USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday concludes her beloved royal Christmas series with an unforgettable romance about a confident American woman and the strait-laced royal advisor who falls hopelessly in love with her.
Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Jenny Holiday’s So This Is Christmas, which is out now from Avon Books.
Matteo Benz has spent his life serving at the pleasure of the Eldovian crown. His work is his life and his life, well…he doesn’t have much of one. When he is tasked to aid a management consultant who has been flown in to help straighten out the king’s affairs, he is instantly disturbed by her brash American manner—as well by an inconvenient attraction to the brainy beauty.
Cara Delaney is in Eldovia to help clean up the king’s financial affairs, but soon finds herself at odds with the very proper Mr. Benz. As intrigued by his good looks as she is annoyed by his dedication to tradition for its own sake, she slowly begins to see the real man behind the royal throne.
As they work together to return Eldovia to its former glory during the country’s magical Christmas season, Matteo discovers he is falling hopelessly in love with the unconventional American. But a man who has devoted his life to tradition doesn’t change easily. Can he become the man Cara needs, or will their love be another sacrifice to the crown?
“Doesn’t it seem suspicious that if Noar is looking to acquire shares, or if Daniel is looking to sell shares, neither has thought to mention it, given that there is a companywide overhaul underway?”
“It does.”
The way she was responding calmly and briefly to his thinking-out-loud statements made him think she had a theory about what was happening. She had just opened up to him. He decided to give her more reason to do so. “I don’t usually publicly criticize people.”
“You leave that for behind closed doors.”
He wasn’t sure if that was a question, and if it was a statement it wasn’t a flattering one. “I don’t usually publicly criticize people, but Noar Graf is a raging egomaniac, and I detest him.”
She burst out laughing.
“What, pray tell, is so amusing?” Once again, the way her face lit up made his start to echo hers. It was supremely annoying.
“You! You’re so buttoned-up, usually. It’s strange to see you so freely expressing emotion. It reminds me of the time Data— Forget it.”
“Data from Star Trek? Were you about to compare me to an android?” He didn’t know whether to laugh or to be offended.
“No!” She was trying and failing not to laugh as she turned her face away to look out her window. “I would never do that.”
He waited a beat and asked, “What do you think is happening with the shares?”
His uncharacteristic display of emotion, be it human or android, must have worked. “I don’t know yet, but . . .” She turned and looked into his eyes, searched them, as if trying to decide whether she could trust him.
“Do you remember an episode of The Next Generation in which Data befriends Tasha Yar’s sister, only to find she was set on betraying them all?” he asked.
Her brow wrinkled. “I thought you were Team Star Wars.”
“I am. But I’m well-read. Well-viewed. When it comes to science fiction, anyway. At the end of that episode, Data is talking to Riker. He’s confused. He doesn’t understand these human concepts of friendship and trust. Riker tells him that without risk, there can be no friendship.”
The sense that she was trying to see into his soul deepened. He waited. Allowed her to look— allowed himself to be seen. It was difficult.
Finally, she said, “Are you calling me an android now?”
He chuckled. “No. I’m just saying that although we’ve had our differences, you can trust me in this matter. If one of the board members is doing something underhanded, that’s bad news any way you look at it.”
It felt like a triumph when she started talking.
