Page 28 of Once Upon A Royal Christmas
“When was the last time you knew a visiting dignitary had arrived in the kingdom before I did?” Jaron’s eyebrows lifted. A challenge.
Point taken. “Never.”
“So, what’s different about this time?” Jaron studied him, and his attention seemed to linger on Nick’s hands, currently fidgeting with the cufflinks at his wrists.
“Nothing’s different,” Nick said, but his racing pulse told him that wasn’t quite true. She was different. The princess. “I ran into her, and I thought you’d like to know.”
“And this was so important that you needed to come all the way to my office and tell me in person?” Jaron sat up straighter, and his mouth twisted into a smirk.
“Stop looking at me like that.” Nick lowered himself into the office chair opposite Jaron. He hadn’t planned on this little visit taking more than a few minutes, but getting information out of Jaron was clearly going to take more effort than Nick had anticipated.
Jaron shrugged, but his smirk intensified. “How am I looking at you?”
“Like your imagination has gone wild and you’re writing a press release for a royal wedding in your head right now,” Nick said.
Jaron laughed. “I’m doing no such thing. It’s just been a while since I’ve seen you interested in a woman. A long while, actually. Not since Sarah Jane.”
Nick’s jaw tensed. “I didn’t say I was interested in anyone.”
“Aren’t you, though?” Jaron looked him up and down, and Nick realized he’d begun fidgeting with the sash stretched across his chest. “It shows, friend.”
“We shared a waffle. She’s—” Nick struggled for a word to properly describe the woman he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about. Lovely. Everything about her is undeniably lovely. “Different.”
“How so, exactly?”
The princess’s luminous blue eyes flashed in Nick’s memory, sparkling like mad when she’d spotted the gold rendering of the chocolate kiss at the bottom of her cup of cocoa.
“There’s an earnestness about her that I find very charming. She seems passionate.” Warmth flooded Nick’s chest when he landed on the most suitable adjective. “Authentic.”
She seems honest. He couldn’t bring himself to say it. The last time he’d placed his trust in a woman had been a monumental mistake. Alana was a princess and, judging by the things she’d said, she understood the importance of maintaining a good public image. She seemed to have the same ingrained sense of responsibility that Nick did. The same desire to do the right thing for the people who relied on the monarchy to watch out for their best interests. But other than romping around the palace as small children, they’d just met. He couldn’t possibly know her.
No matter how badly he wanted to.
Jaron stared blankly at him. “You got all that from sharing a waffle?”
“I’m curious about her, that’s all. I’m meeting her shortly at the side castle gate.” He wanted to take a walk with her before they had to take their seats in the royal box. He thought she might like to see the ice sculptures flanking either side of the palace up close. “What can you tell me?”
“Well, I don’t know much about her, to be honest. As you know, her country has been one of our closest allies for centuries.” Jaron shuffled through some papers on his desk until he found the princess’s bio on a sheet of thick, ivory-colored parchment paper with the royal crest of Vernina embossed at the top in gold. “This is her first official royal tour. She’s been in America the past few years, studying for her graduate degree in international relations at Georgetown University.”
“How long was she in the States?”
Jaron glanced down at the paper again. “Quite some time. It looks like she went to boarding school on the East Coast there, as well.”
Again, that certainly explained her accent.
“Anything else?” Nick asked.
“She’s an equestrian, specializing in show jumping and eventing. Her horse’s name is Thunder.” Jaron shot him a penetrating look. “But be honest—this isn’t the sort of information you’re looking for, is it?”
“I have no intention of invading her privacy. I just…”
“You want to know if she can be trusted,” Jaron said.
Nick swallowed. Yes, that’s exactly what he wanted to know. He just hadn’t realized as much until Jaron put it so bluntly.
“I don’t blame you for being cautious, but there are never any guarantees about this sort of thing. Sometimes you just need to take a leap.” The corner of Jaron’s mouth inched into a smile. Not a smirk this time, but a genuine expression of kindness and concern.
Take a leap.
