‘Not at all,’ Pa Brown was quick to reassure him.
‘Good,’ Luca declared, ‘because I’m here to claim my bride.’
The younger Browns stared at Luca, while the rest carried on as if nothing unusual had occurred. Callie moved first. Pushing her chair back, she put down her napkin. If it hadn’t been for Pa Brown’s restraining hand on her shoulder, she would have left the room and taken Luca with her. What right did he have to come storming in like some medieval feudal lord, interrupting the flow of everything around the Christmas table and demanding that she be his bride. ‘Steady girl,’ Pa Brown murmured discreetly.
Everyone closed their mouths and pretended to concentrate on their food as Callie sat down again. All except one. ‘You can have my chair, if I can have a ride in your sports car,’ young Tom Brown told Luca.
‘Sounds like a deal to me,’ Luca agreed with a smile.
‘My name’s Tom,’ the youngster supplied as he and Luca bumped fists.
‘Come on, everyone...shuffle up,’ Ma Brown instructed. ‘Let’s make room for the Prince.’
‘Now, there’s a phrase you don’t hear said every day,’ Pa Brown ventured, only to receive a stern look from his wife.
For a while everything was good-natured chaos as chairs were swopped around, and new cutlery was brought out of the drawer. Once crockery and glassware had been located, everything was settled for their guest.
‘I envy you,’ Luca told his hosts midway through the most succulent meal of turkey with all the trimmings.
‘You envy us?’ Pa Brown exclaimed, only to receive a second hard stare from his wife, who sensibly steered the situation.
‘More gravy with that extra helping of meat, Luca?’
‘Yes, please.’
With Ma Brown setting the tone, all the Browns began to behave as if His Serene Highness were any other neighbour who’d called around to share their Christmas cheer. Now that was class, Callie thought. Stuff Max and his cronies. They couldn’t hold a candle to these genuine folk. The meal could have been tense, and Christmas could have been ruined, but with Luca at his relaxed best, and Anita and the Browns just being themselves, the irreverent, good-natured banter soon resumed.
‘So, what’s it like being a prince?’ young Tom enquired.
‘Busy,’ Luca told him economically.
‘Don’t you have to smile at people you don’t like?’ anoth
er boy asked.
‘That’s called diplomacy,’ Pa Brown put in. ‘Something you could all do with a lesson in.’
‘No, he’s right,’ Luca intervened. ‘That’s why it’s so good to be here.’ He flashed a wry glance at Callie, who raised a brow.
‘Didn’t you have anywhere else to go at Christmas but here?’ young Tom demanded.
Luca’s lips quirked as he thought about this. ‘I had a few places, but nowhere as special as here.’
‘Pudding?’ Ma Brown enquired.
‘Yes, please,’ Luca confirmed. ‘But first...’ He glanced at Callie, and then jerked his head towards the door.
‘Of course,’ Ma Brown agreed. ‘I’ll keep the pudding warm for both of you.’
Callie wasn’t sure how she felt. She didn’t feel any more forgiving towards Luca, but they did need to talk, and the sooner, the better.
‘So now you know,’ she said. Having wrapped herself up warmly in her winter coat and scarf, she was sitting in the front seat of Luca’s bright red car.
‘Know what?’ he asked with a frown as he started the engine.
‘Where I come from.’
‘You’re lucky. It’s wonderful. That’s the best Christmas I’ve ever been part of.’