Her Royal Masquerade (Her Royal Romance) by Natasha Moore Read Free Book Online Page B

snowflakes.
    “And he really said we can come for cookies?” Jennie asked. Her blue eyes were wide above chubby cheeks, red from the cold.
    “Yes. He invited us to stop in today for cookies and hot cocoa.” Once each year, Mia took her class to visit her grandfather’s bakery. She was so grateful he’d agreed to do it this week. She needed to keep busy in order to keep her mind occupied.
    This was not a fairy tale world she lived in, she reminded herself. This was real life. She was not an elegant woman, comfortable with diamonds and servants. She was a sensible woman with no patience for royal spectacles.
    It didn’t matter anyway. The certainty twisted painfully in her chest. Even if she and Vittorio had felt something for each other, even if they yearned for each other with an ache that wouldn’t go away, they had no future together. She should have known better than to go to bed with him, to tease herself with what she could never have. To tempt herself with what she could never keep.
    Did she want to feel miserable? The simple fact was that she had no royal blood. That would never change.
    Mia took the lead down the narrow path, tamping down the newly fallen snow with her boots as she did. Her small charges followed, all bundled up. Annika, Mia’s teaching assistant, brought up the rear.
    Mia loved their little village. It was the oldest in Stagatland, sitting at the foot of the hill where the royal palace was perched. So much of their country was modern and built up now. Cities were growing, along with the industries that helped build the economy of their small country. But Mia could not imagine giving up her simple life of quiet comfort to live in a noisy, crowded city. Or a huge stone castle.
    Not that it was an option.
    Still, there weren’t many eligible local men to choose from if she wanted to find someone to help her take her mind off Vittorio. Right now, the thought of another man touching her the way he had left her cold, but she knew she had to get over it. Get over him. If she wasn’t careful she could end up alone in her little cottage, living on memories of a single happy night for the rest of her life.
    That would be pathetic.
    She herded her class to the town square, where a large expanse of newly fallen snow was an obvious temptation to her young students. She’d taught them well though. They didn’t dash out to disturb the smooth white snow. They stood in a line at the edge of the square and looked up at her with eager expressions.
    “Please, Miss Holmberg?” Eric cried.
    Mia laughed. “Go,” she said. “See how big a snowman you can make and then we’ll go to the bakery. Work together.”
    The children shouted and made a mad dash for the center of the square. A few of them dropped onto their backs to make snow angels before beginning to pack the snow into balls to start the snowman.
    Annika stood beside her as they watched the children play. “Are you okay? You’ve seemed a little distracted the last couple days.”
    “I’m fine.” But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Mia knew it was a lie. She needed help and this was the perfect opportunity. “Anni, are you still dating Beck?”
    “Yes.” Her gray eyes sparkled beneath her bright blue knit hat and her cheeks grew a little pinker. “I like him a lot.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I think I might even love him a little bit.”
    “But how do you work it out when you live here and he lives in the city?”
    Annika laughed. “It’s only an hour drive. We see each other during the week when we can and then we spend the weekends together.”
    The children squealed as they worked together to roll a ball of snow for the base of the snowman. Mia would love to have children of her own someday. It was time to stop yearning for a man she could never have and find one with whom she could build a life. “Does Beck have any friends?”
     
     
    Vittorio had never expected to make a love match. He’d resigned himself