Page 23 of Once Upon A Royal Christmas
“Why are you doing this?” Denver was a friendly place, but no one there had ever taken such a vested interest in her holiday snack preferences before. “I don’t even know your name.”
“My name is Nick,” he said quietly as his gaze dropped to her cup of cocoa. “And I’m just happy to see a visitor enjoying Christmas in San Glacera. It’s a special place.”
Gracie nodded. “I can see that already. Okay, lead the way. I’m ready to try this mystery treat.”
“Follow me, then.”
A few minutes later, at a booth just three tents down, he offered her a paper plate straining under the weight of a stack of round waffles topped with chocolate sauce and something that looked sort of like peanut butter but smelled like gingerbread. Mittens rose onto his hind legs and did a little dance, nose twitching.
“I present Belgian liege with chocolate and speculoos,” Nick said.
“Liege?”
“Just a fancy word for a round waffle.” He winked, and it seemed to float right through Gracie, like a snow flurry.
Wait. She wasn’t supposed to be attracted to this nice man. He was a stranger playing tour guide, and she was here for the most important princess appearance of her life. There was zero room for flirting on her agenda. Maybe the fluttery feeling was just the hot cocoa talking.
Right. And maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and not worry the slightest about singing off-key on Christmas Eve.
“Speculoos is a spiced cookie butter spread. Lieges with speculoos were one of my favorite holiday treats when I was a kid.” Nick smiled, and Gracie’s stomach did a flip-flop.
No hot cocoa is that powerful.
Gracie was definitely charmed, which was kind of a problem. She didn’t need this sort of distraction. In fact, she should leave right now, go back to the B&B and think about her song selection. Maybe even practice a little, since her first rehearsal was coming up soon.
But the lure of that waffle was just too much. At least, that’s what she told herself as she prepared to take her first bite. “So what was it like growing up in San Glacera?”
Their eyes met just as the mix of scrumptious flavors burst on her tongue, sugary sweet with just the right amount of spice. If Christmas could be defined by a single taste, this would be it.
“Life in San Glacera is…” His brow furrowed as he appeared to consider his answer. “Wonderful. We’re a small country, built on tradition. People here care about one another. It’s the best place on earth, in my humble opinion. So long as you don’t mind the cold…”
“I don’t mind the cold at all. It’s actually kind of my thing.” Gracie laughed.
He tilted his head, studying her with those gray eyes of his. It was like falling into a winter sky.
Gracie cleared her throat. “You hesitated just now, though.”
“I did?”
“Yep, right before you told me how much you love it here. You paused, like you were thinking about saying something different.” What was she doing? She didn’t even know this man. Why would he possibly want to have a meaningful heart-to-heart with her? “Ignore me. I’m sorry. It’s really none of my business. And I definitely don’t need convincing that this place is magical. I mean, look around.”
She waved a hand, encompassing the market’s peppermint candy-striped tents and the castle, looking more romantic than ever behind a lacy veil of swirling snow.
Nick followed her gaze to the palace’s elegant turrets, and his enchanting smile turned ever-so-slightly sad around the edges. “This is my home, and I love it dearly. But you’re right—I suppose I did hesitate. The pause wasn’t about San Glacera, though. I’ve just been a bit out of sorts lately.”
Mittens let out a tiny whine, as if agreeing to this statement. More likely, he wanted a bite of waffle, but the timing was uncanny.
Gracie’s gaze flitted from the adorable dog to his handsome owner. “Me too.”
“Is that so?” Nick said, regarding her with an intensity that made her feel like she’d been spinning circles on ice skates. “Why?”
She took a deep breath, unsure quite how to explain. She certainly didn’t want to come off as ungrateful about winning the contest, but something about the conflicted look in his eyes made her think he might understand how overwhelmed she sometimes felt. Or maybe she was just reading too much into this entire encounter. Probably so…
It had been a while since she’d opened up to a man like this, with good reason.
“This probably won’t make a bit of sense to you at all, but do you ever feel like you’ve gotten so accustomed to playing a role that you sometimes forget where that role ends and the real person begins?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she realized what she’d meant to say, as if they’d been waiting right there on the tip of her tongue for just the right time…just the right person to hear them. “Like, to the outside world you’ve got everything completely under control, but inside…”
He gave her a lopsided smile and finished the thought for her. “But inside, you feel like you’re just one mistake away from causing everything to crumble to the ground?”
