Read Online Love Is Pink! by Roxann Hill - Free Book Online

the princess a carrier pigeon, and the princess would run back to her castle in the clouds to await her king.”
    “And then he married her.”
    “No. Aren’t you listening? I already explained that he wanted to, but there was a problem.”
    “A giant? A sorcerer?”
    I sighed. “If only it had been that easy. No, the problem was a queen.”
    “The king was already married?”
    “Yes, but not properly . He didn’t like the queen at all. He only loved his princess. But for governmental reasons, he had to act as though he loved the queen.”
    Emma sat up. “What are governmental reasons?”
    “Oh, well, that’s complicated. You’re too young to understand,” I said lamely.
    “I’m quite clever for my age. Try to explain.”
    “The king didn’t want his subjects to know that he didn’t love the queen. He also didn’t want to make the queen sad. For that reason, he intended to gently tell the queen that he would soon marry the princess.”
    “Huh!” David’s voice startled me out of my narrative.
    “ Huh , what?” I said and turned toward him.
    He stayed focused on the road. “Don’t believe such nonsense, Emma.”
    “What do you mean nonsense ?” Anger surged inside me.
    “This liar, King Valentin, never even intended to marry the princess.”
    “Why, Papa?” Emma said.
    I was reduced to silence.
    David gave us a quick glance over his shoulder. “The king is a bad guy. He lied to the princess.”
    “Why did he lie to her?” asked Emma.
    “Because h e . . . ” David paused to clear his throat. Then he grimaced, apparently at a loss for words. “Because all he really wanted was to kiss her.”
    “And why didn’t he kiss the queen?” Emma said.
    David laughed. It didn’t sound nice at all. “I’m sure he kissed her, too. And probably others. He was a really big kisser.”
    I’d come out of my shocked paralysis. “How can you tell such garbage to your child?” I was incensed.
    “Who started this idiotic fairy tale to begin with?” David said just as harshly. “No poor princess with half a brain believes that a king will leave his queen to marry her, when all he wants is to—”
    “Kiss!” Emma chimed in. “That stupid king always just wants to kiss every woman he sees.”
    “No!” I yelled in despair. “Valentin isn’t like that! He is decent and extremely conscientious!”
    David snorted. “And he buys the poor princess a castle in the clouds and a small carriage so that he can secretly visit her? Nobody’s buying your fairy tale, Michelle.”
    A thick knot formed in my throat. Everything was swimming before my eyes. I sat back down and hid my face in my hands. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
    Emma squeezed between the two front seats and grabbed my hand. “Don’t be sad! It was a beautiful story.”
    I sobbed loudly.
    “And when the princess finds out that the king is really a dum-dum,” Emma said, “she can look for a real prince. One who really loves her and is also a good kisser.”
    That didn’t really console me.

13
    T he road was beginning to flatten out. The tall mountains stood behind us; the snowfall had subsided. The sun was shining, its rays infinitely refracted by the snow crystals covering the magical winter landscape.
    Not a car or a person, far and wide. We seemed to be the only living beings in this enchanted world.
    Emma and I were dozing off. My eyes shut. Maybe I even fell asleep for a few minutes. I can’t say for sure. And then the background noise changed. The engine got louder and louder until it was thundering.
    “Something’s not right,” David replied to my questioning look.
    He slowed down, pulled over on the right, and turned off the engine. He looked worried.
    “I’m sure it’s nothing bad,” I said, trying to cheer him up.
    “We’ll see.” He stepped out of the car and opened the hood.
    “Papa can fix it,” Emma said from the back.
    “I’m sure of it,” I said.
    “Papa has his own workshop in his garage.”
    “That must