Which wasn’t to say it had all been plain sailing. They’d still had to navigate the revelations of Felix’s parentage—which society and the gossip magazines had enjoyed as much as Jasper had feared. But Felix had gone with Tori to Stonebury as their father had planned, and managed to stay out of the limelight, until things had at least started to blow over.
Jasper, meanwhile, had been required to go back to the States and tidy up his affairs there before he could move back to Britain full time. Neither he nor Tori had been happy about the idea of a long-distance relationship, especially given Tori’s previous experiences, but they’d made it work.
Well, actually they’d been miserable, and bickered for a lot of it. But they’d visited when they could, forgiven each other when things got too much, and they’d made it through.
And now they were here, about to spend their first Christmas at Stonebury. The Christmas village had been doing a roaring trade for months, and even in the summer some of the festive workshops had proved popular. There was still a lot of work to do to make the place a long-standing success, but Jasper had faith that Tori could do it. This project was her baby, after all.
And he...well, he’d be getting back to working with his father in the new year, and with Felix. The earl had announced, rather impatiently upon Jasper’s return, that he did want to retire one day, and his sons needed to be ready to take over his empire.
So they were all working together. Which would be interesting. But with Tori to come home to every night, and a promise that there were no more secrets to worry about, Jasper had faith that it could work. Hopefully.
‘I’m just glad that Henry’s coming to cook us Christmas dinner,’ Tori said, shivering a little beside him. Her aunt and uncle had taken the unprecedented step of actually closing the Moorside Inn in order to join them for Christmas. Jasper hoped that was a sign of how far Tori’s relationship with them had come in the last twelve months.
‘Do you think steak and ale pie could be considered a traditional Christmas dish?’ he asked hopefully.
Laughing, Tori shook her head. ‘Not even a little bit. But when they get here, you might want to put your Christmas present in the fridge straight away. Henry has a soft spot for you, I think.’
Jasper beamed. ‘Christmas with the woman I love, and my family, in my new home, and with steak and ale pie. I can only think of one more thing that would make this the absolutely perfect Christmas.’
‘More than steak and ale pie?’ Tori asked, eyebrows raised.
‘Yep.’ Jasper reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the ring box his mother had given him, last time he’d seen her at Flaxstone. He handed it to Tori, who opened it with a gasp. ‘Marry me? I can’t promise it will always be easy, but I can promise I’ll make it worth it. Because I love you, and I want to spend my whole life showing you that.’
Tori looked up at him, tears at the corners of her eyes. ‘Of course I’ll marry you.’
‘Really?’
‘Absolutely. Because I love you too, and the last year has shown me that love isn’t what I thought it was. That I’m not who I thought I was.’ She gave him a wicked grin. ‘Besides, if we’re married, half your steak and ale pies become mine, so—’
She shrieked as he wrapped his arms around her middle, lifting her to kiss her thoroughly. And then he did it again for good measure.
Because he’d solved the first part of the puzzle of Tori Edwards; who she was now and what she needed.
And he knew he’d spend the rest of his live figuring out how to keep her as happy as he was right now.
Even if it meant sharing his steak and ale pies.
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Sophie Pembroke
Pregnant on the Earl’s Doorstep
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CEO’s Marriage Miracle
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All available now!
Excerpt from Their Christmas Royal Wedding by Nina Milne.
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Their Christmas Royal Wedding
by Nina Milne
CHAPTER ONE
Royal Palace, Aguilarez, November
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS Prince Cesar of Aguilarez looked down from the helicopter at the looming trees, the jut and crags of the mountainous terrain as the pilot began their descent to the helipad that topped the fortress-like palace he had grown up in. A palace he had visited only infrequently in the past three years. When need dictated.
The whir of the blades couldn’t distract him from the grim tone of his thoughts. Now he’d been summoned back to a family summit—called, presumably, to figure out a strategy in the face of the scandal that had rocked the royal House of Asturias. And not just the house, but also the royal family of Valenti, rulers of the neighbouring country of Casavalle.
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Two small countries that shared the same island—shared also a history of feuding and war. A relentless succession of invasion attempts had left both countries battle-scarred, until eventually a fragile peace had been negotiated. A peace that had endured for over two centuries as both countries had prospered.
A peace now under threat.
All because of his younger sister Meribel.
What had she been thinking? Like all five royal siblings Meribel had been brought up to know that Aguilarez came first, that duty was paramount, and emotions were an irrelevance.
So Meribel’s actions defied belief. To date she’d jilted Crown Prince Luca Valenti days before their wedding. Whilst pregnant with another man’s baby. The whole idea of the marriage had been to cement an alliance; now the alliance was in tatters.
Then they’d been hit by the next scandal, because it turned out that the Crown Prince of Casavalle wasn’t the Crown Prince after all, because Luca had a long-lost, hitherto unknown older sister—Gabriella Ross.
To compound the situation Gabriella’s existence had been discovered six months after the death of Casavalle’s King, so just before Luca was due to ascend the throne of Casavalle. Now Gabriella Ross, a woman brought up in Canada, with no knowledge of her heritage or the royal blood that coursed through her veins, would take the throne.
The whole situation was a mess and little wonder the people of both Casavalle and Aguilarez were crying foul, with accusations of deceit and counter deceit on all sides.
Hence the summons to Cesar, requesting his presence at the Aguilarean palace. Though the request had been an order and, whilst he understood the need for a meeting, the manner of the summons tasted bitter in his throat: a curt demand with no hint of family affection. No surprise really—the Asturias family didn’t do affection. Thus it had always been and thus it always would be.
No matter, he was here now, and as he alighted onto the helipad he braced himself as if for an ordeal, even as he inhaled the fresh snow-tanged mountain air with a sense of appreciation that he had come home to the country he loved.