He shook his head and took his seat belt off, then hers.

“I can’t sit here and drive back to Sandringham with you looking at me like that without doing this.” He put his arms around her, pulled her to him, and kissed her. She was so surprised, she didn’t kiss back at first. He sat back and relaxed his hold on her. “I’m sorry, I thought . . . Did you not . . . ?”

She grinned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned forward.

“Oh, I did.”

This time, she kissed him. His kiss was just what she would have expected from him: firm, powerful, and somehow also tender. She hadn’t kissed someone with this much abandon in years; she’d forgotten just how great a really good kiss could be. Finally, he pulled back and kissed her cheek on the way.

“The last thing in the whole world I want is to stop this, but—”

She nodded.

“You have to get back, I know.”

He sighed and reached over to put her seat belt back on her. Why did that tiny gesture touch her heart so much? Don’t get ridiculous, V. This is just a little Christmas fling.

He put his own seat belt on and started the car again.

“I very much hope no member of the royal family drove by and saw that, but then, I didn’t care enough about it not to kiss you right here in the middle of the road.” He grinned at her. “However, I did have the foresight to pull over with these trees to camouflage us.”

She grinned back at him.

“I’m very glad you kissed me in the middle of the road, Malcolm,” she said.

He turned into the estate.

“So am I.”

A few minutes later, he dropped her off in front of Sycamore Cottage.

“I’ll see you tomorrow? For riding?”

She could feel the smile spread across her face.

“See you tomorrow.”

She walked up to the front door. She turned back when she got there, and he was still standing there smiling at her. James opened the door for her, and she waved to Malcolm. He waved back before he drove away.

Chapter Six

Malcolm looked over at Vivian, once again atop Polly, her seat just as perfect as when the Queen had commented on it.

He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her all evening the night before. He wanted to come back to Sycamore Cottage and pick her up after he was done with work, to take her back into town and out to dinner, and to talk to her for hours.

And he really wanted to take her back to his hotel room after that.

But she was here in England in order to spend time with her daughter, and while he knew she liked him, and was pretty certain after that kiss that she was attracted to him, he didn’t know if she’d welcome him trying to monopolize all of her time.

But she was so bright and vibrant and sparkling; how could he not want to spend more time with her?

“Having fun?” he asked.

She looked around, a wide smile on her face.

“I love this,” she said. “Why haven’t I done this before in my life?” She laughed. “That’s a silly question. I don’t live a life where horseback riding is just a thing I can easily do. Not like going for a hike or to the beach or to get more avocados.”

He laughed.

“We live in very different worlds.”

How did this woman feel so familiar to him, despite their differences?

She patted the side of Polly’s head as they rode toward the trees in the distance.

“I confess, as easy as it would be for me to do all three of those, the last one is the only one I actually do with any regularity. I don’t go to the beach nearly enough, even though I’m happy whenever I’m there.” A reminiscent smile spread over her face. “A while ago when I got a promotion and some back pay, Maddie and I rented a house right along the coast for a long weekend, and it was so wonderful. All we did was lie on the beach and read books and listen to the waves move in and out and eat snacks.”

“That sounds heavenly,” he said.

She nodded and sighed.

“It was. Granted, it’s Northern California, so the beaches are often overcast, but I like the beach in any weather, even when it’s gray and cloudy. We said when we left we would keep going back, maybe on her birthday, or mine, but we haven’t done a weekend like that again, and it’s been . . . years.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why. Life gets busy, with so many things that aren’t actually important but feel important. And there are plenty of weekend days where I could decide to forget my to-do list, spend a few hours at the beach instead, but I’ve only ever done that if there’s a special occasion.” She looked at him and smiled again. “Life is short. I need to stop waiting for special occasions in order to treat myself.”

They rode into some trees, and he grabbed her reins and slowed both of their horses to a stop. She looked at him, startled.

“Now seems like a good time for one kind of treat.”

He leaned over and kissed her again. She laughed as she realized what he was about to do, but then she kissed him back. He held on to her waist so she wouldn’t worry about falling, and he loved the feel of her body. She moved her hand up to his face and stroked his cheek. He wanted to stay like this forever.

Finally, his horse twitched, and they laughed and broke apart. He couldn’t believe he’d kissed her twice where people could have seen them. Maybe even had seen them. And he couldn’t bring himself to care.