“I get a headache when I have to wear it for a long time,” he said, still looking at Kristin as if he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
“Does the Princess’s c-crown hurt her too?”
His gaze eventually swerved back to Sonia. “No. It’s smaller and lighter.”
“Is her crown at that church?”
“No. I think she keeps it with her.”
“Do you live at the p-palace with the Princess?” Sonia asked before she hiccuped again.
“Not since I became a man.”
“When did that h-happen?”
Out of the mouths of babes.
Kristin struggled not to laugh at Sonia’s innocent question.
This time the Prince sent Kristin a slightly wicked smile before he concentrated on Sonia and murmured, “I’m not sure. When I turned twenty-three I decided to get my own place.”
“My Aunty Kristin’s twenty-three. How old are you?”
“I turned thirty on my last birthday.”
“My daddy was thirty when he died. Do you live in your own palace?”
“No. I live in an old sea captain’s house.”
“I thought you were a prince!”
His low laugh excited Kristin. “I am, but I love the sea. My house sits high on a hill where I can look down and watch all the boats.”
Sonia shivered. “I don’t like the water.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Cos I was on a sailboat with my mommy and daddy when they drowned. Now I live with my Aunty Kristin.”
At that news, the Prince subjected Kristin to another intense yet solemn appraisal before he said, “You’re a lucky little girl to have her.”
“That’s what Grandpa Elling says. Don’t you miss the Princess?”
“Yes,” he whispered, “but she has a husband and pretty soon she’s going to have a baby boy. They need their own place.”
“Do you live all alone?” Her voice trembled.
“No. I have a dog.”
Her expression brightened. “Is he big?”
“Yes.”
“What’s his name?”
“Thor.”
“That means thunder!”
The Prince chuckled softly, but Kristin felt it resonate deep inside of her. “That’s right.”
“Is he mean?”
“He’s as sweet as my sister.”
“We couldn’t keep a dog at our apartment.”
“That’s too bad. Every little girl should have one. How would you like to meet mine?”
What? Kristin’s heart thudded.
“Could I?” Sonia cried in delight.
When the Prince turned to Kristin, she shook her head. “Please—that’s not necessary,” she whispered, but by then the Prince had plucked Sonia from the chair and held her in his strong arms.
“I tell you what. Let’s go out in front of the shop so the photographer can take our picture with the Severeids. Then we’ll walk across the square to Santa’s post office. After that we’ll visit Thor.”
Sonia threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She’d never done that with Bruce in the whole time Kristin had known him.
The Prince reciprocated with a spontaneous hug that looked so genuine to Kristin, he could have been Sonia’s daddy loving her.
“Hold on to my hand and don’t let go,” he said after putting her down.
“I won’t. Come on, Aunty Kristin.”
The Princess had been forgotten for the moment, but Kristin feared a new problem had arisen, one that might be much more difficult to fix by the time this experience was over.
“I’m right behind you, sweetheart.”
Kristin had a hard time crediting that any of this was happening. The moment was surreal.
With Sonia in her native dress and the handsome Prince looking as if he’d just stepped from the pages of a fairy tale. Kristin had to admit that the two of them entranced the eye.
Everyone, including the security guards, must have thought so too judging by the hush that fell over the crowd of locals and television people. They’d congregated around the Chocolate Barn’s sixteen foot high chocolate Santa waiting for the Prince to join the owners.
“Your Highness,” Mrs. Severeid spoke up, “we are honored that a member of the royal family could be here today to meet the winner of our contest, Sonia Anderssen from Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.
“She’s a true daughter of Frijia and we are proud for her picture to appear on every can and packet of hot chocolate, the Chocolate Barn’s newest product to the world.
“Out of the fifteen hundred children’s photographs sent in by Frijians from all over the globe for our contest, Sonia’s picture captured our attention and our hearts.”
Fifteen hundred? Kristin had no idea the competition had been so fierce.
Mrs. Severeid bent down to put the microphone in front of Sonia. “Will you tell everyone about the dress with the Varland lace you have on, Sonia?”
“My great-grandma wore this when she came to America from Frijia a long time ago with her mommy and daddy.”
“You look lovely in it. Can you tell the people watching how it happened that your photograph was sent in?”
Uh-oh. Sonia was a precocious child. Kristin held her breath, half afraid of what was going to come out next.
“Grandpa Elling sent it because he loves me.”
“Did you know he’d entered you in our contest?”
Sonia shook her head. “No. Not till Aunty Kristin told me I was going to meet the Princess. But she has to rest cos she’s going to have a baby boy any minute.”
No, Sonia—
“So she asked her brother to come. They’re best friends. He couldn’t wear his crown cos it’s in a church and gives him a headache, but he’s going to let me meet his dog who lives at the Captain’s House. Thor’s not mean. Prince Eric says he’s as sweet as the Princess.”
Stop—
The press was going to seize on all those private juicy tidbits, especially the fact that the Princess was expecting a son, another royal heir to the throne. Kristin was sure the gender of the princess’s unborn child wasn’t supposed to be common knowledge yet!
While Kristin hid her face in her hands, excitement and laughter rippled through the mesmerized onlookers as video cameras rolled and flashes popped by the dozens.
When she peeked through her fingers, she saw that the Prince had gathered Sonia in his arms once more. To Kristin’s shock, he was smiling at her with his eyes as well as his mouth. If he was upset, it didn’t show.
“As you can see, it was my lucky day Princess Maren asked me to represent her on this delightful occasion. I’m sure the whole world is as charmed by Sonia as I am.
“I think it only fitting that everyone meets the woman who made it possible for Sonia to be here.” His gaze sought Kristin’s in the crowd.