How to Propose to a Princess Page 15

  “Yes!” she cried. “Because you’re a magnificent man, one who’s destined for greater things than most men on this earth. It’s your birthright! You heard Basil. I saw the way he looked and spoke to you. He holds you in reverence and you can’t deny it.”

  “I deny nothing. But I’m beginning to wonder how you can consider making such a sacrifice, unless our love pales in comparison to the love you had for Dego. Is that what this is about? This morning your father asked if you’d forgiven him for sending Dego away. I find it amazing that after all this time, his name was still brought up. Is he the one you’ll never be able to forget? Is that why you’re able to consider letting me go?”

  “No, darling. You have this all wrong.”

  He headed for the bedroom. “Nothing you could say is going to take away my pain. Drive safely when you go home.”

  She followed him. “I’m not leaving. This is my home.”

  “I don’t think so. We might not have signed papers yet, but I already feel divorced.”

  “Don’t you know I only said these things because I don’t want to be the one who holds you back from your real purpose in life?”

  He wheeled around. “I thought we were going to make all our decisions together! I’m not at all certain what my real purpose in life is except to be your husband and the father of our children! I thought that was what you wanted.”

  “It is, or I wouldn’t be your wife right now. But, Nico, I was with you that day we drove to Biella and visited the orphanage. You revealed the secrets of your heart to me. I visited with those who loved you. You’re a unique man who has gifts the world needs.”

  “Needs my own wife can give up for the whim of the queen?”

  “How can you say it’s a whim?”

  “She found a way to get back at my father by making a decision she knew would tear me apart. But the only person who has torn me apart is you. I’m going out for a while, but I’ll be back.”

  “Please don’t leave—”

  “Just give me a little time.”

  He heard her call his name, but his pain was too deep, and he kept walking.

  * * *

  Nico, Nico. At two thirty in the morning he still hadn’t come home. Beyond sick, Fausta paced the floor. When she heard the ding on her phone she checked the text message.

  I’ve gone to the office. Won’t be home until after work.

  This was a Nico she didn’t recognize. She’d done this to him.

  Beyond tears, she lay awake until midmorning, soul-searching. As she sorted through their conversation, it stunned her that he thought she still loved Dego. He couldn’t be jealous of him!

  But the more she dug for answers, the more she understood that the orphan boy hadn’t owned anything of his own. He didn’t want to belong to anyone but his own parents. Everything he’d received while growing up had been given to him by well-meaning strangers. He didn’t have anything of his own until he’d earned his first paycheck as a doctor. Even then he sent money to Angelo.

  All his life had been a fight to compete and survive. Then he’d met her, and another kind of fight had ensued. He’d overcome the great obstacle in his mind to marry her knowing she was royal. Yet no sooner had they gotten married than Basil had shown up with the queen’s proposition. And what had Fausta done?

  She’d flung Nico’s love for her in his face when it was the last thing she’d ever meant to do. To tell him she’d give him a divorce after the two days of joy they’d just shared was so cruel, she couldn’t believe she’d said it. Fausta needed to repair the damage before any more time passed.

  The first thing she did was call his work. His receptionist answered. “Dr. Barsotti’s office.”

  “Hello? My name is Eugenia Santi. This is an emergency. Could the doctor see me at the end of the day? It’s a female problem that’s getting much worse.”

  “Are you bleeding?”

  “No, but the pain is severe.”

  “I see. Has he seen you before?”

  “Yes, but it was a house call.”

  “He has another late patient too, but why don’t you come at five thirty p.m. and I’ll see if he’ll fit you in after that. Otherwise you may have to go to the ER.”

  “Thank you.”

  The second she hung up, she showered and washed her hair. Then she put on a filmy dress in a blue and yellow print with flutter sleeves. With blue forget-me-not earrings and a splash of her favorite fragrance, she felt ready to take on her unsuspecting husband.

  Her heart was thudding so hard she was afraid the patients waiting for him could hear it as she entered the reception room and reported to the receptionist. The woman stared hard at her. “I’m afraid it’s going to be a wait, Signora Santi.” She’d noticed the blue diamond ring Fausta was wearing.

  “It doesn’t matter as long as I get to see him.”

  After an hour the receptionist told her she could go in. This was a whole new experience for Fausta, who’d never visited him here. Her excitement was off the charts when she entered his impressive-looking book-lined office.

  He wore a white lab coat and had been putting something into the computer. When he turned to her, the look on his face was worth all the trouble she’d gone to to surprise him. His eyes devoured her inch by inch.

  “I told your receptionist I was having female problems,” she began before he could say a word. “But I lied because it’s a heart problem. The worst kind there is, and it’s so painful no pill or operation can fix it. You see, it’s my husband. I hurt him so terribly, I don’t know how to win him back. At this point my pain is unbearable.

  “Please tell me you can help me. Maybe if I explain, you can give me some advice. You see, he has had to fight for everything all his life. He fought for me against all odds. But when it was my turn to fight for him, I told him I wouldn’t stand in his way if he wanted something more. It was the wrong thing to say. All he wanted was me and he has proven it over and over again.

  “Dottore? How do I prove that all I want in this life is his love? How do I convince him that what I once felt for a boy from childhood was simple puppy love? I didn’t know the meaning of love until I met my husband. If I don’t get help soon, I’m not going make it.”

  Nico’s expression didn’t change as he buzzed his receptionist and told her she could go home.

  “If you’ll step into the examining room, I’ll listen to your heart and we’ll go from there.”

  Holding her breath, she followed him into the other room.

  “Let me help you sit on the table.” He put his hands around her hips and lifted her with ease. Their bodies brushed together, sending a thrill through her. She waited breathlessly as he reached for his stethoscope and started listening to her heart. His jaw was pressed against her cheek. He smelled divine.

  “You’re right. A lot of damage has been done. It’s pounding way too hard to be healthy. I want you to lie down.”

  Heat swept over her as she lay back. He slid his hands up her arms and pinned her there. His eyes were like lasers as he examined her features. “Your poor husband. You’re so beautiful. He must have a heart attack every time he lets you out in public. My advice is that you go home and make love to him. Never let him go, not even after you’ve convinced him that you love him the way he loves you.”

  “I promise,” she whispered. “Kiss me, Dr. Barsotti, or I think I’m going to pass out from wanting you too much.”

  “Well we can’t have that. Not in my office.”

  His mouth found hers and he kissed her close to senseless. Tears beaded her lashes. Her husband had forgiven her. She couldn’t ask for anything more.

  “I have news, bellissima,” he murmured. “This afternoon I had a phone call from Basil. After he reported to the queen, she said that she’d only been testing me to see if I was an honorable man. If I hadn’t passed the test,
that would have been it. But because I loved you more than I loved anything else, she says she wants me to fly to La Valazzura with you.

  “Basil told me she’d like to meet the woman who was prepared to put me first if that’s what you wanted for me, even if it meant a divorce. With that kind of unselfish love, she feels you’ll make the perfect queen. I guess I have some serious rethinking to do where the queen is concerned.”

  “Darling—the room is spinning. I really think I’m going to pass out.”

  “Keep holding on. Don’t faint on me. We need to go home and talk about what we want to do. Our world is out there waiting, whichever one it is.”

  EPILOGUE

  THE SMALL ROYAL dining room of the palace had been lit with candles. A fragrance from the pink roses filled the ornate room. Fausta knew her mother had picked and arranged them for this delicious roast pig dinner to welcome Nico into the family. Jeanne, the head chef at the palace, had really outdone herself as a favor to Fausta to honor her new husband with his favorite meal.

  Her parents sat at one end. Lanza and Donetta sat across from each other with their husbands. Fausta and Nico had found their places at the other end. Their family had sat around this table all their lives, but tonight everything was different for Fausta. For the first time since she was a little girl, she no longer felt conflicted about being royal and enjoyed a sense of belonging that was new to her.

  Falling in love with Nico had changed her perspective on life. She knew a sense of completeness and was so full of joy she could hardly contain it.

  Her father tapped his wine goblet with a spoon and got to his feet. “What a glorious sight! Our three precious daughters married to husbands they love and who love them. What father or mother could ask for more, especially when they are the finest men Ginata and I know.”

  Fausta smiled at her husband, who squeezed her thigh beneath the table.

  “Nico—that’s how we know you—welcome to the family,” her father continued. “Whatever path you and Fausta choose to take, whether you remain Dr. Barsotti here in Domodossola, or Crown Prince Massimo in La Valazzura, we support you and wish you joy.

  “Our Fausta followed her dream to marry a commoner. You got your wish, poppet. We got our wish too, because he makes you so happy. And...it doesn’t hurt that he’s the son of King Carlo, a sovereign I always admired.”

  While everyone chuckled, Fausta’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Ginata and I are content and looking forward to enjoying our Rufy and soon-to-be born grandchildren for years to come. Therefore, we’ve decided now is the time for me to give up the crown. It will be conferred on Stefano, who is Lanza’s beloved and has been my rock since he joined the family.

  “The coronation will take place in a week because Enrico must soon get back to Vallefiore to run the affairs of his kingdom. Before he and Donetta leave, we want our whole family together to sustain Stefano as the new king of Domodossola.”

  Everyone clapped for Stefano, who hugged Lanza.

  When everyone had congratulated him, her father added, “If Nico decides to step in to his father’s shoes, then we’ll all fly to La Valazzura to see his coronation whether the doctor gives me permission or not.”

  “Papa!” the girls cried in fear.

  Suddenly her mother stood up. “Don’t worry. He may have been in charge all these years, but now that he’s stepping down, it’s my turn to lay down the law and I’m not letting him out of my sight! We’re not going anywhere. If necessary, we’ll watch Nico’s coronation on television.”

  Fausta squeezed Nico’s hand before hurrying to the other end of the table to hug her parents. Her sisters got there first.

  When she finally turned around, she saw the husbands huddled in one corner of the dining room talking quietly. It thrilled her that Nico was already bonding with his brothers-in-law. As she approached, Nico saw her coming and started toward her. Talk about a blinding light of happiness. Like Fausta, her husband had found peace.

  * * *

  Look out for the previous two books in The Princess Brides trilogy

  The Princess’s New Year Wedding

  The Prince’s Forbidden Bride

  And if you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Rebecca Winters

  Wedding the Greek Billionaire

  Falling for the Venetian Billionaire

  Captivated by the Brooding Billionaire

  The Magnate’s Holiday Proposal

  All available now!

  Excerpt from Christmas Baby for the Billionaire by Donna Alward.

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  Christmas Baby for the Billionaire

  by Donna Alward

  CHAPTER ONE

  THERE WERE MORNINGS when a girl just didn’t want to get out of bed, but she had to because a) she had to pee and b) she had to go to work because no one else was going to pay the bills.

  Tori closed her eyes, gathered her get-up-and-go and threw off the covers. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her job; she loved it. The Sandpiper Resort was her life. She’d started there doing housekeeping as a teenager and had worked her way up to assistant general manager, overseeing many of the day-to-day operations. Stepping inside the doors each morning felt as much like being at home as entering her own small house, bought just last year.

  So even though she was bone tired, despite having slept all night, she flipped on the light switch and turned on the shower. At least the morning sickness had been fleeting, lasting only a few weeks and consisting mostly of inconvenient nausea. Now in her second trimester, she simply got tired more easily. And was in the process of overhauling her wardrobe. Things didn’t fit anymore now that her baby bump had made an appearance.

  Thirty minutes later, hair blow-dried and makeup on, she left the house with her decaf coffee in a travel mug and made the five-minute drive to work. It had been mild for November, and she didn’t have to scrape the frost off her windshield this morning, which was a plus. On arriving at the hotel, she stepped inside, inhaling the fresh scent of evergreens. Once Remembrance Day had passed, the Christmas decorations had come out, turning the resort into a fairyland of white twinkle lights and pungent pine and spruce boughs punctuated with gorgeous red and gold bows. She greeted the staff at the front desk with a smile, then stopped at the kitchen to ask for a toasted bagel and some fruit—her usual breakfast fare.

  “You need some eggs for the little one, there?” Neil asked, his chef’s hat bobbing. “Mamas need prot
ein.”

  She grinned. “When are you gonna stop pampering me?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee. For a few weeks, she’d been turned off the smell of the brew. Now she inhaled the richness of it and sighed.

  “Never,” he replied, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Neil had been working in this kitchen since before she’d started cleaning rooms. Pretty soon his granddaughter would be looking for a summer job.

  Eggs did sound good this morning, so she smiled. “You know how I like them,” she acquiesced. “Thanks, Neil. You’re a gem.”

  “You betcha.”

  Ten minutes later one of the waitstaff brought her breakfast, as well as a glass of milk. “Neil says you need your calcium,” Ellen said, and even though she was younger than Tori, her voice came across as motherly.

  “Neil is being overprotective and I love it,” she remarked, smiling up at the waitress who’d joined their team last May. “Thanks.” She unrolled her cutlery from the napkin. “Everything going okay in the dining room?”

  Ellen nodded. “Slower now that the leaves are gone and no one really comes for the beach.”

  “I know. I’m sorry about the cut hours.”

  “It’s okay. It’s a seasonal thing. We all get it.”

  “We’ve got some holiday events planned, so if you’re up for working those, I’ll make sure you’re on the list for scheduling.” The ticketed events always meant decent tips, and Ellen’s eyes lit up.

  “I’d appreciate that. Thanks, Tori.”

  “No problem. It helps a bit when regular hours are short and Christmas is coming.” Besides, Ellen had proved herself to be competent and reliable. Throwing a few extra hours her way was small reward.

  Once Ellen was gone, Tori dug into her breakfast. Neil had added cheese to her eggs, and a little parsley...delicious. There were two slices of honeydew and a little dish of fresh strawberries, plus a whole-grain bagel with her favorite topping—plain cream cheese sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.