A ROYAL CHRISTMAS FAIRY TALE Read online

  Praise for KAREN SCHALER

  “Schaler’s smart, appealing protagonists will

  keep readers turning the pages, and the plotting is

  pitch-perfect, leading to an inevitable but

  charming happily-ever-after.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “How A Christmas Prince screenwriter Karen Schaler

  became a holiday publishing darling.”

  —Entertainment Weekly

  Praise for Karen’s Christmas Ever After

  “A wonderfully festive setting...The cast is charming

  and the atmosphere’s enchanting.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Praise for Karen’s Christmas Camp

  “VERDICT a charming movie-to-book crossover

  that would be right at home on the Hallmark Channel

  and a winner for fans looking for a touching holiday read.”

  —Library Journal

  Praise for Karen’s Finding Christmas

  “For Schaler, creating these fantastical

  holiday stories comes naturally.”

  —Money

  Begin Reading

  Contents

  About the Author

  Bonus Content

  Copyright Page

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  www.karenschaler.com

  This book is dedicated to everyone

  who is ready to create their own

  fairy tale and happily ever after.

  I hope this inspires and reminds you

  that anything is possible

  if you just believe…

  Chapter 1

  The European-style Christmas market looked like a Christmas dream come true, right in the middle of Manhattan, and Kaylie Karlyle was on a mission to catch the crooks who were trying to mess with Santa.

  It was twilight, or what Kaylie liked to call magic hour, when the day eased into the night, right before the first stars made their appearance, and the hundreds of white twinkle lights from the Christmas market were illuminating the dancing snowflakes that were just starting to fall.

  It was also one of the best times of the day to shoot video and Kaylie, an investigative television reporter, was counting on her photographer, Rachel, to capture everything that was about to happen.

  It was just a week until Christmas, and the sooner she could get her story on the news, the better.

  Kaylie, with Rachel by her side, weaved her way through dozens of festive Christmas stalls selling everything from handmade winter hats, mittens, and sweaters, to vintage Christmas ornaments, crafts, and sweet and savory holiday treats.

  Each one of the stalls was decorated with matching fresh, fragrant evergreen garlands that made you feel like you were walking through an enchanted forest.

  Adding to the magic and merrymaking, Christmas carolers dressed like they’d just stepped out of a Charles Dickens novel were joyfully singing, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”

  But Kaylie was too busy being laser-focused on getting her story to appreciate any of what was happening around her.

  Kaylie picked up her pace. “Okay, Rachel, we’re almost there. You know the plan, right?” But when Kaylie turned around to get Rachel’s reaction, Rachel had disappeared. “Rachel?”

  She was looking around for Rachel and not watching where she was going when she ran right into someone.

  “I’m so sorry,” Kaylie said as she whirled around and found herself looking right into the eyes of Santa Claus. He looked like a wonderful old-world Santa. He was wearing a long red velvet coat that was elaborately trimmed with gold embroidery. His long white beard appeared to be as real as the twinkle in his eyes.

  “Ho! Ho! Whoa!” Santa said with a big belly laugh. “Looks like someone is in a hurry.”

  “I’m really sorry,” Kaylie said. “I didn’t see you. I was looking for my photographer.”

  Santa held up a Polaroid camera. “How about a picture with me instead?”

  Before Kaylie could answer, Santa happily snapped a selfie of them and gave her the picture. “Merry Christmas,” he said. He then pointed to his nose and then her. “You might want to slow down a little, enjoy the season. It’s Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.” He gave her a little wink before he headed for a group of children who were waiting for him.

  Kaylie laughed as she tossed the Polaroid picture into her tote bag and then spotted Rachel over at a stall of Christmas sweaters. As she hurried over, she noticed all the sweaters Rachel was looking at could have been strong contenders to win an ugly Christmas sweater contest. Rachel smiled when she saw her coming and she held up a sweater that had a giant grinning reindeer on it. There were brown fuzzy antlers sticking out on both sides.

  “Look what I found,” Rachel said, excited.

  “I thought I lost you,” Kaylie said.

  Rachel flashed her a guilty grin. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. These sweaters were calling my name. Check this one out.” Rachel quickly held up another sweater. This one had blinking red and green Christmas lights. Before Kaylie could comment, Rachel was already reaching for a third sweater. “And I love this one, too. Everything’s stuck on with Velcro, so you can move everyone around and create your own Christmas scene.” Rachel put a snowman and a gingerbread boy into Santa’s sleigh. “I can’t decide which one I like best.”

  Kaylie laughed. “Come on, we gotta go. You can shop after we get the story.” When Kaylie took off walking again, Rachel hurried to catch up.

  “Good, because I still haven’t finished my Christmas shopping,” Rachel said, giving the sweaters one last look over her shoulder.

  “You’re really thinking of buying one of those for a Christmas present?” Kaylie asked. “For who?”

  Rachel grinned back at her. “For me.”

  Kaylie laughed. “Seriously?”

  “Yes,” Rachel said with conviction. “Don’t you always buy yourself something for Christmas?”

  “Uh, no,” Kaylie said.

  Rachel gave her a surprised look. “Well, you should. I always try and find something unique, and this place is full of some really cool things.” She spun around, taking it all in. When she spotted a giant stuffed candy cane, she eagerly ran over and picked it up. “Like this. Don’t you love it?”

  Kaylie laughed. “No. I like to eat my candy, not decorate with it.”

  “Ah, so you like candy canes,” Rachel said. “Good to know. I thought you boycotted all things Christmas.”

  Kaylie frowned. “You make me sound like a Grinch.”

  “You don’t decorate. You don’t have a tree. You never come to the TV station Christmas party. That sounds pretty Grinchy to me.”

  “First of all, I love the Grinch,” Kaylie said. “Think about it. The poor big green guy, he was just bullied and misunderstood. But he came around in the end, that’s what really matters, right? So, I don’t have anything against Christmas. I’ve always just worked the holiday, so it’s like any other day. I don’t get together with my parents because they do their annual Caribbean trip; they hate the cold and love the beach so it’s a win-win for them. They always invite me and my sister, of course, if we want to come, but…”

  “But let me guess, you never do,” Rachel finished for her.

  “That’s because work comes first for both of us,” Kaylie said. “I always volunteer to take the reporter shifts for people w
ho have kids, so they can be with their families for the holidays. My sister, Amelia, is stationed in Germany. She runs a family readiness program for the Army. She helps families who have loved ones who are deployed. Christmas is always a tough time for military families when they’re apart, so it’s one of her busiest times of the year. We all decided more than ten years ago that it’s just easier to get together sometime in January or February when it fits all our schedules. Make sense?”

  “I guess so,” Rachel said. “I just think it’s kind of sad that you’re missing out on all the Christmas magic, like this.” Rachel grinned as she picked up an endearing stuffed gingerbread boy and wiggled it back and forth in front of Kaylie. “He could be your Christmas date.”

  Kaylie laughed as she held up her hands to keep the gingerbread boy away. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

  “You’re so picky. Is it his big round eyes or his short little arms?” Rachel asked, giving the gingerbread boy a hug. “Because I think he’s adorable. But seriously, when was the last time you went on any kind of date?” Rachel put the gingerbread boy down and they continued walking. “Oh, wait, I know what you’re going to say. You’ve been too busy working. I’m starting to sense a theme here. You know what they say about all work and no play?”

  “That it gets you promoted to your dream job,” Kaylie said as she linked arms with Rachel. “Now let’s go get this story. You know the drill?”

  “Of course,” Rachel said with a confident smile. “I start rolling as soon as you walk up to the booth selling the vintage Santas.”

  “The fake Santas,” Kaylie corrected her.

  Rachel shook her head, dumbfounded. “I still can’t believe someone would make counterfeit Santas at Christmas. Who does that? That’s gotta be bad Christmas Karma, right?”

  “One hundred percent,” Kaylie agreed. “Especially because they’re selling them as one-of-a-kind, handmade, collectible art from Europe. And they’re really crossing the line when they’re saying all the proceeds are going to help a children’s charity.”

  Rachel frowned. “That is just so wrong.”

  Kaylie nodded. “I know, and that’s why we’re about to make things right.”

  “And this is why I love doing stories with you,” Rachel said. “You always go after the bad guys, even at Christmas.”

  “Especially at Christmas,” Kaylie jumped in. “What kind of investigative reporter would I be if I didn’t?”

  “And that’s why you’re getting your new series, Kaylie on Your Side. When are they going to announce it?” Rachel asked.

  Kaylie’s eyes lit up. “Bob said tomorrow night at the Christmas party. I can’t wait. This is everything I’ve been working for and dreaming about, and why I went into journalism. I’ve always wanted to have my own series to help people who can’t help themselves. I’ve had the name, Kaylie on Your Side, ready to go forever and I already have the first month of story ideas planned out. There’s even talk of the series possibly getting nationally syndicated. This is my chance to show what I can do and hopefully finally get a network job. The bigger the audience, the more people I can help.”

  “If anyone can do it, you can,” Rachel said. “I’ve never seen anyone work so hard. You’re the most dedicated person I know.”

  “Thank you,” Kaylie said with a smile. “That means a lot, and this promotion couldn’t come at a better time. My rent just went up again and my student loans are coming due and I’m running out of my savings and—”

  Kaylie suddenly stopped talking and pointed at the stall she’d been looking for. “There it is!”

  The stall was set up along the edge of the Christmas market to try and look like it was one of the approved vendors when it wasn’t. She noticed how it had even tried to copy the signature garland and twinkle lights to match the rest of the stalls, but if you looked closely, you could see the garland was fake, just like the Santa figurines they were selling.

  She’d gotten tipped off a week ago that someone was going to different Christmas markets and holiday events around New York City, selling what they claimed to be one-of-a-kind collectible Santas to raise money for a children’s charity. The person had bought a Santa and had given it to Kaylie to check out. It turned out the tipster had been right. Everything about the Santa was fake and there was no charity.

  Kaylie had done stories like this before, where people tried to sell counterfeit designer purses, wallets, and watches, but trying to sell a knock-off Christmas decoration was a first. If Kaylie had it her way, this would also be the last.

  She gave Rachel a quick look to make sure her camera was rolling. When Rachel nodded and gave her the thumbs-up, Kaylie confidently approached the Santa stall.

  “Excuse me,” she said, getting the attention of the guy behind the stall. “I’m Kaylie Karlyle with Channel Six Action News.” She picked up one of the grinning Santas. “I need to talk to you about your Santas…”

  Kaylie and Rachel stood in front of a giant TV monitor in the newsroom and watched their Santa story wrap up on the evening news. When it was done, Rachel held up her hand for a high-five.

  “Nice job, Kaylie.”

  “Right back at ya,” Kaylie said. “That last shot you got of the look on that guy’s face when he knew he was busted was priceless.”

  “That guy won’t be selling any more fake Santas anytime soon,” Rachel added. “He’s definitely on the naughty list and will be getting coal in his stocking.”

  Kaylie laughed. “Because you don’t want to mess with Santa.”

  “Or Kaylie Karlyle,” Bob said as he joined them. “Great job, both of you.”

  Kaylie smiled back at him. “Thanks boss, and thanks for giving me the extra time to go after this story.”

  “You delivered like you promised,” Bob said. “It turned out great.”

  For Kaylie, getting praise like this from Bob meant everything to her. He wasn’t just her boss, the news director at the TV station, he was her mentor. He was the one person she always trusted and turned to for advice.

  She knew she wouldn’t be where she was today if Bob hadn’t taken a chance on her five years ago when she’d first moved to New York City, and had been struggling to find a job.

  She’d been working as a local TV reporter in Phoenix, but had always dreamed of working for one of the top networks as a national correspondent. She knew those jobs were fiercely competitive and to have any real shot at it, she needed to be where the networks were. So, she’d moved to Manhattan, determined to take any freelance job she could in the business and do whatever she could to prove herself until she could land a full-time gig.

  She also knew the competition would be fierce for any job, so she’d come to the city with a plan.

  As an investigative reporter, she knew what every news director wanted was an exclusive story that they could beat the competition with. So, while she was in Phoenix, she worked all her national sources until she’d found an exclusive story she could pitch in New York City to try and help convince someone to give her a shot as a freelancer.

  But even with an amazing story, it had proven a lot more challenging than she had hoped. All the media outlets she’d reached out to wanted the story, but they also wanted one of their established reporters to do it because Kaylie wasn’t known or trusted in the market. No one was willing to give her a shot.

  With her savings running out fast, she was about to start waitressing when she’d met Bob in a coffee shop. He was in line in front of her to place an order and she’d noticed he was wearing a Channel Six Action News jacket.

  She had overheard him talking to the barista, and when she learned he was a news director she’d been trying to meet but could never get past his gatekeeper assistants, she had literally followed him down the street to the TV station. The faster he walked, the faster she had pitched him her exclusive story and several other stories she’d come up wit
h.

  When he’d politely told her he didn’t have any freelance openings, she hadn’t given up. The next morning, she’d camped out at the same coffee shop where she’d met him.

  She’d had a hunch that this could be his daily coffee fix. Her hunch had paid off. For the next week, every morning, she’d meet him at the coffee shop and walk back with him to the TV station, pitching him new stories she’d come up with the night before.

  Impressed by her tenacity and her ideas, he’d finally given in and hired her on a trial basis to do just one story and see how it went. Kaylie had taken the opportunity and run with it, never looking back.

  When Bob told the story now, he always joked that he only hired her so he could finally drink his coffee in peace again.

  After the first story went well, he’d started her out working only two days a week, as an overnight freelance reporter on the weekends. It was a brutal schedule that she never complained about. Within a year, her dedication, determination, and drive earned her a full-time staff position.

  She would always be grateful to Bob for giving her a chance when no one else would. He pushed her hard. He was never easy on her, but she knew all the challenges he threw her way meant he believed she could handle it, and she always did. She’d do whatever it took to make sure she never let him, or the station, or herself, down.

  That’s why this promotion she was about to get, having her own weekly branded series, Kaylie on Your Side, meant everything to her.

  Bob had told her on her first day working at the station, that her job as an investigative reporter was to be a watchdog for society, to give a voice to people who couldn’t stand up for themselves.

  It was a responsibility she had taken to heart and lived by.

  Her goal was to always make a difference by uncovering scams and secrets so she could shine a light on the truth. Some days she was taking down multi-million-dollar Fortune 500 companies involved in fraud, and other days, like today, she was helping people not buy a fake Santa for a children’s charity that didn’t exist. She felt every story was important and that people deserved to know the truth.