by Rachel Lacey
“I did. Do you like it?”
“Let me see.” He drew her in for another kiss, one hand finding its way into the depths of her newly short hair. He’d always done this. Usually, he would tug the clip out of her hair to free it from its confines, letting it tumble down her back. Today, he tugged lightly at it as his fingers slipped easily through the short strands. “Yes, I do. I love it, in fact.”
“I’m glad.” She smiled up at him.
“Always did think it was a shame to have all that hair if you never let it down.”
“You were right.”
He gave her another searching look, hands still buried in her hair. “It suits you.”
“And it’s a lot lighter.”
“I missed you.” He pressed his forehead against hers, hands sliding down to grip her waist, anchoring them together.
“Me too.” They held each other like that for a long minute, just breathing in the comfort that came from being together. “What do you say we go home?”
“I’d love to.”
They walked to the Bentley and climbed inside. James had already loaded Flynn’s luggage, and he began driving toward Rosemont Castle. For today, they were headed for the guest house, but now that Flynn was back, they could begin building their real home together. Last month, he had bought a parcel of land adjacent to Rosemont Castle, and they’d already started discussing what kind of house they wanted to put on it.
They would live primarily here in Virginia while he got his newly formed architectural firm up and running, but he still had his flat in London too, and as most of his current clients were in the UK, they’d probably spend a lot of time there. Ruby didn’t mind. She’d fallen in love with London the first time she visited and couldn’t wait to go back.
By the time the Bentley rolled down the castle’s winding drive, she and Flynn were already kissing, leaned in across the backseat, a desperation born out of not having seen each other since she flew to Dubai for a quick visit over a month ago. They thanked James for driving them, got Flynn’s bags out of the trunk, and hurried inside.
“God, I need you.” He pressed her against the wall, hands cupping her face as his lips met hers. “I missed you so damn much.”
“Same. Oh,” she gasped as he shoved one of his thighs between her legs so that she was straddling him.
“I think I need to explore this new hairdo more intimately.” He gave her hair another light tug before lifting her into his arms and carrying her down the hall toward the bedroom.
Two hours later, they made their way up to the castle for dinner. Ruby had changed into a multi-colored wrap skirt and a red top. Her hair blew in the spring breeze, light and carefree.
“Really love this.” Flynn reached out to tuck a strand of it behind her ear.
“Me too.” She leaned in to kiss him as they climbed the castle’s front steps. Inside, they followed the sound of Elle and Theo’s voices to the kitchen, where they found them engaged in a good-natured argument over whether or not the Fairy Tails Ball should become an annual tradition.
“Well, we’ve hosted it the past two years, so I think continuing the tradition is a no-brainer,” Elle was saying. “Oh, hi guys! Welcome back, Flynn.”
In between hellos, Ruby threw in her support for the Fairy Tails Ball, and Theo raised his hands in defeat. “Fine, fine, as long as I have no part in planning it.”
Elle rolled her eyes. “You’ve never had a part in planning it. Leave that to us. You just show up and look pretty.”
“That part I can definitely handle.” He leaned in to kiss his wife as Ruby and Flynn watched in amusement.
“Did we miss anything?” Megan appeared in the doorway with Jake at her side.
“Couldn’t get her off the computer,” Jake said with a smile. “She’s become obsessed with honeymoon plans. If you ask me, she’s more excited about the honeymoon than the wedding.”
“Hey.” Megan jabbed a finger into his chest. “I resent that.”
It had been over a month now since they got engaged, and Megan hadn’t stopped talking about wedding—or honeymoon—plans since. Ruby just shook her head. They’d jumped straight from Elle’s wedding into planning Megan’s. A pattern Ruby hoped might continue once she and Flynn were settled in their new home together.
They moved into the dining room for dinner, vegetable lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. Flynn entertained everyone with details of the new hotel in Dubai, which had celebrated its grand opening yesterday, before Megan told them about the private beachfront villas on Grand Cayman she’d decided would be the perfect honeymoon destination.
“Do you realize how far we’ve all come in two years?” Elle said, looking around the table with a dreamy expression on her face. “I don’t mean to be sappy, but my life was a hot mess when I got that call from the magazine telling us we’d won the contest.”
“And to be honest, I thought the contest was going to turn out to be a hoax,” Ruby said. “I mean, what kind of real-life earl would give away the chance to manage his castle in a magazine?”
“And what kind of earl has a castle in Virginia?” Megan added, laughter dancing in her eyes.
“I thought we’d come, play around for a few weeks, and go back home to Florida,” Ruby admitted.
“I did too,” Megan said.
“And you two tried so hard to get me to give up and leave.” Elle narrowed her eyes at them. “Imagine if I hadn’t fought for the chance to stay? If we’d just gone home when Theo tried to kick us out?”
“I didn’t try to kick you out,” Theo said, eyebrows raised. “Although I did try to buy you out.”
“Same thing,” Megan told him with a grin. “Elle’s right. We showed up here with nothing but a couple of suitcases and big dreams.”
“I never imagined it would all turn out like this. I married the earl.” Elle’s chest shook with laughter. “And Megan found Jake, and now Ruby’s got Flynn. It’s all just too good to be true, isn’t it?”
“No,” Jake said, reaching over to squeeze his fiancée’s hand. “I don’t think anything’s ever too good to be true.”
“Aww.” Megan leaned over to kiss him.
After dinner, Ruby and Flynn headed for the guest house. She could hardly wait to continue their reunion…in bed. But Flynn tugged her hand, guiding her toward the gardens in front of the castle, heavily in bloom, now that spring had arrived.
“Let’s go for a little walk before we turn in for the night,” he said. “I need to stretch my legs after the long flight.”
“Okay,” she agreed, walking beside him down the gravel path.
“This reminds me of the night we met.” He reached out to touch a rosebush. “Another garden, another continent, another Langdon property, and here we are.”
“Here we are,” she echoed. “See that fountain? Theo’s grandparents renewed their vows there fifty years ago. Theo proposed to Elle right there too.”
“Did he?” Flynn looked over at her, something unreadable shining in his eyes.
“Yep.”
“I’m partial to rosebushes myself.” He led her down a path to the left, lined with roses in every color, muted now by the twilight around them.
“Favorite color?” she asked.
“Ruby red, of course.” He plucked one and held it toward her. “I confess, I did have an ulterior motive for bringing you into the garden tonight.”
“You did?” Her breath caught in her throat as she took the rose. She brought it to her nose, inhaling its rich scent as her eyes locked on his.
“I did. In fact, I did a lot of thinking during these last few months in Dubai, about you, and me, and our future together. About how lucky I was when I found you in that garden in London last fall.”
“Oh.” Her heart beat against her ribs, the scent of the rose making her almost dizzy with anticipation.
Flynn was looking at her like she was a fairytale princess, and he was her prince. And this was the part at the end of the movie where…
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He dropped to one knee, pulling out a black velvet box from his pants pocket. “Ruby Keller, would you do me the incredible honor of agreeing to be my wife?”
“Yes…yes, yes, yes!” She pressed a hand against her chest, the rose falling to the gravel at her feet.
“Phew.” He grinned up at her. “That was nerve-wracking.”
“As if I would say no. Oh…” She caught sight of the diamond ring in his hand, and her pulse skyrocketed. This was really happening. Oh my God. “Flynn, it’s so beautiful.”
“I thought about getting you one with rubies in it, but I decided it might be cliché.” He slid the ring onto her finger, and they both stared at it for a moment in awed silence. “Wow, my ring on your finger looks even more amazing than I could have imagined.”
“Get up here so I can kiss you.” She tugged at his hand, and he stood.
They wound their arms around each other, kissing desperately. Tears blurred her vision, fogging her glasses, and she swiped at them impatiently so she could see her hand pressed against Flynn’s chest, the diamond sparkling on her finger. “It’s perfect.”
“You’re perfect.” He kissed her again.
“Should we go back in and tell them?” she asked with a smile, tipping her head toward the castle.
“If you want to elicit a lot of screaming and hugging,” he said with a grin.
“Let’s do it,” she whispered. “It’s the perfect end to a perfect night. And then I’ll take you down to the guest house so we can celebrate in private.”
“And that sounds like a perfect ending to me.”
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Let Your Hair Down! This was such a fun book to write, and as luck would have it, I got to take a trip to London and Paris earlier this year that mirrored a lot of Ruby’s journey. If you missed either of the first two books in the series, you can go back and see Elle and Theo fall in love in If the Shoe Fits (Almost Royal #1), and Megan and Jake in Once Upon a Cowboy (Almost Royal #2).
Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive news and giveaways and receive a free copy of my award-winning novella, Only You, just for subscribing. If you enjoy chatting about books, I’d love for you to join my reader group on Facebook. It’s a great place for us to stay in touch, and I often ask for help naming upcoming characters and pets plus lots of other fun reader group exclusives.
* * *
Hope to see you there!
Rachel Lacey
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to my agent, Sarah Younger, and the rest of the NYLA team for all your help with Let Your Hair Down. And of course, a huge thank you to my always amazing critique partner, Annie Rains, for guiding me in the right direction.
Special thanks to the lovely Mia Sosa for naming Exeter Hotels and Resorts.
A huge thank you to all the readers, bloggers, and reviewers who’ve read my books and supported me along the way. Love you all!
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xx
Rachel
Also by Rachel Lacey
Rock Star Duet
Unwritten
Encore
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The Stranded Series
Crash and Burn
Lost in Paradise
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The Risking It All Series
Rock with You
Run to You
Crazy for You
Can’t Forget You
My Gift is You
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The Love to the Rescue Series
Unleashed
For Keeps
Ever After
Only You
* * *
The Almost Royal Series
If the Shoe Fits
Once Upon a Cowboy
Let Your Hair Down
If The Shoe Fits Excerpt
Elle Davenport tugged at the bodice of her ball gown where the ribbing poked into her skin. When she’d been a little girl dreaming about fairytale princesses, she’d had no idea the dresses would be so uncomfortable. Of course, real-life princesses probably had gowns made of super-soft silk, unlike Elle’s theme park knock-off.
She continued down the sidewalk, waving at a group of children waiting in line for popcorn, her skirt swooshing around her feet as she walked. The Florida sun blazed overhead, and she glanced at the clock tower to her left. Ten minutes until her break…
“Princess Ariana!” A little girl ran toward her, arms outstretched.
Elle knelt and gathered her in for a hug. “Hi there, sweetie. What’s your name?”
“Britney,” the girl told her. “You’re just as beautiful in real life, Princess Ariana.”
“Aw, thank you, Britney. That’s so sweet of you to say.” As hot and uncomfortable as she was, moments like this one made her job worthwhile. Dressing up as a theme park princess wasn’t at all what she’d planned to be doing at twenty-five, but it wasn’t the worst job she’d ever had either. She signed Britney’s autograph book and posed with her while the girl’s parents took several photos before the family continued on their way.
Elle greeted a few more guests and then headed up the steps of the welcome center, eager for fifteen minutes of air conditioning. She lifted her skirt to keep from tripping over it, smiling as she saw her gold Gucci sandals peeking out from beneath its red satin folds. Her dress might have been uncomfortable, but her shoes sure weren’t. Shoes were her one splurge, and this pair—with colorful flowers embroidered across the top strap—made her feel like a real princess.
She ducked down the hall to the employee break room and filled a cup of water from the cooler. As she took a grateful sip, her cell phone started ringing from inside her locker. She fumbled to open it, grabbing her phone from the depths of her purse. The number came up with a 212 area code which—thanks to that one year after high school when she’d decided to try her luck with acting—she remembered was a New York City exchange. Acting had been a bust, though, and she didn’t know anyone in New York City.
Still, something compelled her to press the phone to her ear instead of letting it go to voicemail. “Hello?”
“Am I speaking with Elle Davenport?” a female voice asked.
“Yes. Who’s this?” Elle smoothed her free hand over the perfectly coifed blonde wig she wore. She was a natural blonde, but Princess Ariana’s hairdo was intricate, and it just wasn’t practical to spend hours getting her hair done every morning before work.
“My name is Monica Jackson, and I’m the outreach coordinator at Modern Home and Gardens magazine.”
“Modern Home and Gardens,” Elle repeated as her brain clicked up to speed because holy shit, memories of a wine-infused girls’ night danced behind her eyelids. That night, after a few bottles of wine and a lot of laughter, she and her friends had entered the most outrageous contest…
“That’s right,” Monica said. “You entered our Almost Royal contest, and I’m so pleased to tell you that, after careful consideration, you and your co-applicants Ruby Keller and Megan Perl have been chosen as our winners.”
“Wait—what?” Elle pressed a hand to her forehead. She never won stuff, and this…this was by far the biggest contest she’d ever entered.
“You won!” Monica repeated with a laugh. “If you accept, you’ll be moving into Rosemont Castle in Towering Pines, Virginia, for a period of six months, during which time you’ll have the opportunity to put the ideas you proposed in your entry essay into practice. I have to say, our team loved your ‘Fairy Tails’ concept where guests at the castle visit with adoptable animals during their stay.”
“Holy crap.” Elle sounded like she’d swallowed helium, and she didn’t even care. That last part had been Ruby’s idea—for guests to have the opportunity to meet and hopefully fall in love with their own furry Prince or Princess Charming while they stayed at Rosemont Castle. Elle had thought it a bit much, but if this was what had won the contest for them, she would never doubt her nerdy, rescue-pet-loving friend again.
“You’ll
be compensated for your work, of course,” Monica said. “The owners of the castle—the Langdon family—have stipulated generous monthly salaries for you, and all business expenses will be covered. At the end of the six-month period, they will evaluate your work and decide whether to keep you on to manage the property for them. If your venture is profitable, there is potential for your position to become permanent.”
“That’s…that’s amazing.” Elle knew she should have something more eloquent to say, but her mind was tumbling in a million different directions. She, Megan, and Ruby were going to move into a castle, a real-life castle owned by relatives of the British royal family. She danced on the spot, her ball gown swirling around her ankles, and hey, at least she was dressed for the occasion. She choked back a laugh.
“Now we realize that a lot of people entered this contest with no real expectation of winning,” Monica continued. “To accept your prize, you’ll need to move to Virginia for a minimum of six months and live and work at Rosemont Castle, which will culminate in a spread in Modern Home and Gardens’ January issue detailing your time and work there. This is a big commitment, so we urge you to let us know as soon as possible if you’ll be unable to fulfill your obligations.”
It was true that Elle and her friends had entered the contest without expecting to win. Truthfully, she hadn’t given it a second thought since the night they’d sent in their essay. But there was no way she was passing up this opportunity, and she knew her friends would say the same thing. “Oh, we’re in. We are definitely in.”
And that was how, three weeks later, Elle found herself riding in a shiny black limousine through the Virginia countryside with her best friends. She pressed her nose against the glass like an excited child as the limo wound its way down the endless paved driveway leading to Rosemont Castle. Tall trees rose on either side of them, forming a green canopy overhead. After twenty-five years in Florida, she felt out of place here in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. She might feel lost right now, but she hoped to find something wonderful at the end of this drive. Maybe even life-changing.
