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‘Oh, he wasn’t always so boring,’ Amelia responded, with a wink.
Vanessa laughed. ‘You really are so bad to each other.’
Amelia lifted a hand in silent surrender. ‘I’m pretty sure he started it.’
‘Started what?’ Anton appeared at that moment, and Vanessa’s whole face showed happiness.
‘Our all-out war,’ Amelia joked.
‘Yes, and I intend to win it,’ he warned, then grinned, turning to his wife. ‘The twins are awake.’
‘Ah. Duty calls,’ Vanessa said, standing, putting an arm around Anton’s waist. ‘I’ll see you later?’
Amelia nodded, watching them walk away, smiling, because their happiness was so familiar to her. She sighed as she turned back to the boys, who, having reached the oak tree, were now busily trying to work out how to climb it. Even Amelia felt a slight twinge of alarm at that, but before she could intercede Benedetto was there, hoisting their son, Peter, onto his shoulders before scooping Anton and Vanessa’s son into his arms and spinning him around. The laughter grew higher in pitch, and he carried them away from the tree and back to the grass, where he placed them both down and neatly pointed them in the direction of the football. It worked—for now.
Amelia exhaled a sigh of relief, then a sigh of something else, something delightfully warm and intoxicating, as her husband drew closer and placed a kiss on her forehead. Her heart, as always, pumped harder, and she reached out, her hand curling into his.
‘Hello.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘Hello.’
‘Thank you for saving them from the tree-climb adventure.’
‘Saving them? I promised I’d help them build a tree house later.’
‘Oh, no,’ Amelia chortled. ‘You’d better include safety harnesses.’
‘They’re more capable than you give them credit for.’ He reached for a strawberry and bit into it. ‘Where’s Valentina?’
‘She’s reading with Mum and Dad.’ The King and Queen had taken to the role of grandparents with aplomb. They delighted in their five grandchildren and spent as much time as possible with them. Valentina, the only granddaughter, was doted on by all.
‘She’s so like you were!’ the King would marvel. ‘I never thought we would be so lucky to have a chance to do this all over again.’
And Amelia, who had never really had cause to doubt her father’s love for her, felt it radiate through her.
But there was one other child who was very much a part of their world, even though she was no longer with them. Sasha was spoken of often, brought into the light by Amelia and Benedetto, particularly with their children. For Benedetto, it had been imperative for Peter and Valentina to know about their older sister, to feel connected to her, and so he told them stories about her, showed photographs, and, in doing so, he felt those last stitches of grief begin to come together in his heart.
He would never get over losing Sasha, but he knew what a privilege it was to have loved her, and to have the chance to love Peter and Valentina. Loving, it turned out, was the greatest gift he had, and he was so grateful he’d recognised that, finally.
Amelia had run away from Catarno in fear. She’d been so afraid of not belonging, of everyone discovering that she wasn’t who they thought she was. She’d been afraid of her secrets being sold to the press, and, in the end, it had all been for nothing.
Daniel did not reappear in her life.
She heard, some years later, through a mutual acquaintance, that he’d moved to London and married a wealthy aristocrat’s daughter. Given his primary aim seemed to be living comfortably and working little, she presumed he’d succeeded in his goals and wouldn’t likely bother her again.
But if he did, she wasn’t worried.
It all seemed like such a long time ago, the feelings she’d had when she’d learned of the affair totally foreign to her now. She knew exactly who she was, and where she belonged, and with whom. She didn’t fear exposure—though it never came. If it had, she wouldn’t have worried, because it changed nothing. She was Amelia di Vassi, a princess of Catarno, and she was happier, she suspected, than anyone else on earth.
The next morning, with their children happily installed in the palace with grandparents, cousins, aunt and uncles, as well as a team of nannies primed for the havoc of the royal children, Amelia and Benedetto kissed everyone goodbye, as had become their annual tradition, to celebrate their wedding anniversary on Il Galassia.
Some years, they had been able to leave for only a night, when the children were young, and that hadn’t mattered because, wherever they were, their life was full of romance and love. But now, as the children were older and very comfortable staying with family, they had a whole week to look forward to. A week on the boat that had started it all, a week together, just the two of them, more in love with every day that passed, more in sync, more convinced that they were perfect for one another than they had ever been.
