Page 28 of Reign
Wait a second.Stuart?
“Your Royal Highness, you’re going to beamazingas Demetrius,” Blair gushed, twirling a lock of hair around one finger. “We almost cast you as Bottom because he has the most lines, but I insisted that Demetrius was the right fit. It’s a much morephysicalrole, and of course, it’s soromantic….”
Nina thrust the cast list toward Rachel and walked off without another word, tossing her uneaten strawberry ice cream into the trash.
Everything clicked into place with brutal logic. Blair’s earlier comment:So, you and the prince?The furtive glances people shot James wherever he went. His expensive and understated wardrobe, his cryptic references to his parents, the easy confidence with which he entered a room—that wasn’t just because he was attractive, but because he was royal. Jamie Stuart, the Prince of Canada.
Anotherprince.
“Nina, wait!” James hurried after her, and as childish as it was, Nina quickened her steps. She ducked blindly into a makeup store, weaving between rows of glimmering lip-gloss tubes. A salesgirl with electric-green eyeliner took one look at Nina’s expression and darted into the back.
Some part of her had known James would follow. He caught up with her by a display of mascara wands and reached for Nina’s forearm, tugging her to a stop.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you are?” she demanded.
He glanced around the empty store and lowered his voice, though they were alone. “I assumed you knew, at first.”
“Because you expect everyone to recognize you?”
“Because we’vemetbefore, Nina. At the League of Kingsbanquet.”
Oh. The memory crashed over her in sudden, vivid detail. James had bumped into her on the terrace late at night and asked her to dance, but then Nina had seen Jeff—had gone into the gardens andkissedJeff—which promptly obliterated everything else from her mind.
That night felt so far off now, so detached from reality. The Nina who’d fallen for Jeff a second time, who’d let herself dream that they might finally have a future together, felt like a distant memory.
“I remember,” she said softly.
Something glimmered in James’s eyes. “To be fair, I wasn’t wearing my glasses that night. Like Clark Kent in disguise.”
“You were wearing a wolf pelt, if memory serves.”
“It’s a fur vest, and you have to admit it’s better than most ceremonial outfits. The Albanians’ bronze helmet with goat horns?” He shook his head. “That thing looks heavy.”
He almost coaxed a smile from Nina, but then she shook her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you at first, but James—Jamie—” She faltered, not sure what to call him. “You should have told me.”
“Would you have gone out with me if you’d known?”
“No,” she admitted, because he deserved the truth.
“Then I don’t regret it,” he declared. “Look, Nina, when I saw you onstage and you acted like we’d never met, it was a blow to my ego. But it was also…kind of nice. I wanted a chance to get to know you on my own terms, without all the royal drama getting in the way.”
Nina knew the royal drama all too well.
“I can’t believe there’sanotherprince at King’s College,” she muttered.
“My father insisted that I do a study-abroad program here. He pulled some strings so that I could come straight from the League of Kings conference and start mid-semester. I didn’t really want to come, but…” Jamie shrugged. “At least I’mnot attracting the same publicity that I do at home. You Americans don’t seem to care about foreign royals nearly as much as you do about your own.”
“There’s a media ban on campus, because of Jeff,” Nina said absently, her mind spinning.
Study abroad—it explained Jamie’s presence on campus, but not in Nina’s life. How utterly surreal that her path would cross that of not just one but two princes.
Unless it wasn’t a coincidence at all, and those princes were connected.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing, Jamie?”
“Trying to get passing grades and have fun, the same as everyone else in college.”
“I meant, what are you doing withme? Did you ask me out because of Jeff?”
