Page 12 of Expecting Royal Twins!
“It’s the same tiara,” Jovan said from across the office.
No. Isabel didn’t want to see so she squeezed her eyes shut. Her chest constricted. She shuddered.
Someone touched her shoulder and squeezed gently. Rowdy. Both he and Boyd could be big old teddy bears. She opened her eyes, but saw Niko with his hand on her instead of her boss.
“Isabel.” Concern filled Niko’s voice. “Would you rather wait?”
The tenderness of his gaze brought tears to her eyes. The situation, she rationalized, not him. Still she appreciated his gesture of comfort, drew strength from it, too. “No.”
Straightening, Izzy looked into the drawer past the small diamond tiara to find papers, photographs and jewelry. Her uncle Frank could have found the box or bought it at a garage sale or even stolen it in desperation. Maybe that was why she had no key.
No, she was just being silly now. None of those things would explain the prince knowing her mother’s name or his key fitting the lock. Isabel needed to accept what was in front of her, except…
Niko reached into the drawer.
“Wait, sir,” Duncan shouted.
The prince drew back his hand.
“May I please take a picture of the contents before they are disturbed?” Duncan asked with a camera in hand. “I would like to document everything. For both Izzy’s and your sake.”
“Certainly,” Niko said.
The flash of the camera reminded Izzy of lightning and intensified the emotions warring inside her. She hated storms. Uncle Frank had died during a lightning storm. She swallowed back a tide of grief.
Duncan backed away. “Thank you, sir. Please proceed.”
Niko didn’t. Instead he looked at her. “At one time your parents had a key to the bride box. They placed these contents inside. Only you should remove them.”
Anger flared. She loved Uncle Frank, but he had kept her past a secret. Why? Why hadn’t he trusted her? She wanted to know why this had happened.
“Isabel—”
“I’ll do it.” She couldn’t decide what to do about this until she knew more. “But only because I need to have all the facts.”
Izzy felt four pairs of eyes staring at her. She was used to the attention. Not many people expected a female mechanic to fix their cars. This was different. Unsettling. But Uncle Frank had taught her to always hold her head high, no matter how uncertain she might feel inside. If only he were here now…
She scooted her chair closer to the desk. With a shaky hand, she raised the tiara from the box. “It’s so tiny.”
Niko nodded. “My parents had the tiara commissioned for you to wear at the wedding. The small diamonds represent all the towns and villages. The three larger diamonds symbolize you, me and Vernonia.”
“It’s hard to tell if it’s exactly the same one in the photo,” she said, knowing she was grasping at straws.
“It’s the same one,” Niko countered.
Izzy set the tiara on the desk. Next she removed foreign coins and dollar bills, a diamond pendant, an emerald bracelet and three stunning rings.
Those jewels would be worth a fortune if real. Maybe that was why Niko wanted the box back so badly. Money could make people do almost anything.
She picked up a photograph, a picture of a man and a woman.
“Those were your parents,” Niko said softly.
Her parents. Izzy wasn’t ready to believe it just yet. She stared at the handsome couple. They were smiling and holding hands. They looked happier than they did in the wedding photograph. “The woman is beautiful.”
“You look like her,” Rowdy said.
“I wish.” Izzy’s heart ached for some memory of the two people the prince claimed were her parents.
“You resemble your mother,” Niko said. “But you have your father’s eyes.”
Izzy felt a rush of excitement. No one had ever seen a resemblance between her and Uncle Frank. She removed more photographs. Baby pictures, family portraits, casual snapshots, of people she didn’t know taken in places she didn’t recognize.
Next came an official looking piece of paper with foreign writing. “I don’t know what it says.”
“Allow me,” Niko offered.
She handed it to him.
