Page 12 of Tempted By the Princess

“Why ambush you with a fiancé then?” she asked. “It was such a dick move.”

I couldn’t help but smirk. Carrie had a way with words.

“I can’t figure that out either,” I said. “They haven’t even asked me if I’m dating or mentioned getting married recently, at least not since my last visit home. I have no clue what brought this on. My sister was as surprised as I was by the whole thing.”

“You think they’re spying on you? Then they’d know you weren’t dating, theoretically.”

“I have wondered if they have secret security following me,” I admitted. “My mother said something the other night about me not dating and unless my sister told them I wasn’t, the only way she could have known that was if she had eyes on me.”

“You need to talk to them.”

“Yeah, I know, and I will. Eventually.”

I’d left home for college at eighteen and lived on my own since then, but somehow I’d never mastered the art of standing up to my parents. I always went along with them to keep the peace, until now. They were probably as surprised by my running away as I was. I knew I was being ridiculous and immature, honestly I did, but I wasn’t sure how to address things with them. Hopefully after another day or two with Carrie things would blow over and we could talk about their stunt. Or they’d go back home and we could pretend it never happened.

Carrie opened her mouth to say something, but just then every cell phone in the area went off with an alert, including hers. She read the notice, her eyes growing wide before she slid her phone over to my side of the table.

Missing Person Alert! $50,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Princess Genevieve of Saint Marenne.

Below the notice was a picture of me, one of the official ones that the palace kept on the website, and a hotline to call for tips.

I tugged my trucker hat lower and set down my burrito, my appetite suddenly gone.

“Damn it, I need to email my sister.”

Carrie shook her head as she wrapped up the other half of her burrito.

“I knew the minute I saw you in the back of my van that you were going to be trouble,” she sighed. “And I was right.”

As we exited the food cart pod she said, “Hey! Maybe I should turn you in myself. I could use fifty grand. We need a new catering oven.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” I said, sure it was true.

She sighed. “No, but it is tempting.”

Carrie

Genny and I were both quiet on the way back to my place, our fun little burrito excursion overshadowed by the missing person alert. I couldn’t believe I’d gotten myself into such a ridiculous situation, harboring a runaway princess. How was this my life? I was a middle aged caterer with a quiet life, but in less than twenty-four hours Genny had somehow turned everything upside down.

She looked adorable in her cargo pants and trucker hat. And that tank top she’d borrowed from my sister highlighted curves that I didn’t realize she had. Looking at her now she looked like any other random lesbian in the city, not some fancy pants princess.

“Is it okay for me to use your computer again?” she asked when we got home. “I want to talk to my sister.”

“Of course.”

I settled on the couch, pretending to read a book while she tapped on my laptop. A few minutes later she plopped down next to me on the couch, the movement making her hat go askew.

“My sister says my parents are really mad. They’ve extended their trip to stay in Seattle until they find me.”

“You need to talk to them,” I said for like the fifth time since I’d found her in my van. “They’re probably really worried about you.”

“I told Evangeline that I was somewhere safe,” she said. “But they’re worried I’m being held hostage and someone else is accessing my email.”

“That seems a little far-fetched.”

She shrugged. “Yeah.”

When she didn’t say anything else I asked, “What’s your plan?”