Secrets of a Prince (The Princes of New Sargasso #3) - Carol Moncado Page 0,22

can tell us all the secrets.” He winked at her. “And because you keep Gid busy so he doesn’t interfere in our lives.”

She glanced around, likely to make sure she couldn’t be overheard. “We are making a major announcement on Monday,” she told him, her voice barely above a whisper. “It may not come to anything, but it just might.”

“What’s that?”

“You can’t tell anyone,” she admonished, waiting for his nod. “We’re looking for a writer to work on more books. We’ll put out some criteria and a deadline, then go through the anonymous submissions to try to find someone who writes like my Great Gran did. If we can find someone close enough, who we trust enough, we’ll commission more books.”

Joss twirled her around in a move fancier than the dance really called for. “That’s amazing, Kari.”

He wouldn’t try for it, though he thought he could do a good job, but he suspected he knew just the person who could.

9

After a while, the coverage of the ball moved online. Minnie flipped over to watch it, but it didn’t take long for it to bore her.

What dress would she have worn to the event? Maybe that bright pink one she’d had her eye on - if her father would have bought her a new dress.

Joss said she could buy anything she wanted, within reason.

Minnie bit her bottom lip. Did that include a ball gown? And shoes? With the cute little bow on the ankle strap?

She knew the designer well and knew what size always fit her like a glove, seldom needing any alterations.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she went into the office, logged into the website, ordered the dress plus the shoes she’d tried on with it, and had it shipped to the apartment. At least Joss’s computer was already logged into the payment program.

Back in the living room, she watched the camera angle change to a shot of Joss dancing with one of the women most people would think was Minnie’s friend.

Really, the woman was a social climber, currently dating the son of an earl. That was the only reason she’d made it to the ball.

Minnie’s eyes narrowed as she reached for the remote. She managed to rewind a few seconds then pause.

The woman slipped a piece of paper into Joss’s pocket.

In all the time her father had tried to convince her to pursue a prince, it had never occurred to Minnie that slipping a phone number in a prince’s pocket was the way to get a date.

She’d done plenty of other things that were mildly questionable before that night, but nothing that forward.

Maybe one day she’d get up the nerve to ask Joss about the phone numbers or whatever was on those pieces of paper.

After a while, she found herself snuggled under a blanket on the couch, watching the party she couldn’t attend, and then she dozed off.

She woke to someone knocking on the door.

Minnie sat up, disoriented. Light streamed in around the curtains as a key scraped in the lock.

“Minnie?” The sound of Joss’s voice preceded him into the apartment.

“Huh? Yeah. I’m in here.”

Joss walked in wearing jeans and a collared shirt that looked like they’d been made for him - and they probably had been.

She still had bedhead and bleary eyes and a sore back from being on the lounge all night.

“You sleep out here?” His puzzled tone surprised her as he closed and locked the door.

“What?” She rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes trying to wake herself up. “No. I must have fallen asleep last night.” She looked at the television where a note said the live stream she’d been watching had ended. “I was watching the ball.”

“Ah.” Joss sat in one of the chairs. “I thought you’d enjoy it. Fortunately, my seating partner was probably four times my age and widowed.”

“That’s nice.” She meant it though knew she probably sounded snarky. “What about the phone numbers?”

“Phone numbers?” He sounded genuinely confused. “What phone numbers?”

“The camera was on you and Vivi while you were dancing. She put a piece of paper in your pocket.”

“Ah.” The light bulb appeared to go on in his head. “I give those either to my assistant or a member of my security team after the event ends. I don’t even look at them.”

“Is this a common occurrence?”

“Unfortunately. Dave says it’s gotten better and worse since he proposed to Jacqueline Grace.”

“What’s that mean?”

“He gets less of them, but the ones he does get tend to be