Secrets of a Prince (The Princes of New Sargasso #3) - Carol Moncado Page 0,51

door.

Minnie’s mind raced. How could she get out of it while not outing herself as a contestant or a rabid fan? She stood and walked toward the dining area as Kari rolled a cart in.

“Is this weird for you?” Minnie asked. “Just picking up the phone and ordering lunch whenever you want?”

“Yeah. It’s kinda cool, though.” She laughed. “I’m really not good in the kitchen. Ask Mama Josie. She never let me help bake when I worked for her.”

Together, they worked to put the food on the table then sat down. Kari bowed her head and said a quick word of prayer, something that had never been prevalent in Minnie’s life.

“So, will you?” Kari asked as she picked up her sandwich.

“Will I what?”

Kari rolled her eyes. “Be a judge.”

Minnie pulled the long toothpick with the bit of green cellophane out of her sandwich then picked it up. “I can’t either. I’ve been on those message boards too much. I’ve only ever met one person in real life, as far as I know, but it’s very possible that I’d recognize a particular user’s style.”

With an overly dramatic sigh, Kari took a bite. “Thanks anyway,” she mumbled around the food in her mouth.

That broke the ice a little more. The meal went much better than Minnie had hoped.

Once back in the living area, Minnie took a deep breath. “I know I said something the other day, but I want to apologize again for how I treated you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all forgiven. I know life can be hard, believe me. Sometimes we lash out. I’ve enjoyed lunch today and hope we can be friends.”

Minnie wrinkled her nose. “Just promise you’ll believe me when I say I want the same thing, and it’s not only because you’re the Trilunium heir.”

Kari laughed. “Would you like to see the desk? It hasn’t been taken to the apartment yet.”

Minnie felt her eyes light up. “The desk? The actual desk where they were written?”

With another laugh, Kari stood. “Come on.”

Following her into an office, Minnie stood and stared. She’d seen pictures of the desk but hadn’t seen it in person. “Sofós Voskós,” she whispered, moving forward to run her hand over the dragon. “This is amazing.”

“It is pretty awesome,” Kari agreed. She showed Minnie how it opened and where a couple of the hidden spots were, including the one that protected the sixth manuscript for decades.

“I was furious with Gideon for buying it,” Kari told her. “He didn’t begin to understand the kind of money it took to buy it, and I didn’t want to be indebted to him.”

“I can understand that.” Though until a couple of years ago, Minnie didn’t understand the money aspect of it either.

After a few more minutes, they went back to the living area. For the next couple of hours, they laughed and talked like old friends. Minnie finally began to feel comfortable and like she might be able to make these relationships work.

“I hear I owe you a second-degree apology,” Kari told her as they sat back down. “My parents are part of your father’s financial problems.”

Minnie held her glass of water in both hands. She studied it carefully rather than looking at Kari. “Turns out he might be part of the scam. The king isn’t sure but it seems like they think he is.”

Kari sighed. “I keep hearing more and more about people either involved or victimized. I’m so sick of everything they’ve done. My mother is cooperating, but it turns out my father kept a lot of things from her, including some of the accomplices.”

Before they could talk further, the door opened and Gideon walked in. He greeted Kari with a kiss. “My father wants to meet with us in about half an hour.” He looked at Minnie. “I think he wants all six of us, actually.”

Minnie pulled her phone out to see a text from Joss. “Joss is on his way home and says Caleb and Rosie are supposed to be there, but I’m to wait for him to get home to walk down because he knows a back way to make sure no one sees me.” She stood. “I need to change.”

“Let him know we’ll walk you down,” Gideon told her. “We’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.”

Her thumbs flew over the keyboard on her phone. “Okay. I’ll be ready.”

She hurried back to her apartment, found something suitable to wear, and changed quickly. Taking a few minutes to freshen her makeup, she tried to calm the butterflies in