CHAPTER 17
A fter Justin hung up with Ava, he continued searching for Stormy at the Christmas market. Even though all the vendors had closed up for the night, he knew Stormy could still be around, because there was so much for a curious dog to explore.
When he first entered the Christmas market to pick up Stormy at the candy cane stall, he had been surprised and impressed by how large it was for such a small, quaint village. During the day, it had been filled with people and was a truly immersive holiday experience.
The market was set in the heart of the village where cobblestone streets sparkled under twinkling white Christmas lights.
Wooden stalls lined the village square. They all had matching gold awnings trimmed with fresh evergreen garlands and wreaths.
The air had been filled with the scent of roasted chestnuts, cinnamon-spiced cider, and fresh-baked gingerbread.
He’d loved how all the vendors greeted shoppers with warm smiles and how they couldn’t wait to share their stories about the traditional items they were selling.
There were handmade ornaments, candles, knit scarves, mittens, hats, intricate lacework, and carved wooden toys.
There were also stalls filled with all kinds of Christmas treats, from Skydovia’s famous dark chocolate sea salt fudge and Christmas butter balls to an assortment of fresh-baked Christmas cookies, cakes, and pies.
The candy cane stall where Stormy had been found earlier featured another Skydovia traditional favorite—dark chocolate–dipped candy canes—that he couldn’t wait to try.
At the heart of the square stood a towering Christmas tree decorated with hundreds of twinkling white lights, yards of gold velvet ribbon, and sparkling red and gold glass ornaments.
This was where Justin had watched villagers gather all day, laughing and catching up with friends and family, while Charles Dickens–inspired carolers strolled through, singing classic Christmas songs.
He thought Skydovia’s Christmas market was a scene straight out of a storybook, where old-world charm and royal traditions made everything feel even more magical.
But right now, Justin wasn’t seeing any kind of happily-ever-after storybook ending in his future unless he could find Stormy before the sun came up.
For the fifth time, he walked over to a giant gingerbread house that was at the entrance to the market. It seemed like the kind of place Stormy would love.
“Stormy! Where are you, Stormy?” he called out.
He rubbed his hands together, wishing he’d worn some gloves. Once the sun set, the cool, crisp winter air had a real bite to it.
“Stormy. Come on. Help a guy out here. I’ll give you anything you want. A steak. A candy cane. A Christmas wreath to destroy. Anything!”
Justin knew he was getting desperate if he was trying to bribe a dog with a candy cane. The stress was obviously getting to him.
As much as he’d given the princess a hard time for Stormy running off, his own sense of guilt was overpowering.
He was the dog trainer. The dog expert. Something like this should never have happened, no matter what the princess said or did.
The queen had hired him to take care of Stormy, to protect him, because that was what he did. He didn’t lose people’s beloved pets.
He shuddered just thinking about it.
Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Things were only made more complicated by the fact that he was working with a royal family.
He had to find a way to make this right.
He had to find Stormy. The only thing that gave him any peace of mind was that he was told Stormy had been fine earlier when they’d found him.
He wasn’t hurt or sick or anything like that.
He was just being a royal renegade, probably thinking this was all a big game.
As he was circling the gingerbread house, lost in thought, he almost ran into a man coming from the other direction.
“Whoa, sorry!” Justin said. “I wasn’t paying attention…” His voice trailed off when he recognized Ted, the guy he had helped earlier with the ice sculptures.
“Hey! You’re the dog trainer!” Ted said merrily.
Justin laughed. “And you’re the ice sculpture guy.”
“What are you doing here?” they both asked at the same time.
Justin laughed again. “I thought I was the only one still left here tonight.”
“No, I’m working on a new ice sculpture over at the park. An angel. She’s a beauty,” Ted said.
“That’s really cool,” Justin responded.
Ted pointed at him and smiled. “Was that an ice joke?”
“No,” Justin said. “But if you like, we can go with that.”
Ted laughed. “Oh, I’ve heard them all. What are you doing here? Did you lose one of the dogs you’re training?”
Justin froze. “What?”
Ted patted him on the back as he grinned ear to ear. “Just kidding. Apparently, my jokes aren’t so good. Of course you’d never lose one of your dogs, right?”
Justin forced himself to smile. “Right. Who would ever do that?”
“So?” Ted asked. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m…uh…waiting for a friend,” Justin finally got out. “She was supposed to meet me for dinner at the…candy cane place.”
Ted’s eyes widened. “You’re eating candy canes for dinner?”
“Uh, no,” Justin stumbled. He was a horrible liar. “We were going to have them for…dessert.”
“Before dinner?” Ted asked.
“Yes,” Justin said, scrambling. “You know the phrase, ‘eat dessert first, life is short…’” Now just shut up, before you really say something stupid , he told himself.
“Well, you’ve missed dinner and dessert. Everything’s closed down here,” Ted said.
Justin stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, I see that now. I must have gotten the time wrong.”
Ted slung his arm around Justin. “Don’t worry, you can come with me, and we’ll grab a beer. I owe you one for helping me today.”
“Oh, I can’t. I really need to keep looking…”
“For what? Your friend who’s not showing up?” Ted asked. “No, what you need is a drink. Come on!”
Before Justin knew what was happening, Ted was leading him away from the gingerbread house.
“But I thought you said everything was closed,” Justin said, trying to think of a reason to escape so he could keep looking for Stormy.
Ted grinned at him. “Not everything.”
? ? ?
As Justin sat inside a lively, festive pub, he drained almost his entire beer in one long, thirsty gulp.
“Whoa! Slow down,” Ted said, laughing. “What’s the hurry? Unless you have a pretty lady waiting for you.”
Justin laughed. “Who has time for that?”
“Trust me, if it’s the right one, you make the time,” Ted said.
“Then I guess I haven’t found the right one ,” Justin said as he stared at his beer.
“Why not?” Ted asked. “You’re a good-looking guy with a good job. You seem like a catch.”
Justin laughed. “Well, thanks, Ted. I’m hiring you as my personal PR person. But seriously, I’ve met some great women, but the relationship never gets very far.”
“Why? What’s wrong with you?” Ted asked, only half joking.
“I travel a lot, all over the world,” Justin explained. “So I’m not around very much to give them all the attention they want.”
“Because you’re giving all your attention to those dogs you train,” Ted said.
Justin nodded. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. They’re definitely my first love.”
“What kind of dog do you have?” Ted asked.
Justin shook his head, sadly. “I don’t have any for the same reason. I travel too much. It wouldn’t be fair to them. I’ve seen firsthand what happens to pets who are always left behind when their owners leave, and my job is not conducive to me bringing my own pet along.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t work,” Ted said and took a swig of his beer.
“What about you?” Justin asked.
Ted grinned back at him. “I have two dogs, a Labrador and a golden retriever.”
“Those are great dogs.”
Ted nodded. “Ben and Jerry. Besides my wife, they’re my best friends.”
Justin smiled, thinking about how great it would be to love someone who was also your best friend. “How long have you been married?”
“Thirty-five years,” Ted said proudly. “I knew as soon as I met Sue that she was the one for me. She’s smart, funny, kind, honest, and a real looker, too, if you know what I mean.”
Justin laughed.
“She was also the only one who didn’t think I was nuts for wanting to be an ice sculptor. She was dating a doctor before me, so you can imagine how disappointed her parents were.” Ted chuckled. “But I found a way to win them over.”
“I have no doubt of that,” Justin said and meant it.
Ted suddenly got very serious. “But now everything is riding on me getting the princess some ice sculptures she’ll approve of for her big Christmas party.
That could really change everything for us.
Right now, I’m mostly doing small, private parties, some weddings, a few events here and there, but with a royal stamp of approval, I would be in high demand, and I could save up enough money so my son could take over the business and Sue and I could retire. ”
Justin cringed. “Well, I certainly didn’t help anything there with destroying all your samples.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Ted said. “It was an accident.”
“Still, I’m sorry I messed up your first meeting.”
“You were just trying to help, and I appreciate that. At least she’s giving me another chance to bring her some new samples to check out.
We’ll see if I can impress our Picky Princess—that’s one of the nicknames some of the other designers have given her because she’s been hard to please planning their big Christmas party. ”
“She definitely has some strong opinions about things,” Justin said.
Ted nodded. “Lucky for her, she found her match years ago.”
Justin’s head jerked up. “What do you mean?”
“She’s marrying a duke,” Ted said. “It’s not official yet, but they’ve been promised since they were kids. Two powerful families coming together. They’re the perfect match.”
Justin felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach. His reaction confused and upset him. He knew he had no business feeling anything for the princess. This news about some duke shouldn’t bother him a bit.
But it did.
“A duke,” Justin finally got out. “Well, good for her.” He stood up from the bar. “Thank you for the beer, Ted, but I really have to go. Next one’s on me.”
“Good luck with the dog you’re trying to train, for you know who ,” Ted said with a wink.
“Thanks, I’ll need it,” Justin replied as he headed for the door.