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Cinderella's Prince Under The Mistletoe
Cara Colter
From his housekeeper… to Her Royal Highness? Reeling from the revelation that he’s not the rightful heir to his country’s throne, Crown Prince Luca Valenti heads to the mountains before scandal erupts. But snowbound with his enchanting housekeeper Imogen Albright, Luca begins learns there’s more to life than royal duty…
From his housekeeper...
...to Her Royal Highness?
In this A Crown by Christmas story, reeling from the revelation that he’s not the rightful heir to his country’s throne, Crown Prince Luca Valenti heads to the mountains to find his long-lost sister before scandal erupts. Snowbound with enchanting, down-to-earth housekeeper Imogen Albright, Luca’s learning there’s more to life than royal duty. As the snow melts, Christmas at the palace beckons...but will Luca make this Cinderella his royal bride?
CARA COLTER shares her life in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, nine horses and one small Pomeranian with a large attitude. She loves to hear from readers, and you can learn more about her and contact her through Facebook.
Also by Cara Colter (#u21350336-b1f1-5f68-8caa-4fe642c15046)
Swept into the Tycoon’s World
Snowbound with the Single Dad
His Convenient Royal Bride
A Crown by Christmas collection
Cinderella’s Prince Under the Mistletoe
And look out for the next two books
Soldier Prince’s Secret Baby Gift by Kate Hardy
Available November 2019
Their Christmas Royal Wedding by Nina Milne
Available December 2019
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Cinderella’s Prince Under the Mistletoe
Cara Colter
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-09161-9
CINDERELLA’S PRINCE UNDER THE MISTLETOE
© 2019 Harlequin Books S.A.
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Note to Readers (#u21350336-b1f1-5f68-8caa-4fe642c15046)
This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:
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To the entire A Crown by Christmas team, editors and writers, who made the magic happen.
Contents
Cover (#u89a34555-ca8f-526b-a174-c946dbbd9d50)
Back Cover Text (#uc90a2b29-70e8-5352-ab1a-69346d7968ff)
About the Author (#u6642268d-06bc-5bdb-badd-c5b0d5f033e1)
Booklist (#uaed126ed-fcad-5a64-9a8f-3df0fba65f23)
Title Page (#u4e8ef3aa-9cb0-5570-8b33-43bff77ccd19)
Copyright (#u3adcfc97-20ad-56ae-8404-72fcbc4d950a)
Note to Readers
Dedication (#uc6042bdb-7589-5d16-b206-1648111fcaa2)
CHAPTER ONE (#u9f162420-1c4f-52e0-97a1-98646346cc0c)
CHAPTER TWO (#ua70983e4-ebbf-5fc4-a104-1dcabc789fbc)
CHAPTER THREE (#ua6e3fcb2-86da-5066-8dc5-082000dc881b)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u69c7b6a8-3625-5e86-902f-320fe726cbf9)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u21350336-b1f1-5f68-8caa-4fe642c15046)
IMOGEN ALBRIGHT GAVE the perfectly made bed one more completely unnecessary swipe with her hand. The Egyptian cotton sheets, with their one thousand thread count, were soft beneath her fingertips, and a light, deliciously clean fragrance tickled her nostrils.
A little nervously, Imogen tucked a honey-blond strand of her shoulder-length hair behind her ear and glanced around the room. As were all the rooms at the Crystal Lake Lodge, a boutique hotel high in the Canadian Rockies, this room was subtly luxurious and faintly mountain themed with its beautifully hand-hewn wooden furniture and the river rock fireplace at one end of the room.
But was it good enough for a prince?
Ever since she was a little girl and the hotel was managed by her parents, Crystal Lake Lodge, with its promise of luxury in the heart of true wilderness, had attracted an elite clientele. Imogen had grown up with a fuss being made over her and her two sisters, by famous actors, heads of state and sports figures. Some came every year, and a few remained as friends to the family. When they were teenagers, Imogen and her sisters had been the envy of all their friends with their autographed collections of celebrity photos.
But to her knowledge, Crystal Lake Lodge had never hosted royalty before.
One thing about rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous all her life? Imogen knew, better than most, that the fabulously wealthy and well-known were just people. With few exceptions, especially when they came here, they wanted the barriers to come down, to be treated as normal and to be liked for themselves.
Prince Antonio Valenti might have an entirely different attitude, though, if the thick protocol book that had been delivered just yesterday was any indication! There was something so intimidating about that heavy binder that she had not yet opened it.
Was the delivery of the protocol book the reason she felt so nervous? She never felt nervous before guests arrived.
But there was some mystery shrouding this arrival.
For one thing, the Prince was not arriving with an entourage. He was coming by himself with a single bodyguard. For another, the booking had been made with hardly any advance notice.
And for yet another, it was the shoulder season. Imogen wandered to the window and looked out. Even though she had lived here all her life, she felt her breath catch in her throat.
The Lodge was perched high on a mountainside. The views were stunning: from this distance, the town in the narrow valley below looked like one of those Christmas miniature villages that people collected.
The community had been built around the shores of Crystal Lake, which was tranquil and turquoise, reflecting the blaze of fall colors around it. The valley walls were carpeted with emerald green forests that gave way to craggy rock faces. The mountains soared upward to dance with bright blue sky, their pyramid-shaped peaks crowned in brilliant white mounds of snow.
It was October and so the thick stands of pine and fir and balsam were interspersed with larch, the needles spun to stunning gold, lit from within by the late-afternoon autumn sun. Imogen knew if she opened the window, the scents of fall would envelop her: clean and crisp, with the faintest overtones of wood smoke.
Still, as gorgeous as it all was, the question remained: Why would the Prince come now? The summer season—that lake dotted with kayaks and canoes, the air full of the screams of children brave enough to try the mountain waters—was over.
And the ski season was at least a month from beginning.
The mountain trails in this area were world famous for hikers and recreational mountain climbers. When the Lodge had clientele at this time of year, that was who they usually were—outdoor enthusiasts.
And yet when this booking came in and she had asked the reason for the visit, she had been rebuffed as if she had overstepped a line by asking. Then, they had requested she book the whole hotel, though there were only two of them arriving—the Prince and his security man. Thank goodness it was the shoulder season, or she would not have been able to accommodate that request.
“Gabi,” she said, backing out of the room, giving it one last glance, and then closing the door. “Where are you when I need you?”
“Did you say something?”
One of the local girls, Rachel, who helped at the hotel, popped her head out of the room they were preparing for the security man. Newly married, her baby bump was becoming quite pronounced.
Why did it seem baby season was hitting Crystal Lake in such a big way?
Everywhere Imogen looked there were babies on the way, or people toting brand-new infants. And every single time, she felt that pang of loss and regret.
“Sorry, no, I was talking to myself,” Imogen explained.
“I heard you say something about Gabi.”
“I was just wondering where she was, that’s all.”
“Well, everyone is wondering what is up with Gabi, so let me know when you figure it out.”
Imogen smiled at the pregnant girl. This was what was lovely—and occasionally aggravating—about small towns. No one could ever have a secret. Did Gabi have a secret?
Instead of promising to share gossip, Imogen said, “Rachel, you be careful. No lifting!”
“Ha. My mother was chopping wood when she started having labor with me.”
