“The twenty-eighth,” she said. “Maddie and I leave Sandringham the day after Christmas—Boxing Day, as I guess people really call it here—and then we’re in London for a few days before we fly home.”

“What would you think about staying a few extra days in London?” he asked.

“What?” She stopped and turned to him. She tried to drop his hand, but he held on. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, Maddie would fly back on the twenty-eighth as scheduled, and you would stay an extra few days. With me. Maybe through the New Year. I’m on holiday all next week, and you just said that this is your last holiday for a while, so why not make the most of it? Plus”—he looked straight at her—“I’m not ready for you to go.”

Oh.

She looked down and didn’t say anything.

“I’m not just flattering myself that you want to spend more time with me, too, am I?” Malcolm asked after a few seconds.

She looked back up at him.

“No, oh no, that’s not it. It’s just, this is so sudden. I’ve had a great time with you, Malcolm, but . . .”

He stepped closer to her and held more tightly to her hand.

“Didn’t you just say you need to treat yourself more?” he asked.

She shook her head, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

“Stop throwing my words back at me,” she said.

He reached up and touched her cheek.

“I can’t get enough of you, Vivian Forest,” he said. “Stay here in England with me, just for a few more days.”

Oh wow.

“That does sound lovely,” she said.

“It will be,” he said.

He leaned down and kissed her again. She moved into the circle of his arms. Her body against his made her feel so warm and secure. And his hands on her body made her feel so desired.

It would be nice to spend a few days without Maddie right across the hall from her bedroom.

They walked hand in hand until he left her at the steps of Sycamore Cottage.

When she got inside, Maddie ran toward her. Oh no. With Malcolm’s invitation swirling around her mind, the last thing she wanted to do was to get interrogated by her daughter.

“Oh, thank God you’re here,” Maddie said. “Can you come up to the dressing room? We need your help.”

Vivian turned to hand her coat to James and hoped Maddie hadn’t seen the relief on her face.

“Of course. What do you need?”

Maddie talked the whole way up to the second floor—or what Vivian had discovered was called the first floor here.

“We originally had six options in the running for Christmas Eve, and when I got here, the Duchess and I narrowed it down to three, and this morning we managed to narrow it down to two, but between those two, she can’t decide.” Maddie lowered her voice. “You know I generally have no problem ordering clients around and telling them what to wear, but this is an unusual situation, so I’ve tried to just do a Vivian and give her the pros and cons of both dresses and let her make the decision.”

Vivian grinned. Maddie always made fun of her for her pro/con lists; it was good to know her daughter did actually listen to her.

“So, what do you need me for?” she asked.

Maddie smiled.

“She still can’t decide. She likes them both so much—which thrills me, of course—but both of them need a tiny bit of alteration, and she doesn’t want me to do that work for both for her to decide at the last minute, which obviously thrills me even more. So she said we should see what you think.”

Vivian stopped and stared at her daughter.

“The Duchess wants my opinion?”

Maddie slid an arm through hers and pulled her along.

“She does; thank goodness I know you have good taste.”

Maddie ushered Vivian into the “dressing room,” which looked like an entire large bedroom devoted to the Duchess’s wardrobe. She stood in the corner, in a slim, off-the-shoulder, floor-length magenta gown.

“Oh my goodness, you look wonderful,” Vivian said. “Is that one of the dresses?”

The Duchess came over to her and took both of Vivian’s hands in hers.

“It is, and thank you so much for coming up to give us your advice! I love both of them—your daughter did an excellent job—and I can’t decide what to wear.” She turned and walked back toward the window and then turned in a circle. “I want you to see them both from all sides.”

Vivian walked around her.

“You look incredible in this one. I want to see you in the other one, but it’ll have to be something out of this world.”

The Duchess beamed at her, and Maddie raced over to unzip the dress. Vivian turned to the other side of the room and saw a row of boxes that she was sure contained jewelry. She thought of what Malcolm had said about how royal jewelry was a sight to see. God, she itched to open those boxes and peek inside. She moved away and looked at the many rows of shoes instead.

Had Malcolm really just invited her to stay in England after Maddie left? With him? She couldn’t stop smiling. She’d known they were having a good time together, but she’d thought he was spending time with her mostly from a combination of boredom and loneliness. But no, he was interested in her; he wanted to spend more time with her. Not from boredom or politeness, but because he couldn’t get enough of her. Wow.

“Okay, Mom. Here’s the second dress.”

Vivian tried to dim her smile and spun around. The Duchess was now in a sequined emerald-green gown, with a high neck and a high—but not too high—slit up the side. She spun in a circle, and glints of green light sparkled around the room. Vivian laughed.

“You absolutely have to wear that dress. I love the other dress so much—wear it to something else—but please wear this dress tomorrow night.”

Maddie looked at her mom with a big smile on her face. She’d clearly picked Maddie’s favorite.

The Duchess beamed at her.

“I love it, too, but are you sure about the color?”

Vivian nodded.

“Positive.”

The Duchess looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

“You’re right. Yes, this one.” She clasped Vivian’s hands again. “Thank you so much. I think I just needed you to give me that push.”

Maddie smiled and started pinning the bottom of the dress.

“I hope you’ve been having a good time while you’ve been here,” the Duchess said. Vivian tried to think about how to respond to that without referring to Malcolm, but luckily, the Duchess kept talking. “Maddie said this is your first time in England; it’s too bad you’re leaving so soon after Christmas, but I’ve already given her a list of things you two should do in London.”

Vivian smiled to herself.

“Yes, too bad we’re leaving so soon,” she said. Malcolm’s idea sounded better and better the more she thought about it.

Chapter Seven

Vivian went to bed that night with a smile on her face. She woke up the next morning—Christmas Eve—in a panic. There was no way she could stay on in England with Malcolm. What had she been thinking?

First of all, she had responsibilities back at home! Sure, she was on vacation until January 3, but she needed to get her house in order, unpack, switch out her calendars, and water her plants—all the stuff she usually did after Christmas but wouldn’t be able to do if she stayed in England.