Page 54 of One Hot Christmas

No, she didn't say that with any sincerity. She sounded defeated.

Will Princess Olivia ever accept me? I don't care about that. Only one thing matters. Will Ben stay with me even if his family disapproves?

Chapter Twenty-One

Ben

The Lockhart women have decided to show my mother what normal life is like for normal people. Yeah, that's going to lead to a meltdown of nuclear proportions, for sure. I love Mum, but she can be a bit of a snob sometimes. She married Dad at age twenty-one and became a princess three years later, so Mum has spent decades perfecting her royal attitude. I think she also built a shell around herself as protection against the inevitable verbal attacks. We did have a few instances of physical attacks, but they involved eggs thrown at my parents or toilet paper strewn over the trees outside the castle. None of us were in any real danger. It was teenagers having a lark.

I can vaguely remember when I was little and my mum and dad used to play silly games with me. My sister Stephanie probably doesn't remember much of that since she's four years younger than I am. But I can still picture those days, before my parents got so caught up in being royal that they forgot how to have fun, even in private. When I was fourteen, I asked my mother why she'd gotten so uptight—yes, even royal teenage boys say stupid things like that—and I can still picture the look on her face. Lips tight. Eyes narrowed. The expression lasted only a second, two at most, before she reasserted her usual calm demeanor.

"A princess must be on guard every moment," she told me, "or the vultures will swoop in. We are more than figureheads. Wearethe nation of Mithoria, your father and I, and we must always be seen as sober and in command. You'll understand this when you're older, Bennett."

I do understand now, but I don't want to live the way she and Dad do.

The first stage of the Lockhart women's plan for my mother involves convincing her to buy a snowsuit and a flannel shirt. Princess Olivia in flannel? Not bloody likely. Mum will dress goth before she tries flannel of any sort. That's the snob's equivalent of wearing dirty clothes. I'm wearing a flannel shirt, though, and it's very comfortable. Sam bought me this shirt the other day. I put it on after Mum arrived, while she was having her chat with Sam. Waiting for the women to finish their discussion left me with nothing to do while I hid in the bedroom, and I couldn't resist walking out into the living room while wearing plaid flannel.

Mum's eyes bulged when she saw me. I swear they did.

She doesn't mind jeans, though she has told me many times that I'm "too old to dress that way." I asked what way she meant, but she just sniffed and puckered her lips.

I still wear jeans. Whenever I bloody well feel like it. And now I wear plaid flannel too.

Mum relaxes a bit on the drive into town, but when she sees the sign for the Discount Depot, I can tell she's struggling not to pucker her lips or say something snobby about the store. To her credit, she does not complain. She does, however, wait for Brakefield to open the car door for her and hold her hand to help her get out. I do the same for Sam. I would've helped Mum too, but she prefers to have Brakefield do it. Something about boundaries and propriety, or maybe I have clammy palms and that's why she never wants to touch my hand.

Sam kisses my cheek when I help her out of the car.

Mum does not kiss Brakefield's cheek. I think the bloke might run away in terror if she did that.

Inside the store, we find Sam's family already waiting for us. They're browsing the plastic bins that hold various knickknacks, like bobblehead toys and teddy bear key chains. Yes, I can envision Mum unlocking the castle door with one of those key chains and keeping her collection of bobblehead leprechauns on the sitting room mantel.

Sam introduces her family to Mum, and they're all thrilled to meet her, though not because she's a princess. Ella sums it up the best when she says, "We're sooo happy to meet you, Princess Olivia. Ben is super nice, and we knew you would be too."

I'm super nice? Maybe an endorsement from a ten-year-old shouldn't make me happy, but embarrassingly, it does.

Mum might not appreciate the simpler things in life, but she's always kind to children. She kneels to speak to eight-year-old Lily, offering a friendly smile. "You are as beautiful as any princess, and I'm very pleased to meet you, dear."

Yes, my mother can be nice. I've known that all my life, but I miss the days when she was always like this.

After the introductions are over, Chuck tosses a flannel shirt to my mother. "Try this on for size, Ollie."

Did he just call my mother, the Princess of Mithoria, Ollie? Yeah, he did. And I kind of love Chuck for doing that. I might even smack a wet one on his cheek.

My mother catches the shirt, lifting one brow. "Do you have one in blue?"

"Sure thing." Chuck grabs another shirt and tosses it to her. "Try this one."

"Thank you, Mr. Lockhart."

"Call me Chuck. We're kinda almost family now, aren't we?"

Mum glances at me. "I suppose we are."

For a moment, I can't move or speak. Just as I feel like I'm regaining my motor and brain functions, my mother slips a flannel shirt on over her dress and buttons it up, then she twirls to let us all see her ensemble—a designer dress and designer high heels with a flannel shirt from a discount store.

I think I've just had a stroke. Or a heart attack. Maybe it's just a panic attack since I have never seen my mother wear anything as ordinary as flannel, never in my entire life. First, she implies that Sam might join our family, then she does this. Did Chuck slip her some marijuana? I can't see any other explanation for Mum's behavior right now. It reminds me of the way she used to be when I was younger.

Next, the Lockharts help Princess Olivia choose the right snowsuit, which they insist she'll need when we all go snowmobiling.

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