Royal Holiday Bride. Brenda Harlen

very expectant wife—explained, accepting the milk with more resignation than enthusiasm.

      She’d forgotten the excuse she’d made to both of them to explain her supposed absence from the event the night before. Though she didn’t lie easily or well, the fib had been necessary to ensure that they weren’t looking for her in the crowd.

      Hannah stirred a spoonful of sugar into her coffee. “I called last night to see if you needed anything, but when there was no answer, I figured you turned off the ringer because of the headache.”

      Gabby’s gaze narrowed suspiciously. “But when Hannah told me that she’d called and didn’t get an answer, I began to suspect that maybe you didn’t miss the ball at all.”

      She sipped her coffee. “You’re right. I was there,” Marissa admitted. “But I left early.”

      “With the sexy guy in the purple toga?”

      Marissa didn’t bother to deny it. She’d already proven that she couldn’t lie to them—at least not very well—and she didn’t want to, anyway. They weren’t just her sisters-in-law, they were her best friends, and she desperately needed friends to confide in right now.

      “With Jupiter,” she confirmed.

      Gabby grinned. “Good for you.”

      Hannah’s head swiveled toward her. “Are you kidding? It’s not good—it’s crazy.”

      “Was it good?” Gabby asked, not the least bit chastened by Hannah’s outrage.

      Marissa couldn’t help but smile. “It was … fabulous.”

      “Details,” Gabby immediately demanded.

      Hannah only sighed.

      “I’m sorry if you’re disappointed in me,” Marissa said to Michael’s wife, and meant it.

      “I’m not disappointed in you, just surprised,” Hannah told her. “I’ve never known you to be reckless or impulsive, and leaving the ball with a stranger—”

      “Was necessary,” she interjected.

      Even Gabriella seemed surprised by that revelation. “Why?”

      Marissa lifted her chin. “Because I’d decided it was finally time to lose my virginity.”

      Her brothers’ wives exchanged another look. Obviously neither of them had been aware of her lack of sexual experience, and why would they be?

      “Okay, back up a minute and put this in context for us,” Hannah suggested. “Why, having made it to this point in your life without losing your virginity, was it suddenly so urgent to do so?”

      “Because there are rumors floating around that the Duke of Bellemoro is in the market for his second wife and, based on several appointments that he’s had with the Princess Royal over the past few weeks, I figured out that Elena was preparing to offer me as a virgin sacrifice.”

      “There aren’t a lot of suitable marriage prospects for a bona fide princess,” Hannah noted. “So I can see why your mother might consider a match with someone holding such a high hereditary title to be a coup.”

      “But the Duke of Bellemoro?” Gabby winced sympathetically. She, too, had obviously heard the rumors of the duke’s sexual proclivities. And despite his appreciation for women with a multitude of experience in his bedroom, he’d let it be known that he was seeking a more innocent type for his bride.

      “Which is why I decided that I wasn’t going to be manipulated,” Marissa said firmly. “Not anymore.”

      “So don’t be,” Gabby said. “It’s not as if Elena can force you to marry against your will.”

      “Actually, she can,” Hannah interjected, sounding almost apologetic. “Archaic as it may be, the laws of this country still allow the parents of a princess to enter into a legal contract of marriage on her behalf.”

      “But not the parents of a prince?” Gabriella was as incensed by the inequality of its application as the law itself.

      “I said it was archaic,” Hannah reminded her.

      “It’s an old and acceptable tradition,” Marissa said. “And my mother knows that I would honor such a contract because it’s my duty as a member of the royal family to respect our history and uphold our customs.”

      “Because you’d never do anything that might create a scandal,” Gabby noted.

      “Losing your virginity to a stranger seems pretty scandalous to me,” Hannah said.

      “If the Princess Royal’s daughter lost her virginity to a stranger, it would be scandalous,” Marissa acknowledged, which was why she’d been so worried about the possibility that someone might recognize her. And during one turn around the dance floor, she’d spotted her sisters-in-law on the perimeter and had felt the weight of Gabriella’s gaze on her. But her brother’s wife had shown no hint of recognition, which reassured Marissa that her true identity would not be discovered. “Which is why I made sure that no one would know that I was Juno.”

      “Gabby recognized you,” Hannah pointed out.

      “I suspected,” she clarified. “And I should say now that you looked absolutely stunning.”

      Before Marissa could respond, Hannah forged ahead again.

      “It was still a crazy idea. No, not just crazy but dangerous,” she said. “Do you have any idea how many things could have gone wrong?”

      “Nothing went wrong,” Marissa told her.

      “Nothing except that you slept with a man you don’t even know,” Hannah countered.

      “Actually, I didn’t sleep at all until I got home around three this morning.”

      Gabby grinned. “You’re actually bragging.”

      Marissa lifted her chin. Maybe she was bragging, and she wasn’t going to apologize for it. If a wedding to the Duke of Bellemoro was in her future, at least she would have the memories of one fabulous night to help get her through it.

      Hannah looked at her, the furrow in her brow easing. “It really was good?”

      “It really was fabulous,” she said again.

      “Well, I guess that’s something,” she relented. “But you should have at least asked his name.”

      “I couldn’t,” Marissa said. “Because I had no intention of telling him mine. I wanted to be anonymous so that, for the first time in my life, I could feel confident that a man was interested in me and not my title or political connections.”

      “Still, I would think you’d at least be curious about his true identity,” Gabriella mused.

      “Of course I am. But the whole point of putting my plan into action last night was to ensure that no one would know who I was—it would hardly be fair if I changed the rules now.”

      “It would be easy enough to track him down,” Hannah told her. “All you’d have to do is contact the palace’s master of the household and find out who was staying in … whatever room he was staying in.”

      “It was the corner suite,” Marissa answered automatically, “but I’m not going to do it.”

      “Why not?” Gabby demanded, clearly disappointed.

      “Because he obviously had his own reasons for wanting to remain anonymous.”

      “Which only makes me more curious.”

      “Maybe he’s married,” Hannah suggested.

      “He’s not,” Marissa assured her. “I did ask about that.”

      “Glad to know you did exercise some moral judgment before you gave your virginity to a stranger,” Hannah