An Accidental Christmas
Page 15
“Why am I here? I’m here to tell Ursula that I love her.”
Her gasp was only surpassed by that of the crowd who turned as one to look at her. She licked her lips, as words still refused to form. Luckily it seemed Demetrio, unlike Robert, didn’t need plain speech to understand something. He had something much rarer, an empathy which allowed him to understand her, when she hardly understood herself.
“And I’ve come here to persuade her to marry me,” Demetrio continued. “With this ring.” He brought a small antique velvet box from his pocket and opened it. “It belonged to my grandmother. Ursula, when I told my mother I wanted to marry you, she said you should have this.”
“Ursula?” A laughing Ruby tugged at her arm. “Now is so not the time to be tongue-tied.”
“Marry you?” Robert asked abruptly. “That’s a bit sudden, isn’t it? You two hardly know each other. What was it, Ursula? A month, did you say?”
Ursula licked her lips and swallowed. “Twelve days, seventeen hours and twenty-four minutes.”
“I rest my case,” Robert said. “That’s not long.”
“Long enough,” said Ursula. She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s long enough for me to know where I want to be; long enough for me to buy into a community law practice in Abbadia San Alexis. Long enough for me to know that I’d risk everything to return to Abbadia, knowing I have to be near Demetrio, whether he wants me or not. Long enough for me to know where I need to be.”
Demetrio pulled her to him. “Come home, Ursula.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He slid his hands up through her hair and, holding her head gently in his hands, he brought her face to his and kissed her. To much applause and cheering, they continued to kiss, and Ursula never wanted it to end.
Epilogue
Eleven months later
Ursula slammed the car door shut and stood for a moment in the farmyard. Snow had begun to fall. It had arrived late this year. She wondered how her life would have turned out if the snow had delayed this time last year. It didn’t bear thinking about. Her phone vibrated, and she plucked it from her coat pocket.
“Leave that office now!” Demetrio’s mock-stern voice commanded.
She grinned. “You are so bossy. Is that how Italians treat their wives?”
“No. That is how Italians protect their loved ones who think of others before themselves.”
“Protect,” she sighed. “I like ‘protect.’”
“Don’t be late, cara.” His voice had lowered, and she could hear the shouts of children and the rest of his family—and hers now—in the background.
She pushed the front door of the farmhouse open, and was immediately swamped by the familiar warmth and smell of food, and shouts of laughter. “I wouldn’t be late on Christmas Eve!” she called out to Demetrio who was frowning at his phone. He looked up, and his face was alight with happiness.
“Here she is!”
He walked over to her and swung her carefully around in his arms and kissed her.
“I told you she’d be home early.” Ursula’s father grinned at her as he accepted a refill of wine from Demetrio’s father.
Demetrio brushed his lips against hers once more. “I have to watch out for her because she’d give all her time for free to the youth of Abbadia San Alexis if she could.”
“Not now she’s pregnant,” her step-mother called out, red-faced from the Aga.
Ursula pulled away from Demetrio and went and kissed her step-mother who was stoically stirring the pot, just as Ursula had done the previous year. “How’s it going, Dayna?”
Dayna sighed. “It’s going, Ursula. Not sure where, though.”
Ursula laughed. “You’re doing better than I did.”
Demetrio passed her a cup of tea, and she sat down beside Nonna, whom she kissed.
“A toast, Ursula,” Nonna said. “Happy Christmas, everyone—especially to my newest daughter, who came to us by accident, at Christmas.”
“To Ursula, and an accidental Christmas!”
The End
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading An Accidental Christmas, the fourth book in my Italian Romance series. I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always welcome—they help me and they help prospective readers decide if they’d enjoy the book.
You can read Alessandro and Emily’s story (whose wedding begins An Accidental Christmas) in Perfect, book 1 in the series.
My other series include Desert Kings which features sheikhs who are used to their every command being obeyed. Problem is, they fall in love with strong women with minds of their own. Their ‘happy ever afters’ aren’t easily achieved, especially when you add a dash of mystery and intrigue.
The Mackenzies series and New Zealand Brides series are both set in New Zealand. Against a backdrop of beautiful New Zealand locations—deserted beaches, Wellington towers, snow-capped mountains—the Mackenzie and Connelly families fall in love. But again, expect some twists and turns!
You can check out all my books on the following pages. And, if you’d like to know when my next book is available, you can sign up for my new release e-mail list here, or via my website—dianafraser.com—or visit my Facebook page—dianafraserwriter.
Happy reading!
Diana
Also by Diana Fraser
The Mackenzies
The Real Thing
The PA’s Revenge
The Marriage Trap
The Cowboy’s Craving
The Playboy’s Redemption
The Lakehouse Café
New Zealand Brides
Yours to Give
Yours to Treasure
Yours to Cherish
Desert Kings
Wanted: A Wife for the Sheikh
The Sheikh’s Bargain Bride
The Sheikh's Lost Lover
Awakened by the Sheikh
Claimed by the Sheikh
Wanted: A Baby by the Sheikh
Italian Romance
Perfect
Her Retreat
Trusting Him
An Accidental Christmas
* * *