The Prince's Christmas Vow

Just then he glanced over at her. Their gazes met and held. Her heart raced. She couldn’t let herself get swept up in the moment. He smiled. This wasn’t real. She smiled back.

Then again, there’d be enough time for reality tomorrow.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THIS WAS THE MOST amazing evening...ever.

Demetrius glanced over at Zoe. When they’d first been reunited on the mansion steps, he’d been prepared to despise the very ground she walked on. She was, after all, the woman who’d married him one day and then within forty-eight hours had ended their marriage. And now, he couldn’t imagine holding such harsh feelings toward her.

Sure, she hadn’t handled the situation with her mother very well, but he had no idea what he would have done if he’d been in her shoes. Maybe he’d been too caught up in his own problems with seeking his father’s approval for his very hasty, very secretive wedding to notice her turmoil. Maybe if he’d made himself more accessible to Zoe, she might have turned to him—confided in him.

He’d never know. All they could do now was move forward. In the soft glow of the fire with the twinkle of the lights on the Christmas tree and festive lyrics filling the air, he couldn’t be happier. And he had Zoe to thank for that. He glanced across the room, finding her busy organizing the empty boxes to be sent to storage.

As though she could sense him staring at her, she turned. Her gaze met his and she smiled, not a little smile but one that puffed up her cheeks and made her eyes sparkle like fine jewels. There was definitely no room here for anger or resentment over the past—not when her glowing smile filled him with such warmth.

If he could have one wish for Christmas, it would be this. Happiness, contentment and love—not that he had all of those things with Zoe. But maybe just for this one evening, he could pretend. After all, tomorrow would be soon enough for the sharp edges of life to pop their happy bubble.

He studied Zoe. What was so special about her?

Nothing.

Everything.

She had this way of disarming his strongest defenses and getting past his walls. Right now, when he looked at her as she sang some ridiculous Christmas tune, he no longer saw the woman who’d broken his heart, but rather he saw the woman who made his heart skip a beat or two with a mere touch or glance.

For a little while, he could have his one Christmas wish. Sure it was early in the year for presents, but maybe Christmas didn’t have to occur on a certain day on the calendar. Maybe it was more about that special moment in one’s heart when the pain and hurt melted away.

Maybe for tonight he could have what he wanted most of all—Zoe. When he was perfectly honest with himself, he’d never wanted to let her go. But after reading her note—seeing with his own eyes her desire to end their marriage, he’d had no choice but to accept the gut-wrenching fact that she didn’t love him anymore.

Was it wrong to want to recapture a bit of the past? After all, at one point they had been happy. And they never did get to share Christmas together. They’d been cheated of one of the happiest times of the year. But not this year if he could help it.

“Hey, are you going to help me with these boxes before the palace staff shows up to haul them to storage?”

Zoe’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Sure. As long as you promise to share those chocolates.”

“There are chocolates? Where?” Her whole face lit up. Then she started a mad search through the remainder of the boxes. She straightened with a triumphant look on her face. “And these aren’t just any chocolates. They’re the gourmet ones from Giovanni’s Cioccolato.”

Demetrius had to admit that he wasn’t into chocolate, but he knew that it was one of Zoe’s favorite indulgences. And Giovanni’s was one of the finest chocolatiers in the Mediterranean. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“Are you sure they meant to include them?”

“I might have mentioned they’re your favorite.”

“You did? Have I told you how amazing you are?”

“No, you haven’t. Feel free to repeat that as many times as you like.”

Right now, she could ask for the moon and he’d move heaven and earth to give it to her. He’d forgotten how powerful her smile was and how it radiated a warm, happy feeling within him.

Her fingers were a flurry of motion as she tore the wrapping paper from the box. Beneath the paper was a red ribbon, which she slipped off the maroon-and-gold box. And it wasn’t a small box by any stretch of the imagination. Best of all was the look of excitement glinting in Zoe’s eyes. If he had only remembered what joy chocolate brought to her, he would have had some ordered long ago.