The Crown Prince's Bride (Royal Duology 2)

Stephani was ridiculously pleased that Emilia had not only picked out a souvenir for her but that she was in such a hurry to present it. “Well, let me see!” she exclaimed, getting up from her desk chair.

The bag was nearly as big as Emilia. Stephani wondered how she’d managed to run along the hall without tripping. The little girl danced from foot to foot as Stephani knelt down and removed tissue paper from the top of the bag.

Inside was a dress. A princess dress in a bright, golden yellow.

She held it up and truly didn’t know what to say.

Lucy burst out laughing, then covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling. Oh, she was enjoying this too much, wasn’t she? Stephani raised an eyebrow in Lucy’s direction, then dutifully did a half turn, swirling the skirt in front of her. “Emilia, I am going to look just like Belle!”

She’d never been one for Disney movies, but the recent remake of Beauty and the Beast meant that she was familiar with the iconic gown.

“Do you really like it?”

Her heart melted. “Of course I do, pequeña.”

“Will you put it on? I want to see!” Emilia’s dancing from foot to foot had turned to full on jumping.

Stephani looked at Lucy. “Did you feed her candy for the whole flight?”

Lucy laughed. “No. I might have, but Brody would have killed me. Max, you give Stephani your gift now. Emilia, Stephani can try the dress on later.”

“Aww.” Emilia pouted, but Max stepped forward and took a little bag from behind his back.

She opened it and found an adorable Christmas ornament of the castle.

“It’s Sleeping Beauty’s Castle,” he informed her. “It has sixteen turrets. Our castle only has four.”

“Dios mío! Sixteen!” She turned the figure over in her hands. “Gracias, Max. I’ll put it on my tree this year.” Then she looked up at Alex. “Did you have a good time, Alex?”

He nodded, then grinned at Max. “Max and I went on rides. Emilia did at first but then she got sick.”

“Only because I ate pizza first!”

“We all had pizza,” Max pointed out. “You were the only one who—”

“Okay, we get the idea,” Lucy interjected, still trying not to snicker.

Emilia looked up at Stephani with pleading eyes. “Tía Stephani, will you please put on the dress? I want to see so bad.”

How could she resist? There were no further meetings or visits scheduled for the day, so it wasn’t like anyone outside the family would walk in. And Raoul was downtown. “I’ll put it on, but just for a minute, okay? I’m supposed to be working.”

She came out of the staff bathroom five minutes later, feeling ridiculous but knowing she’d do just about anything to see the smile on Emilia’s lips. The poor child had spent months with barely a smile. It was only when Rose had come to the household that she’d perked up. Now she laughed and played as before, with only moments of somberness when they spoke of Ceci.

“Here I come,” she announced, thankful that the dress was at least of a decent quality. The skirt swooped around her ankles and she’d put her hair up in a loose bun, holding it with the golden ribbon that had been attached to the dress.

“Tía Stephani! That’s so pretty! Isn’t it pretty, Tía Lucy?” Emilia was nearly beside herself, and Stephani felt both girlish and silly. She turned in a circle for Emilia’s benefit. “What do you think? Do I look like Belle?”

“Very much,” came a deep voice.

She froze, her mouth falling open as she looked up and found Raoul standing behind Lucy and the boys.

“Papa!” Emilia forgot all about Stephani and rushed to her father. “We’re home!”

He scooped her up in his arms. “So I see. And looking like you had a wonderful time.” His gaze settled on Stephani again. “And you brought Tía Stephani a dress?”

Emilia nodded. “Yes, Belle’s dress! Because Tío Diego says you are always grouchy and a beast to work for. And that Tía Stephani deserves a medal for working for you.” She wiggled in his arms. “We got you something, too, but it’s upstairs.”

Stephani tried not to laugh. The description sounded precisely like something Diego would say.