Jeffrey-the-annoying gasped. âWas that . . . a s mile ?â
âShhhh, Jeff. Donât scare her off.â
âJeff- rey, Your Highness. As weâve discussed, only His Majestyââ
She spun on him and said, âWeâve been over this a zillion times. You call me Christina, Iâll call you Jeff- rey .â
âYour Highnessââ
âYes, Jeff ?â
âHe canât,â Nicole interrupted, smiling again and praying neither of them would comment. âGenerations of duty to the royal family. Familiarity is beaten out of them at an early age.â
âWell, screw,â the princess muttered.
â Iâll call you Christina. Iâll also call you âsee you laterâ and âthanks for stopping by.â â
âThey said you were never at a loss for words,â the perfectly cool, tall, blond woman said. Like every royal she had met so far, she was dressed casually: tan shorts (a bold move in forty-five-degree weather), a T-shirt (another bold move) with the logo IâM THE PRINCESS OF ALASKA , WHO THE HELL ARE YOU ?, and a buttercup yellow sweater knotted around her waist. âThey also said you looked extraordinarily like Alex and Kathryn, and thatâs true, too.â
âSuper duper. Well, whatâs up? Salmon fishing? Hiking? Thereâs not much in season if huntingâs your thing . . .â
âNo, thanks. Uh, could you cool out your boss a little? He looks about ten seconds from a stroke.â
Nicole was embarrassed; sheâd been so distracted by Jeffrey (who was in his black tailored suit; duh, she should have known this one wasnât going fishing) and the Crown PrâChristina that she hadnât even noticed Freeborg was at his desk.
And Christina was right. He was as pale as the belly of a trout.
âMike? Mike!â She waved a hand in front of his glazed eyes. âItâs okay. Iâm not in any trouble.â
âYouâre one of them,â he accused, pointing a trembling, banana-sized finger at Christina. âHer husband said! Yesterday!â
âOh, no,â Nicole assured him, but she was looking at Jeffrey as she said it. âNot ever .â
âBlood will tell, honey.â
Then, in unison, she and Christina said, âDonât call me honey.â
Alone, Christina added, âSee, see? Your reputation precedes you!â
âIs that so?â
âYup.â
âAnd you think Iâm an in-law.â
âDonât think. Know.â
âSo, if you were trying to talk one of them into something they absolutely did not want to do, how do you think it would go?â
Christina opened her mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again, looking remarkably salmon-like. Then she glared. âDonât confuse me with facts.â
âThatâs a valid warning,â Jeff added.
âPipe down, Jeff- rey . One thing Iâve learned living with some of the richest people in the world is that everyone has a price. So whatâs yours?â
âWhat?â
âWhatâs it gonna cost to get you to come with me and submit to our DNA test?â
âAre you implying that you can pay me?â To turn my back on my mother and everything she ever did for me? God! They were all the same! âYou bitch !â Then she socked her. Almost. Jeffrey moved like lightning, so she actually socked him in the throat (sheâd been aiming for Christinaâs left eye).
âHey!â Christina yelled as Nicoleâs boss clawed for his wastebasket and started retching. âRule number one: Nobody roughs up the help!â
Then Nicole saw black stars explode as Christina socked her back.
Chapter 13
âO w ow OW!â Nicole yelled, regaining consciousness. She opened her eyes, then groaned in equal parts pain and horror. About a hundred people were crouching over her.
ââdidnât mean for her to hit her