Secrets of a Prince (The Princes of New Sargasso #3) - Carol Moncado Page 0,50

stories that he’d read over the years. The Elite Eight, as the sisters and princes were sometimes called, did appear in them, but they weren’t always the main characters.

“Creating someone new and figuring out who that person or orc or gryphon is. Learning what they like and dislike and what they want out of life. The creation.”

“If you don’t win, you still could. Under a pen name, maybe. I don’t know how well it would go over under your actual name.”

“Maybe.” She stared at the rest of the green bean on her fork. “I’m going to get back to work.”

Joss leaned over and kissed her. “I’ll take care of this stuff.” He put some of the leftovers in containers in the fridge. He’d never eaten them growing up, but Minnie seemed to do so for lunch often.

Minnie went back to work, sitting on the couch. Joss gave her space and went into the bedroom to watch a movie and do some reading.

Eventually, it was time for bed. He told her good night and slept in a bed for the first time in a while.

When he woke up, Minnie was asleep on the other side of the bed. Quietly, he got ready to go, knowing he’d be out of the palace most of the day. He left her a note on his pillow, just letting her know that he believed in her and the story was amazing. He’d see her for dinner.

His first event of the day was with Caleb. Rosie hadn’t started doing many yet but would soon.

They went to the grand opening of a new park, specially designed to be accessible for children with different needs. For two hours, they played with children and talked with their parents.

Afterward, he went to a luncheon at a senior center with a new reading room. After lunch came a grocery store then a closed-door reception fundraiser for The Literacy Council.

He spoke with the president for a time. As he was getting ready to leave, he was pulled aside by a man he didn’t know. After they spoke for a few minutes, another man joined them.

Minnie’s father.

Joss did his best to keep his face from showing his disgust. “Have you had contact with your daughter yet?” he asked, getting a jump on what the man was certainly about to ask.

“Are you trying to tell me you have no idea where she is?” The earl stepped a bit too close to Joss and a member of his security team moved in.

Joss held up his hand. “Your daughter is a grown woman. I told you weeks ago that I saw her at the opening of the children’s library then went to my suite then the train station. If you haven’t heard from her since then, maybe she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Maybe she can’t contact me,” the man growled. “Maybe you did something to her. Maybe I need to go to the press and tell them my suspicions that the royal family had something to do with the disappearance of my daughter.”

With a laugh, Joss turned. “Good luck getting anyone to believe you.”

19

Fortunately, thanks to the app security installed on her phone, Minnie was able to find her way to Gideon and Kari’s apartment.

She knocked on the door and Kari opened it almost immediately. “Come on in. Lunch should be here in a few minutes. I’m glad we could find a time to do this. This is pretty much my last calm moment for a while.”

“The contest ended a few minutes ago, didn’t it?” Minnie knew it had. Her entry had been submitted an hour earlier.

“Yep. But we’re also moving to the other apartment this weekend. It’s finally renovated and updated. I have a couple of assistants who are going to be organizing everything for the contest over the weekend. I get involved on Monday.” They sat in the living area. “We’re still trying to find enough judges, though. Most of the ones we’d normally choose have entered, and even if we made certain they didn’t get their own entry, we can’t let them judge.”

“That makes sense. I’d imagine a lot of them are involved in the online community and could recognize the work of others even if it is anonymized.”

“Exactly. Joss and Caleb both said they can’t, though Joss didn’t actually say why.” There was a knock on the door and Kari stood to get it. “Don’t think you’re going to get out of being asked,” she called as she headed for the