I laugh as I nod my head frantically and kiss him. The last time I felt this whole was when I married him the first time, and I know without a doubt I’d marry him again twenty times over.

*     *     *

Dear reader,

You can meet Vanessa and Adam in The Player (Camila’s story). You can get another glimpse of Van’s whereabouts in The Naughty Princess. Sometimes life is messy and people drift apart. Other times, they fall apart. I’m a believer that real love always finds its way back to our lives, like it did for these two. ;)

Xo,

Claire Contreras

Last Christmas

Katee Robert

“Get that look off your face, Cael. You know this party is important. Chin up, my boy.”

Cael O’Malley bit back a sigh as he followed his aunt Carrigan up the stairs to the main entrance of the Morelli mansion. His cousin, Rose, elbowed him. “You’re my escort for the night, cousin. Try to look a little happier about it.” A faint Russian accent flavored her words, just like it always did when she teased him. As if she couldn’t help but remind him who her father was. Not that it mattered right now. Tonight was about their aunt Carrigan and her perpetual quest to find investors for her nonprofit that helped victims of sex trafficking.

Carrigan stopped at the top of the stairs and propped her hands on her hips. She looked good, but then she always looked good. Even on the lazy Sunday afternoons when she’d show up to hang out when he was a kid, she was never less than perfectly put together. Tonight she wore a black gown that clung to her lean form like it was made of liquid shadows.

By contrast, next to him, Rose wore red. A simple gown that dipped scandalously low in the back and with a deep V in the front. She’d layered a number of precariously long necklaces that somehow hung down both her front and back without choking her, offering glimpses of her pale skin with each move.

Cael had no idea how she’d managed to get through the door without Dmitri Romanov having a stroke. Even though Rose was twenty-five and an adult—and heir of the Romanov family—her father still had some strong opinions about everything. Or that was the impression Cael got. Rose wasn’t the only one with overbearing parents, though.

His father sure as fuck had strong opinions about shit, too.

“Cael.” Carrigan snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Focus. I need you to watch over Rose tonight.”

“Carrigan—”

“No.” She shook her head. “No protests. This party should be safe enough, but if you get into any trouble at all, her father will throw a hissy fit. And you.” She pointed at Cael. “No strange disappearances. I was about to send a search party last year when I couldn’t find you.”