through the past few days. There had to be a stash of liquor somewhere.
She made it as far as the empty, massive kitchen. Tara’s mother worked in a restaurant in Pennsylvania, so she’d been in a restaurant kitchen before—but this was even bigger. And it wasn’t just one of those kitchens defined by endless stainless steel, it had marble and a glittering backsplash on the wall and real wood cabinets. It would probably be a fun place to raid in the middle of the night, but she was really hoping that she wouldn’t be spending another night in the palace.
Right, right, right, liquor… A quick glance around the room proved fruitless, and she started opening up cabinets to see if she was getting closer. They had to have a large selection, right? She just had no idea where it was.
It wasn’t that Katherine didn’t think she was pretty. But she was not classy or sophisticated or any of the things that Brigitte was. All of brunch today had just been lying out of her ass, pretending her life was more interesting than it was. Never before had her life bothered her as much as it did right now, but never had a guy like Eric ever shown the slightest bit of interest—not that she wanted him to show interest in her. He was a sophisticated, high-class, elegant guy. He was a freaking prince, after all. It was flattering that he would even look at her, right? It’s just that after seeing Brigitte in the flesh, there was no way she could compete on any level that mattered.
And Eric was interested in her because of that.
Because she was fun-loving and impulsive and not really educated all that well. She offered him no challenge at all. God damnit, this was not how she had wanted this trip to go. She had just wanted to go off and have fun in a couple of clubs, not wind up entangled in court politics. Katherine clearly didn’t belong here.
“Ah! Rum!” She’d opened another cabinet and been met with a wide variety of different alcohols—schnapps and vodka and the like—but if she was just drinking straight, she’d always preferred rum. After making sure that it wasn’t cooking rum or something, which she wasn’t even sure existed but she could never be too careful about those things, she untwisted the lid and took a long drink straight from the bottle. It was over half-way empty anyway, and she was feeling not particularly in control at this particular moment. Nope, she was perfectly content with getting absolutely wasted and—
“It’s a bit early, isn’t it?” Eric’s voice, for once, did not startle her, and she turned around with the rum still lifted to her lips as she peered up at him. Only after another ten seconds of drinking did she lower it, gasping for breath, and shooting him a tense grin.
“Oh, I dunno. It was a bit early to be meeting dignitaries who would be absolutely disgusted if they knew who I really was, but I went through with that anyway. Meeting your fiancé , however, is what really makes this super necessary.” Katherine started to lift the bottle to her lips again.
“Katherine,” he chastised softly, reaching out and taking it from her with a sour look.
“Hey!” she protested, trying to grab for it only to scowl when he lifted it over his head, effectively out of her reach.
“Brigitte is not my fiancé. Not yet, at any rate, and not ever if I’ve any say about it.”
“ Why ?” she demanded with a scoff, frowning at him intensely and debating if there was a way to get her rum back. “What is so wrong about marrying someone beautiful and classy and actually qualified to run a country? I am definitely not that .”
“Beyond the fact that I care not to marry someone who is not of my choosing?”
“Believe it or not, I’m pretty sure that happens a lot more than you’d think to normal people, people who don’t need someone qualified to sit on a throne.”
“I hardly think that matters when there is very little you are qualified to do, Katherine,” he answered, obviously
She made it as far as the empty, massive kitchen. Tara’s mother worked in a restaurant in Pennsylvania, so she’d been in a restaurant kitchen before—but this was even bigger. And it wasn’t just one of those kitchens defined by endless stainless steel, it had marble and a glittering backsplash on the wall and real wood cabinets. It would probably be a fun place to raid in the middle of the night, but she was really hoping that she wouldn’t be spending another night in the palace.
Right, right, right, liquor… A quick glance around the room proved fruitless, and she started opening up cabinets to see if she was getting closer. They had to have a large selection, right? She just had no idea where it was.
It wasn’t that Katherine didn’t think she was pretty. But she was not classy or sophisticated or any of the things that Brigitte was. All of brunch today had just been lying out of her ass, pretending her life was more interesting than it was. Never before had her life bothered her as much as it did right now, but never had a guy like Eric ever shown the slightest bit of interest—not that she wanted him to show interest in her. He was a sophisticated, high-class, elegant guy. He was a freaking prince, after all. It was flattering that he would even look at her, right? It’s just that after seeing Brigitte in the flesh, there was no way she could compete on any level that mattered.
And Eric was interested in her because of that.
Because she was fun-loving and impulsive and not really educated all that well. She offered him no challenge at all. God damnit, this was not how she had wanted this trip to go. She had just wanted to go off and have fun in a couple of clubs, not wind up entangled in court politics. Katherine clearly didn’t belong here.
“Ah! Rum!” She’d opened another cabinet and been met with a wide variety of different alcohols—schnapps and vodka and the like—but if she was just drinking straight, she’d always preferred rum. After making sure that it wasn’t cooking rum or something, which she wasn’t even sure existed but she could never be too careful about those things, she untwisted the lid and took a long drink straight from the bottle. It was over half-way empty anyway, and she was feeling not particularly in control at this particular moment. Nope, she was perfectly content with getting absolutely wasted and—
“It’s a bit early, isn’t it?” Eric’s voice, for once, did not startle her, and she turned around with the rum still lifted to her lips as she peered up at him. Only after another ten seconds of drinking did she lower it, gasping for breath, and shooting him a tense grin.
“Oh, I dunno. It was a bit early to be meeting dignitaries who would be absolutely disgusted if they knew who I really was, but I went through with that anyway. Meeting your fiancé , however, is what really makes this super necessary.” Katherine started to lift the bottle to her lips again.
“Katherine,” he chastised softly, reaching out and taking it from her with a sour look.
“Hey!” she protested, trying to grab for it only to scowl when he lifted it over his head, effectively out of her reach.
“Brigitte is not my fiancé. Not yet, at any rate, and not ever if I’ve any say about it.”
“ Why ?” she demanded with a scoff, frowning at him intensely and debating if there was a way to get her rum back. “What is so wrong about marrying someone beautiful and classy and actually qualified to run a country? I am definitely not that .”
“Beyond the fact that I care not to marry someone who is not of my choosing?”
“Believe it or not, I’m pretty sure that happens a lot more than you’d think to normal people, people who don’t need someone qualified to sit on a throne.”
“I hardly think that matters when there is very little you are qualified to do, Katherine,” he answered, obviously
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