how you feel. When I was a little boy and very upset about something, I always ran to my sister to talk to her because she’s my best friend and the kindest person I know. Do you have a younger brother?”
“No.” Sonia hiccuped. “My m-mommy and daddy died before they could g-give me one.”
Kristin felt the Prince digest those words. She had the grace to feel sorry for the royal bachelor playboy who she figured had never been forced to deal with a crisis quite like this before.
“My sister asked me to come in her place because she couldn’t. I know you wanted to meet a real princess, but I am her brother.” He wiped some of the moisture off her cheeks. “Will a prince do for today?”
No woman young or old could be immune to that humble yet compelling male entreaty, not even Sonia, who finally lifted her tear-ravaged face to him.
“D-do you h-have your c-crown on?” she asked in a tremulous voice.
The Prince’s intelligent gaze swerved to Kristin’s in distinct puzzlement. At this point she realized everything had fallen apart before Mrs. Severeid had found the time to tell him about Sonia’s condition.
“My niece is blind,” Kristin tapped him on the shoulder and silently mouthed the words.
Their eyes held for endless moments while he absorbed the tragic revelation. As he continued to stare at Kristin, his expression underwent a dramatic transformation. Lines of incredulity darkened his features, making him appear older.
His dark brown eyes looked pained before they settled on Sonia once more. Strong masculine hands reached out to grasp her niece’s little fingers in his.
“I didn’t have time to put it on,” he said in a solemn tone.
“H-how come?” Sonia wanted to know. Small tremors shook her body, but miracle of miracles, her hysterics were subsiding.
“Because it’s in another town.”
“Where?”
“At a cathedral in Midgard with some other family crowns.”
“How come? If I had a crown, I’d put it in my room on the dresser.”
Kristin’s eyes closed tightly. The “how comes?” had started, and now there’d be no end to them.
“My crown’s too heavy to wear all the time, so I keep it locked up in the church where it will be safe.”
“Does it hurt your head?”
She sounded so concerned about that, the Prince flashed Kristin an intimate smile in spite of his shock that Sonia couldn’t see. Already he’d discovered her niece possessed a potent charm of her own. It was unbelievable to Kristin that her ex-fiancé Bruce hadn’t been affected by it.
Encouraged by the progress the Prince was making, Kristin couldn’t help but smile back.
“I get a headache when I have to wear it for a long time,” he said, still looking at Kristin as if he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
“Does the Princess’s c-crown hurt her too?”
His gaze eventually swerved back to Sonia. “No. It’s smaller and lighter.”
“Is her crown at that church?”
“No. I think she keeps it with her.”
“Do you live at the p-palace with the Princess?” Sonia asked before she hiccuped again.
“Not since I became a man.”
“When did that h-happen?”
Out of the mouths of babes.
Kristin struggled not to laugh at Sonia’s innocent question.
This time the Prince sent Kristin a slightly wicked smile before he concentrated on Sonia and murmured, “I’m not sure. When I turned twenty-three I decided to get my own place.”
“My Aunty Kristin’s twenty-three. How old are you?”
“I turned thirty on my last birthday.”
“My daddy was thirty when he died. Do you live in your own palace?”
“No. I live in an old sea captain’s house.”
“I thought you were a prince!”
His low laugh excited Kristin. “I am, but I love the sea. My house sits high on a hill where I can look down and watch all the boats.”
Sonia shivered. “I don’t like the water.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Cos I was on a sailboat with my mommy and daddy when they drowned. Now I live with my Aunty Kristin.”
At that news, the Prince subjected Kristin to another intense yet solemn appraisal before he said, “You’re a lucky little girl to have her.”
“That’s what Grandpa Elling says. Don’t you miss the Princess?”
“Yes,” he whispered, “but she has a husband and pretty soon she’s going to have a baby boy. They need their own place.”
“Do you live all alone?” Her voice trembled.
“No. I have a dog.”
Her expression brightened. “Is he big?”
“Yes.”
“What’s his name?”
“Thor.”
“That means thunder!”
The Prince chuckled softly, but Kristin felt it resonate deep inside of her. “That’s right.”
“Is he mean?”
“He’s as sweet as my sister.”
“We couldn’t keep a dog at our apartment.”
“That’s too bad. Every little girl should have one. How would you like to meet mine?”
What? Kristin’s heart thudded.
“Could I?” Sonia cried in delight.
When the Prince turned to Kristin, she shook her head. “Please—that’s not necessary,” she whispered, but by then the Prince had plucked Sonia from the chair and held her in his strong arms.
“I tell you what. Let’s go out in front of the shop so the photographer can take our picture with the Severeids. Then we’ll walk across the square to Santa’s post office. After that we’ll visit Thor.”
Sonia threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She’d never done that with Bruce in the whole time Kristin
