Page 51 of Royal Bosshole

Stevie was like a whirlwind, always forgetting things. She stuck out her tongue at me and then slid back into the bathroom.

“Will you be there?” I asked April, who was sitting in the chair across from me at the counter.

I poured some hot water into her mug, and she opened a new tea bag and plunked it in. “Totally. I wouldn't miss it. Haven't you heard that Charlotte's karaoke nights are like the place to be in New Orleans?”

I laughed. “You've got to be kidding me. Where did you hear that?”

“Social media, of course,” she said. “Don't you look at social media for your place at all?”

“Well, Jen handles most of it,” I replied, feeling uneasy.

The real reason I was barely on social media anymore these days was because of James. It was one of those things that once you learned about something, you saw it everywhere. Ever since James left, Lenovia had been in the news and everywhere on social media. People were talking about the sexy prince who’d been living in the US and who’d failed to find the woman he needed to marry to save his country. It was too much to see him, to see the struggles he was going through because of me. But he didn’t love me. We wouldn’t have been happy together. I had to let him go. So, I just kept away.

“Well, you should get on it, maybe,” April said. “Then you’d know.”

“Nah, I think I’m good.” I smiled at her before I sipped at my coffee. “How’s the baby doing?”

“Baby is good. Mama is desperate for wine again.” She groaned. “Only four more months!”

“And you’re not going to tell us the gender, right?”

“Nope. Sworn to secrecy,” she said, making a zipping motion across her mouth. “You’ll just have to wait to find out like everyone else.”

“You are killing us!” Stevie cried when she came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and brushing her hair. “We need to know what kinds of cute little outfits to buy this mystery baby.”

“Not going to say!” April said again, beaming. “You could hear us in there?” she asked.

“Yep. So, it’s good you guys didn’t say shit about me.” Grinning, she nodded to the coffee machine. “Will you pour me some?”

“Sure thing.” I poured her a mug and then passed it across the counter. I looked at her cute dress. “Date tonight?”

“Yes, ma’am. Trying again on the dating apps. And Thursday night is a safer date night. I feel like the serial killers come out on the weekends.”

“Oh, how comforting,” April replied.

I smiled at my two best friends. Things were going well these days. Like really, really well. The coffee shop business had soared. It was like some weird floodgate had opened, and customers finally came out of the woodwork. Jen and I were even talking about hiring more people. The music was going well too. On Spotify, I was making so much money, and I felt more financially comfortable than I ever had.

I could pay rent, I could buy good food, I could go out and have a good time with my friends. But the good things were always dimmed by what had happened with James. He wasn’t here anymore, and I hadn’t heard from him. Not a peep.

Did I do the wrong thing by running away?

And on top of all that, I honestly hadn’t told my friends about the princess thing. I was afraid they’d push me to do it when my heart wouldn’t let me. It would hurt too much. But the guilt was getting worse day by day, and now that we were there together on a rare evening, I knew I had to get it out. Stevie and April were talking about Stevie’s date when I broke in.

“I’ve got to tell you guys something.”

They paused. “Shoot,” Stevie said as she started to braid her wet hair.

“Well, first of all, this secret is for you, April. I’ve been selling music for years on Spotify as the singer Langton, and only recently my music has skyrocketed.”

“What?” April said, her eyes wide with shock.

In order to get the rest out, I put both my hands on my face. “And for both of you. I’m the lost princess that James had been seeking. The one that’s all over the news. I’m the reason that Lenovia is getting annexed. Because I can’t marry a man who doesn’t love me.”

Stevie and April were so silent, that I slowly slid my hands down my face to make sure they were still there. They were both watching me with mouths open.

“Are you kidding me right now?” Stevie asked, and she shook the hairbrush in her hand. “I should throw this at you, but I will refrain. You’re the princess? Why didn’t you say? And what the hell?”

“And you’re a famous musician?” April squeaked, and I sighed, leaning back against the far counter.

---