Page 30 of The Prince and the Double Shot
“I need you to cover a pool shift tomorrow. I’ve asked Di to come in to take your place in the café. You’re fine with that, I assume.” Sheena pursed her lips.
“Yeah. I’ve been waiting. Thanks, Sheena. I won’t let you down.”
“You’ve never let me down, kid. I don’t expect you to start now.”
“Is that all?”
“You haven’t sent in a response to the ball. I’m just putting you down, and I expect you to be here. Got it?”
“Crystal clear. The place looks amazing.”
“How’s our friend Phil doing? It seems that the two of you have hit it off.”
“Yeah, we’re… hanging out.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it. That boy is special, and with everything that he went through… I’m just glad that he has afriend.”
“Yeah, we’re totallyfriends.”
“Has he confided in you?”
I stiffened.
“I’m not trying to get information out of you, Zane. I know everything. His mother and I used to be friends many years ago.”
“Oh, that’s… You’re friends with a queen?”
“Sure. I have lots of friends. Didn’t the gossip of my former life ever reach you?”
“I mean, you hear a lot of things,” I shrugged.
“It’s true. I was a princess, but I left that life for another.” She looked at me, and I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her. “Youknow the story, Zane. It’s one as old as time, isn’t it?”
“I’m…”
“Foolish to think that a secret can be safe. That’s the problem with secrets. There is always something that happens – they want to be exposed. You keep yours well. Too well, in my opinion. But isn’t it lonely? Don’t you ever get tired of looking over your shoulder and wondering if today is the day that it will all crash and burn? It’s not the kind of life you deserve, kiddo.”
I looked down at the floor. “How long have you known who I am?”
“How long have you worked here?”
“Do they know where I am?”
“If they do, it’s not because of us. We don’t share other people’s secrets, Zane. That belongs to you and no one else.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“Only Layla and I. You did a good job of hiding. Why?”
“The family wanted to use me as capital. I was nothing more to them than something to give away. They always thought of me as broken and I… So I ran, and I’ve never looked back. We weren’t a very… loving family. I had always been a disappointment to them so much that they hid me away.”
“That’s not fair to either them or yourself. I don’t know them, not really – but maybe you didn’t have all the information before you left.”
“I had all I needed. Don’t worry, I will figure something out and get out of here sometime soon. I just need to figure out where I’ll go.”
“Don’t. There’s no need for you to run away, Zane. That’s silly. Nothing has changed, has it?”
“I don’t know. I have to admit that I’m kind of shocked right now. I thought I’d been very careful.”
