The Royal Collection. Rebecca Winters

So perfect, in fact, I can’t believe my eyes.”

      Christina smiled at Zach’s wife. “You outdid yourself, Lindsay. All the credit goes to you. This dress is divine.”

      Louisa, the owner of the palazzo, hurried toward her. “You’re the most stunning bride I’ve ever seen.”

      “Thank you, Louisa. You look lovely too. I’m indebted to you for your generosity in letting us be married here. The Palazzo di Comparino is the most ideal setting for a wedding in all of Tuscany.”

      “It’s been an honor for me. I told Prince Antonio the same thing.”

      Louisa had given Christina a tour of the newly renovated chapel yesterday. She’d met the elderly priest who would be marrying them. While he walked with her in private, they chatted about the renovations.

      She’d been utterly enchanted with the fabulous unearthed fresco of the Madonna and child now protected by glass. The charming chapel had an intimacy and spiritual essence. It thrilled her to know she’d be taking her vows in here. She intended to make this the perfect wedding day.

      “Everyone is inside waiting,” Lindsay whispered. “Here’s your bouquet, Christina.”

      “Oh—these white roses are exquisite.”

      “Just like you. And here’s your bouquet, Elena.” Lindsay had matched the flowers to the soft blush of her gown. “Zach will hand you the ring to give Antonio when the time comes during the ceremony. As we rehearsed, once you hear the organ, you and your father will enter the chapel with Elena five paces behind you. The king and queen are seated on the right side with their retinue. Your family and friends are on the left.”

      Christina looked around. “Where’s my father?”

      “I’m right behind you.”

      As she turned, her heart thudded mostly in fear in case she saw rejection in his dark gray eyes. He had a patrician, distinguished aura and was immaculately dressed. His gaze studied her features for a moment. “I’m glad to see you’ve changed for the better. Today the Rose family can be proud of you.”

      “You look very handsome too, Father.”

      “Christina?” Lindsay reminded her. “Take your father’s arm.”

      The organist had started playing Wagner’s “Wedding March.” There’d probably never been this many people inside. Her joy was almost full.

      She clung to her father as they slowly made their way down the aisle of the ornate interior. The only eyes she searched for were her mother’s, wanting her approbation. Her mother, who was in her midfifties, was still a beautiful brunette woman and the envy of many.

      Just once Christina hoped to find a loving smile meant for her alone. As she passed the pew, she made eye contact with her. A proud smile broke out on her mother’s perfectly made-up face. That acknowledgment made Christina feel as if she were floating as she walked toward her prince.

      She focused her attention on the two men standing at the altar before the priest. Zach, as best man, stood several inches taller than the crown prince, who was six foot one, according to Elena. They were watching her progress.

      A slight gasp escaped her lips when she looked into the startling blue eyes of the man she was about to pledge her life to. It had been several months since the last time she saw him at the palace. His visit had been brief.

      In full dark blue ceremonial dress, Antonio looked so splendid she was shaken by her reaction to him. His light brown hair, smart and thick, was tipped with highlights from the sun, reflecting a healthy sheen. With such a lean, fit body, he was the epitome of a royal prince every little girl dreamed of marrying one day.

      How incredible that Christina was about to become his wife. If I were the type, I’d pass out at the feet of the most desirable man in all Halencia. But I’m not going to make any mistakes today. This is my wedding day. I love it already.

      Caught up in all the wedding preparations, she felt that she was his beautiful bride and she intended to be the woman he was excited to marry. Her teenage dream had come true. The only thing more she could ask of this day was that the fantasy would last forever.

       CHAPTER TWO

      MAYBE ANTONIO’S EYES were playing tricks on him. The stunning woman walking on the arm of her father with the grace of a queen had to be Christina, but it was a Christina he’d never seen or imagined.

      When did the brownish-red hair, which he remembered she’d worn in a ponytail, turn out to be a spun red gold?

      Had her body ever looked like an hourglass before now?

      The lace veil against her smooth olive skin provided a foil for her finely arched dark eyebrows. Because of the light coming through the stained glass windows, her crystalline gray eyes had taken on a silvery cast. Her red mouth had a passionate flare he’d never even noticed.

      His gaze fell lower to the brooch she’d pinned to the beaded bodice of her wedding dress. The diamonds sparkled in the light with every breath she took.

      Elena approached her side to take the bouquet from her. When Christina smiled at his sister, Antonio caught its full effect and was blindsided by the change in her.

      While he’d been talking to her earlier in the bridal suite, parts of her sounded like the woman he’d gotten engaged to four years ago. But she wasn’t the same person on the outside. It threw him so completely that he felt a nudge from Zach to pay attention to the priest.

      “Your Highness?” he whispered. “If you will take your bride-to-be by the hand.”

      Antonio reached for her right hand. Her cool, dry grip was decisive. If she was suffering wedding nerves, it didn’t show. He didn’t know if he was disappointed by her demeanor, which seemed unflappable.

      In a voice loud enough to fill the interior, the priest began. “Welcome, all of you. Today we are gathered here for one of the happiest occasions in all human life, to celebrate before God the marriage of a man and woman who love each other. Marriage is a most honorable estate, created and instituted by God, signifying unto us the mystical union that also exists between Christ and the Church. So too may this marriage be adorned by true and abiding love. Let us pray.”

      Antonio bowed his head, but his burden of guilt over compelling Christina to follow through with this marriage weighed heavily on him. As Zach had reminded him, she’d entered into this union of her own free will because of her love for Elena, but the words may this marriage be adorned by true and abiding love pierced him to the core of his being.

      In the past four years he’d done nothing to show her love. The only thing true about this marriage was their love for Elena, and on his part the need to preserve the monarchy. But at this moment Antonio made up his mind that their love for his sister would be the foundation upon which they built a life together.

      Antonio’s absence from her life except for those four quick visits had made certain she had no anticipation of love to come. To his surprise she sounded happy as she repeated the marriage covenant. He hadn’t expected that.

      When it was his turn to recite his vows, he felt the deep solemnity of the moment and said them with fervency.

      “Who holds the rings?”

      “I do,” Zach responded.

      “Grant that the love which the bride and groom have for each other now may always be an eternal round. Antonio? Take the ring and put it on Christina’s finger saying, ‘With this ring, I thee wed.’”

      She presented her left hand while he repeated the words. Her hand trembled a little as he slid the wedding band next to the diamond from the royal family treasury he’d given her four years earlier. So she wasn’t quite as composed as he’d thought, but it didn’t make him feel any better. If anything, he felt worse because