Page 107 of A Princess for Christmas

“Are we dancing like no one is watching?” she asked.

He laughed. “I suppose we are.”

“My father might disown me. But I’m prepared for that.” She was. She had been since Max’s big wake-up speech. She’d been prepared to walk away from all this without knowing if she would be able to build anything with Leo. But knowing shedidhave Leo made her big declaration of independence even sweeter. It made her braver.

He looked over her shoulder. “If we all sit down and talk about this like adults—”

“Your Majesty! Your Royal Highness!”

She turned. Whoever had spoken was extremely upset. It was... “Frau Lehman?” The housekeeper was not dressed for the ball, and the drama with which she’d burst in suggested something was terribly wrong.

Frau Lehman hurried over to them, arriving at the same time Marie’s father and Mr.Benz did.

The housekeeper looked positively horrified. Marie took the older woman’s hand, wanting to offer comfort. “What’s happened?”

“It’s MissGabriella. She’s missing.”

“No, she’s not. She’s in the library,” Leo said. He turned around to confirm with Mr.Benz. “Right?”

They’d discussed a plan for Mr.Benz to make sure Gabby was comfortable and to convey a message that Leo—and, he had hoped, Marie—would join her later for a private Christmas Eve celebration. He’d even ordered up some of her butterscotch s’mores cocoa.

“Indeed. I left her there an hour ago.”

“Yes,” said Frau Lehman, “and you told me to join her. But when I arrived no more than ten minutes later, she was gone.” Frau Lehman’s voice was rising, bordering on hysterical.

Just his fucking luck. Gabby had wanted to come to the ball so desperately, and look, here she was making a big splash with her absence. “Then she’s in her room.”

“She’s not!” Frau Lehman cried. “She’s notanywhere! I’ve had everyone who’s not in here looking for her. We’ve covered the whole palace. I’ve got Thomas leading a group of men in searching the grounds now. But it’s snowing so heavily, and it’s so cold!”

Leo was starting to get scared, but he ordered himself to be calm. Children didn’t just disappear into thin air at royal palaces. That only happened in fairy tales.

But—shit. Shouldn’t waltzing with princesses at Christmas balls also be something that only happened in fairy tales?

“She wouldn’t have gone outside in this weather, would she?” Marie asked. “There’s nowhere she...”

The thought arrived in Leo’s head the same time it appeared to have landed in Marie’s.

“Oh, Leo,” Marie breathed. “Do you think?”

“Yes,” he said brusquely. He didn’t know whether to be relieved—he knew where Gabby was—or scared shitless. Frau Lehman was right. It was cold, and it was snowing something fierce.

“Let’s go,” Marie said.

“Would someone care to enlighten me as to what is going on?” the king asked.

Marie’s eyes darted around like she’d only just become aware of their surroundings, her father included. Leo couldn’t blame her. They’d been dancing in a bubble. In their own fairy tale for two.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Leo said. “My sister seems to have run off, but I know where she is, so if you’ll excuse me...”

“You think you can come storming in here, make some kind of... declaration with regard to my daughter, and just leave?”

He already was. He spun on his heel, part of his brain registering that the king’s words had been delivered in a surprisingly neutral tone. Almost like he was curious rather than angry. But whatever. He didn’t have time for this now.

“Wait!” Marie called. “I’m coming with you.”

She caught up to him outside the ballroom. It was a relief to beout of there. God, he wanted to kiss her again. She was wearing a shiny, royal blue dress. It was as fluffy as the cake-topper dress, and it matched her eyes. Her hair was loose around her shoulders. She looked incredible. She lookededible.

She also could not come with him. He shook his head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

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