Page 108 of A Princess for Christmas

Her father burst out of the doors, but she ignored him. “There’s no way I’m not coming with you! This is my fault. I’m the one who showed her.”

“You can’t.” Her father could not discover the cabin.

“Showed her what?” the king demanded. “What are you talking about? Where is Gabriella?”

Leo wasn’t about to let the cat out of the bag on Marie’s cabin. He hitched his head at the king.This is why you can’t come.

Marie shook her head, rejecting Leo’s silent message. “I don’t care if he finds out. Iwanthim to find out.”

Leo sighed. There was no point in arguing. There wasn’t time.

Mr.Benz rushed over. “I have a car ready out front if that will help.”

Leo nodded, and he didn’t bother protesting as the king and Mr.Benz got into the car with them. No one spoke. Leo watched Marie as they wound down the hill. She was sitting forward in her seat, as if she could will the car to go faster, and when they’d gone as far as they could, she said, sharply, “Here.”

Leo was out of the car before it came to a full stop. He led the way to the path, shining a flashlight Mr. Benz had given him and tamping down the snow as best he could with his stupid dress shoes—Mr. Benz had pressed coats on everyone but they were all still wearing their formal footwear—so that the people behindhim would have an easier time. When they had to turn off the formal path, it was slower going, but his fear propelled him forward. It was snowing too hard for any footprints to be visible, but he kept up a steady chant in his mind, like a mantra:She’ll be there. She’ll be there. She’ll be there.

He burst out into the clearing and only vaguely registered the king’s astonished “Dear god!” Leo was panting from the effort of running through the snow by the time he ducked through the doorway.

And there she was. Curled up into a little ball, asleep in a corner.

Shewasasleep, right?

“Gabby!” he shouted.

She woke instantly, surging to a seated position, her eyes wide.

Leo sagged against a wall, rage and relief at war inside him. Rage won. “Whatthe hellare you doing out here?”

“I’m sorry!”

Marie was there, suddenly, with Gabby, pulling her to her feet and hugging her. Which Leo supposed he should have done first, but he was mightily pissed.

“I got so sad in the library all of a sudden,” Gabby said in a small voice. “I started thinking about Mom and Dad. And then I started thinking about how you”—she pulled out of Marie’s embrace and looked her in the eye—“said that when you came here it made you remember your mom in a good way. I thought it might work for me, too.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Marie looked devastated as she hugged Gabby close again.

Leo’s heart was breaking. His poor, brave sister. The angerstarted to drain out of him. He had the absurd notion, all of a sudden, that even though he’d thought he was finishing this cabin for Marie, maybe he’d actually been building it for Gabby. Oralsobuilding it for Gabby. Because although it was cold in here, it was significantly less so than outside. And it was dry—no snow was getting in between those logs, thanks to Kai’s insistence on the Scandinavian saddle notch. “And then when I got here,” Gabby went on, “I realized I’d made a mistake.” Her voice was muffled by Marie’s body, but she seemed determined to finish her explanation. “The snow had gotten so deep. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find my way back to the road. It wasn’t as cold in here as outside, and I thought it might be safer to wait here, at least until it stopped snowing.”

She had made the right call, but Leo was still... what? Pissed? Relieved? Heartbroken?

All of the above.

Marie hugged Gabby again, and Leo walked over and wrapped his arms around both of them.

“I’m sorry, Leo,” Gabby said quietly as Marie extricated herself.

“Don’t say anything,” he heard Marie say, quietly but with conviction. “Now is not the time.” She was talking to her father.

He’d forgotten about the king, but of course there he was, looking around at the small cabin that had been started by his wife and finished by his daughter in direct defiance of his wishes.

Leo sighed. There was still the matter of... his whole future to deal with.

But then he looked at Marie, and she looked at him, and she smiled. And it was okay.

It would be all right, whatever happened. Gabby was safe.Marie loved him. It was Christmas Eve. They’d figure everything out tomorrow.

Mr.Benz appeared with a blanket and wrapped it around Gabby’s shoulders. “The forecast doesn’t show any sign of this letting up, so I suggest we depart as soon as we can.”

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