A Princess for Christmas
Page 17
Had she once thought there were no Prince Charmings left in the world? That fairy tales didn’t come true? She had been wrong, and she’d never been so glad to be wrong in her life. “Yes, Jake, yes, I’ll marry you.”
He rose, and swung her into his arms. They kissed, at the same time a light snow began to fall outside. The clock struck midnight, and Christmas began. But neither of them noticed, because they both already had the present they’d dreamed of—a present, and a future, with each other.
EPILOGUE
THE palace’s landscaper had spent a month finding the perfect tree. He’d hemmed and hawed, until the queen herself had gone out to the woods and chosen the one that now stood proudly in the center hall. Dozens of people had come to see the big event.
“Ah, it is beautiful, isn’t it?” Mariabella said to her sister. She stepped back and took in the entire twenty-five-foot-high pine, amazed at the perfect symmetry of the branches, the deep emerald color, offset by the white and gold decorations. Surrounded by the black-and-white marble floors, the two-story hand-carved wood walls, featuring reliefs of Uccelli’s history, and the massive windows draped with thick red velvet curtains, the tree stood as an elaborate centerpiece to the castle’s main gallery.
Allegra smiled. “It is. But it’s still missing something.” She handed the final ornament to her eldest sister.
“Shouldn’t the queen do this job? After all, I live in America now.”
Allegra shook her head, causing her crown to move slightly. The multicolored jewels ringing the gold headpiece sparkled under the pendant lights hanging from the massive, two-story ceiling. “As long as you are home, Mariabella, it is your job.”
Mariabella drew her sister into a hug. “You will make a wonderful queen.” Allegra’s coronation had been only last week, and the ceremony had been wonderful. Mariabella knew the moment she saw her sister accept the crown, that she had made the right decision in abdicating. Allegra had the passion for the job, the love of the monarchy, and the fortitude for the hard years ahead.
Allegra wiped a tear off her face. “Well, as queen, I am ordering you to hurry up. We have a wedding to go to.”
Mariabella laughed, then crossed to the tree and hung the delicate crystal filigree angel on the tree. She stepped over to the wall, then flicked the switch. Thousands of tiny white lights sprang to life, bathing the center room of the castle in a golden light. A collective “ahh” went up among the crowd gathered around the tree.
“It is time, Mariabella.” The king touched his daughter on the shoulder.
She nodded, then turned toward her father. He looked younger since he had stepped down and handed over the throne to his middle daughter, happier even. He laid a hand on top of his daughter’s arm. “You look like your mother did forty years ago. Beautiful.”
“Thank you, Papa.”
“You will visit? Often?”
She nodded, tears choking her throat. “Of course. Jake not only loves my family, he loves the Uccelli wine. And you can only buy that here.”
Her father laughed. “Then we shall keep on bottling it. By the gallon, if it brings you home more often. I miss you, Mariabella.”
“I miss you too, Papa.” She had returned to Uccelli a half-dozen times in the past year, and her parents had visited Harborside twice, staying at the Harborside Inn both times, and generating a little media storm with each visit. They’d loved the homey setting, even though it was a major departure from castle life, and vowed to return often. Mariabella had a feeling she and Jake would be putting a lot of miles on his private jet in the years to come.
The bridal march began to play, the organ music swelling and filling the main gallery. Mariabella and her father began the long walk down the hall, along a path littered with white daisies and crimson rose petals.
Candles lit the hall, which had been draped in pine garland and massive crimson bows. White silk shantung hung from ceiling to floor, making it feel as if they’d walked into a winter wonderland.
Jake stood in the chapel, waiting for her, flanked by Will, then Zeke and Cletus. On the bride’s side, Allegra had taken her place as maid of honor, followed by Carlita and Carmen. A thousand more white candles flickered in the chapel, the only light for the small room. Beautiful, intimate and as close to a winter setting as she could get. The train of her dress swished along the path, with her veil fluttering softly at her back.
Her father placed a soft kiss on her cheek, then led her to Jake. The wedding march came to an end, and the guests began to take their seats. Neither Jake nor Mariabella noticed anything but each other.
Mariabella took her husband-to-be’s hand and smiled, first at the snowman tie he wore, then at him. He matched her smile with one of his own. “I am the luckiest man in the world,” he whispered.
“Because you are marrying the princess?”
“No.” He placed a soft kiss against her lips. “Because in every fairy tale, the ending is always, ‘And they lived happily ever after.’ And that, my love, is exactly what I intend to do with you.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4113-2
A PRINCESS FOR CHRISTMAS
First North American Publication 2009.
Copyright © 2009 by Shirley Kawa-Jump, LLC.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.eHarlequin.com