“Famished. This wedding diet is so hard.”
Kat studied Sophie’s trim figure. “You don’t need to diet.”
“The diet is the one thing my mother and the duchess agree upon. They don’t want me to look fat in wedding photos so I’m to lose at least twenty pounds by the twenty-third. I’ve been trying to trick them by using a weight belt that Bertrand bought me. He doesn’t want me to lose any weight, so I wear the belt for weigh-ins, and the scale says I’m losing pounds.”
“Crafty.”
“So long as I don’t get caught.”
“I’m relieved you’re not listening to them.” Sophie was healthy and fit. She’d never looked better to Kat. “You’d look like a lollipop if you lost that much weight.”
“That’s what I told them, but they didn’t care.”
Kat placed her coat on the bed, went to the dresser, and pulled out a gift bag from a drawer. “I have something for you.”
Staring at the gift bag with longing, Sophie wet her lips. “Is it what I think it is?”
“Look inside.”
She did. “Cherry Pop-Tarts®. And there are sprinkles on the frosting. You remembered.”
Every summer, Kat had brought boxes for Sophie. “I ran out of time, or I would have gift wrapped it.”
“No need. This is perfect. I will savor each one.” Sophie clutched the bag to her chest. “Who am I kidding? I’m going to eat them like there’s no tomorrow. If my mother sees me, she’ll banish me to the dungeon.”
“Then you’d better not get caught.”
“Let’s go,” Sophie said. “I can hide in a stall and eat.”
Kat frowned. “A princess shouldn’t have to hide to eat.”
“Tell that to the two momzillas.”
Sophie headed to the door. The usual bounce to her step was gone. Maybe she’d outgrown it or maybe the wedding was dragging her down.
Kat followed. She was concerned for her friend.
Being a princess who lived in a castle seemed magical—like a storybook come to life—but being hungry all the time and having to sneak food in order to look better in wedding photographs sounded more like a horror story.
Maybe the upcoming royal wedding was causing everyone added stress. Not just the bride, but the two mothers and Gill. Kat hoped so, but she had to wonder.
Would Christmas at the castle be more like a fairy tale, a nightmare, or somewhere in between?
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.
