AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Torben grins. “What else do you know about me?”
I press my lips together and smile. “No comment.”
He blows out a breath. “Well, Sig is okay. Just a bit…unkempt. Does not enjoy state visits. He would sooner spend his time dressing a deer than perform royal engagements. Seeing as he’s outdoorsy, I thought he’d make an impression on the prime minister of Canada. Mother arranged for a kayaking trip in hopes of boosting trade. But Sig returned from that trip grousing about how the prime minister is ‘too delicate to shit in the woods and had to be helicoptered back to the palace to evacuate his bowels.’ My brother’s words, not mine. I don’t enjoy shitting in the woods either.”
As he tells this story, I cover my mouth and laugh.
“After a few awkward engagements, we finally determined Sig suffers from social anxiety and cannot function if he stays indoors too long. Yet our parents are the sort who don’t believe that anxiety disorders are real. So over time, I’ve orchestrated things so his hunting, fishing, and trapping are defined as a public service that keeps him very busy.”
And now I feel bad for laughing.
“He’s lucky to have you as a brother.”
“Remind him of that when you meet him,” he says, his eyes gleaming.
I almost gasp at how good he looks when he smiles.Ugh. It’s flirting, Hailey. It means nothing.
“Tell me more about Etienne.”
Torben rolls his eyes. “He doesn’t have any assignments or duties except to attend group engagements, and he can’t even manage to do that. He drinks, gambles, and entertains strangers on the royal yacht doing gods know what. He is 31 and has yet to choose an occupation for himself. I set him up to be a brand ambassador for some of our prominent businesses, but Etienne never publicly appeared without being lit. That sums up all you need to know about Etienne.”
I frown, feeling that in my soul. “Sounds a lot like my daddy.”
Torben’s shoulders sag, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “Hailey, I’ve spent far too long talking about my family, and I know almost nothing about you. That’s not fair of me, is it?”
I blink at him. “That’s not true. I told you about my Papaw and me crawdad catching.”
“Hailey. Tell me about you.”
A prince wants to know about me?
“There’s not much to tell, in comparison,” I say, my voice unintentionally breathier and softer than usual.
“Please. I came to America to meet Americans. You are my favorite so far.”
Oh, my stupid, stupid heart. He’s breaking it already.
9
Torben
“Please.”
The soft expression in her liquid gold eyes destroys any notion that I might entertain any other candidate to be my bride.
There never could be another choice.
Her slow blink when I say please rips me to shreds in the most pleasant way.
“What do you want to know?”
She seems to shrink whenever the subject of her and her life arises. Surely, she doesn’t think she’s unworthy of my attention?
“Everything,” I say. “Start from the beginning. Who are your parents? Are your siblings as ridiculous as mine are?”
She smiles and wraps her long hair in a pretty, messy bun on top of her head. It is fascinating to me that she can do that without a mirror.
“Right now, it’s just me, Mama, and Toad—my brother Todd. But no one calls him Todd except the people at the DMV. He’s a machine operator at a factory. He’s a few years younger than me. We each moved out at 18, but recently we’ve moved back in with Mama. She’s…not been well since Daddy died.”
