First Comes Love (Silver Spoon, #1)

by Nicole French

Xavier examined the jar for a moment, then pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and extracted two bills. “Consider it an advance,” he told her dryly. I chuckled as I scrubbed the skillet. But Sofia shook her head. “Um, you have to put in real money.” Xavier frowned at the bills. “This is a hundred quid. It’s as real as it gets.” “Let me see that.” Sofia yanked one of the fifty-pound notes out of his hand and examined it between her chubby fingers. After a moment, she handed it back to him. “Yup, it’s fake. I can’t do nothing with this.” “What are you talking about? You can do more with that than a hundred dollars.” “No, you can’t,” Sofia insisted. “It has a lady on it.” “That’s because it’s the bloody queen of England!” Xavier sputtered. Sofia frowned. “Um, that’s not a real place.” “Yes, it is.” “No, it isn’t.” “Yes, it is.” “No, it isn’t!” Sofia threw me an expression that basically asked, “Who is this bozo?” without actually saying it. “This is a real place. New York City. Where I live. England is made up.” Xavier looked like he was about ready to tear his hair out. “And why in the hell would you think that?” “Because queens and princesses only exist in fairy tales. And fairy tales aren’t real life. Right, Mama?”