by Anna Bloom
I chuckled and leant over to kiss his cheek. “Better than royal harlot.”
He smiled and it warmed the chill settled across my heart. We would be okay, I knew it. Whatever happened, the three of us would always be okay.
“Come, let’s get moving before we get stuck on the side of the road for the whole of the Christmas holiday.”
His smile stretched. “You really are doubting my driving skills. You know I passed my test when I was seventeen, first time?”
“Was it a royal dispensation?”
He lifted an eyebrow and I chuckled, the heavy atmosphere of the car that we seemed to be constantly followed by lifted. “No, Miss Lawrence. When did you pass yours?”
I slunk down in my seat, my cheeks hot. “Uh. I haven’t.”
“Oh really?” The left side of his lips curved upwards. “So judgemental, with no grounds.”
“I’ve tried. Patrick tried to teach me in an Asda car park, but it didn’t go well.”
Ollie laughed, his hands gripping the steering wheel. “All the truths are coming out today.”
I crimped my lips into a line. “Can we just go, Your Highness?” We both laughed but I couldn’t stop the darting thought zapping across my brain that wondered what it would be like for him not to have that title anymore.
What if he really did become just Ollie?
I’d like to say it was a change I wouldn’t accept, that my dedication to the man he was when we first met knew no bounds.
But there was also a part of me who knew it would be simply amazing. And that’s probably the most selfish thought I’d ever have. More than wanting to keep Daisy to myself and never looking for her father. Wanting to keep the future king to myself and preventing him from following his rightful path—that would be the lowest thing I’d ever do.
Would I do it anyway?
I couldn’t answer that.
“Come on.” I leant over and patted his knee. “Let’s go and tell Nana we need to peel more potatoes.”
“And she won’t mind?”
I laughed softly. “She won’t mind if you are there. Me on the other hand, I’m sure she’ll have something to say to.”
The snow seemed to fall faster, the headlights of the car sweeping through a wall of white and conversation lapsed while Ollie concentrated on getting us to the other branch of that little family of ours, preferably without wrapping us around a lamp post like a pretzel.
Twenty-Three
“Leia Lawrence! How did you manage to ruin this for all of us?!” Nana glared at me, not even bothering to smooth down her silver bob that swept wildly with the snowy wind as she opened her front door.
“I didn’t!” I protested and Ollie rubbed a hand in a circle along my back.
“She really didn’t, it was all on me. I’m sorry to impose, Nana. I usually wouldn’t allow this situation to arise but truthfully we couldn’t stay at the palace.” I loved it when he spoke all princely.
Nana’s face scored with a deep frown, but she watched Ollie for a moment and then smoothed it away. “Well I don’t know what you are expecting here. I haven’t got anything in because I thought I was going to have an amazing Christmas lunch at St Mark’s, not be housing some royal refugees.” I pulled a face. Technically Ollie was the only official royal refugee.
“What the hell are we going to do?” I asked, but there wasn’t really any answer for anyone to give. “Could we stay here and order a takeaway tomorrow? There will be places open won’t there?”
“Leia! Nowhere opens on Christmas Day that isn’t already pre-booked back in August. Remember the year I decided not to cook and we tried to get into the local pubs and we got laughed at every time I tried to ring and make a reservation?” Nana said, bringing back memories of that rather pathetic Christmas Day.
I nodded, my stomach sinking.
“Sorry.” I slumped a little. Everything kind of was my fault. If I hadn’t gone to the flats to see Mrs Patten we wouldn’t be here right now.
Would I change that if I could? Possibly not. No, actually, definitely not, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have a crushing weight of guilt pushing down on my shoulders.
I opened the front door and peered at the snow. It seemed to be holding at a steady downpour, not a cute blizzard for Rudolph to trot through. With a sigh, I sat near the door and turned to Nana, Ollie, and Daisy.
“Well I know where I’d suggest people go when stranded at Christmas.”
Ollie’s eyes met mine and his lips curved, his thought connected with mine on an almost freakish level. “The shelter along from Bright Futures?”
I shook my head, out of all my dumb ass ideas this one took the biscuit. “Ollie, the future king can’t go and spend Christmas Day in a homeless shelter.”
“Wasn’t that the whole point of leaving the palace? To prove that we can do anything?”
“The press will have a field day.”
He shrugged but his silence didn’t fool me. In the back of my head John’s words from the night of the Russian state dinner rang loud and clear, ‘he’ll always put the family first’.
Well now he was putting himself first.
“You want me to go to a homeless shelter for Christmas?” Nana looked aghast and I quirked my lips at her.
“Nana, it’s Bernie. I’m sure she’d love your help.”
Oliver slipped out his phone and dialled a number. “Freya,” he snapped when the call had been answered.
My stomach dipped a little.
“Can you ring around and see who has last-minute food stock; all of the major stores. We will take everything they have. Can you arrange for it to be delivered to the shelter near Bright Futures?” There was a moment of a pause and I stared at him, although he didn’t meet my eye. “Yes, that’s the one. And yes, I know it’s snowing. Can you do it, or shall I call around myself?”
Ooh. Grumpy prince was back in town.
He gave a curt thank you and hung up. “Hopefully we can send some food over.”
“This is like Mary and Joseph when they had Jesus,” Daisy spoke for the first time and we all stared down at her.
A wild giggle built in my throat.
“Daisy!” Nana admonished. “My house is not a stable.” Her gaze flashed down over my flatter-than-ever-in-the-last-six-years stomach. “And also I don’t think your mother is about to give birth.”
“God, no!” I pushed my hand against my stomach. “This is the year Leia Lawrence broke Christmas. It’s not the year I broke everything.”
Oliver smiled and leant over to kiss me, but his eyes held a darker shade of green.
“What do we do now?” I squeaked out to change the subject.
“Daisy, what else happens in the Christmas story?”
“The kings come with gifts.”
Ollie leant down and kissed the top of her head.
“That they do, sweetie.”
Later we were squeezed onto the small double bed in Nana’s spare room. I curled myself around his chest, snuggling my face into the soft cotton of the grey pyjama T-shirt he wore. Daisy’s light snores drifted up from the spare mattress on the floor.
“Question.” His chest rumbled beneath me with his whisper.
I shook my head “No questions. Sleep. If we’ve got to try to drive through snowdrifts tomorrow to get to Bernie’s, I want to have all my wits about me.”
His laugh rocked me slightly and I warmed on the inside; all hot and tingly down to my toes.
“Remind me to take up the driving lesson discussion in the new year.”
“Whatever,” I grumbled into his chest. “Okay, let’s sleep.”
“Leia, it will probably rain tomorrow and all the snow will wash away.” I groaned my disappointment. “You really are keen for a white Christmas aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” I stopped for a moment, pushing into those memories I’d always kept locked up. “When I was small, I saw White Christmas on telly, the one with all the singing in it.”
“Wi
th Bing Crosby?”
I sniggered and gripped his chest harder. “I don’t fucking know. I was a kid. The next Christmas we didn’t even have a telly because mum had sold it for a hit.” I laughed but it met a wall of silence.
His fingers, stroking my hair, stilled and his hold grew firmer. “I wish I could take away every bad thing that happened to you.”
I lifted onto an elbow and read the shadows on his face. “But you can’t. And they led me to you. If my life had been rosy and happy, I’d probably never have been at Bright Futures that day. As much as everything hurt, it seems almost worth it now. I’m so happy with you, and I’m sorry I’m making this difficult and I’m not the kind of woman who can slot into royal family life.”
“Leia, how many people’s lives do you think we will affect tomorrow when we turn up and show what we can do by giving our time to Bernie’s shelter?”
“That’s not quite true is it? We are going be there because there is nowhere else to go.”
He shifted down and caught my fingers in his hand. “Don’t be naïve. I’m Oliver Beaufort. I could have rung The Savoy or The Ritz and they would have made room for us.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“Because this is the path we are on. If I don’t use this opportunity to make a statement about who I want to be, then walking away today would have all been for nothing. How can I show my parents I mean business if I run away from them straight through the door of five-star luxury? What message am I sending? What am I showing my people?”
I almost breathed a sigh of relief. “So you aren’t giving up on being king one day?”
“No. I’m showing I will only do it my way. The way that you inspired.”
“Okay.” I settled back down.
“So it’s not that you won’t love me the same if I’m not destined to be king?”
I lifted my face again. “Are you kidding? That’s ridiculous.”
“Oh I’m ridiculous now, am I?”
“One hundred percent.”
He caught my face, fitting his lips to mine, sweet but intense. I forgot to breathe.
“So my question.”
“Yes?” My stomach knotted.
“You really are anti-babies. Why is that?”
I froze. “Why do you keep bringing it up?”
His hands started smoothing down my hair again. “I guess I’m just interested why the idea seems awful to you.”
“It’s not awful, Ollie. And believe me I’m one hundred percent enjoying the practising that’s taking place, but we haven’t been together long. I don’t want to rush things.”
“But you agreed to marry me. I can’t see the difference.”
I paused and tried to dig deep and find the right words; ones that wouldn’t offend, but would explain it just right—but this is me and the wrong words frequently came out first.
“I just want to do things right. For you, for me, for Daisy.”
“Hmm.”
He stared at the ceiling. “Hmm what?” I asked.
He turned but the anger I feared in his eyes didn’t exist. His gaze, the green shadowed dark in the dim light of the bedroom, burned bright. “For a while there I was worried it might be the pressure of having a royal baby putting you off.”
“I’m sorry, is there a difference between a royal baby and a normal screaming one that wants your attention twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week?”
“Ah, now I’ve heard royal babies are very easy. Too easy, they almost don’t cry. In fact, they are so easy, they come in pairs a lot of the time.” His smile grew dangerous.
“Twins?”
“Just thought I’d drop it in there. Mother’s side is rife with them.”
“Well now you’re really selling it.”
He chuckled and lifted me up to kiss me on the lips. “I just want everything with you, Leia. Everything. Every part of you and me, tied together always.”
“And you will. But let’s do it right. Ollie, I don’t want you to fight with your father. I might not agree with his ways, but there has got to be a better way to deal with the situation.”
He nodded and pecked another kiss on my mouth. “Okay. Let’s get through tomorrow and then we can try to mend some bridges.”
“Before they burn down?” I pushed.
“Who would have thought the person who doesn’t like poncy people would end up trying to keep the royals together?”
I snuggled into his side, laughing to myself.
“Maybe I didn’t expect poncy people to be like you.”
“They aren’t.” He kissed the top of my head. “Right, let’s sleep, Daisy will be up early.”
“I’m worried Father Christmas won’t know where to find her.” I nudged his side and pointed to where she fidgeted on the floor. Cheeky minx had been eavesdropping.
“I tried to put a call in, but the elf on the phone sounded like he’d had too much eggnog.”
I smothered my mouth with my hand as an audible gasp lifted from the Daisy shape under the duvet.
“It will be a Christmas miracle then.”
Ollie rocked with laughter under me. “Night, Princess Leia.”
“Night, Prince Oliver.”
“Night, Princess Daisy,” we both said at once, but the little actress just snored louder and louder.
As we walked into the shelter, I realised that Christmas miracles did happen. It had nothing to do with the thoughtful presents under Nana’s tree that Oliver had stowed in the boot of the Range Rover, or the rushed purchases I’d made the day before Crimbo-geddon had kicked off at St Mark’s.
It was the smell of turkey and the trimmings coming from the kitchen. The shout of staff from local restaurants and hotels who had come forward to help and it was in the row after row of tables set out for many to enjoy.
“Oh my god.” I stopped in my tracks.
“What’s wrong?” Ollie glanced down at me in surprise, momentarily distracted from waving at a celebrity TV chef who was normally more famous for shouting at his staff than actually cooking.
Steam billowed from the hatch between the kitchen and the serving area.
“This is insane.” I looked around. What the hell. “I don’t understand how this happened.”
“Freya asked if she could put some calls out.” He shrugged and I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms tight around his neck as I kissed him for all I was worth on his lips. He staggered under the weight of my attack but then slid his arms around me, keeping me balanced as I tottered on tiptoes.
“I love you.”
His nose ran along mine. “That’s kind of what I’m aiming for.”
“Don’t aim any higher, you will ruin it for all men in the rest of the universe.”
“The universe, hey?” He slowly relinquished his hold on me.
“Aliens everywhere will be jealous.”
“Leia!” I turned at the boom of Bernie’s voice, finding her walking over from setting tables. “You, girl. I can’t believe this.”
“It wasn’t me. It was all him.” I pointed at Ollie but then tugged him in tight to my side. I could combust with happy vibes. If happy was a planet, I’d just blasted to the sky and taken up residence.
To my horror Bernie’s face crumpled and tears slid down her cheeks, leaving a darker trail across her skin.
“Whoa, why are we crying now?” I tried to pull at her sleeve.
She shook her head, palms pressed to her eyes. When she pulled them away her dark brown eyes looked up at Ollie with utter respect and my heart gave a little boom in my chest. “Since you guys met, things have changed a lot around here. It means everything.”
Ollie reached out and squeezed her arm. “It’s no time for crying though. I believe this is supposed to be a happy day. How many people are we catering for?”
Bernie laughed but more tears fell. “Turns out some idiot on Instagram told the world we had a full Christmas lunch available today.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and swipe
d the screen, lifting it to show him. I grinned.
The Tabloid Princess strikes again.
“You do know that the press will be here now too?” Ollie arched an eyebrow.
“There’s no point doing half measures. Let’s show people how the future king will do things.”
The future king grabbed me tight and kissed me full on the mouth just as a camera flashed. Laughing against my lips, he held out his hand in a ‘not now’ pose.
“Come on,” I could just about hear Bernie say to Daisy and Nana over the pounding in my ears. I broke the kiss and slid my hands down his chest. My eyes landed on the diamonds on my finger. My stomach dropped down to my feet.
“What’s wrong?” His eyes shone and I wanted to keep them like that for as long as I could. So I kept quiet, but I knew in my heart the press wouldn’t be writing about the wonderful things Prince Oliver had done for the people of London today.
They’d be talking about his second engagement of the year.
Unable to now change the moment—there would be no point taking it off now, that would make an entirely different story—I offered him a broad smile.
“Come on, Your Highness, I think Bernie might need help.”
“After you, my love.”
I followed the sound of some utterly tuneless Christmas carolling and went to find just about everyone I knew in the kitchen.
“Yaaay!” Cheers went up as we walked in and my cheeks burned with the fire of a thousand suns.
Ollie laughed and kissed my neck. “For the record, I don’t always get greeted when I walk into a room like that.”
I elbowed him in the ribs and went to where Daisy and Nana peeled potatoes next to some woman from the telly. Nana’s eyes were wide and I gave her a shrug.
This was officially a Christmas unlike any other.
For a family unlike any other.
Twenty-Four
“For fuck’s sake.” The remote control splintered as it hit the wall.
“Oliver, please.”
“No!” His roar almost split my eardrums. He slumped, his head down on his knees. I was kind of glad the remote had hit the wall and not the glass pane that created the back wall of Greystone.