The Prince's Christmas Wager

by Caroline Lee

  “Can you deliver this to Dr. Willetts, please?” He placed the crate, with the letter tucked under the handle, in the man’s arms. “Gently, please.”

  “The archivist, Your Highness?”

  Enzio nodded. “Check her office and studio first. If not there, her room maybe?”

  “Of course, Your Highness.” The man bowed again and backed away.

  Enzio glanced at the clock and figured he had just enough time for a shower and shave before luncheon arrived, then he’d figure out what he wanted to do.

  It was Christmas Eve, after all.

  The shower was piping hot, and the steak was delicious. Enzio felt almost human again by early afternoon, good enough to call his family at least.

  Perla picked up when he rang her. She teased him about being so far away for Christmas Eve, and he updated her on everything their cousins were up to. She passed the phone off to Tilde, who was distracted, and then he spoke with Mum.

  “You sound different, honey. Are you eating enough there? Is Vicki treating you okay?” Her Royal Majesty Queen Elena of Velarno could still make him feel like a helpless little boy. “I knew the weather would be too cold for you!”

  “Mother.” Enzio sighed, “I’m a grown man. I know how to put on a hat.”

  “And gloves, sweetie?”

  Now he knew she was teasing him. “And gloves, Mum! Aegiria is twenty degrees warmer than Velarno right now!”

  “Well, I’m sorry you won’t be here tonight for the festivities, but I can’t wait to see photos of you and Vicki’s boys together at the ball. I can’t believe they’re all grown up and getting married. It must be nice, to be contemplating grandchildren…”

  And he knew that tone as well. “Shouldn’t you take that up with Clotilde? She’s heir and should be the first to get married. Or are you talking about having grandchildren outside of marriage?”

  Mum laughed. “If I’d wanted that, I’m sure you would’ve obliged, wouldn’t you?”

  And wasn’t that hurtful?

  “Yeah,” he said in a subdued voice. “Anything to make you happy.”

  And proud of me.

  “Enzio.” Her sharp tone cut through his self-pity. “I want you to find a special someone, and I don’t care if your older sisters are married first, do you understand?”

  It wasn’t the first time she’d mentioned him falling in love, but he’d always assumed it was her way of judging him for his indiscriminate romantic escapades.

  But now he’d met Nova, now he knew what it was like to have his heart engaged, and he wasn’t so sure he understood anything anymore.

  They made small talk for a bit longer before he said his goodbyes. He hung up and was staring down at the phone, thinking about his mother’s words, when there as a knock on his door. He jerked into motion, hope and terror battling one another in his throat.

  There stood the footman, holding the crate, looking apologetic. Enzio reached for the envelope on the top, where his letter had been. Opening it, he read the two words in her handwriting.

  I’m busy.

  That was it. Not “I’m sorry for being busy,” not “Stop bothering me, I’m busy.” She wasn’t making excuses, she was just letting him know she had more important things to do with her time today.

  Without a word, Enzio took the crate from the man and backed into his room. The footman stepped forward to close the door for him, and as he did, he nodded respectfully.

  “Merry Christmas, Your Highness.”

  Merry Christmas?

  The one woman he’d fallen for had just rebuffed his offering, just sent his gift back. And it was the one thing he’d been sure would tempt her. Merry Christmas?

  He snorted. More like worst Christmas ever.

  There was still the ball tonight, but there was no way he could go to that, knowing she’d be there. Knowing his cousins would be there, wanting to know how it’d gone with her. Knowing she hadn’t even been willing to accept his gift.

  Christmas Eve, in a foreign country, all by himself? That was not what he’d call a Merry Christmas.

  But he was His Highness, Marc Enzio Frederic Carlo Jaime Kendran of Velarno. If it was one thing he knew, it was how to have a good time.

  Almost woodenly, he reached into his armoire and pulled out a suit. He was Prince Charming, and somewhere in this city, there’d be someplace to have fun. It was Christmas Eve, which meant there’d be parties and drinks and beautiful women to charm.

  And if there was one thing he was good at, it was being charming.

  CHAPTER TEN

  My Nova,

  Without you, the light has gone out of my world. I’m truly sorry, and I hope this might make it up to you somehow. This is the original version of the legend.

  Yours,

  Enzio

  Nova stared down at the letter on her desk, placed neatly between her hands, the words blurring yet again. My Nova. He’d called her his. Was she?

  Upstairs, pressed between two books on methodology, she kept all the letters he’d sent her over the last weeks. Most were short and to-the-point, but others were sweet or silly. All of them made her smile.

  But none of them came close to making her feel the way these last two letters did.

  The letter she’d found slipped under her door that morning—just like that first letter, the day they’d gone to Bergnfjord—had made her cry. Of course it did, that was its point.

  He’d apologized to her, at the same time admitting he’d lied to her again!

  No, it wasn’t exactly a lie. Just like he didn’t exactly lie about the wager.

  The wager might not have been a lie, but he’d only—what had they been doing? Dating? Hanging out?—with her because of it.

  No, he approached you because of a wager. He stayed with you because he liked you.

  Did he? Two big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks and plopped onto the letter, like some kind of dumb scene from a Hallmark movie. But this was real life, not some movie where the hero was going to sweep in and say all the right things.

  Had Enzio really liked her? Or had the whole thing been a sham from the start?

  Like Wayne.

  Wayne had apologized in a letter too. He’d begged for another chance, insisting the other women hadn’t meant anything to him. Nova had acknowledged that the other women probably hadn’t meant anything to him, but that didn’t mean Wayne would stop seeing them. She’d ignored his letter.

  Enzio’s letter, however, she couldn’t ignore. Last night, he’d told her she had to know whatever was between them wasn’t because of the wager. In this morning’s letter, he’d said she had to know he’d never hurt her.

  Did she? Did she have to know that? He’d meant “it’s so obvious, surely you know this,” but was it?

  Enzio is not Wayne.

  And that was the thing her brain kept throwing up at her. Enzio wasn’t Wayne, he wasn’t even close to being like Wayne. Enzio’s confidence and his charm was all a veneer. It wasn’t who he was. He’d allowed Nova to see him for who he really was: an intelligent, witty man who wasn’t sure of what he could offer the world. That self-doubt had grown into a real confidence, which was so different from his “charm,” in the time she’d known him, and she’d been so proud of him.

  My Nova.

  He’d called her that, and shared his grandmother’s manuscript with her.

  And she’d sent it back to him without looking at it.

  It’s Christmas Eve! The ball is in a few hours, and the documentary needs a lot of work!

  Actually, no it didn’t. It was complete now, and her team was setting it up in the ballroom in several locations. That’s why she was sitting here alone in her office, staring at his letter.

  So why had she returned the crate with the valuable manuscript? Why had she told him she was too busy.

  Taking a deep breath, Nova admitted the truth to herself. It was because she didn’t want to find out the conclusion to the legend without him. There was still something m
issing, something she didn’t know, and she couldn’t bear the thought of learning it on her own.

  Ljós had been the daughter of a local chieftain who’d offered herself in marriage as part of the surrender to the more-powerful Magnus Haraldsson. The stars had appeared in the sky the night they were unified, which is how they came to symbolize the strength of a unified Aegiria. But there had to be more than that. By offering her the manuscript, Enzio was offering her the rest of the story…

  Without him.

  You called him useless.

  Nova tilted her head backwards, hoping the angle would keep the tears from continuing.

  She didn’t want to learn the rest of the legend without him. She wanted him to be the one to tell her. Obviously the story meant a lot to him; he’d learned it long ago, and knew it well enough to dole it out carefully to keep her interested. Which was dumb, because she would’ve been interested in him despite it.

  Would you? Without the hint of the legend that first night at Tuuliki’s, would you have wanted to spend any more time with him?

  Yes!

  Really? Reeeeeeally?

  Nova groaned and dropped her face into her hands. She hated it when her subconscious knew her better than she wanted. Apparently Enzio had known her pretty well too; he’d given her what he knew she would want, then strung her along.

  It was all part of his “charm,” she supposed.

  Or it’s because he liked you, you idiot, and wanted to keep spending time with you.

  That’s what his letter had said; sometimes the simplest explanation was the simple truth.

  She groaned again, in time with the knock on her office door. Nova just managed to wipe her face, and hope she didn’t look as miserable as she felt, when Cassie popped through the door.

  And pulled up short. “Whoa! What happened?”

  So much for that hope. Nova took a deep breath and forced a bright smile. “I’m fine. What’s up?”

  Still frowning thoughtfully, Cassie crossed to the desk with a little red gift bag. Nova just managed to pull Enzio’s letter down onto her lap, when the bag landed in front of her.

  “I brought you your Christmas gift!”

  Making a little wordless sound of delight, Nova scrambled to open the bag, and pulled out…

  “How lovely! What is it?”

  Cassie was perched on the desk, one leg swinging idly. “It’s a hat! I’ve started to knit, because being a step-princess is boring.”

  Nova turned the lumpy green material back and forth, trying to make sense of it. “Really? I didn’t realize you were—”

  “Oh, Kristoff keeps me plenty busy, ifyouknowwhatImean, but apparently the queen’s step-daughter doesn’t get to massage just anybody— Ha! Any body! Get it?” Cassie chortled and waved her hand dismissively. “Anyhow, now I do crosswords and knit. I like doing hats the best, because they’re easy. I’m going to learn to do pom-poms next!”

  Nova had figured out which way was up, and now stretched the hat over her head. “This is really cool, Cassie. Thank you.” Her friend really was a sweetheart. “I can’t believe you made me this from scratch. Your gift is up in my room, I’ll have to give it to you—”

  Totally against her will, Nova’s throat began to close up, and she felt the tears threatening again.

  “Whoa!” Cassie slid down off the desk to come around and wrap her arm around Nova’s shoulders. “What’s up? Why do you look like— Great googly moogly! Is it Enzio? What happened?”

  Nova shook her head. “Nothing! I’m fine! I’ve just never had someone make me a hat—”

  Cassie shook her a little. “I’m not stupid, Nova. You’re not crying because of a hat. What did Enzio do? What did you do?”

  Forcing herself to take a breath, then another, Nova shook her head more firmly this time. “I’m fine. Enzio showed his true colors, is all. I’m glad I found out, before I did anything too stupid, like—”

  Like tell him I love him.

  Her throat closed up, and she couldn’t make herself say the words, but Cassie understood. She made a low keening noise and wrapped her other arm around Nova, who, grateful for the hug, rested her head on her friend’s shoulder.

  After a few moments of gentle rocking, Cassie cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry, Nova,” she whispered. “You don’t have to tell me about it, if you don’t want. It’s Christmas Eve, and your crowning moment is tonight.”

  “My…?”

  “Your documentary, silly! Tonight everyone will know how amazing you are at—at oral history or folklore or video editing—I’m not quite sure, but they’ll see how amazing you are! This is your moment, and some stupid-head prince isn’t going to take that from you.”

  Nova nodded dully. Tonight was the culmination of everything she’d been hired to do. She owed it to the queen to put on a happy face and at least pretend to be proud of her accomplishment.

  “Come on, honey, let’s go get you dressed,” Cassie whispered, tugging her upright.

  Nova just managed to catch the letter before it tumbled from her lap, and clenched it in her fist.

  My Nova.

  Surely Enzio wouldn’t be at the ball, would he?

  He’s a royal prince, cousin to the queen. Of course he’s going to be there!

  Nova decided she was going to be too busy to notice him. Even if she had to find something to do to keep her busy. She’d do her best to not think about him—or the wager, or the Star of Aegiria—for the rest of the evening.

  Ha!

  Everything in the nightclub was wrong.

  The music was too loud, the drinks were too sour, and the women… The women… Well, the women weren’t Nova, and that was the problem.

  Enzio had been sitting here for what seemed like hours, watching the couples enjoying themselves, his drink in his hand at the table beside him. And as for the groups of women who’d smile at him, or walk by giggling, or eye him in that too-knowing manner…Enzio would smile back, or nod respectfully, or even wish them Merry Christmas.

  But not once had he been tempted to do more. Not once had he considered turning on his charm, trying out Number Six, the I-Find-You-Attractive-and-I-Want-To-Get-To-Know-You-Better smile.

  It wasn’t that he’d lost his touch, no, he’d just lost interest in the life he used to lead.

  “What in God’s name are you doing here?”

  Enzio jumped at the question, growled so close to his ear, but relaxed again when Kristoff slid into the seat opposite him. His cousin was dressed in a full tuxedo, his long hair pulled up in a neat bun on top of his head, and looking around furtively.

  “Well?” Kristoff repeated, finally pinning Enzio with a stare. “This place is not where I’d want to be Christmas Eve.”

  Christmas Eve. The people of Bergnfjord would be lighting the Konungyr on fire tonight, symbolizing the new year and new birth. Enzio had helped make the Konungyr, and it had been the first moment he’d really felt useful.

  Dropping his gaze to the pinkish liquid in his glass—what was he drinking?—Enzio wondered if Nova was bothered to miss the big finale of their hard work. Of course, tonight was her big finale, with her documentary being shown.

  “Enzio!” Kristoff’s palm smashed down on the table, making the glass jump a little. “What nonsense are you thinking about?”

  “Kings.” Enzio met his cousin’s blue-grey eyes. “Setting straw kings on fire.”

  Kristoff frowned and jerked his chin towards the glass. “How many of those have you had, exactly?”

  “I think…” Frowning, Enzio counted. “I think this is my second.”

  “You’re acting like you’ve had fourteen.”

  “I got dumped today. Last night. Merry Christmas!” He took a drink of the too-sour liquor.

  Kristoff sighed. “I know, that’s why I’m here.” He pulled out his phone and waggled it at Enzio. “Viggo should’ve been here, this is more his style.” His lip curled as he glanced around the nightclub once more. “It’s too noisy for me.
”

  “You never were one to toe the line of proper society, Kris.” Leaning back in his chair, Enzio closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “Don’t go getting all preachy on me now.”

  A snort from the other side of the table. “I’m not preachy. But when I wanted to get away from it all, I didn’t go stick myself right into the middle of it.”

  That sentence might not have made sense to someone who didn’t know Kristoff, didn’t know how the man struggled to fit in with his family, didn’t know how he hated to read and loved to pit himself against nature and gravity and sometimes common sense. His way to “get away from it all” probably involved his sailboat, or a hang glider or something.

  Enzio blew out a breath. “I’ve always been comfortable at these places.” He waved his hand airily, eyes still closed. “Music, drink, women.”

  “And now?”

  Enzio hummed in question.

  “Are you comfortable now, Enzio?” Kristoff asked in a low voice, the scorn evident. “With the drinks and the women?”

  No. No, because this wasn’t who he was anymore. Enzio’s eyes snapped open, until he was staring at the dim ceiling.

  “Why are you here, Kristoff?”

  When his cousin didn’t answer, Enzio lifted his head enough to glare at him. Kristoff’s expression was neutral, but he finally shook his head.

  “I’m here because I’m in love. I’ve been where you are, man, I’ve been miserable. But I love Cassie, and she loves me, and we got our butts in gear and told each other that, and I’ve never, ever been happier than I am now. She’s like…she’s the wind and the sun and the fresh air, you know?”

  Enzio had met Cassie Hayes on more than one occasion. They were technically related now, after all. And she was perfectly nice, if a little clumsy, but he didn’t see her as the wind-air-sun-type.

  No, that’s Nova.

  Nova Willetts was the sun and the warmth and the light in his world.

  Kristoff slowly nodded. “Yeah. That’s the look.” He pointed at Enzio’s face. “That’s the look of a man who knows what he’s lost. Now show me the look of a man who’s going to do whatever he can to get it back.”