by Holt, Layla
Daxton and Sala repeated the same sentiments and then Jaime excused himself to go and shower.
“Ariana will bring your food here, Jaime, and you can tell us how it really is out there,” her mother said.
Ariana waited for ten minutes before going to fetch Jaime’s food from the kitchen. She timed it perfectly as he strolled in a minute later, his hair matted to his scalp emphasizing his perfect jaw and his, oh so kissable, lips.
He sat down and she placed the dinner tray on his lap.
“Thanks Ariana,” he said, lifting the cover on the dinner plate. For the next few minutes no one spoke as they watched Jaime eat. When he was finished, he wiped his mouth and grinned. “Sorry, haven’t eaten anything since morning.”
Ariana laughed. “It’s fine.”
“Were you even chewing the food?” Daxton said.
Jaime laughed. “Not every piece.” He reached for his glass of water and drank it in one gulp.
“How was it?” the queen asked.
Jaime grew solemn. “There’ll be a lot of homeless people. The apartment block that was most affected by the earthquake is not safe to live and then there are the houses that just crumbled.”
Ariana’s heart squeezed. She tried to imagine having a home one day and being homeless the next. To make it worse, it was during the holidays. The one time of year when families were home celebrating with their loved ones.
“We must do something,” Ariana said. “We have to help rebuild.”
“That’s the long-term solution,” Jaime said. “It will take months to rebuild. Meanwhile they’ve been put in the town hall but they need bedding and basic stuff.”
Ariana and Sala exchanged a look. Ariana got up and fetched a notepad. Rallying people together for a good cause was something that she and Sala knew how to do.
Much later in the night, they said good night and everyone went to their private quarters. Jaime escorted Ariana to hers. They stood outside her door.
“I was worried about you,” she said.
“Don’t be. I was careful. I promise,” Jaime said, his voice hoarse and deep. He took a step to her so that their bodies were almost touching.
Ariana looked up into his eyes and she felt as if she was melting. She looped her arms around his neck, wanting to touch him. She tipped her head and brushed her lips against his.
A growl rose up Jaime’s throat and he circled her waist and almost slammed her body against his. She clung to him as she imagined all the things that could have happened to him out there. As the kiss deepened, Ariana realized that she was crying.
“What is it sweetheart?” Jaime asked, breaking the kiss.
“I don’t know. I’m just an emotional mess right now,” she said trying to laugh it off and failing.
Jaime kissed her forehead and held her tightly for a moment. Then he opened her door and turned her around. “You need your rest. As much as I’d love to stand here all night kissing you, it wouldn’t be fair. Now, go and sleep.”
She liked it when he was protective over her. “Okay. Night.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jaime lugged another box of supplies into the corner of the town hall where they’d erected a temporary store. He handed it to a brisk woman whose name was Brillia and she in turn placed it on top of another one.
He turned and caught sight of Ariana’s dark locks as she handed out packages to families. Princess Sala was on the other end of the town hall doing the same and Crown Prince Daxton was moving about on his crutches overseeing the distribution of care packages and encouraging volunteers.
It was a week since the earthquake, but it seemed like a month. There had been so much to do and his body still ached from hours of standing. Jaime had never once thought that he’d be grateful for the period when he’d been kidnapped.
But it had trained him to stand and walk for hours, which he’d needed that past week. He’d gravitated towards the veterans and on the last day of clearing rubble, they’d invited him to join their organization of volunteers. Jaime had immediately agreed even though he’d no idea of how long he was going to stay in Asencia.
He and Ariana were pretty much winging it but something had happened to him since his arrival. He’d received invitations to be a patron of various charitable organizations and some really excited him. He thought he could do a lot of good in Asencia.
But it all depended on how things went between him and Ariana. There was no doubt about the physical attraction between them. The chemistry they had could light a bonfire. The one worry was his PTSD. So far it hadn’t appeared and he was clinging to the hope that he was now healed.
The therapist back home had not been able to tell Jaime whether it was temporary or it would be permanent. He was beginning to believe that it was gone. He hadn’t had a flashback in a while and his thoughts rarely meandered to that horrible time.
Ariana, as though sensing his stare, turned and met his gaze. Her lips curved into a smile and he smiled back. His chest rose up and down as the pace of his heartbeat increased.
He wanted her in his life permanently. He needed her. With Ariana, he felt as if he was finding his place in the world.
“She’s always been beautiful,” an unfamiliar voice said beside him.
Jaime turned to the stranger, decked out in clothes that identified him as aristocrat. He offered his hand and Jaime took it.
“My name is Kyan,” he said, an arrogant smile playing at the edges of his mouth. “You must be the American that Ariana brought to Asencia.”
Jaime fought to keep his cool. “The name is Jaime Cohan,” he said. He refused to show the other man that his dismissive tone infuriated him.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Kyan said, his eye on Ariana.
Jaime wanted to punch him. He had no right to even look at her after what he’d done. “How is your wife? Isn’t she a friend of Ariana’s?”
Kyan swung his gaze back to Jaime. He narrowed his eyes, probably trying to figure out if Jaime had heard the disgusting tale. “She’s fine,” he said but his self-confidence went down a notch.
“Hello darling,” Ariana said, appearing in front of him.
He hadn’t seen her come to him. Jaime opened his arms and she stepped into them. He forgot about Kyan as she looped her hands around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth.
Her eyes were dancing when she broke the kiss. He tucked her in his arm.
“I see you’ve already met,” Ariana said and they both answered in the affirmative.
Kyan had lost his arrogant smile and he looked as if he was itching to get away while Ariana looked as if she was enjoying it.
“How are your parents Kyan, and Evalla?” she said.
“They are well and send their regards,” Kyan said.
“Do send them mine,” Ariana said.
He nodded grimly as if he had just gotten some bad news. He excused himself and without looking at Ariana again, he left.
“I’d like to note an observation,” Jaime said, adopting a newsy tone. “That the Duke regrets his past decisions and wishes he could turn back the clock.”
Ariana laughed. “I doubt it but it was fun to see him squirm. I was enjoying myself a little too much.”
“He’s a cad and he deserved it,” Jaime said fiercely. “A cheat deserves everything negative that comes his way.”
She stared at him, all playfulness gone. “I can never be with a man who cheats on me.”
Jaime held her gaze. “I’d never cheat on the woman I love.”
Time stood still as they gazed into each other’s eyes and let the promise that Jaime had made sink in. He had never been as glad as he was at that moment that the Duke had left Ariana. He was sorry that she got hurt and was humiliated publicly but without that, she would be that rake’s wife.
The thought caused flashes in his vision.
“Ariana.”
The intense moment was broken. They both swung their gazes to Sala.
“I have an i
dea,” she said. “We should have a huge Christmas tree and a Santa here to lift up people’s spirits. They’ll be here a while.”
Additional temporary bathrooms had been added and because of the outpouring of donations they had received, the thirty families were well taken care of.
“I like it and we have a Santa standing right here with us,” Ariana said.
“I’m just putting it out there. I’ve never been a Santa but you’ll never see a more enthusiastic Santa,” Jaime said.
The last week, albeit exhausting, had made him feel more alive than he ever had in his life. And not just because he’d been able to help but he’d bonded with a few people, especially the veterans, and he felt as if he was finally penetrating the fabric of the people.
The Palace was great and all, but it was a different world from being amongst people.
BACK IN HER SUITE AT the palace, Ariana changed into comfortable clothes and climbed the stairs to a room at the top of the palace where her studio was located. She opened the door and swallowed hard as she stepped in.
Ariana let out a sigh as a riot of colors filled the evening skies. She had forgotten how sunset felt in the studio. Her father had had one side of the wall knocked down and replaced with glass. The roof was glass as well and during the day, light flooded into the room, sprinkling it with summer or winter colors.
She had missed it. Her stomach clenched as her gaze swung to the easel, expecting to see Kyan’s half-finished painting staring back at her. To her relief, what stared back at her was an empty canvas. As if she had placed it there herself, ready for a day of painting.
Except that she hadn’t. Only one person could have removed it.
Soft footsteps sounded behind her. Ariana turned around to see her sister-in-law peering into the studio.
“I went looking for you in your suite and when I didn’t find you, I hoped you were here,” she said. “Is it okay if I come in?”
“Of course,” Ariana said.
Sala came and stood next to her and linked her hand with hers.
“Thank you,” Ariana said. “I’m glad that last painting is gone. What did you do with it?”
Sala laughed. “Dax and I burned it. How did you know I was the guilty party?”
“You were the only one who knew what I was working on,” Ariana said. The painting of Kyan was almost done when he broke up with her. He’d even had the gall to ask her if she would finish it and give it to him.
“How was it seeing him today?” Sala said.
Ariana tried to remember what she had felt when she saw her ex for the first time in almost seven months. It hit her then that she was having such a hard time putting into words what she felt because she’d felt nothing.
“It was odd because I expected to feel bitter and sad, but I felt none of that,” Ariana explained. “It was as if it had all happened to someone else.”
“It’s because of Jaime,” Sala said.
Ariana let Sala’s words wash over her. It was a simple statement but it cut right to the core. Her sister-in-law was right. Jaime had healed her broken heart and made her whole again.
She’d not wanted to admit it to herself but the only reason that she was happy and excited for the future was simple. She was in love with Jaime Cohan. Ariana felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. In a good way.
Jaime was all man and with him she felt safe, both physically and emotionally. They were as unalike as two people could be, at least from the outside, but he was her kindred spirit. He had filled a part of her that no man had ever come close to filling.
“I’m happy for you,” Sala said. “Everyone in the kingdom is. Plus, I think Kyan and Evalla have been punished enough.”
Ariana turned to look at her sister-in-law. “What are you talking about?”
“Their wedding was a disaster as I was told. Three quarters of the invited guests did not show up and since then, no one invites them for parties anymore. It’s almost as if they have been ostracized from society.”
“But that’s so archaic!” Ariana cried.
“What they did was unforgiveable, at least in the people’s eyes. They broke the heart of their favorite Princess,” Sala said. “But I feel sorry for Evalla.”
“Is she not happy?” Ariana asked.
“No, but society is not helping either. Evalla was naïve. I’m not extricating her from blame but Kyan shouldered most of it. He was older and wiser and should have known better.”
The three of them had been best friends but Evalla and Sala were closer. Ariana understood the sympathy that Sala felt for Evalla but she was not a child and she’d known that seeing Kyan behind Ariana’s back was cheating and betraying her friend.
“It doesn’t matter now, to be honest,” Ariana said. “I’ve moved on and I wish them all the happiness in the world.”
“Actually, there’s a reason why I brought it up,” Sala said. “Evalla and Kyan are hosting a Christmas Eve party and they would like you and Jaime to be there.”
Ariana was at a loss for words. Their friendship could never be rebuilt so what was the point of that invitation? The answer came to her immediately. If she attended the party, it would give a green light to everyone else to forgive Kyan and Evalla.
Chapter Fifteen
Ariana waited with everyone else inside the town hall for Santa to arrive. She stood with her mother, Sala, and Daxton. All of their eyes were glued to the entrance. Surrounding them were security aides and staff, all trying their best to blend in with everyone else.
Parents stood to the walls and the children lined up along the two sides, forming a path that led to the six foot Christmas tree that had been put up and decorated the previous day. The walls were decorated with ‘Merry Christmas’ signs, berry-filled garlands, colorful ribbons, giant red bows and other Christmas decorations.
Sweet Christmas music wafted through the air, further enhancing the holiday atmosphere. There was palpable excitement in the air. Sala had been right. The families all needed a distraction after the horror of losing their homes in the earthquake.
Ariana’s belly rumbled at the sweet scent of baked cookies. She had requested the palace bakers to make some cookies for the day as well as hot chocolate for everyone.
She heard Santa before she saw him.
“Ho ho ho!”
Her lips curved into a smile as the familiar deep voice curled around her and she almost shut her eyes to soak in it. Then she saw him, looking like the perfect Santa in his suit and white beard.
He stopped to pick children up and give them rides on his shoulders. Ariana burst out laughing when he and the children formed a circle and broke into some sort of dance.
“He’ll never reach his chair,” Sala said to her.
“He looks like he’s having just as much fun as the children,” Ariana said and let out a soft sigh.
Her heart felt full as she mused over how lucky she had been to meet Jaime. If Mrs. Cohan had been there at that moment, Ariana would have thanked her profusely for setting her up on a blind date with her son.
Santa finally reached his destination, and the children formed a queue to sit on Santa’s lap and get a gift. Several palace staff had dressed up as elves and they helped Santa to distribute gifts.
An hour later, every child had a gift. When the last child left Santa’s lap, Ariana made her way to Santa. Grinning mischievously, she did as the children had done and plopped down on Santa’s lap.
“Ho, ho, ho,” Jaime said, his voice filled with laughter. “Have you been a good girl this year?”
“I have Santa,” Ariana said. “I have a question for you. Where’s Mrs. Santa?”
“The answer’s a secret,” Santa said. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Sure, I can,” Ariana said.
Santa leaned towards her, brushing his huge beard against her cheek and ear. “There’s no Mrs. Santa yet. I’m waiting for my fiancée to say yes to becoming Mrs. Santa.”
Her heart pounded hard as his
whispered words washed over her. Santa hadn’t finished speaking.
“You see,” he continued. “I’m in love with her but I haven’t told her this yet. I’m worried that she might not reciprocate my feelings.”
Joy and excitement collided, making goosebumps form on her skin. He was in love with her!
She cupped his big face. “Oh Santa—”
“Ariana, you’ve hogged enough of Santa’s time and the girls are waiting at the palace for their turn,” Sala said, and the moment was broken.
Santa said goodbye to everyone and they all returned to the palace. In the car, Ariana couldn’t sit still. She tried to sneak looks into Jaime’s eyes to gauge what he was feeling, but his Santa costume obliterated her view. She couldn’t wait until they were alone again.
Back at the palace, Jaime stayed back and entered a few minutes later to fool the girls. It worked like a charm and they were excited that Santa had come to visit them in their home.
While Jaime was with the girls, Ariana quietly left for her father’s suite.
“How’s Papa faring?” she asked the nurse.
“He’s well, happy to see his daughter again I’m sure,” she said with a smile and left the room.
“Papa,” Ariana said, pulling a chair closer to his bed. She took his cool hand into hers. “How I miss you! I know you’re going to come back to us when you’re ready.”
She told him about the day and what a great Santa Jaime had made. Ariana thought about what he had said. That he was worried that she did not reciprocate his feelings. If only he knew. Jaime occupied her thoughts all of the hours she was awake and, she suspected, during her sleeping hours as well.
A movement in her hand brought her out of her thoughts. She looked down at her father’s hand and then looked at him. She drew in a sharp breath. “Did you move your hand Papa?”
His features remained still. Frustration welled up inside her. She could have sworn that he had shifted his hand. It wasn’t her imagination but if she told her family, no one would believe her.
She lifted her father’s hand and kissed it. “I miss you Papa. I can’t wait for you to wake up and meet Jaime properly.” She stayed with him for another half an hour, watchful for any movement he might make, but nothing else happened.