Expecting Royal Twins! Read Free Page B

papers or passport or something. “Let’s pretend what you say is true—”
    “It is true,” Niko said.
    She took a deep breath to control her growing temper. “Why would you give a baby the box? Is there some significance to the gesture?”
    “It’s customary.”
    It was her turn to be confused. “Huh?”
    “Tradition,” Niko clarified. “When a Vernonian prince gets married, he presents his wife with a bride box on their wedding day.”
    “That still doesn’t explain why you would give the box to me.”
    “Because I am your husband.”

CHAPTER TWO
     
    “M Y HUSBAND ?” Isabel’s voice cracked. Her expression would have been comical if this were not such a serious matter.
    “Yes.” Niko understood her shock. He even sympathized. Discovering he had a wife had sent his world spinning off its axis. But her feelings—his feelings—would only delay the annulment needed to remedy this “complication” so he could marry Julianna and help his country. “It is a lot to take in.”
    “Take in?” Sharp, brown eyes bore into him. “Okay, Niko or whoever you are, cut the bull and tell me what’s really going on here.”
    He stared at Isabel with the dirty, baggy coveralls, lopsided ponytail and grease on her hands and cheek. She might be halfway attractive with her oval face, high cheekbones and expressive eyes, if she weren’t dressed like a man and covered in motor oil.
    “Come on, Niko.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Spill.”
    He expected her lack of protocol and manners, but the strength in her voice surprised him, as did her take-no-prisoner tone. Most people kowtowed to him. Few ever challenged him. He was…intrigued. “I am speaking the truth. I am your husband.”
    She pursued her full, unglossed lips and gave him a long, hard look. He was used to such a frank appraisal, but unlike most women, Isabel did not seem impressed by what she saw. He didn’t know whether to be amused or annoyed by this woman who worked at a dilapidated garage fixing other people’s broken-down vehicles.
    “I told you. I’ve never seen you before,” she said. “We can’t be married.”
    “Indeed we can. You simply do not remember.”
    Isabel’s gaze remained steady. “I think I’d remember getting married.”
    “Not if you were only a few months old at the time.”
    Her mouth formed a perfect O. “What?”
    “I was only six years old when we married, and my memories are very vague.”
    Almost nonexistent, but he needed to convince Isabel of what had occurred twenty-three years ago, not add to the doubts shining in her pretty hazel eyes.
    “Children marrying?” Isabel’s nostrils flared. “There are laws against that kind of thing.”
    “Yes, and today it is illegal in Vernonia, but not twenty-three years ago.”
    “This is crazy.” Her voice jumped an octave. “I’m an American.”
    “Your mother was American, but your father was Vernonian.”
    “My father…” Isabel’s glanced toward Jovan as if seeking confirmation. At his nod, her hands balled into fists. “Now I know you’re lying. My father’s name isn’t listed on my birth certificate. I have no idea who he is.”
    The hurt and anger in her voice suggested she was telling the truth. There was no reason for her to lie. She had too much to gain by accepting what Niko was telling her. His respect inched up. Opportunists or not, many women would have jumped at the chance to be his wife. “I have proof.”
    “You mean the box,” she said.
    “The bride box, yes, but also documentation and a photograph.”
    Curiosity flashed in Isabel’s eyes. “What kind of documentation?”
    Her interest loosened some of the tension in his shoulders. Maybe the paper would convince her of the truth. He motioned to Jovan, who removed a leather pouch from his inside suit pocket with a flourish and handed it over.
    As Niko opened the flap, he noticed two tall men in coveralls watching them from the garage.
    No doubt the limousine and police