Princess Thief: Stealing Your Heart Read Free

Juliette had to spend a
good chunk of her time reminding the wide-eyed, awestruck girls to focus on
their work.
    As
their deadline approached and the girls became noticeably overwhelmed, nature —
or hormones, perhaps — took over and a couple of the handsome young royal
guardsmen lent a hand unloading the flowers from the delivery vans.  With their
help, Juliette and her crew finished decorating just as the first of the
classical musicians began to arrive.
    7:15
PM.  Juliette stood at the back of the ballroom, surveying her work proudly. 
She had managed to represent all of the colors of the rainbow using a
combination of ivy, potted plants, and cut flowers.  The room itself was
magnificent: the polished hard wood floor, the decorative woodwork lining the
walls, the stage with the musicians dressed in formal attire, the spectacular
glass and gold chandeliers — it truly had the feel of a magical fairy tale.
    Juliette
approached her three employees.  The pretty teens flirted easily with the royal
guardsmen.  “Excuse
me, girls, I have to get ready for the dance.  Remember, you’ll have to leave
in 15 minutes.”
    “Oh
pleeease,” one of the girls begged, “can’t we just stay inside and watch?”
    Juliette
smiled in sympathy.  “I’m
sorry, but you know the rules.  Please take the white van back to town and
leave the blue van for me.”
    “OK,”
the girls reluctantly agreed.  Juliette thanked her employees and the royal
guardsmen, then headed to the coat room.  Her shoes and formal gown hung from a
portable rack along with several others.  After taking a quick look around, she
squatted down and undid the ribbon on a pink hatbox.  She reached inside and
discretely pulled out a small white cloth bag.  Hiding the bag in her left
hand, she then grabbed her shoes and gown from the rack and exited the
ballroom.
    She
paused just outside the door and pretended to inspect her dress.  When she was
sure no one was watching, she shoved the white cloth bag behind a potted
rhododendron placed against the wall.  She stood, exhaled, and walked to the
women ’s
dressing room.
     
    “The
flowers are just lovely.”
    Juliette
turned to find the head caterer, Paulette, a happily plump woman in her late
40s, standing next to her.  “You’ve really outdone yourself this time,” she
continued.
    Juliette
smiled.  Both women were in their formal gowns, standing at the rear of the
ballroom.  It was just after 8 PM.  The room was filled with aristocratic
gentlemen and ladies, all dressed in tuxedos and long, flowing, brightly
colored ball gowns; diamond jewelry sparkled invitingly under the light of the
chandeliers. 
    Even
though the prince had yet to arrive, the classical musicians began performing
at 8 o ’clock
sharp.  No one was dancing yet; everyone was smiling and chatting nervously. 
To the untrained eye, everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves — yet
Juliette detected an odd energy among the attendees; a sort of urgent
intensity.
    “The
rhododendrons are a really nice touch,” Paulette noted.
    “Thank
you,” Juliette said.  “I like to use a mixture of potted plants and cut flowers
for an event like this.  It makes the room so much more alive.” 
    Not
to mention that potted plants are the perfect place to stash a stolen necklace!
    At
that moment, the prince entered the room.  Dressed in a white uniform coat with
gold buttons and navy blue pants, the prince smiled and greeted a group of men
with hearty handshakes.  Even though the room was filled with rich handsome
men, Juliette felt that Prince Guillermo was in a class by himself.
    “Look
at him smile like he hasn’t a care in the world,” Paulette mused.  “A state
funeral one week, a royal ball the next.  The lifestyles of the idle rich.”
    “It
really is like another world, isn’t it?” Juliette said.
    “Still,
that prince is awfully easy on the eyes.”
    “Yes,
he is.”
    “As
my grandmother would say: I wouldn’t kick