A Royal Holiday (Royals of Valleria #5) (8 page)

“Charlie thought of that? I assumed it had been you.”

Rebecca shook her head while Alex massaged her neck. “She was really helpful today, and not just with that idea. She helped me see things in a different light.”

“Oh? Like what?”

Rebecca turned and wrapped her arms around Alex, who let go of the cloth and hugged her in return. “She’s used to dealing with this sort of situation, since Nate has quite a past. She just gave me a different perspective on things.”

“And now you feel better about things?”

“As well as can be expected.” She cupped his face with her wet hands. “I never doubted you or us; you know that, right?”

“Of course. I just don’t like to see you hurting and, with this situation, I did hurt you.”

Rebecca shook her head. “Not intentionally. There’s a difference.”

“You’re right, but I still feel terrible about it.”

Rebecca cocked her head to the side. “There’s something else you should feel terrible about.”

Alex gave her a wary look. “What?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that a man asked Cat out on a date right in front of you?”

“Oh.” Alex blinked, not at all expecting the accusation. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you.”

“Didn’t you? Total honesty, Alex,” she said, repeating the vow they’d made to each other.

Alex sighed. “Yes, all right. I didn’t tell you. I was kind of hoping they’d call off the date before the ball arrived.”

“Why?”

“Because Mama’s got some ridiculous notion in her head that Cat needs to get married, and I’m afraid Cat will do something stupid.”

“Like what? It’s only a date.”

“But they might get married, just to keep Mama at bay.”

“Cat would never do that.” Rebecca didn’t add that Cat would, however, date and maybe even become engaged to someone to appease her mother.

“Listen, if you want to fight about this, can we do it later? I have my very sexy fiancée, naked and wet, plastered against me, and I’d rather not discuss my sister or mother while in this position.”

Rebecca smiled. “Poor baby. Did you have something else you’d like to talk about?”

He pulled her mouth to his and began to distract her from any discussion whatsoever.

Family dinner was in full swing when Marcello entered the dining room. Before taking his seat by Grace, he went over to Alex and leaned down to his ear.

“We need to talk, right after dinner.”

Alex nodded but gave Marcello a quizzical look. Marcello simply shook his head; he didn’t want to discuss the issue further with so many ears nearby.

Marcello gave his mother and grandmother a kiss on their cheeks, then gave one to Grace before he sat down beside her. A plate of delicate fish appeared before him and he began to dig into the food.

“Hungry?” Grace asked as she placed one of her slim hands on his thigh. “Did you skip lunch again?”

He nodded; caught up in work, he often skipped lunch, though he didn’t mean to.

“What’s going on? I got worried when I didn’t hear from you this afternoon.”

Marcello lifted her hand from his thigh and gave it a soft kiss. “I’m sorry, fair Grace. I didn’t mean to make you worry.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear; to the others it would simply look like two lovers sharing a secret. “Something’s come up with Alex’s problem.”

Grace casually took a drink of cool water; Marcello’s breath against her ear warmed her body just a little too much in this crowd of people. “I see. Is it resolved?”

“Not nearly.” Marcello pressed a soft kiss behind her ear before pulling back and returning to his meal. “I’m hopeful, though.” Marcello quickly checked his phone, to see if his team had made any progress; nothing yet.

Grace nodded. Sensing he needed a distraction, she asked, “So, tell me, my prince, what is it that you’d like for Christmas?”

The corner of Marcello’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “I don’t think I can say it here.”

Grace laughed softly; she should have known he’d say something like that. “Don’t be crude. What else would you like? I’ve already arranged a gift for you, you see, but I’m not certain if you’ll like it.”

Marcello ate his final forkful of food and wiped his mouth. “I’m sure it’s perfect, whatever it is. Are you really having trouble figuring out if I’ll want it?”

“Yes. What do you get the man who has nearly everything?”

“What do you get the woman who has nearly everything? I think I’m having the same problem you’re having, fair Grace.”

Grace nodded. “Perhaps we should skip gift giving this year.”

Marcello scoffed. “Not on your life. Besides, I told you: we have a tradition when it comes to gift giving.” Grace frowned; she’d nearly forgotten. She wasn’t sure the gift she had in mind should be revealed in a crowd.

“Are you all right, Grace?” Cat asked. “Has Marcello upset you?”

“If he has, I can kick his ass for you,” Lorenzo chimed in, and his mother scolded him for his language.

“I’d like to see you try, little brother,” Marcello retorted.

“I’m fine, perfectly so,” Grace said quickly. Even though she knew they were teasing each other, she still didn’t like the confrontation and wanted to diffuse it. “Marcello was just telling me about your Christmas gifting tradition.”

Mischievous grins broke out on the faces of the brothers around the table, while all the sisters groaned.

“It started out a lovely tradition,” Carolina said. “We all open one present each on Christmas together, and the rest are tucked away in our rooms to open later. It was the boys who ruined it.” The brothers started to protest.

“They’re terrible,” Sarah said as she pushed back her golden hair over her shoulder. “The boys always find a way to torture or scare us with their gifts.”

“Don’t place all the blame on us,” Nate said, his arm draped casually across the back of Charlie’s chair. “You girls did your fair share of tormenting.”

“Nathaniel does have a point. However,” Genevieve said as she gestured to Rebecca, Grace, and Charlie, “since our family has grown so much over the last few months, I think we should avoid those types of gifts this year.”

“I second that,” Marcello agreed. “I don’t think we should set out to embarrass anyone this year.” He gave a few of his brothers pointed looks.

Alex shook his head. “Of course we shouldn’t embarrass anyone.”

“Is this really the best idea?” Lorenzo asked as the dinner plates were whisked away and plates of tiramisu were brought out. “If they’re really part of the family, they should take part in all of the festivities.”

“You just want to scare them,” Carolina said.

“Of course I do,” Lorenzo said and wagged his eyebrows. After a handful of cloth napkins were thrown in his direction – a fairly usual occurrence – he grabbed them and set them to the side. “What? If they’re basically my sisters, I should treat them as such.”

“Show them a little more respect than that, Lorenzo,” Ethan interjected. “Hell, you could even show me more respect than that.”

“He treats you like that because you’re the baby of the family, kid,” Nate said, using a nickname Ethan clearly didn’t like by the look on his face.

“Just because I’m the youngest in the family doesn’t mean I’m a child. I’m a doctor in the Navy for fuck’s sake.”

“Language, Ethan,” Genevieve said, though she said it with a softer voice than she’d used a few moments ago with Lorenzo, while scolding him for the same thing.

“Mama.”

“Don’t ‘Mama’ me, Ethan Robert Louis Santoro di Valleria.” All of the siblings, not just Ethan, winced at the use of his full name. No one wanted to be ‘full-named’ by their mother.

“We’re all very proud of your accomplishments, but that doesn’t give you the right to be crude at the dinner table.”

“Yes, Mama,” Ethan said sullenly.

“Good. Now then,” Genevieve said turning to Charlie. “Did you make this, Charlotte? It’s absolutely divine.” A chorus of agreement sounded from around the table.

Charlie blushed and Nate’s hand squeezed her shoulder in support. “I did, and thank you for the compliment.”

“How are the preparations for the ball coming?” Sarah asked Charlie. “Will you be making tiramisu for that, too?”

Charlie shook her head. “No, there’s a little different setup to the ball this year, since it’s also an engagement party. No sit down dinner. Just buffet tables, drinks, and dancing, so I’m making a lot of smaller desserts.”

“You’re making too much,” Nate said. “How many desserts have you selected thus far?”

Charlie bristled in her seat. “Only about ten, but there’s a separate buffet table for desserts only. It needs to have a wide variety.”

Nate kissed her temple. “Of course it does.”

“Don’t talk to me like that.”

Nate’s eyebrows shifted upward. “Like what?”

“Like I’m a child you’re indulging. My job is important.”

“Of course it is,” Nate said as his face fell to somber and he tugged her against him. “It’s very important. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Maybe not, but that’s how it sounded.”

He brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “I just think you’re working too hard, Charlotte-mine.”

“I appreciate you looking out for me, but I’ll be fine.” Charlie glanced over at Alex. “I don’t suppose you could find something to distract Nate for a while? He shouldn’t go back to work full-time, but I’m sure he could do something besides obsess about my workload all day.”

“I’m not obsessing,” Nate muttered.

“You are,” Charlie said and gave him a quick kiss. “I usually don’t mind it.”

Nate sighed and turned to Alex. “I suppose I could start transitioning back to my duties.”

Alex chuckled. “I’ll say you will. Come find me in the morning.”

Nate looked at Charlie again. “Do you mind a little more obsession for tonight?”

Charlie smiled. “I suppose I could put up with it.” Nate smiled back and kept her chair, and her body, flush against his.

“Shall we retire to the sitting room again? I thought coffee might be better near the fire,” Genevieve proposed.

Marcello shot Alex a glance. “Actually, Mama, I think it’s better if we split up tonight,” Alex said.

Genevieve gave him an appraising look. “That’s fine. Ladies, why don’t we meet in my sitting room then, and I’ll have some tea brought around instead. We can finalize our outfits for the ball.”

“Gentlemen,” Gabriel said. “Let’s meet in my study for a few moments.”

“What’s going on?” Alex asked Marcello when the room had emptied but for them.

“It’s Portia.”

Alex’s jaw clenched. “What now?”

“She’s here.”

“That’s not news. You already told me she was in Valentia.”

“I mean that she’s here, in the palace.”

“How the fuck did she get into the palace? What is she doing here? Did the paparazzi see her?”

Marcello held up his hands. “Calm down. No one saw her. I arranged to have her brought here.”

Alex’s mouth fell open. “You what?”

“I had someone contact her. No, they weren’t followed to the meet, nor were they recognized as one of my men.”

“Unless she had a camera or microphone recording the whole damn conversation.”

“I sent my man with a jammer that blocked any recording equipment, including cameras, nearby. He posed as a reporter from a local paper wanting to buy the pictures.”

Alex crossed his arms over his chest. “What did she say?”

“She said she wanted to meet with you as part of the deal.”

“She actually believed a reporter could arrange something like that? And what possessed you to bring her here? Like hell I’m seeing her.”

“Hear me out.”

Alex shook his head. “She betrayed me and, worse than that, her actions hurt Rebecca.”

“I know how you feel. Believe me, I do. I’d feel the same if this were happening to Grace.”

“Then why is she here, in our home, no less?”

Marcello sighed. “So we can search her hotel room while you keep her occupied. I’ve already uncovered two safety deposit boxes under her name, both of which were clean. However, there was a third one she opened years ago using her mother’s maiden name, and she emptied that one out before coming to Valentia.”

“You think it held the video, and that she brought it with her?”

“If there is a video, then, yes, I do.” Marcello handed him a small earpiece. “Put this in. My men are searching now. If we find it while you’re talking to her, I’ll let you know.”

“That may not be her only copy.”

“And that’s something you can find out during your conversation.”

Alex nodded and slipped in the earpiece. “And you’re sure no one saw her come in? The last thing we need is more of this scandal.”

“Especially since the whole country is now abuzz with potential baby news, right?”

“Shut up.”

Marcello chuckled. “Just stating the obvious. Look, she doesn’t know the reporter was one of ours. I made it look like he arranged the meet at the palace. We used one of our secure cars that’s disguised like a taxi to pick her up. If anyone saw her, they’d think she was a tourist wanting to see the palace lit up at night and catch a glimpse of the Royal Christmas Tree decorated outside.”