“Hmm,” Erik says, bending down to see a second shelf of plastic jewelry. “Oh! Can I get that one too?”
The boy looks bored as he fishes the piece of plastic out.
“No, no. The ring. It’s for her,” Erik corrects.
The attendant pulls it from the case and slaps it on top of the counter. It’s gaudy, looking like a solid pink piece of bubblegum made into a ring with a multifaceted surface.
“Oh yes,” Erik says, picking it up. “That’s the one.”
I laugh as he slides the ring on my finger, just like a wedding ring. “Oh darling, it is so thoughtful. You must have put so much thought into picking this out.”
“Hold on.” He picks up the glasses, fitting the fake nose and frames on his face. “There! Now we are perfect for each other in every conceivable way.” He sticks out his elbow. “Come on, Ms. Potato Head. Let’s go back to the Barbie Dream Mansion and race our Hot Wheels against each other.”
I can’t hold back a grin. “You know, you kind of look like Ken.”
He shakes his head, leading me to the exit. And I look up at him adoringly, wishing that we could always be the people we were tonight.
13
Erik
Annika crosses her arms as we walk up to St. Mark’s preparatory school. It’s the sister school to the boarding school all of the younger Løve siblings were sent to and it is right in the middle of downtown Copenhagen.
Annika raises her head and schools her expression. I glance at her stylish wide legged black trousers and white top with an oversized pale blue flower on the shoulder. With her hair pulled back into a crisp bun and her understated makeup, she looks every bit the princess she is supposed to be.
But that in itself makes me worried. It’s like Nika is making herself smaller somehow, less noticeable. I should be glad…
But all I feel in the pit of my stomach is acid.
She’s been quiet this morning on the way here. Too quiet, in my opinion.
Just before we climb the steps to enter, I cast my gaze over Nika. “What’s going on with you?”
She glances at me, arching a brow. “What do you mean?”
I glance around, then grab her elbow and pull her aside. “We’re here to promote your boarding school to prospective new students. I assume that you agreed to this… so why are you so…” I squint at her face. “Subdued?”
She lifts her chin an inch, her cool blue eyes expressionless. “I am only trying to be who they expect me to be today. That’s all.”
She fingers the pearls strung around her neck, her gaze flitting to the ornate door that leads inside.
I grip her elbow harder, drawing her gaze back to my face. “Do you want to leave?”
She arches a brow. “No. My grandmother expects me to show up here and wow the applicants with my presence. So, I’m here. Let the wowing commence.”
I stare down at her for a few more seconds. The heavy doors behind us open, a priest sticking his head out. “Ah! You’re here! Come in…”
Annika gives me a strange look, twisting her lips and rolling her eyes. But then she pushes past me, heading toward the black-frocked priest.
“It’s lovely to be here,” she murmurs.
The priest absolutely beams, offering her his elbow. “It is so nice to meet you, princess Annika. I’m Father Jean. Come, meet some of the parents and potential future St. Xavier’s students…”
I follow them through the set of doors, into a long hallway that is lined with beige lockers that match the tan floors. The air here smells slightly astringent, like someone has only just wiped down everything in the hallway.
I look around, wondering where everyone is. It is, after all, a school day.
Father Jean steers Nika through a set of wooden double doors to the left. I am right behind them, my eyes opening as I step into the huge room.
WELCOME FUTURE ST. XAVIER’S STUDENTS AND PARENTS is hung on bunting at one end of the room. In between, there are a number of priests speaking with several dozen pleased-looking parents and their bored or nervous looking children. A table is set up by the window offering coffee, tea, croissants, and fruit.
They all turn to look at Nika when we walk in, bursting into a light smattering of applause. I notice that Nika’s free hand makes a fist, clenching. But when I move around to her side, she is smiling pleasantly.
There is obviously some cognitive dissonance going on here.
Father Jean raises his voice. “Everyone, if you would gather around. Princess Annika is here today to talk to you all about how important her education at St. Xavier’s was. Annika, if you would just say a few words? Why did you decide to go all the way to a Swiss boarding school?”
Her fist clenches again. “Thank you, everyone. If you don’t mind, I have written down some of my thoughts…”
I step forward, handing her a piece of paper straight from the royal press office. She clears her throat and begins to read it aloud.
“My time at St. Xavier’s was the most fulfilling experience…” she reads.
I move to the other side of the room, trying to figure out just what is going on with her. She smiles on cue. She laughs at the father’s jokes. She answers a few questions from the audience.
She even signs some autographs.
But her vibrancy, her almost catty sense of humor… it’s just missing. It’s almost like she’s been sedated or something.
I frown, keeping a close eye on her. And as soon as the questions have been wrapped up and the autographs signed, I get her the fuck out of there.
I tuck her into the backseat of the limousine myself, feeling strangely protective. When the limo pulls out, I look at her.
“What is going on?” I demand to know.
Nika looks at me with a little yawn. “Nothing. My psychiatrist gave me something to calm my nerves in situations like this. I think it worked well, don’t you?”
“What situation? Will you please just tell me why the hell you hated St. Xavier’s so much? Because it’s obvious to me that you did.”
She closes her eyes, leaning back into the cream-colored leather of her seat. “I did hate it. You are right about that much. But my grandmother made it clear to me that I shouldn’t talk about my feelings. It’s bad for the royal brand.”
A strange feeling blooms in my chest. “Did… did somebody at the school hurt you?”
She opens her eyes and chuckles. “No. Nothing like that, Erik.”
I sigh, letting out a breath I didn’t know I held. “What’s your issue, then?”
She rolls her eyes over to me, then turns her body toward me, shifting her knees up onto the seat. “Being Princess Annika is great. Except for rare instances… like being trapped at a Swiss boarding school with seventy other twelve-year-old girls. Almost everyone had pedigrees, lineage, and all of them had already decided before they even met me what I was like. They read the tabloids and they decided that I was cold and aloof. So, they treated me like an outsider.” She crinkles her upturned nose. “Except Kal, of course. If there is a god, I seriously have to thank him for assigning us to live together. She was my refuge.”
I tilt my head. “But everyone else… didn’t warm up to you?”