Frowning, I glanced over at my husband where he sat next to me on the cozy loveseat in our private sitting room. This was usually one of my favorite parts of any day: we were both home from whatever work or royal duties had occupied us, dinner was over, Alice was tucked into her bed, sleeping peacefully, and it was just Nicky and me, snuggled together, watching a movie or one of our favorite shows.
"What do you mean?" I held up the remote. "I was just . . . looking for something to watch."
Nicky lifted one eyebrow. "No human eye could keep up with the speed of your search, darling. What's bothering you?"
"Who says anything is bothering me?" I retorted. "Don't you know, Nicky? It's the most wonderful time of the year. All the songs that play on repeat on the radio or the stores or on television tell us that. Every engagement I go on is all mistletoe and evergreen. And our daughter wants an update on how many days until Christmas every hour on the hour." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yep. Nothing bothering me. I'm filled to the brim with red and green Yuletide cheer. I'm a freaking merry elf."
"Uh-huh." Nicky nabbed the remote from my hand and clicked off the television. "I think maybe we've had enough television tonight."
"We haven't watched anything," I protested feebly.
"That's all right. Instead of numbing our minds with—what did you call it? Red and green Yuletide cheer?—we should spend a bit of time talking."
"Fine." I heaved a sigh. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Ky, my love." Nicky reached for my hand and threaded our fingers together. "What's wrong? Are you overwhelmed with all of the holiday preparations? You know, we can always say fuck it all and go to Florida again for Christmas this year."
"Oh, Nicky." Instantly, my annoyance melted away. "You're such a sweetheart. But no, that wouldn't solve any problems. And it wouldn't be right. This is our year to spend the holidays with your family, and I'm really looking forward to it."
He cocked his head. "All evidence to the contrary."
"No." I snuggled down into Nicky's arms, instantly feeling better just because he was holding me. "It's not your family or staying in England. I'm worried about Bria. And I haven't heard from Brynn in over a month, so I'm worried about her, too. And I know this holiday won't be very merry for your father or any of his siblings, or for Her Majesty. She misses your grandfather so much, and Christmas will only make it harder."
"Perhaps," Nicky allowed. "But maybe it will actually be easier with the entire family there. All of Granny's children and grandchildren and great-grands will be at Windsor, and then when you add in some of the cousins and so forth, it's possible that there will be too much going on for her to think about Grandpa."
"I hope that's the case." Closing my eyes, I felt a little more of the day lift from my shoulders as Nicky played with my hair. "Alice tells me she is making the Queen a special gift that is definitely going to help her feel better."
"Ah." My husband's chest shook as he chuckled. "Did she happen to mention exactly what she has planned?"
"Not to me. Maybe she's told Penny, but I haven't asked yet. Add it to my worry list."
"Hmmm." Nicky twisted one strand of my hair around his finger. "Well, that may be something for you to let go for now, I think. Let Penny handle our daughter's Christmas gift for her great-grandmother. Why don't you tell me more about your other worries? What's this about Bria and Rhys? I thought those two were swimming along beautifully."
"Oh, they are," I agreed grudgingly. "At least, they are as far as I hear. Mom says she's never seen Bria so happy. And Honey tells me that Rhys has been a genuine asset to Honey Bee, working with several of the charities and even liaising with some of our new farmer partners. It seems he's finally found his niche in life—no more playboying, no more wild parties."
"That's . . . good news, right?" Nicky's clever fingers drifted from my hair to my shoulder and then wandered lower between my breasts, making me hum in anticipation. "Shouldn't you be happy about all of this?"
"I guess so . . ." I was distracted by my husband's touch. It was harder to remember why I was concerned about my sister and her fiancé. "Um, yes, of course, I'm happy for both of them. But still—you know, Nicky, they only met a year ago."
"They've known each other since we were all kids, Ky."
"Right, but they weren't exactly friends. Bria couldn't stand Rhys . . . at least, not until we forced them together." I twisted to open my eyes and glare up at him. "It was your idea, if I remember correctly. You convinced my sister to pretend to be your wild cousin's girlfriend to get the press off his ass."
"It was an idea webothagreed to," Nicky corrected me. "A joint project. I might have suggested that Rhys could use someone steady like Bria in his life, but you were the one who twisted your sister's arm to play along."
"That's what's bothering me!" I pushed his arm away and sat up, pivoting to face him. "What if I pushed her into something that she really isn't ready for? What if this is just a—a crush, a temporary aberration, and then she realizes one day that she doesn't love him, that she doesn't evenlikehim, and she hates me for pushing her into marrying him?"
"Darling. Ky." Nicky framed my face. "You didn't push Bria into marrying Rhys."
"You just said I twisted her arm to date him!" I wailed.
"I was joking, sweetheart." He tugged me down until I tumbled down to lay in his arms once more. "It was all my idea. Totally. In the unlikely event that someday, Bria changes her mind and decides that falling in love with my cousin was a colossal mistake, I will take full responsibility."
"Hmph." I tried to hold onto my high moral ground, but it was kind of hard when my cheek was pressed into my husband's very solid, very sexy chest.
"Is that the only thing that's wrong, my love? Is there anything you want to talk about?"
I pursed my lips and toyed with a button on Nicky's shirt. "I don't know. I can't think of anything right now."
