Lost in Las Vegas Read online

  As we walked out the door and down the hall, Sin slipped his hand in mine. “You know I wouldn’t have minded visiting the ribbon factory with your mom.”

  “I know. But I also know it’s not the kind of thing that’s high on your list of exciting ways to spend your day.”

  “True.” He stared straight ahead, brows slightly bent as his pensive look returned.

  Was he thinking about what really excited him? Was that it? Did life in the NP lack that certain something he’d had in Nocturne Falls?

  To be honest, if that’s what he was feeling, I totally got it. Life in the North Pole was great. But it wasn’t like our life in Nocturne Falls at all. Life there had been something new every day.

  Here it was much more about routine, especially now that the wedding and Christmas were both behind us. We pretty much knew on a daily basis what was coming. That was never true about life in Nocturne Falls. Not for long, anyway.

  Was I on to something? Or just projecting? I couldn’t be sure without talking to him, and I didn’t want to put him on the spot. If he was a little bored, I could guarantee he wouldn’t want me to know. He’d think it would hurt my feelings.

  Truth was, there were times when I was a little bored. Maybe more than a little. But growing up royal, you learned to fill your downtime with things like reading and charity work and writing letters.

  But for a guy like Sin, how fulfilling could that be? I wasn’t sure.

  He’d given up a lot to move here with me. His business, his friends, even his beloved muscle car.

  I hugged his arm, feeling suddenly responsible for him in a way I hadn’t before.

  Something had to be done.

  Chapter Three

  Sinclair

  About an hour into organizing our closet, which mostly consisted of me watching from the chair in our bedroom while Jayne tried to decide which of her fifty black dresses were keepers and which ones could be donated, the doorbell rang.

  Spider, who’d been lying on the bed with Sugar, suddenly lifted his head. “Door, Mama.”

  Jayne stuck herself halfway out of the closet as she was pulling on another dress. “I heard it.”

  He stood up, looking very proud of himself. “Treats for Spider.”

  Sugar came alive too. “Treats?”

  Jayne laughed. “No, neither of you get treats for telling me someone’s at the door when I already heard there was someone at the door.”

  Chuckling, I got to my feet. “I’ll get it.” I walked out of the room, still shaking my head. If you’d told me I’d someday be royalty, living with two talking cats in the North Pole in a palace, I would have told you that you were nuts. And yet, here I was.

  I opened the door to find a footman with an envelope on a silver tray. He gave a short bow, something else I didn’t think I’d ever get used to. “For you and Princess Frost, sir.”

  “Thank you.” I took the note and shut the door as the footman retreated. “Jayne?”

  “Yes,” she called back.

  “We got a message.”

  “What’s it say?”

  I returned to the bedroom, opening the ivory envelope as I walked. “Not sure yet.”

  She came out of the closet in yet another little black dress, looking as phenomenal as she had in the last ten.

  I took the card from the envelope and read. “Jayne and Sinclair, please come to my office at your earliest convenience. Jack.”

  Frowning slightly, I looked at her. “Why would your father send us a note instead of just calling?”

  “Because he knew if he called, I’d ask him what the meeting is about, and he obviously doesn’t want to say until we get there.” She made a face. “It must be something one of us, or both of us, isn’t going to like. Or he thinks we won’t like. He wants to have his say before we start with questions.”

  I blinked hard, trying to guess what Jack might want us for.

  She crossed her arms and leaned against the closet door. “I already don’t like it.”

  I laughed, despite my concern. “Sweetheart, you don’t know what it is.”

  “Yes, but I know my father. Whatever he’s up to, he thinks we are going to be against it, but we probably won’t be able to say no.”

  My curiosity and unease were building with similar speed. “What could it be?”

  She shook her head slowly. “I have no idea. Which makes me even more suspicious.” She tapped her finger against her bottom lip. “Maybe I should call my mother, but he’s probably got her locked down too. Or she doesn’t know anything about it. Which is probably more likely because she’s not great at keeping secrets.”

  “Plus, she’s off at the ribbon factory, so he might have waited until she left to even have this meeting. If he’s trying to keep it a secret.”

  “True,” Jayne said.

  I set the note and envelope on the desk. I didn’t want to put this off for another second. “We should go to his office and see what this is all about then. It does say at our earliest convenience.”

  “True.” She leaned for a second longer before righting herself. “All right. Let’s see what he’s got up his sleeve. Well, as soon as I change. I don’t want him thinking I dressed up for this conversation.”

  She was definitely more at ease with this than I was. Had we done something wrong? Worse, had I done something wrong? Broken some royal protocol?

  I hoped not. I’d taken classes on how to be a royal before we were married, and I liked to think I’d gotten a decent handle on it. I certainly didn’t want to screw up and cause my new family embarrassment.

  But then Jayne hadn’t said anything, and surely, she would have noticed if I’d made a mistake big enough to warrant a meeting.

  I snorted softly. I was worrying for nothing. At least that’s what I told myself.

  After Jayne changed, we left the apartment and walked to Jack’s office in silence. Jayne went in ahead of me.

  “Morning, Mrs. Greenbaum. My dad wanted to see us.”

  “Morning, Princess Jayne. Morning, Prince Consort Sinclair.” Mrs. Greenbaum, Jack’s administrative assistant, tucked one last file away in its proper spot, closed the filing cabinet drawer, then went to her desk and put her hand on the phone. “Would you like me to let him know you’re here?”

  Jayne nodded. “Sure.”

  Normally, Jayne would have gone right in. I’d seen her do it before. Maybe she was a little nervous after all.

  Mrs. Greenbaum picked up the phone. “Your highness, Princess Jayne and Prince Consort Sinclair are here.” She listened, nodding. “Very good, sir.”

  She hung up. “Go right on in.” She gave Jayne a knowing look. “There are scones on the conference table.”

  “Lingonberry?” Jayne asked.

  I knew for a fact Mrs. Greenbaum’s lingonberry scones were one of Jayne’s favorite things. They were exceptionally delicious. If I’d still had my shop, I would have been working on a way to duplicate the flavors in a doughnut.

  “Of course,” Mrs. Greenbaum said. “Is there any other kind?”

  “Nope.” Jayne walked into her father’s office with more confidence than I was feeling.

  I liked Jack Frost a lot. As a ruler, he seemed generous and fair. As a father-in-law, he’d been gracious and welcoming. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still a little intimidating.

  Especially when the man had an enormous slab of glacier as his desktop. The magic it took to keep that from melting away was staggering. It was a pretty bold way of reminding everyone who entered his office what he was capable of and that he was very much the Winter King.

  But then I got the sense that he wasn’t as powerful and successful as he was by accident.

  It was another great reminder that my bride was his heir apparent and wielded a hefty amount of magic herself, even if it wasn’t on such obvious display.

  “Hi, Dad,” Jayne said. “You wanted to see us?”

  He looked up from some paperwork as we came in. Thankfully, he smi
led. “That was fast. I just sent the note.”

  Jayne laughed as she went over to the conference table across from his desk and took a scone from the plate there. “You said at our earliest convenience. So here we are.” She looked at me. “Sin, you want a scone?”

  “No, thanks.” My appetite was on hold until I knew more. Jayne’s appetite rarely took such a break, which was just another one of her superpowers.

  “True,” Jack said. “I did say your earliest. I just didn’t think you’d come until your closet was finished. Thanks for coming so quickly. Have a seat.”

  We sat. Jayne bit the corner off her scone.

  “How is the closet coming?”

  Jayne shrugged. “It’s coming.” She slouched a little, concentrating on the pastry in her hand and clearly pretending she wasn’t anxious to know why we’d been summoned. “You could have called if that’s all you wanted to know.”

  He smiled at her, then looked at me. “Just like her mother. You have your hands full with this one.”

  “Yes, sir,” I answered. “I’m aware.”

  Jack interlaced his fingers on top of the paperwork he’d just been reading. “I’m sure you’re wondering what’s going on.”

  I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  Jayne snorted. “Dad, why else do you think we’re here? Spill it.”

  Jack hesitated as if he was choosing his words. Or perhaps deciding where to start. “Your wedding was arguably the biggest event we’ve had in the North Pole in some time. The turnout was staggering. People are still talking about it. All of that got Kris and I to thinking.”

  Santa had been thinking about us. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

  “We’ve decided to send you out on a tour of the stores. Strictly as a morale booster. A meet and greet opportunity. Initially only the highest-grossing stores will make the short list for a visit, however, we’re giving the rest of the stores the chance to bring their sales up to qualify. We think it could increase sales by as much as twenty percent in some regions. And as we’re on the downside of Christmas, that could be something.”

  I almost exhaled in relief. Visiting stores wasn’t something I’d considered, but it also wasn’t something terrible. Actually, it might be interesting. I’d only ever seen the one in Nocturne Falls where Jayne was working when we met.

  Jayne sat up straight, gesturing with the remaining scone. “Hold on. You want us to kiss hands and shake babies, all in the name of sales?”

  I leaned over. “It’s shake hands and kiss babies.”

  She shot me a look. “You do things your way. I’ll do things mine.” Her gaze returned to her father. “Dad, seriously?”

  “Jayne, this is a royal obligation. You’re the Princess and Prince Consort. You’re beloved figures who represent the North Pole. It’s time to put that popularity to good use.”

  She frowned. “For real?”

  I was already warming to the idea. For one thing, I liked travel. For another, none of the toy stores the company owned were in the North Pole. It would be a real break from royal life. “I think it sounds interesting.”

  Jack smiled at me. “It should be. We have stores all over the world. Although at first we’ll concentrate on those in the continental US.”

  Jayne looked at me. “You think it sounds interesting?”

  “Sure. Seeing new places. Meeting new people. Putting my royal title to good use.” I wasn’t so convinced about the royal part yet, because the fact that people might want to meet me simply for the reason that I’d married into the royal family seemed crazy, but I knew royalty could have that effect on some. “What’s not to like about those things?”

  She stared at me a second longer, a happy gleam coming into her eyes. Then she looked at her dad. “Tell us more. How long would we be gone? Do we get a sleigh for travel? I’m not going without Spider or Sugar. Which store would we start with? When would we have to leave?”

  Jack laughed and held up his hands. “One question at a time. Here’s what your uncle and I have been thinking…”

  Chapter Four

  Jayne

  My dad took a breath. “We know Sinclair’s parents are launching their new finale trick in two weeks, so we thought we’d start with the Las Vegas location. It’s not our top-grossing store, but it does do very well, and that would allow you both a chance to see Sinclair’s parents and have another visit with them while also being there in time to see the new illusion. So long as that would work for them.”

  “I’m sure they’d make it work.” Sin smiled for the first time since we’d entered my dad’s office. “That’s very kind of you to think of them.”

  My dad shrugged, looking pleased with himself. “To be honest, we all talked about coming down.”

  “All?” I asked.

  “Your mom and me, plus your aunt and uncle.” He smiled at Sin. “We really enjoyed getting to know your parents while they were here, and we’d love to see their show. Unfortunately, it’s just not going to work with our schedules.”

  Sin nodded. “They would love to have you any time you can make it.” His smile faded a touch. “Two weeks. That means we’d be leaving soon then.”

  My dad nodded. “Yes. The plan would be for you to leave in the next few days. To answer Jayne’s question of how you’d travel, we’ve arranged an RV for you. Ezreal assures me it’s the nicest one money can buy. Say, Sinclair, can you drive a vehicle that large? I hope you can because the coach was custom-fitted.”

  “I can. Wait, do I need a CDL?”

  “No, no special license. But if you’re not comfortable with being behind the wheel of something that size, we can hire a driver for you. We just thought the RV would allow you to bring the cats and travel in more comfort since it wouldn’t require you to move in and out of hotels.”

  “I love it,” Sin said. “And I have no problem driving a big vehicle like that. How long is it?”

  “Forty-five feet.”

  Sin’s brows shot up. “Wow.”

  “Hold up.” I brushed scone crumbs off my lap. “An RV?”

  “I promise it’s nice,” my dad said. “Do you think your uncle and I would set you up in anything less than the best? And do you think, with the unlimited budget we gave Ezreal, that he’d arrange for anything that wasn’t top-notch?”

  “No, but it’s still a camper, right?” The images in my mind were taking me to some very cramped quarters. Could you even stand upright in a camper? And wasn’t the shower like a twelve by twelve square that required you to stand on the toilet? I was starting to have minor palpitations. I didn’t think of myself as spoiled, but I wasn’t exactly the kind of girl who like the simplicity of camping either.

  I traveled with a tiara, for snowball’s sake.

  Sin shook his head. “I don’t think what your father is talking about would qualify as a camper.”

  “Sinclair’s right. This is more of a tour bus than a pop-up pull behind. It has all the comforts of home. Actually, it’s built on a bus frame.”

  “All the comforts of home?” I crossed my arms and sat back. “So it has a hot tub?”

  “Well, no, but that sort of thing will probably be available at whatever RV park you set up at.” My father looked at Sinclair like he was hoping for a lifeline. “I would imagine, anyway.”

  “This sounds like fun,” Sin said. “So we’d pick up the RV where?”

  “Anchorage. It’s the closest portal. Of course, that’s why you’d have to leave soon. It’s roughly an eight-day drive from there to Las Vegas.”

  I went a little stiff. “Eight days?”

  Sinclair grinned. “I bet the drive from Anchorage to Vegas is amazing.”

  I stared at him. “Eight days?” That sounded like torture. Eight days in an RV? I couldn’t picture a vehicle nice enough that I’d want to spend eight days in it. Or even two, honestly.

  “Imagine all the country we’d see. And I’ll do the driving. I’d enjoy it, actually.”

  My father looked s
o pleased with himself. “You’re a good man, Sinclair.”

  “I don’t know.” I glanced at Sin again. He looked so happy. Like this was the best thing that had happened to him since we got married. “Couldn’t we just fly?”

  “You could,” my father answered. “But then the cats would have to travel in the cargo hold and—”

  “No.” I put my hand down hard on his desk, the cold immediately seeping into my palm. “I’m not doing that to them.”

  “Well, this way they could roam around and have their space.”

  I did like that part. And how happy Sin looked. Was this what he needed? A new adventure? For him, I could endure anything. Even being cramped into a camper. At least we’d be together. And have the cats with us. I’d focus on that while I was standing on the toilet trying to wash my hair. “Okay, I’m in.”

  My father’s grin went wide. “Excellent. Ezreal will accompany you to Anchorage and make sure you’re all set with the RV. You have two days to pack. Make sure you take your bracelet in case you need to hide your identity. I realize blue hair isn’t that odd of a sight these days, but your ears still give you away as an elf.”

  “Bracelet?” Sin asked.

  My father nodded. “For winter elves who travel outside of the realm, we have magical bracelets that can hide our true looks. They basically hide our ears and the color of our hair.”

  “Nice,” Sin said.

  I blinked at both of them, just chatting like this was any other conversation. “Hang on. I don’t even know how long to pack for.”

  “I’d say at least a month. Maybe two.”

  “Are you kidding?” Son of a nutcracker, that was a long time to live like a sardine.

  “Well, we’d like you to visit quite a few stores. We’ll have the rest of the itinerary figured out by the time you reach Vegas, I’m sure. Or at least before you leave. And we may add more stops as you go so best to be prepared.”

  Prepared. For a month or two of living in a camper going who knows where to smile and wave and be our royal selves.

  My dad had lost his mind.

  Sin shook his hand. “We’ll do the kingdom proud.”