I Want You for Christmas: The Prince's Lost Princess - a Heartwarming Snow-Capped Holiday Romance Read Online Free Page A
Author: Holly Rayner, Lara Hunter
Tags: Suspense, Romance, Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, romantic suspense, Holidays, Mystery & Suspense
his mother, who almost never deigned to visit.
Luca tilted his head and cracked open an eyelid, refusing to release his grip on his pillow. His mother stood there with her arms crossed, looking miffed.
“Mother? What on earth are you doing here? I’m sleeping,” Luca groaned.
To Luca’s surprise, his mother gripped the edge of his down comforter and ripped it from the bed, tossing it on the floor.
“Hey!” Luca cried, sitting up and instantly regretting it. He rested his elbows on his knees, cradling his forehead in his hand. He winced as he glanced up at his mother. “What did I do that is deserving of this behavior?” he asked, hoping to get whatever chiding she had over with so he could get back to blissful unconsciousness.
Queen Felicia tapped her perfectly shod foot in annoyance, crossing her arms once again as she glared at him. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Luca racked his brain, trying to think. There was a very large pool to choose from, when it came to the category of “What Did Luca Do Wrong Today?”
After a few moments of silence, his mother huffed. “Lady Adela’s coming of age event? That was today. And you were meant to be her escort.”
Luca groaned. His bare chest and legs were turning cold without a blanket, and he reached for a sheet to cover himself. “I’m sorry, I forgot,” he said, shrugging.
Queen Felicia threw her hands up in the air, pacing wildly about the room. “You forgot! Of course, Prince Luca forgets. He is a feeble-minded, simple fool.”
“Hey! That’s not true,” Luca said, his tone hurt.
His parents had been so hard on him, the only child, since he could remember. How could they blame him for wanting to be free, even just a little bit?
Felicia turned to him, her stare filled with daggers. “Is it not? You, who cannot remember a simple appointment that will now ruin a girl’s reputation for years to come. Adela will now struggle to ever find a good suitor, since a prince has publicly stood her up on the most important day of her young life. You are a selfish fool, Luca, and I am ashamed of you today.”
With that, Queen Felicia strode from the room, slamming the door behind her.
Luca winced at the sound. His head was swimming. A moment later, his assistant arrived with a silver tray sporting a glass of cool water and some pain killers.
“For your head, sir,” Luca’s valet, Rinaldo, said.
Luca took the pills and tossed them back, gulping the water until the glass was empty.
“What are the plans for today, Rinaldo?” Luca asked, desperate to busy his mind from the episode that had just occurred. His mother thought very little of him, and sometimes he believed she had the right to do so.
Luca hadn’t exactly been the ideal heir to the title of Prince of Campania. At twenty-seven, he’d been deemed more of an international embarrassment and serial dater of European royalty. He went through princess after princess, dating them for a few weeks or months, before losing them to his wild behavior. It had got especially bad when Princess Ana had caught him drunk on a yacht with several girls, doing things that he would rather not have had published in the National Enquirer.
That was the last royal princess to ever bother with him. Once that story went viral, he had found it impossible to find a relationship with anyone, much less another royal. It was why he had agreed to escort Adela; he’d figured he could meet some debutantes and try that avenue, but on the night, when it came down to it, he’d found he didn’t want to attend some stuffy event with a sixteen-year-old, and he’d gotten drunk with his friends and forgot about it instead.
Maybe his mother was right. He could be quite the fool.
“You have a polo match with your former University of Bologna teammates this afternoon, and your father has asked that you join him and your mother for
Luca tilted his head and cracked open an eyelid, refusing to release his grip on his pillow. His mother stood there with her arms crossed, looking miffed.
“Mother? What on earth are you doing here? I’m sleeping,” Luca groaned.
To Luca’s surprise, his mother gripped the edge of his down comforter and ripped it from the bed, tossing it on the floor.
“Hey!” Luca cried, sitting up and instantly regretting it. He rested his elbows on his knees, cradling his forehead in his hand. He winced as he glanced up at his mother. “What did I do that is deserving of this behavior?” he asked, hoping to get whatever chiding she had over with so he could get back to blissful unconsciousness.
Queen Felicia tapped her perfectly shod foot in annoyance, crossing her arms once again as she glared at him. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Luca racked his brain, trying to think. There was a very large pool to choose from, when it came to the category of “What Did Luca Do Wrong Today?”
After a few moments of silence, his mother huffed. “Lady Adela’s coming of age event? That was today. And you were meant to be her escort.”
Luca groaned. His bare chest and legs were turning cold without a blanket, and he reached for a sheet to cover himself. “I’m sorry, I forgot,” he said, shrugging.
Queen Felicia threw her hands up in the air, pacing wildly about the room. “You forgot! Of course, Prince Luca forgets. He is a feeble-minded, simple fool.”
“Hey! That’s not true,” Luca said, his tone hurt.
His parents had been so hard on him, the only child, since he could remember. How could they blame him for wanting to be free, even just a little bit?
Felicia turned to him, her stare filled with daggers. “Is it not? You, who cannot remember a simple appointment that will now ruin a girl’s reputation for years to come. Adela will now struggle to ever find a good suitor, since a prince has publicly stood her up on the most important day of her young life. You are a selfish fool, Luca, and I am ashamed of you today.”
With that, Queen Felicia strode from the room, slamming the door behind her.
Luca winced at the sound. His head was swimming. A moment later, his assistant arrived with a silver tray sporting a glass of cool water and some pain killers.
“For your head, sir,” Luca’s valet, Rinaldo, said.
Luca took the pills and tossed them back, gulping the water until the glass was empty.
“What are the plans for today, Rinaldo?” Luca asked, desperate to busy his mind from the episode that had just occurred. His mother thought very little of him, and sometimes he believed she had the right to do so.
Luca hadn’t exactly been the ideal heir to the title of Prince of Campania. At twenty-seven, he’d been deemed more of an international embarrassment and serial dater of European royalty. He went through princess after princess, dating them for a few weeks or months, before losing them to his wild behavior. It had got especially bad when Princess Ana had caught him drunk on a yacht with several girls, doing things that he would rather not have had published in the National Enquirer.
That was the last royal princess to ever bother with him. Once that story went viral, he had found it impossible to find a relationship with anyone, much less another royal. It was why he had agreed to escort Adela; he’d figured he could meet some debutantes and try that avenue, but on the night, when it came down to it, he’d found he didn’t want to attend some stuffy event with a sixteen-year-old, and he’d gotten drunk with his friends and forgot about it instead.
Maybe his mother was right. He could be quite the fool.
“You have a polo match with your former University of Bologna teammates this afternoon, and your father has asked that you join him and your mother for
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