Cass, Kiera The Prince

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Hannah, Anna . . . how was I supposed to
keep that straight? Jenna, Janelle, and Ca-
mille . . . seriously? That was going to be a
disaster. I had to learn at least a few. Then
I d just rely on the pins until I got the names
straight.
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Because I could do this. I could do it well.
I had to. I had to prove, finally, that I could
lead, make decisions. How else would any-
one trust me as their king? How would the
king himself trust me at all?
I focused on standouts. Celeste . . . I re-
membered the name. One of my advisors
had mentioned she was a model and showed
me a picture of her in a bathing suit on the
glossy pages of a magazine. She was probably
the sexiest candidate, and I certainly
wouldn t hold that against her. Lyssa jumped
out at me, but not in a good way. Unless she
had a winning personality, she wasn t even in
the running. Maybe that was a bit shallow,
but was it so bad that I wanted someone at-
tractive? Ah, Elise. Based on the exotic slant
of her eyes, she was the girl Father had men-
tioned who had family in New Asia. She d be
in the running on that alone.
America.
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I studied her picture. Her smile was abso-
lutely radiant.
What made her smile so brightly, then?
Was it me? Had whatever she felt for me that
day passed? She didn t seem very happy to
meet me. But . . . she did smile in the end.
Tomorrow I would have to start fresh
with her. I wasn t sure of what I was looking
for, but so much of what seemed right was
staring back at me in that photograph.
Maybe it was her will or her honesty, maybe
it was the soft skin on the back of her hand
or her perfume . . . but I knew, with a singu-
lar clarity, that I wanted her to like me.
How exactly was I supposed to do that?
CHAPTER 6
I HELD THE BLUE TIE up. No. The tan?
No. Was I going to have this much trouble
getting dressed every day?
I wanted to make a good first impression
with these girls and a good second impres-
sion with one and apparently I was con-
vinced this all hung on picking out the right
tie. I sighed. These girls were already turning
me into a puddle of stupid.
I tried to follow my mother s advice and
be myself, flaws and all. Going with the first
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tie I d picked up, I finished getting dressed
and smoothed my hair back.
I walked out the door and found my par-
ents by the stairwell having a hushed conver-
sation. I debated taking a back route, not
wanting to interrupt them, but my mother
waved me over.
Once I reached them, she started tugging
on my sleeves, then moved to my back to
smooth my coat. Remember, she said,
they re swarming with nerves, and the thing
to do right now is make them feel at home.
Act like a prince, Father urged. Re-
member who you are.
There s no rush to make a decision.
Mom touched my tie. That s a nice one.
But don t keep anyone around if you
know you don t want them. The sooner we
get to the true candidates, the better.
Be polite.
Be confident.
Just talk.
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Father sighed. This isn t a joke. Remem-
ber that.
Mom held me at arm s length. You re go-
ing to be fantastic. She pulled me in for a
big hug, and backed away to restraighten
everything.
All right, son. Go on, Father said, ges-
turing to the stairs.
We ll be waiting in the dining hall.
I felt dizzy. Um, yes. Thank you.
I paused for a minute to catch my breath.
I knew they were trying to help, but they d
managed to throw off any sense of calm I d
built. I reminded myself that this was just me
saying hello, that the girls were hoping this
would work out as much as I was.
And then I remembered that I was going
to get to speak to America again. At the very
least, that should be entertaining. With that
in mind I breezed down the stairs to the first
floor and made my way to the Great Room. I
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took one deep breath and gave a knock on
the door before pulling it open.
There, past the guards, waited the collec-
tion of girls. Cameras flashed, capturing both
their reaction and mine. I smiled at their
hopeful faces, feeling calmer just because
they all looked so pleased to be here.
Your Majesty. I turned and caught
Silvia coming up from her curtsy. I nearly [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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