Free A Royal Holiday (Royals of Valleria #5) by Marianne Knightly Page B

with Alex’s problem.”
     
    Grace casually took a drink of cool water; Marcello’s breath against her ear warmed her body just a little too much in this crowd of people. “I see. Is it resolved?”
     
    “Not nearly.” Marcello pressed a soft kiss behind her ear before pulling back and returning to his meal. “I’m hopeful, though.” Marcello quickly checked his phone, to see if his team had made any progress; nothing yet.
     
    Grace nodded. Sensing he needed a distraction, she asked, “So, tell me, my prince, what is it that you’d like for Christmas?”
     
    The corner of Marcello’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “I don’t think I can say it here.”
     
    Grace laughed softly; she should have known he’d say something like that. “Don’t be crude. What else would you like? I’ve already arranged a gift for you, you see, but I’m not certain if you’ll like it.”
     
    Marcello ate his final forkful of food and wiped his mouth. “I’m sure it’s perfect, whatever it is. Are you really having trouble figuring out if I’ll want it?”
     
    “Yes. What do you get the man who has nearly everything?”
     
    “What do you get the woman who has nearly everything? I think I’m having the same problem you’re having, fair Grace.”
     
    Grace nodded. “Perhaps we should skip gift giving this year.”
     
    Marcello scoffed. “Not on your life. Besides, I told you: we have a tradition when it comes to gift giving.” Grace frowned; she’d nearly forgotten. She wasn’t sure the gift she had in mind should be revealed in a crowd.
     
    “Are you all right, Grace?” Cat asked. “Has Marcello upset you?”
     
    “If he has, I can kick his ass for you,” Lorenzo chimed in, and his mother scolded him for his language.
     
    “I’d like to see you try, little brother,” Marcello retorted.
     
    “I’m fine, perfectly so,” Grace said quickly. Even though she knew they were teasing each other, she still didn’t like the confrontation and wanted to diffuse it. “Marcello was just telling me about your Christmas gifting tradition.”
     
    Mischievous grins broke out on the faces of the brothers around the table, while all the sisters groaned.
     
    “It started out a lovely tradition,” Carolina said. “We all open one present each on Christmas together, and the rest are tucked away in our rooms to open later. It was the boys who ruined it.” The brothers started to protest.
     
    “They’re terrible,” Sarah said as she pushed back her golden hair over her shoulder. “The boys always find a way to torture or scare us with their gifts.”
     
    “Don’t place all the blame on us,” Nate said, his arm draped casually across the back of Charlie’s chair. “You girls did your fair share of tormenting.”
     
    “Nathaniel does have a point. However,” Genevieve said as she gestured to Rebecca, Grace, and Charlie, “since our family has grown so much over the last few months, I think we should avoid those types of gifts this year.”
     
    “I second that,” Marcello agreed. “I don’t think we should set out to embarrass anyone this year.” He gave a few of his brothers pointed looks.
     
    Alex shook his head. “Of course we shouldn’t embarrass anyone.”
     
    “Is this really the best idea?” Lorenzo asked as the dinner plates were whisked away and plates of tiramisu were brought out. “If they’re really part of the family, they should take part in all of the festivities.”
     
    “You just want to scare them,” Carolina said.
     
    “Of course I do,” Lorenzo said and wagged his eyebrows. After a handful of cloth napkins were thrown in his direction – a fairly usual occurrence – he grabbed them and set them to the side. “What? If they’re basically my sisters, I should treat them as such.”
     
    “Show them a little more respect than that, Lorenzo,” Ethan interjected. “Hell, you could even show me more respect than that.”
     
    “He treats you like that because