Page 48 of Rags to Royals

Oh. Fuck, yes.

Chapter 10

Scarlett

Jen: So, we’ve been informed that Lady Linnea and Jonah Greene are off on their honeymoon. No one is telling us where they went, which is just fine. I guess. We get it. Linnea has sent us a few photos and it looks gorgeous. Anyone want to guess based on the photos we posted?

Lindsey: People have already guessed that they are back in North Carolina. Which makes sense. I don’t think that Jonah's parents have probably met Linnea.

Jen: Oh, good point. Well, that's fun. We won’t share anything more specific than that. They deserve their privacy on their honeymoon. But we hope they’ll share details when they get back.

Lindsey: Well, notallof the details.

Jen: Speak for yourself. I wouldn’t mind some shirtless photos of Jonah Greene sunbathing or something.

Lindsey: Okay, when you put it that way… Also, we’ve had a lot of comments asking if we know anything more about Prince Cian and Henry. We have in fact gotten confirmation that they are completely fine and back in the US. Apparently it was just a big miscommunication about who was going where and when. We assume they’re back in Louisiana, though our source didn’t specify.

Jen: Well, where else would they be if they’re in the US? If you told me they were skiing or white-water rafting or something I wouldn’t have been surprised and would’ve assumed they were not in Louisiana, but if they’re just hanging out and back to their usual life, it has to be Louisiana.

Lindsey: Exactly.

Mariah stops reading and looks up at us. “But you told people in the family where you really are, right?” She's directing this to Henry. We’re all gathered around the kitchen table with two big pizzas spread out in the middle. Cian and Henry sprung for dinner tonight. I did insist the girls make a salad at least, but they never get pizza on a regular weeknight so they’re treating this like some kind of special occasion.

Or maybe it’s just Cian and Henry being here that makes it a special occasion. Though I don’t want to admit it, that’s how it feels to me.

The girls were amazed and delighted by Cian’s and Henry's makeovers and the fact that they’re going undercover in our little town. Until it sank in that they can’t let on that they know either of them.

Henry swallows a bite of pizza. “I told who needs to know. “

“But a lot of Cian's family is in Louisiana. They would know if he's not there,” Mariah says.

Henry nods. “Like I said, I tell the people who need to know.”

“Everyone just keeps everyone else's secrets?” Greta asks. “There's no worries about leaks or anything?”

“Everyone is very invested in keeping Cian safe. None of them would jeopardize that. Besides, I told them he's with me and that we’re fine. And that we’re in the US. Only a few people know exactly where we are. Everyone else is just content knowing that I’m with him.”

Greta gets a goofy smile on her face. “That is so nice.” She looks at me. “If we just disappeared one night, but then I called you and said don’t worry, we are fine, Mariah is with me, would that make you totally feel fine?”

I arch my brows. “I wouldn’t say totally fine, no. So don’t get any ideas. But, knowing you are together would make me feel better than thinking she was somewhere alone.”

Greta smiles and nods. “Plus when we’re older, like Cian and Henry, it would be different.”

I concede that point. “True. I hope you’re both always the best of friends.”

She loops an arm around Mariah's neck and gives her a little hug. “Of course we will be.”

I look across the island at Cian and find him watching the girls with a smile. He apparently feels my gaze, though, because his eyes come to mine. I turn my attention back to my pizza. He and Henry are both so good with the girls and I’d be a huge liar if I said it didn’t affect me.

Greta’s dad is fully involved in her life and she has a younger brother, but she loves being at our house and there is a lot of estrogen around here. Mariah has never had a steady male in her life. She loved my stepdad, Brian—we all did—but she didn’t know him very well since we lived away from Emerald. Far away. Sometimes I think we should have kept it that way.

“So you’re staying for eighteen more days, and you’re going to spend time with Scarlett,” Greta says to Cian, pulling myattention back to our pizza party. “Our story is that you’re a professor and your car broke down.”

“Right,” Cian confirms. “You’re definitely part of the inner circle now.”

Greta and Mariah share a grin. It's obvious how exciting they find that.

“What happens after the eighteen days?” Greta asks.

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