Page 61 of A Princess for Christmas

They’d reached the main road. Leo held up a large branch that was blocking their way so she could pass. He had to drop her hand to do so. She felt the loss.

“Hmmmm.” He let the single syllable draw out, like he was teasing her about something. She didn’t know what.

He laughed. Notather, she was fairly certain, even thoughshe was still confused about what was happening. It felt like a conspiratorial laugh. “It’s too bad you don’t know any architects. Or, technically, architecture school dropouts. You get what you pay for, I guess.”

“Pardon me? You can’t mean...” Could he? That was ridiculous. There wasn’t enough time, for one, and—

“I do mean.”

Marie was dumbfounded. Literally unable to speak. She had just been thinking how Leo made everything easy. This, she had to find a way to explain, was not something he could make easy. Not something he could apply his grumpy but relentless American can-do attitude to and justdo.

“Look, Your Majestic Supreme Highness.” He wagged a gloved finger at her. “This is my turf. I am the perfect person to finish this cabin for you.”

Oh dear god, he was going to do it. He wasgoingto make it easy. Both the job itself and her ability to trust him. Something fluttered in her stomach, something she hadn’t felt for a long time. It was the same feeling she’d get when her mother would interrupt a meal, or, even better, dancing lessons, and proclaim it time for a trip to L.A.—or even just family movie night.

It was an unfamiliar feeling of late, but she recognized it all the same. It was excitement.

Marie wagged a mittened hand back at Leo. She was going to concede. Of course she was. But she was going to have fun doing it. “You’re the perfect person for the job? I’m not sure how you figure that? I’m a little concerned about thishalf-architecture-degree business.”

“Well, yes, but one, you don’t need an architecture degree forthis. That’s just a little bonus. This is basically Lincoln Logs. I worked construction for years. Finishing this off will be a piece of cake.”

She tried not to smile. “Very well. What’s two?”

“What?”

“You said, ‘One,’ just now, implying that there was more than one reason you were the perfect person for this job.”

“Right.” A slow, almost evil smile blossomed. “Two is: I don’t give a flyingfuckabout your father and his royal proclamations.”

Back at the palace, Leo hunted down Gabby and heard about her afternoon. She toured him around the kitchen and gave him tastes of all the hot chocolate she’d been helping make. He felt a little bad that he was only giving her half his attention, but two things were happening that were distracting the hell out of him. One, he was horny. That was what happened when you let a princess hump you in the woods. Two, doubts were creeping in. Again, a fairly standard outcome when you let a princess hump you in the woods.

After what felt like forever, Gabby was dispatched for a predinner bath—she had chocolate firmly lodged under her fingernails—and Leo went to his room and FaceTimed Dani.

He didn’t even bother asking her about the book. He didn’t even bother withhello. He dived right in—because he needed to have his goddamn head examined. “Marie and I got it on in the woods. Sort of.”

Dani started laughing.

“What?”

“Oh my god,” she choked out, barely able to get the words out.

“Will you shut it? I need advice, not mockery!”

“Okay, okay, sorry.” She composed her face into an overly serious expression. “Shoot.”

“What do I do now? Apologize?”

“Why would you do that?”

“Uh, because I defiled the goddamn princess of Eldovia in the woods. Inherwoods. In the woods surrounding herpalace.”

“Did she enjoy being defiled?”

“Well, yeah. I think so.”

“Did she defile you back?”

“Actually, no.” He shifted in his seat.

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