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“I need to come to peace with the old ones first.” She stared off into the distance. “So many things about Uncle Frank are making more sense now. The lack of photographs. Wanting me to study martial arts. Keeping such a low profile. Being so protective. Even if he wasn’t related to me by blood he’s still family. The only I ever knew.”
Niko nodded. “We shall honor Franko for the sacrifices he made by keeping you safe.”
“Thank you.” Gratitude shone her eyes. “Vernonia must have meant a lot to him or he would have never given up so much for me. I always thought he was satisfied living like this, and I’d be the one to leave someday. Now I know he didn’t plan on living here forever, either. He would have returned … home.”
Isabel’s words eased some of Niko’s concerns about her future. “Your father’s estate will enable you to live wherever and however you want.”
She sighed. “The thought of so many choices is intimidating.”
“Think of only one choice at a time. It won’t seem so … overwhelming.”
“Good advice,” she said. “Thanks.”
Helping her pleased him. “Is there anything else you need?”
Isabel glanced around. “Boyd is going to check on the RV while I’m away so everything should be okay.”
Niko remembered the tall man who had driven her and Jovan to retrieve the box. The same man had come out to check on her and watched her from the garage. A woman as attractive as Isabel was sure to have men after her. One who worked with her would have an advantage. “Is Boyd your boyfriend?”
“Boyd?” She scrunched her nose. “He’s like a brother. Some people think we’re a couple, but we’re just friends.”
The news brought an unfamiliar sense of relief. But Boyd wasn’t the only man in Charlotte. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No boyfriend.”
“But you date.”
“Not nearly as much as I probably should. I work too much overtime to have a serious relationship. And the boys at the garage can be a little overprotective when guys do drop by.”
The news pleased Niko more than it should have.
“What about you?” she asked.
“No boyfriend.”
She grinned. “Any girlfriends?”
He used to have girlfriends. He’d dated models to princesses. Julianna wasn’t his girlfriend per se, yet she was the woman he planned to marry. Better to keep things simple than give Isabel too complicated an explanation. “Yes, I have a girlfriend.”
“What’s her name?”
“Julianna. We are planning to marry.”
“Congratulations, Niko.” Isabel locked a window latch. “I hope the two of you are very happy together.”
Her enthusiasm surprised him. “You do?”
“Of course I do,” she admitted. “Why wouldn’t I? I may be your wife, but that was a choice neither of us made or would choose today.”
Niko winced. Her words stung. He might not choose her, but he didn’t see why she wouldn’t choose him. He was a prince and quite eligible according to the tabloids and magazines. “Who would you choose to marry?”
“No one.”
“You do not wish to marry?”
“I have a few things I want to do first.”
“Tell me about these things.”
“I’m planning to enroll in pit crew school, work on a pit crew and eventually be a crew chief.”
Those were unusual goals for a woman. Unthinkable for a female in Vernonia let alone a princess. “You like racing.”
“I love racing. Open-wheel, stock car, go-kart, it doesn’t matter as long as there’s a checkered flag at the end.”
The passion in her voice matched the light in her eyes and reminded him of Julianna when she sailed. Perhaps the two women had more in common than Niko had thought. “Your inheritance will allow you to do almost anything you want in racing.”
“Yeah, I guess focusing on going to pit crew school now is like a Lotto winner who plans to keep their job.” Isabel swung the strap of a blue backpack over her shoulder. She opened the door. “Ready to roll, Highness.”
Then again, maybe she didn’t have that much in common with Princess Julianna after all.
Across the tarmac at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, jet engines roared.
This was unreal. Izzy stood on the landing at the top of the portable aircraft staircase with a gorgeous prince who happened to be her husband. She still couldn’t believe what was happening.
Each beat of her heart slammed against her ribs. She’d never once dreamed of traveling to a far off destination except to attend a race. But here she was about to board a private plane and fly off to another continent.
An airplane sped down the runway.
She shivered. Soon that would be her plane.
Some might call this an exciting adventure, but not Izzy. Her misgivings were increasing by the minute.
Another aircraft taxied by. The silver, red and blue colorscheme seemed almost festive compared to Vernonia’s solid white airplane with only an aircraft numbers, letters and a small coat of arms for markings.
A royal coat of arms.
A chill ran down her spine.
She could never have imagined this happening to anyone let alone her. A grease monkey who cared more about the Winston Cup standings than the lines of succession for European thrones was now a princess?
Below her at the bottom of the stairs, a local security detail stood watch. A custom agent checked paperwork with the security liaison officer who wore a uniform and seemed to be part of the flight crew.
The shock of discovery still had her reeling. Denial battled acceptance. In spite of the physical evidence, Izzy still found the truth hard to accept. Would she ever feel like Princess Isabel Poussard Zvonimir Kresimir? She doubted it.
Facing the open doorway, Izzy sensed rather than felt Niko standing behind her. She clutched the strap of her backpack.
“It’s time to board,” he whispered from behind her. His warm breath fanned her neck.
Awareness shot through Izzy. Her uneasiness quadrupled.
Hold it together.
She straightened, not wanting to appear weak. “I know.”
Yet the open doorway loomed in front of her like a mysterious black hole. Her heart pounded so fast, Izzy thought her chest might explode.
All she had to do was step across the threshold and board the plane. Too bad her feet felt as if they’d been permanently attached to the staircase. But they knew what Izzy kept trying to forget.
This wasn’t only about never having flown before. She had absolutely no idea what waited for her on the other side. Of the doorway or when she arrived in Vernonia.
She’d never had to face the unknown alone. Uncle Frank had always been there to pave the way. Even after his death, she’d continued working at Rowdy’s, living in the RV and following the plan they’d dreamed up together. But now she found herself on a new, uncertain path with all her plans swept away.
Worse, there was no turning back.
Her life was irrevocably changed whether she boarded the plane or stayed in Charlotte. The realization made her lightheaded.
The prince moved closer, crowding her from behind. He emanated strength and warmth. Her pulse skittered.
Uh-oh. Izzy needed to put a little distance between them. Not that she had much room to go anywhere. She shifted to the side until her backpack and hip hit the staircase railing. “Give me a minute.”
Niko gently placed his hand on the curve of her back.
Izzy stiffened. The slight touch made her more apprehensive.
“You will have plenty of time once we board,” he said.
She was losing control of this situation, of her life. “Things are happening too fast. I need everything to slow down.”
“Everything will slow down when we are in the air. We have a long flight ahead of us.”
A long flight that would carry her away from everything familiar. Nerves smacked into her like a rogue wave. Her stomach churned.
“Isabel,” Niko said.
Another plane took off. The roar louder than any engine she’d ever heard at the racetrack. Goose bumps prickled her skin.
“I told you I needed a minute.” The words came out harsher than she intended.
“It’s been an eventful day,” Niko said.
“You think?” She swallowed around the crown-jewel-size lump in her throat. “I doubt anyone else has ever had a day like today. I wish it were all a dream. But it’s not. And now I’m stuck.”
“Stuck?”
“Having to go to Vernonia to annul the marriage and get my inheritance,” she admitted. “Unfortunately I have no idea what’s going to happen once we arrive. I may have been born there, but it might as well be Mars.”
Niko’s assessing gaze made her feel like one of Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters. “Vernonia is different from what you are used to. Some would call the country old-fashioned. Others antiquated. Especially when it comes to gender roles.”
Izzy half laughed with a mix of desperation and fear. “If you’re trying to make me feel better, it’s not working.”
“I will not lie to you, Isabel,” he said. “Your life has changed. But you will not have to deal with any of this on your own.”
A sense of inadequacy swept through her. Izzy was used to handling everything on her own, but she was completely out of her comfort zone here and practically shaking in her held-together-with-super-glue tennis shoes.
“It will be my pleasure to help you,” he offered.
Niko made a dashing knight in shining armor, but Izzy didn’t like being cast in the role of damsel in distress. She didn’t want or need his help. “Thanks, but I can do this on my own.”
Please let me be able to do this on my own.
With a deep breath, Izzy stood and stepped through the doorway of the plane.
“Welcome aboard, Your Royal Highness,” a male flight attendant with a crew cut and navy blue uniform greeted. “We have a seven course dinner for you as well as movies for your entertainment.”
It took Izzy a minute to realize the man was addressing her. “Thank you,” she muttered, wondering how he knew who she was.
The flight attendant smiled at her. “Would you like me to escort you to your seat, ma’am?”
“Thank you, Luka, but I will show Princess Isabel the way,” Niko said before Izzy could answer.
Luka bowed. “Enjoy your flight, ma’am, sir.”
“I thought you wanted to keep my identity a secret to avoid publicity,” she whispered to Niko as she moved away from Luka.
“Only until after we appear before the High Court,” he explained quietly.
As his male scent surrounded her, heat rushed through her veins. She hoped the High Court would be their first stop after they landed.
“Do not worry,” he continued. “The crew is part of the Vernonian Air Force. They can be trusted with the information. As can the palace staff.”
That seemed like a lot of people in on the secret, but he was the prince. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
Izzy made her way down the aisle, holding her backpack in front of her. The interior, a mix of warm beiges, browns and blues, created a welcoming environment. Couches and tables filled the first section of the cabin.
“This is the lounge area,” Niko explained. “Feel free to come up here if you want to stretch your legs.”
“I doubt I’ll unfasten my seat belt during the flight.”
The corners of his mouth lifted. “That may get uncomfortable if you have to use the facilities.”
Her cheeks warmed. She hadn’t considered that.
The second section of the cabin contained rows of seats. The wide leather seats looked comfortable and luxurious, not narrow and cramped and squished together as her high school classmates had described after their graduation trip to the Caribbean. Izzy hadn’t been able to afford the trip, so had stayed home and worked at Rowdy’s garage.
Times sure had changed. Mechanic Izzy Poussard was now Princess Isabel, the wife of the crown prince of Vernonia. She nearly laughed at the absurdity of it.
