Read Online I Want You for Christmas: The Prince's Lost Princess - a Heartwarming Snow-Capped Holiday Romance by Holly Rayner, Lara Hunter - Free Book Online

way in, releasing a groan of pleasure as she lay back against the side of the tub and allowed her stiff muscles to loosen.
     
    After a long while of lounging in the tub, Gaby stepped out and found a comfortable cotton robe in another side closet, donning it and flinging herself onto her enormous bed. The doorway to her balcony glittered as the setting sun sank, blues and purples cascading across the sky. Gaby found herself laughing at the wildness of it all. What would her parents say, seeing such a place? That it was too much? Too ostentatious? Too wonderful?
     
    It was certainly all of the above, and more. With a wide grin, Gaby realized it was a lifestyle she could very much get used to.

 
     
    NINE
     

Gaby was just finishing curling her hair when there was a knock at the door.
     
    She told herself that she was doing her hair and makeup because she was in a mansion, and because she wanted to present herself accordingly. She did not want to admit that she was looking forward to seeing Luca’s reaction to said changes.
     
    She opened the door, expecting to see him there, but was instead met by a petite female housekeeper.
     
    “Buona sera, signorina,” the young woman said, making a small curtsy. “His Highness has asked me to guide you to the dining room, so you will not get lost.”
     
    “Thank you,” Gaby said, hiding her disappointment.
     
    Why was she so keen to see Luca, anyway? He was a short-term friend, her host for a brief vacation before she got back to the stresses and regularities of life.
     
    Gaby and the housekeeper walked in comfortable silence down the twists and turns of the hallways until they reached the main hall and the opening to the grand dining room.
     
    There, Luca sat alone at a long table meant for so many more. When he heard them coming, he looked up and smiled. “Gaby! Did you get some rest?”
     
    His eyes were bright as he watched her approach, walking past chair after empty chair. When she reached him, she smiled back. Luca nodded to the housekeeper who had escorted her, and she made her exit. He pulled out a chair on one side of the table, pushing it back in as Gaby sat down. Then he took the seat across from her.
     
    “I did, thank you. The lodgings are the best I’ve ever had,” she said.
     
    Luca beamed. “I should hope so! I would like you to enjoy your time here with us, Gaby. It’s the least I can do.”
     
    Gaby glanced down the length of the table. “Will we be dining alone tonight?”
     
    Luca shifted in his seat, glancing down. “We will, I’m afraid. My parents would have joined us, but my father has been called out of town on a dignitary trip, and my mother…well, she’s not my biggest fan right now.”
     
    “Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good,” Gaby said.
     
    Luca’s smile was tight as he looked back up at her, but before he could answer the waiting service arrived, and their first course, a steaming vegetable soup, was served. As the courses kept coming, Gaby and Luca talked about their shared interest in politics and international relations. They discussed cultural differences between the U.S. and Italy, and Luca told Gaby all about his adventures in America.
     
    “And why does everyone wear sneakers everywhere? They’re not at the gym… though many of them should be!” he laughed before taking a sip of wine. Tonight it was another white wine to pair with a light filet of fish. It was delicious, and Gaby found herself wishing for more at the end of dessert, which was a light, creamy gelato.
     
    “We like to be comfortable,” Gaby said. “Nothing wrong with that.”
     
    Luca stared at her as though she were a puzzle he was desperately trying to solve. “No, I guess there isn’t, is there?”
     
    On the mantel, an antique clock began to chime, indicating that it was somehow already ten o’clock.
     
    Gaby stifled a yawn. “It’s late,” she said sleepily.
     
    Luca nodded, taking the cue. “You must be