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‘No, not because I’m a prince. But because I love you,’ he said, taking another step up towards her. ‘So I don’t accept your decision to leave. And I won’t allow you to let me go. Because I don’t want to be let go,’ he said, stepping upwards. ‘I’m here to prove that I love you. Not because of the past, not because of a sense of duty, but because you make me laugh even in the midst of my sorrow, you make me hope even in my despair, and love even in my anger. I loved you then and I love you now, and no matter what you decide, choose or feel, nothing will take that away. You made and continue to make me into the man I am, standing here today, telling you that I love you. Hoping that you’ll wear my ring, be my wife and partner, lover and teacher, and the mother of as many children as we can have.’
* * *
There was no stopping the tears now. Mason felt them falling down her cheeks, hurtling towards the ground so very far below her. With every single word he had undone her. He had slipped beneath the bonds that wrapped around her heart, holding it still. But now it was beating, hard and fast and completely for him. He had come back for her. He had refused to allow her to push him away. Refused to allow her to hide from her own feelings, and in doing so given her the strength she needed, to reach for the one thing she had always wanted. He had stopped midway up the stairs, and with shaking legs she took her first step towards him.
‘Oh, Danyl, I love you too,’ she said almost helplessly. ‘Because no matter what I’ve done, how many times I’ve run from you, you’ve always seen to the heart of me. Even when no one else has, you’ve seen the truth and loved me for it—or in spite of it.’ She took one more step closer to him. ‘Because you’ve taken every demand I could possibly make and met it. You’ve always given me what I needed even when I couldn’t see it for myself.’ She stood one step above him, desperate to reach out to him, to hold him to her. ‘I am known by you and am greater for it, and perhaps because of what we’ve shared, love and grief, our love will be stronger for it.’
‘The past hasn’t been and never will be forgotten, Mason. It is the fabric and the strength of our love. And I will spend each and every day proving that to you, if you will let me.’
Mason’s answer was the most exquisite kiss Danyl had ever had. It was the sweetest, most powerful kiss, binding them together in a way that meant no future obstacle, no past hurt, would ever tear them apart. It was a kiss that defined what it was to love and be loved, and one they shared every day for the rest of their lives.
EPILOGUE
Christmas Eve, ten years later...
MASON BREATHED IN the scents of mint, eucalyptus and honey that rose from Faaris’s garden in the Summer Palace. Over the past ten years, she and Danyl had spent so much time here that the garden was no longer locked. Instead, as their family had grown with the birth of their daughter, and later with their second son—because Faaris would always be their first—all four of them would come here to remember. More and more the sound of laughter rather than tears would filter through the beautiful gardens, and the hurts of the past had become not less...but something different. A part of the fabric of their lives, their loves and their hearts.
‘I thought I would find you here.’ Her husband’s voice reached her from over her shoulder. He pulled her towards his strong body as they shared a moment, looking up at the fine statue of the knight. Mason smiled into the crook of his arm as she inhaled the scent of the man she loved so much she could not find the words.
‘The children—’
‘Are over-excited about the arrival of Dimitri and Antonio and their families. Honestly, I thought we were an entourage—but them?’
‘Well, we can’t exactly ask them to leave their families behind at Christmas, husband.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it, wife.’
Mason looked up at Danyl then, seeing him as she had first seen him in the grand room at the Langsford and then, ten years later, in the darkness with a... She huffed out a laugh.
‘What?’
‘I still can’t believe I pointed a shotgun at you.’
‘I can.?
? He smiled, rubbing the base of her spine with his warm hand. ‘You’re as fearless now as you were then.’
Fearless. She wasn’t sure that was how she would have described her feelings when Danyl had first taken the throne, during the hours she had spent learning the palace etiquette required of the Queen of Ter’harn. But she’d had an amazing support network. Danyl had been her rock. His mother, Elizabeth, had been kind and patient, and even Danyl’s father had been generous and loving.
When the international press had uncovered Mason’s mother’s whereabouts there had definitely been some difficult moments, but she couldn’t regret the relationship they now had. It wasn’t always an easy one, and she had struggled with the guilt and hurt the burgeoning relationship had ignited within her. But both her father and Danyl had been there every step of the way. Her father had found love with Mary—the woman Danyl had arranged to help manage the farmstead in Australia in Mason’s absence—and she couldn’t imagine him with anyone else now.
With Emma Arcuri’s help they had developed the programme that helped children and teens interact with the horses to an international level, each member of the Winners’ Circle hosting different locations around the world for a similar programme, all under the banner of the McAulty name.
She touched the necklace that Anna Kyriakou had designed. It was matched only by the one worn by her husband, designed in the image of a knight. Anna had presented them shortly after Mason had realised that she was pregnant. She marvelled at how close she, Emma and Anna had become. Perhaps as close as Dimitri, Danyl and Antonio themselves.
She smiled at the joy and peace that had come to her life, the contentment and the rightness of it all, and thought that maybe the fairy tales had it right. The handsome Prince had come and whisked her away to his palace to live happily ever after.
Danyl felt his wife shift beneath his arms, turning so that she could see him. His heart beat loudly and proudly in his chest for the amazing woman he felt he’d loved for his entire adult life, long before he’d ascended to the throne, all the way back to when he’d been a young man, doubtful of his future, worried about what kind of ruler he would be.
Even now he remembered the words she’d once said to him. He’d struggled sometimes not to let fear overwhelm him, but with Mason by his side he had made his own decisions, to the best of his ability. And he had become a ruler that his people believed in and loved. But, he reflected, his greatest achievement was most definitely persuading this incredible woman to become his wife, mother to his children, and Queen of his country.
After one final and most definitely passionate kiss, Danyl led her back to the Summer Palace, where it had become their Christmas tradition to greet the rather large brood of friends and family gathered over the years.
Antonio and Emma Arcuri were there, as were their mothers and Antonio’s sister—always on hand to help them with their three children. Dimitri and Anna arrived shortly after, with their two children. Anna’s parents came, each with their respective spouses, and Dimitri’s stepmother. Joe McAulty and Mary, his wife, were already busying themselves around the kitchen, the staff having finally got used to Mary’s affectionate determination to ‘help out’ with Christmas dinner. Joe was also here somewhere—most likely at the stables, checking on Veranchetti—but he’d arrive just in time for the meal. His own mother and father had embraced ‘retirement’, as his mother called it, and were now glorying in spoiling all the children with enough sugar and presents to have each parent sincerely concerned about bedtime.
Christmas might not be part of Ter’harn’s religious calendar, but it was a day when each and every one of them celebrated family, friendship and the bonds of love that had drawn them all together.
As Mason’s fingers threaded through his Danyl felt those invisible bonds manifest, and brought her hand to his lips.
