Page 64 of Once Upon A Royal Christmas
She must have sensed they were talking about something personal, because instead of returning to the registration desk, she slipped into the kitchen and closed the door behind her.
Nick swiveled his head back toward Gracie. “Please go on. The suspense is killing me.”
“Well, in my grandmother’s book, the snow maiden lived deep in the forest. Her friends were reindeer and woodland creatures, but she longed for real, human love. She dreamed of romance and falling in love. She wanted it more than anything in the world.” Gracie’s eyes blazed.
Something about the way she looked at him made Nick’s chest go tight. Real, human love. He couldn’t seem to breathe.
“So the snow maiden’s mother, Spring, granted her daughter’s one true wish. And as love blossomed inside of her, the girl’s snowy heart warmed…” Gracie sighed. “And she melted.”
Nick felt his face go slack. “She melted?”
“Yep.” Gracie sipped her tea.
“Princess, that’s the saddest story I’ve ever heard.”
“It is, I suppose. But I find it so inspiring.” She peered at him through the thick fringe of her party princess eyelashes. “Can you imagine wanting something so much, so fiercely that you’d risk melting to have it? Even for a moment?”
Nick let his gaze sweep over her—her kind eyes, her generous smile—and he didn’t even hesitate. “Absolutely.”
Gracie’s lips parted…just a little…just enough to let Nick know they were both thinking about the same thing. He could kiss her. He could do it, right now. He’d been wanting to for days.
But it didn’t feel right, given that she’d just been a nervous wreck about singing. He didn’t want to take advantage of her vulnerability. If and when Nick kissed Gracie Clark, he wanted it to be at the right moment—the perfect moment. She deserved that much. She deserved the best that Christmas had to offer.
He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair. “That’s a great story. Terrible ending, but still great. I’ll certainly never look at this costume the same way again.”
She nodded, and for a small, heartbreaking second, Nick caught a hint of disappointment in her gaze. She’d wanted that kiss just as badly as he had. “I’ll admit that when I created Princess Snowflake, I was also fresh from a bad breakup. So maybe there’s a hint of that heartbreak lurking beneath the surface.” She held her finger and thumb a fraction of an inch apart. “Just a tiny bit.”
Nick’s jaw tensed. He liked the direction this story was going even less than the one with the melting snow maiden. “What happened?”
“It was nothing.” She put on a brave face, but Nick could see the pain behind it. “It happened while I was away at school—Juilliard. I was a vocal performance major.”
Nick couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips. “I knew it.”
He’d known her voice was special the instant he’d seen that video of her in the hospital room and again when he’d heard her singing on the echo trail. She was one of a kind.
Gracie’s cheeks went pink. “Stop. I used to be pretty good, but not anymore. Not really.”
She was dead wrong, and Nick just knew that something terrible must have happened to make her think that. Whatever—or whoever—it was had stolen the joy she found in music.
“Gracie, you’re immensely talented. What happened to make you think otherwise?” It had something to do with the breakup, didn’t it?
Even though he was asking, Nick wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the rest of this story. Was he going to need to scour America, find her ex-boyfriend, and toss him into a dungeon?
Not that the San Glacera castle had one. And not that kings and princes did that sort of thing anymore. Still, the urge was very real.
“My boyfriend Philip and I sang duets together, and our senior year, we got selected to perform at a recital in Madison Square Garden. It was big deal, obviously. My parents came all the way from Denver to watch us perform. Clara was there, too. We’ve known each other a really long time,” Gracie said.
Nick wasn’t surprised. Gracie seemed like the type of person who cherished her friends. She lived with her heart open wide. It was one of the things he liked best about her.
“Anyway, the music started and when it was time for my cue, I just sort of froze. I panicked. I looked at Philip, hoping he’d take the hint and jump in until I could gather my thoughts and sing. But…” Her voice drifted off, and for a second, Nick lost her. She seemed trapped in a memory.
“But he didn’t, did he?” Nick said.
She gave him a watery smile. “No, he didn’t. He just stood there, letting me crash and burn. The music kept playing, and everyone just kept looking at me, Philip included. I finally ran offstage. The next day, Philip broke off our engagement. He said he couldn’t trust me anymore. We’d had so many plans, and he said I’d ripped all of them right out from under him…that I’d embarrassed him. I haven’t been able to sing in public since. I’ve tried, and every time, I hear his voice in the back of my head telling me that I’d ruined both of our futures.”
Nick shook his head. No. Just…no.
“Gracie, that’s not true. Look at you. Look at all the joy you bring to people. You have a special gift. This moment right here, right now, is the future he was talking about. And from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look ruined at all.” He fixed his gaze with hers. He needed her to understand how serious this was. “It couldn’t be more beautiful. You couldn’t be more beautiful, and I don’t only mean what’s on the outside. I’m also talking about your snowy princess heart.”
