A Very Royal Christmas by Emma Lea

Author:Emma Lea [Lea, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Emma Lea

Chapter 16

Georgina

We wandered through the market and headed toward the Ashby Chocolate stand. Leo kept my hand securely tucked in his elbow and it felt nice. I meant what I’d said earlier; Leo wasn’t who I originally thought he was. He was still arrogant and immature, but I was beginning to realise that was a façade and not the real man. I didn’t understand why he wanted people to see him that way and I wanted to ask. In fact, I wanted to know a whole lot more about him and that was a little scary. No one had piqued my interest—platonic or otherwise—since Jacob died. It was exciting and a little terrifying mixed in with a whole lot of guilt.

I knew no one expected me to mourn Jacob for the rest of my life, but it still felt dishonourable to have these feelings for another man, especially a man who was so completely opposite to the kind of man Jacob was. Jacob had taken his heritage and his future seriously. He was going to be king and he knew the kind of king and the kind of man he wanted to be. When I looked at Leo it was almost like he didn’t know his place in the world or even what he wanted his place to be. I saw a man pushing against the expectations of his family but with no clear path of his own.

“I think that crowd might be some indication of the direction of the Ashby Chocolates stall,” Leo said, nodding toward the large group of people in front of us.

“Shall we join the fray?” I asked, grinning up at him.

“Into the breach,” he replied, looking down at me with a grin.

For a moment I thought he might lean down and kiss me…and I wanted him to, as much as I felt guilty for the wanting. There had been a similar moment earlier during the tree lighting where he even leaned down and was only a breath away from dusting his lips across mine. My lips tingled with anticipation but before it could be realised, he redirected his gaze. And again, he stopped himself from following through, instead moving us forward into the gathered crowd.

“Do you know that Ashby Chocolates use milk from my cows for their milk chocolate?” I said as we moved toward the front of the line.

“I think I might have heard that somewhere,” he said with a wink. “And it’s made here in Merveille?”

I nodded. “It’s an Australian company, but they manufacture the chocolate here and then ship it to their various factories around the world. There is talk of them opening a store here in Merveille.”

“Merveille is doing a lot to try and encourage more businesses into the country,” Leo observed.

“It’s one of the main focusses of the queen. While her father was the king, we lost a lot of people and business to other countries that had more incentives for small and large business. She’s trying to change that. It’s important for the future of our country that we keep as many people here as we can.

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