Elspeth took the box from him, her mouth open in surprise as she looked from the ring up to Fraser’s face.
‘I was going to break up with you,’ she said, a ghost of a smile on her lips.
‘I know. And if you’d told me that you didn’t love me and you didn’t want to be with me you’d have never known that this existed.’
‘But you thought you might be able to talk me round?’
‘I hoped,’ he said, pulling her tight against him. ‘I hoped like I swear I have never hoped before that I wouldn’t have to. That I was right to trust in what I feel. That I was right to think that you love me, and that what we share will be strong enough to survive this.’
‘You have a lot of faith in me. In us.’
He nodded. ‘I have faith in you. And I have faith that I know how to make you happy.’
‘You know that I come as a package deal? Do you really want to move in here?’
He shrugged. ‘I would do it in a heartbeat if you asked. Are you asking?’
‘Are you asking?’ Elspeth said, her face breaking out into a grin. ‘Diamond rings usually come with a question.’
He laughed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and taking the ring back from her.
‘You’re right. I’m doing this all wrong.’
Keeping hold of her hand, he dropped to one knee in front of her.
‘Elspeth, I have wanted you every day for the last six months, and I will love you every day for the rest of my life. Will you please put me out of my misery and agree to be my wife?’
She looked down into the face of the man she loved and saw all the possibilities for their future in his hopeful gaze. ‘I will, Fraser. I love you and I’ll be your wife tomorrow if I can.’
She pulled him up by the hands until he was standing in front of her, then wound her arms round his neck and pulled him in close.
Fraser laughed, the deep, rich timbre of his mirth muffled by her hair. ‘I’m more than tempted to take you up on that, but I trust that you’re not going to change your mind. Anyway, now this wee bairn is so close...’ he smoothed a gentle hand around her bump ‘... I’d quite like to share the day with him, or her. What do you think?’
‘I think that sounds perfect,’ Elspeth replied, her face buried in his neck. ‘I think that sounds like everything I’ve ever wanted.’
EPILOGUE
AS ELSPETH RAPPED her knuckles on the black front door, the sunlight caught the pretty row of diamonds on the third finger of her left hand and she smiled, wondering if she would ever get used to seeing them there. If she would ever glance at them and not be reminded of that evening in her mum’s kitchen, when she had realised that despite all her best efforts to sabotage things Fraser loved her, and he wasn’t going to let her go. That, despite years of telling herself that she couldn’t have everything that she wanted, she was getting all that and more.
She dropped her hand back to her side and Fraser’s fingers curled through hers with an intimacy that was nowhere close to losing its thrill.
The door opened in front of them and Sarah was waiting for them in the hallway, beaming with happiness and pride. ‘Come in!’ she said. ‘Where is she? Where’s my niece?’
Elspeth glanced across at the car seat Fraser was carrying beside him and was almost overwhelmed by tears at the sight of her baby daughter, tucked up in a blanket and snoring gently.
‘She’s so beautiful,’ Sarah said, mirroring Elspeth’s smile, causing more tears to well up. ‘Come through to the living room—I’m desperate to cuddle her.’
‘I’m to warn you that there are severe penalties for waking a sleeping baby,’ Fraser said, in a voice of mock seriousness.
‘That’s an auntie’s prerogative, surely?’ Sarah fired back, pulling her chair up beside the sofa where Fraser had left the car seat in order to get a better look at the baby. ‘Does she have a name yet?’
Elspeth glanced at Fraser. ‘We’re thinking maybe... Isabel. But we haven’t set our minds yet.’
‘Plenty of time to get to know her,’ Fraser said, smiling at Elspeth and then beaming at his daughter.
It was something else she would never tire of, she realised, that expression. The pure joy and pride and love when he looked at their baby. It was everything she had dreamed of since she had found out that she was pregnant. Before she had even thought to dream of him for herself.
The baby snuffled, grunted and pursed her lips, and Fraser, Elspeth and Sarah all laughed quietly.
‘I guess that’s my cue to get comfy on the sofa,’ Elspeth said, scooping the baby up and latching her on for a feed. ‘You said on the phone you needed Fraser to do you a favour? You should get him while you can. We’re thinking of going up to Ballanross for a few weeks, making the most of my maternity leave and spending some time there.’
‘I think I’m going to like having a brother-in-law,’ Sarah said. ‘He volunteers for DIY and he brings a castle into the family. I’ll like him even better when I get to see Ballanross for myself. How’s the building work going?’
‘Slowly,’ Fraser said, his face serious for a moment. ‘But we’re doing it right. We’re rebuilding the estate from top to bottom, and eventually we’ll be self-sufficient again. By the time this wee one is old enough to remember,’ he said, and smiled across at the baby, ‘it’ll be just how I knew it.’
Elspeth squeezed his hand, watching the interaction between her fiancée and her sister, seeing how they were supporting each other and feeling a warm glow of happiness.
Fraser had played an invaluable part in getting Sarah’s apartment ready. It had taken a lot of planning, and a leap of faith and confidence, but Sarah had been determined to move into a flat on her own, and Elspeth had finally seen that it was up to her to support her sister’s dreams—not get in the way. And now she was here, and she could see the pride on Sarah’s face as she showed them round her new flat, showed them the changes that had been made since she had first moved in a couple of weeks ago.
Which was why Elspeth was curious about what Sarah needed Fraser for. They’d had a team of builders in here to make sure the flat was perfectly adapted for Sarah and her carers. She’d thought it had all been taken care of already. But if her sister needed a favour, and Fraser was happy to help out, then who was she to interfere?
She pulled a cushion from the other end of the sofa and tucked it under her arm, looking down and watching the baby’s perfect round cheeks wobble as she fed.
Fraser returned, carrying a very large box and with a smile on his face. Sarah was just behind him.
She pointed at the large blank space above the TV. ‘Right, you and I are going to direct, Elspeth, and Fraser is going to do the heavy lifting.’
‘Okay...’ Elspeth said, as if she had an idea what her sister was talking about.
She’d found, over the years, that it was often just easier to go along with Sarah when she had one of her grand plans. Now she’d realised that her sister was perfectly capable of making her own decisions about where to live, she couldn’t really dispute what she planned to do now she was all moved in.
‘Where do you think we should hang this one?’
From the box Fraser pulled out a framed photo of Elspeth, Sarah and their mum, and held it against the wall.
Elspeth beamed—she’d had no idea that Sarah had been planning this. ‘It’s lovely,’ she said with a broad grin. ‘Centre of the fireplace, surely? Pride of place.’
Sarah agreed, so Fraser propped the frame against the wall and went back to the box.
He pulled out another picture—this one of Elspeth and Sarah, wrapped in a tight hug. Elspeth felt another wave of tears well up and knew she was fighting a losing battle. She smiled at her sister, who was watching her indulgently.
‘And the last one?’ Sarah said, gesturing for Fraser to get on with it, clearly still excited.
>
Fraser pulled out the final picture, and Elspeth gasped. It was her and Fraser and the baby, just hours after she had been born, still shell-shocked and dazed in the hospital.
‘I want you all right here on my wall,’ Sarah said. ‘Just because I wanted to move out it doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss you.’
Elspeth passed the now-sleeping baby to Fraser and squeezed her sister into a hug. ‘I miss you too. But I’m so proud of you,’ she added. ‘I’ve always known that you could do this. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t brave enough to let you do it sooner.’
‘You got there in the end,’ Sarah said with a smile. ‘And you brought these two along with you, so I guess it was worth it.’
Elspeth glanced from Sarah to Fraser and then down to the baby, who was still fast asleep in his arms, and couldn’t imagine any greater pleasure than this. Knowing that the people she loved most in the world were happy, safe, secure. Grateful and full of wonder that they had all been courageous enough to trust that their love for one another would be enough to make this a reality...to make them a family.
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Ellie Darkins
Conveniently Engaged to the Boss
Falling for the Rebel Princess
Holiday with the Mystery Italian
Newborn on Her Doorstep
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Princess’s New Year Wedding by Rebecca Winters.
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The Princess's New Year Wedding
by Rebecca Winters
CHAPTER ONE
“MIO FIGLIO? I know it’s early, but there are things I must talk to you about. Come to the apartment.”
Thirty-year-old Stefano sat up in bed. It was a shock to get a phone call from his father at 5:30 a.m., but his father’s entreaty shocked him even more.
“You mean now?”
“Please.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Stefano realized his father’s broken heart wouldn’t allow him to sleep, but then Stefano doubted anyone in the palace had known a moment’s rest for the past week. Alberto, his adored younger brother—his parents’ beloved son and heir to the throne—had just been buried yesterday at the young age of twenty-eight. There was no antidote for sorrow.
Stefano’s twenty-seven-year-old sister, Carla, and her husband, Dino, and two children, were just as grief-stricken over the loss of a wonderful brother and uncle. She was now first in line to the throne and would be queen when their father died or could no longer rule. The rules of succession fell to the firstborn, then the second or the third, regardless of gender.
Stefano would never rule.
Since his eighteenth birthday when he’d prevailed on his parents to be exempt from royal duty for the rest of his life, Stefano had been granted that exemption by parliament. From that time forward, he was no longer a royal, but he loved his family and they loved him. They’d all come together for this unexpected tragedy.
With Alberto gone, his mother looked like she’d aged twenty years and had gone to bed after the interment of her second-born son. The funeral had been too much for her.
Stefano had struggled with his pain and was forced to face the fact that he was now the only son of King Basilio. Though his father would rely more and more on Carla, he needed Stefano, too, and would lean on him for comfort. Stefano guessed that was why his father had summoned him this early in the morning. Forcing himself to move, Stefano dragged himself out of bed to shower and dress.
Before long he entered his parents’ private lounge off their bedroom in the north wing of the palace. His bereaved father turned away from the fireplace to look at him. “Thank you for coming, Stefano. Your mother is still in bed, overcome with grief.”
“As you are, Papà.” Stefano gave him a soulful hug. It would be impossible to get over the reality that Alberto had been killed in a car crash a week ago.
Stefano, who’d graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in the US, had been in Canada at the time, inspecting one of the Casale gold mines. Casale being an old family name dating back to the founding of Italy. Nothing had seemed real until he’d returned home to the Kingdom of Umbriano, located in the Alps. His father had met him after the royal jet touched down and they went to identify Alberto’s body.
Yesterday’s state funeral in the basilica of Umbriano, presided over by the cardinal who had also delivered the eulogy, had been a great tribute to Alberto, a favorite son revered by the people. Dignitaries of many countries had attended, including of course the royal family of the Kingdom of Domodossola bordering France, Switzerland and Italy.
Stefano would never forget the vacant look on the face of Alberto’s betrothed, Princess Lanza Rossiano of Domodossola, beneath her black, gauzy veil. He’d met war victims after serving a required year in the military in the Middle East who’d had that same lost, bewildered expression, their whole world wiped out.
The twenty-two-year-old daughter of King Victor Emmanuel of Domodossola had been betrothed to Alberto twelve months ago. Their marriage was supposed to take place a year from now on New Year’s Day, and her family had clearly been devastated.
Stefano, who was rarely in the country because of business, hadn’t met with King Victor’s family since his childhood when both families got together on occasion. Meeting them again at the funeral, he was shocked to see all three of the king’s daughters grown up. Not until he witnessed their bereavement did Stefano realize how terrible the news must have been for them. Stefano still couldn’t believe Alberto was gone.
“Sit down. We have something vital to discuss.”
By vital, his father must mean he wanted Stefano to stay around for a while, but that would be impossible because of Stefano’s latest gold mining project in Kenya. He needed to fly there the day after tomorrow to oversee a whole new gold processing invention that could bring in a great deal more money. Hopefully, it would serve as a prototype for all his other gold mines throughout the world. He imagined he’d be gone six weeks at least.
With his hands clasped between his legs, Stefano closed his eyes, knowing his father was in so much pain at the moment that he needed all their support, but he was curious as to what his father wanted to talk about.
“The wedding to Princess Lanza must go on as planned. Since losing Alberto, your mother and I have talked of nothing else. It’s imperative that you take your brother’s p
lace.”
Stefano’s head jerked up. “Surely, I didn’t hear you correctly.”
“I know this comes as a shock to you.”
Stefano shot to his feet, incredulous. “Shock doesn’t describe it, Papà.”
“Hear me out.”
Stefano groaned and walked over to the mullioned windows looking out on the palatial estate with the snow-covered peaks of the Alps in the distance. An icy shiver passed through his taut body.
“Our two countries need to solidify in order to build the resources of both our kingdoms. This necessary merger can only happen by your marrying Princess Lanza.”
Stefano wheeled around, gritting his teeth. “Years ago you gave me my freedom by parliamentary decree. I’m no longer a royal.”
“That decree can be reversed by an emergency parliamentary edict.”
“What?”
His father nodded. “I’ve already been investigating behind the scenes. Because of the enormity of this tragedy and their eagerness to see a marriage between our two countries happen, my advisors have informed me the parliament will reinstate you immediately.”
Stefano couldn’t believe it. “Even if it were possible, you’re not seriously asking me to marry Princess Lanza, are you? I haven’t been around her since she was a young girl. And I’m seven years older than she is.”
“That’s not a great age difference.”
Stefano tried to calm down. “Alberto was the one who was attracted to her. I can’t do this, Papà. Right now I’m doing everything in my power to develop more lucrative gold mines and invest the revenues to help our country grow richer. We don’t need the timber from Domodossola!”
His father shook his head. “What I’m asking goes a great deal deeper than cementing fortunes. Victor and I have had this dream of uniting our two families in marriage since the moment we both became parents of future kings and queens.”
“But it’s not my dream, Papà, and never could be,” Stefano said, attempting to control his anger. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do what you ask.”
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