His Christmas romance

by Holt, Layla

  Chapter Eight

  “So, a princess huh?” Megan said, taking her eyes away from the road for a few seconds to look at him. “After the initial shock, I’m really not surprised.”

  Jaime chuckled. “It’s nice to see you Megs.”

  “You too,” she said.

  “You’ve lost weight,” Jaime said.

  “It’s stylish to be ultra-thin,” she said.

  It wasn’t just her weight. She had an exhausted look and it tore at him to see his twenty-four-year-old sister looking as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Still, it wasn’t the time to question her.

  “I’ve missed you,” Jaime said. “We all have.”

  “I’ve missed you guys too,” Megan said, her voice catching. “Did mother send you to check on me?”

  He and Megan were used to being straight with each other. “Yeah, and I’m glad she did.”

  “It’s awesome to see you, but there was no need. I’m fine,” Megan said.

  He let that go. “Do you remember our European vacations?”

  Megan laughed softly. “Of course, I do. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to live in Italy. I loved the language and the energy of the people.”

  “Has it lived up to your expectations?” Jaime said.

  “In some ways,” she said. “I’ve made a few friends and I’ve become fluent in Italian. Oh, and I’m a mean cook.”

  They chatted easily as they drove to the Rucco home, on the outskirts of the city. They steered clear of sensitive topics and spoke generally.

  Megan coasted the sedan off the road onto a rutted road. Five minutes later and she was bringing the car to a stop in front of a sprawling villa, decorated with Christmas lights and a huge wreath on the door.

  “I can’t believe you’ve finally learned how to drive. I have to tell you, my stomach was in knots when I realized you were the driver,” Jaime said.

  Megan punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Luca taught me when I first arrived.”

  That was the first mention of her husband, Luca, since his arrival. He got out of the car and stretched. The front doors of the villa flew open and Luca’s parents stepped out.

  Jaime remembered them from Megan and Luca’s wedding all those years ago.

  “Jaime!” Mrs. Russo said, taking both his hands and kissing him on both cheeks.

  Mr. Russo kissed both of Jaime’s cheeks as well before they led him into the house. Mrs. Russo rattled off something in Italian to Megan.

  “Someone will bring your luggage in,” Megan explained.

  They entered the house and stopped at the foyer for Jaime and Megan to shrug out of their jackets. They walked past a comfortable family room to a kitchen with a table that could easily seat twenty people.

  Warmth and delicious scents enveloped Jaime and his stomach let out an embarrassing rumble. The Russos laughed and said something to Megan.

  “They said that you’re a greedy, mannerless young man,” Megan said, her eyes twinkling with merriment.

  “They did not,” Jaime said.

  She laughed. “You’re right, they didn’t. They said that you’re just in time for lunch.”

  “Thanks,” Jaime said, glad that he’d made the trip.

  A young man with a mass of blond hair came in through the back door.

  “This is Marco,” Megan said. “He helps in the vineyard.”

  “Hi,” Jaime said but it was clear that the young man did not speak English apart from the basics.

  Mrs. Russo said something to him and he left the room. Jaime assumed it had something to do with his luggage.

  “Come on, I’ll show you to your room to clean up before lunch,” Megan said and they left the kitchen.

  After a myriad of hallways and corridors, they finally stopped in front of a door. “I’m right opposite, if you need anything,” Megan said.

  That surprised Jaime. He had assumed that she and Luca had their own place. Mr. and Mrs. Russo seemed like easygoing people but still, living with the parents was never easy. He thought back to the short time he had lived at home and couldn’t imagine how Megan and Luca lived under one roof with his parents.

  Inside, he was pleased to see that it had a small bathroom and shower adjoining the bedroom.

  “Thanks,” he said to Megan.

  “You’re welcome,” she said and exited, leaving him to shower and change into fresh clothes.

  Fifteen minutes later, Jaime made his way back to the kitchen where Megan and her parents-in-law were chattering happily in Italian. They seemed to get along splendidly and he was glad for that.

  “Sit,” Mrs. Russo said when she saw him, pointing at the table.

  “Thank you,” Jaime said. “I can’t wait to tuck into real Italian food.”

  “Mrs. Russo’s cooking will spoil you for any other Italian food. She uses natural ingredients for everything,” Megan said.

  She was right. It tasted nothing like the Italian food he had eaten back in the states. Jaime made appreciative noises as he ate making them all laugh. His mind wandered to Ariana as he ate. He wished she had come with him to Italy.

  Mrs. Russo said something to him which Megan translated with a laugh.

  “She wants to know how you feel that you’ll be living in a palace?” Megan asked.

  Jaime laughed. He hadn’t given a lot of thought to the physical aspect of his visit to Asencia. “I haven’t really thought about it,” he said. “Even if I was going to live in a cave, I’d be okay, as long as I’d be with Ariana.” The words came out of his mouth naturally. He was a better liar than he thought.

  Megan stared at him. “That’s seriously romantic.” She turned to the Russos and translated.

  They were fascinated by his relationship with Ariana and dinnertime conversation centered around that. After dinner, Jaime insisted on helping to wash up, after which, Megan suggested a walk in the vineyard.

  “We used to do this a lot when Luca and I first got married,” Megan said wistfully.

  Jaime inhaled deeply. “I love the smell of grapes. It’s intoxicating.”

  Megan laughed. “It feels as if you’re inhaling wine through the air.”

  The vineyard was on a hilly landscape and from where they were, it looked like an intricate maze. The path was covered in grass and on either side, braided lush grapevines.

  Apart from the rustle of the leaves, it was completely quiet and Jaime could see the appeal of living in such a place. They walked until they reached a huge rock that looked as if it had sprouted from the ground.

  “Let’s sit,” Jaime suggested, knowing it was his one chance to find out what was really going on with his little sister. He waited for a beat and then said, “Where’s Luca?”

  Megan sighed. “Away. He’s away a lot.”

  Jaime was puzzled by her answer. “Business?”

  Megan laughed but her laugh was devoid of humor. “Definitely not business. He says he needs space to figure out what he wants. He says I’ve changed.”

  Jaime curled his hands into fists.

  “He’s right too. Turns out I’m more of a Cohan than I thought.”

  “In what way?”

  Megan gestured at their surroundings. “There’s so much potential here. At the moment, we’re only producing small quantities of wine. The plan was to convert it into a full-fledged operation but Luca says he’s not ready and that all I think about is business.”

  “And what does he think about?” Jaime asked, keeping the avalanche of emotions he was feeling out of his voice.

  “Living life to the fullest. Having fun. He says you’re young only once and you shouldn’t waste it behind a desk,” Megan said.

  If that was the case, then all of the Cohan brothers had wasted their youth because all of them had worked to keep the company growing which in turn provided a livelihood to thousands of Candin Inc employees. “That’s warped thinking.”

  “I know. He’ll change though. I know he will,” Megan said.r />
  “Meanwhile, what will you be doing?” Jaime asked. “Twirling your fingers? That’s a terrible way to live Megs. You’re young, you should be doing great things. Living life to the fullest by chasing your dreams.”

  She lowered her head. Jaime inched closer and draped his arm around her. “There’s no shame in admitting that you made a mistake.”

  A sob burst out of her, followed by another until she wa openly crying on his shoulder. Jaime felt as if he would burst from the painful contractions of his heart. Megan was his little sister. It was his job to protect her.

  He felt so helpless. It was a good thing that her useless husband was away. He would not have controlled himself around Luca.

  “Go back home Megs,” Jaime said when she stopped crying.

  “He’ll come back to his senses. He’s a good man,” she said.

  Jaime shook his head. His brother-in-law was a selfish, immature, unambitious man and by marrying Megan, he’d landed himself a permanent meal ticket.

  Even if she wasn’t active in the company, Megan drew an allowance every month from their father. That was probably what Luca used for his travels or whatever it was he did when he was away.

  “Enough about that. Tell me about Ariana,” she said.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Is she regal? Stiff?” Megan said.

  He laughed. “Ariana cannot be stiff. She’s the kindest, warmest, funniest person I know. She makes me forget about all the horrible things I’ve seen in this world and concentrate instead on the beauty that’s in it.”

  Megan sighed. “You sound so in love.”

  He turned to her. He and Megan had always been straight with each other. He wasn’t going to start lying to her now. “I’m not in love with Ariana.”

  “I don’t understand. You’re engaged, right?”

  “Yes, but it’s fake,” Jaime said and proceeded to tell her everything that had transpired to get them to that point.

  Megan was visibly shocked. “That’s crazy, even for you Jaime.”

  “I know but I have to help her out. I wish you could meet her. She’s an awesome person. Nothing like you’d expect of a Princess,” Jaime said.

  “Are you sure you don’t have feelings for her?” Megan said. “You sound like a man in love.”

  “No, we’re friends. We clicked right from the beginning,” Jaime said. His attention was caught by a whirring sound coming from above. “What’s that?”

  “Just a helicopter.” Megan’s voice sounded far off.

  “Hide! Under the bushes, now!”

  “It’s the army!”

  Jaime did as he was told and crouched under the bushes. He was well aware how a confrontation between the rebels and the army would end up. With him dead.

  Someone was shaking him and calling his name. It sounded like Megan. What was she doing in Afghanistan? He blinked.

  “Jaime, what is it?” Megan said, her eyes wide open with fear.

  He was crouched underneath the rock.

  “Dang!”

  He hadn’t had an episode in so long that he had started to believe that he was on the road to healing. He got up and started walking. He was too restless to sit.

  “Talk to me Jaime,” Megan said, running to catch up with him.

  “PTSD. It’s—” he started to say.

  “I know what it is. How long has this been going on for? Why didn’t anyone tell me? Are you getting help?”

  Jaime knew that her questions were coming from a place of love. But all that didn’t matter. What mattered was that now, it was for sure. He could never date Ariana. Not in the position she was in. A princess of Asencia could not have a real relationship to a man who had serious mental issues.

  Chapter Nine

  All sorts of thoughts ran through Ariana’s mind as she waited for Jaime’s plane from Italy to land. What if he didn’t show up? They hadn’t spoken since he left for Italy. All she had were his flight details. It seemed as if the whole country had been waiting for a royal romance to happen.

  Everyone was caught up in the story of how Ariana and Jaime had fallen in love and that Jaime had not known that she was a princess. She felt as if she had entered a speed train and she couldn’t get off.

  How was Jaime going to cope with the attention and questions about his life? The good thing was that the press in Asencia were not as aggressive as those in America. Once the initial excitement died down, it would be back to business. The trick was to be accessible to them and to satisfy their curiosity.

  Which led Ariana to another worry. Would their fake relationship hold up under close scrutiny? The whole country finding out that her engagement was fake would be an even bigger humiliation that being publicly dumped for another woman.

  “Her Royal Highness,” one of her security aides said, bowing slightly. “Mr. Jaime Cohan’s flight has landed. He should be out shortly.”

  Ariana’s heart dropped to her belly. She was going to see Jaime in a matter of minutes. “Thank you.”

  Less than three minutes later, Jaime strode into the VIP lounge and as soon as she saw him, Ariana let out a cry, jumped from her seat and ran to him. She threw her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

  All her worries dissipated. With Jaime in Asencia, everything would be all right. He pulled away and cupped her face and then kissed her. She should have told him that there was no press in the VIP lounge. Instead, she parted her lips and allowed Jaime to deepen the kiss.

  She had missed his scent. And the feel of his hair as she threaded her fingers through it. His hands roamed her back and pressed her into him, making her feel as if they had become one.

  He drew the kiss to a close with a gentle brush of his lips against hers. “I missed you,” Jaime murmured, staring into her eyes.

  Ariana let out a nervous laugh. He was taking it too far. There was no one to hear them. “Welcome to Asencia.” She took a step back and his hands dropped from her waist.

  “Thanks!” Jaime said.

  “We have your luggage sir,” one of the security men told Jaime.

  “Great, thanks,” Jaime said and then turned to Ariana. “I could get used to this treatment.”

  She laughed. “Let’s go. Everyone is waiting to meet you at home.”

  Their privacy ended as soon as they stepped out of the VIP lounge and headed out of the terminal. The security men surrounded them as cameras went off around them and cameramen and paparazzi shouted questions.

  “Jaime Cohan, how does it feel to reunite with your fiancée?”

  “is it true that your engagement was a shotgun affair?

  “Did you know that Princess Ariana was once engaged to someone else?”

  “Princess Ariana, will you invite Duke Kyan and his wife to your wedding?”

  Ariana stopped walking. From her experience, sometimes the best way was to be open. She understood that they were doing their jobs, even if the majority of the time, it felt like a gross invasion of privacy.

  Someone shoved a microphone in the security man’s hand who in turn held it for her. She smiled. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. As you can see, my fiancé, Jaime Cohan, has just arrived and I’m looking forward to showing him my home and introducing him to my people. I’d like to ask for a favor from all of you. We want Jaime to love Asencia, right?”

  They chuckled.

  “Let’s give him the space to get to know our country. We’ll be happy to do some formal interviews and then let Jaime enjoy his stay. What do you say?”

  They clapped and slowly dispersed. As Ariana and Jaime headed to their car, only a handful of paparazzi followed, and then, only from a distance.

  JAIME WHISTLED WHEN they got into the car and shut the door. He had seen a side of Ariana he had never seen. Her addressing the press like that. She’d used a cajoling, ‘we’re friends, right?’ kind of tone that had disarmed them.

  “What?” she said.

  “You were awesome back there. Whe
re did you learn to speak like that?” Jaime asked and immediately realized how stupid that question was. “Of course you’re trained!” he said answering his own question. She was a princess so public speaking went with the territory.

  She laughed. “You have to be friendly if you want them on your side.”

  “I see that now,” Jaime said.

  He was too excited to pay attention to the landscape as they drove to the palace. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Ariana. “You look different.”

  “Different how?” Ariana asked.

  He searched her face. “It’s your hair. I’m not used to seeing it held in a bun.”

  She laughed. “This is my default hairstyle when I’m in Asencia.”

  He reached out and pulled out a pin and then another. Ariana laughed and tried to move away. “This suits you better.”

  She laughingly shook her hair out. “You’re crazy and I’ve missed you.”

  “That’s better,” Jaime said, as a flash of attraction raced through him.

  “How is Megan?” Ariana said.

  He hadn’t intended on telling anyone Megan’s situation but he found himself talking about it to Ariana. He needed to let it out and Ariana was the perfect person. She and Megan did not know each other and the chances of the two women meeting was next to nil.

  “I don’t understand why she can’t see that she’s wasting her life on a marriage that’s as good as dead,” Jaime said as he wound up the tale.

  “No one wants to admit failure,” Ariana said softly.

  “I’ve been wracking my brain on what I can do or say to make her see her situation for what it is. To get her to go home.”

  He was relieved when he left Italy. Seeing his sister so dull, so defeated, had been painful.

  “Only Megan can get herself out of that situation,” Ariana said. “All you can do is keep in touch in case she wants to talk.”

  He patted her knee. “You’re right.”

  Ariana covered his hand with hers. Warmth enveloped him and suddenly he had to have her in his arms. He had to kiss her. He slipped his hand along her jawline, tilted her head and sealed his mouth over hers.