school though. Then I turned my dissertation into my second book, the one on Dakarta.”
“I can’t wait to read that one.”
When she looked up at his quip, he was smiling at her over his shoulder as he twisted the foil around the end of one of the branches. It was an old-fashioned decoration, and fit with their cranberry and popcorn strands.
When he smiled and waggled his eyebrows, she had to giggle. This was fun, wasn’t it? And now she was about to ruin it…
“I met Wayne in my program. He was handsome and charming and so good at making me feel as if I was the most important woman in the world.”
“Uh-oh.
” Enzio finished tying that piece of foil, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I think I know where this is going.”
“We were in love. At least, I was. He said he was, and I believed him.” She shrugged, her attention on the bowl in her lap, as her fingers sifted through the bright red berries aimlessly. “He said all the right things, and smiled all the right ways.”
“I’m sorry,” Enzio whispered.
“I thought we were going to get married, but he’d been lying to me.” She picked up a cranberry, rolling it between her fingers. “It turned out he’d been charming everyone else as well.”
Enzio shifted his weight. “He was cheating on you?”
“With every other woman in the program. I was glad I found out before I told him I loved him.”
He grunted in agreement. “Wayne deserves a punch in the nose.”
The little snort of laughter caught her unawares, and she met his eyes. “I agree!”
“I’m sorry you went through that,” he said in all seriousness.
She shrugged, then picked up her berry string once more. “Me too. But it made me realize I can’t always trust what’s on the outside. Wayne was very good at making me believe. I’d forgotten that being charming isn’t just limited to me; if I was charmed, then so was everyone else.”
He picked up another strip of foil and turned to the tree. “I can see that. I can see why you don’t like charmers.”
Time for a confession. “I didn’t like you at first.”
Snorting, he nodded. “I could tell. What changed your mind?”
“You were flirting, using all the right smiles and saying all the right things, but…”
“Yeah?”
She shrugged. “Your eyes said something different.” His eyes had smiled at her in an entirely different way. “I wanted to know which was the real you.”
“And now that you’ve met me? The real me, I mean?”
Meeting his eyes, she allowed her lips to twist upwards. Not a full smile, but an acknowledgment that maybe there was something here between them which wasn’t a lie.