by J. J. McAvoy
“You seem happier lately.” Her voice was like spiders on my skin lately, and to make matters worse, she refused to leave me alone.
I wasn’t sure what she wanted—maybe it was to drive me crazy. “Were you hoping I’d be sad?” I asked, turning to face the one and only Yvonne. Each time I saw her, I felt like I better understood my mom.
“Of course not, you are my daughter, too.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of that,” I said, but seeing as how we were in public, I didn’t want to cause a scene. “Thank you for that reminder, but please remember, I have a very capable and loving mother.”
“Odette.”
“Yes, Yvonne, I’m here.”
“I know about your financial troubles,” she whispered, placing her hand on my shoulder. “And I know your mother hasn’t exactly been helping you. If you need help, all you have to do is ask.”
The gall of this woman. After what she had told me the last time we met, she still had the audacity to be in my face?
“We are fine,” I said, brushing her hand off me. “Thank you, but my father left me with more than enough to take care of my mother and me. Unless you plan on taking that.”
She frowned. “As I told you before, whatever stories your mother has told about me are wrong—”
“I’m not a child, and I do not need stories. I see the world via my own eyes, and you’ve never been a mother to me, Yvonne. So, what exactly is it that you want?”
She exhaled, crossing her arms. “It’s not always good to be blunt, Odette.”
“It’s worked for me so far.”
“Fine, I want your shares in the company.”
I laughed. “When hell freezes over.”
“You don’t even know what to do with them.”
“Ninety percent of the country doesn’t, and yet the stock market exists. Why in the world would I give you my shares?”
“I’m not telling you to hand them over. Sell them to me.”
“No.”
“Odette.”
“My father left them to me, and I’m not giving or selling them to anyone.”
Her jaw cracked to the side. “Remember, I came to you nicely.”
“This is nice?”
She didn’t reply. She just walked away, and I wasn’t sure what to make of the whole exchange. But I didn’t, nor did I want to think about it.
“Everything all right?”
I turned to Gale, who stood, waiting, and just like that, my shoulders relaxed. I wasn’t sure how he did it, but I was grateful.
“Yeah.” I smiled.
“I’m perfect.”
Chapter 23
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
That sound— Jumping out of bed, I yelled, “The fire extin—”
I froze on top of the mattress, completely and utterly confused, as Gale grinned at me, a phone with a beeping alarm in one hand and a cupcake in the other.
“You!”
“Happy birthday!” He laughed at me.
Grabbing the pillow, I threw it at his head. “Not funny!”
“Really? Because I’m laughing quite hard.” And he really was even as he ducked out the way of the pillow.
“So freaking annoying,” I grumbled, sitting back down on the bed and grabbing the covers to wrap around myself—seeing as how I was barely dressed. I could hardly remember last night. Well, that was a lie. I could completely remember last night, but I didn’t want to think about it. However, not wanting to think about something only made me think about it more. We’d gone to my mother’s for Thanksgiving dinner and found ourselves pretending to be watching a movie when in reality, we did what we had been doing a lot of lately—holding on to each other until the other fell asleep. I vaguely remembered trying to press for more only to be gently rejected, which was confusing, seeing as how I remembered how it felt as he carried me back to bed. How it felt it when he was kissing me, holding on to me...and how disappointed I was when he had stopped and said we should sleep. I had no idea what was going through his mind—or mine, for that matter.
“Happy birthday,” he said again, sitting beside me. “I remembered a little late that today was your birthday, and I wasn’t sure what to get you, so bear with me.”
I thought he meant the cupcake. However, he reached over to the bedside table and put the cupcake down to lift a piece of paper to show me. The moment I saw it, I couldn’t help but stare. He had drawn a very detailed sketch of me coming up the stairs, dressed as Cinderella, my hairstyle exactly as it was the first time we’d met. And instead of being shocked, I was smiling.
“I’m not the best artist. I know. I have other things planned today also, so if you don’t like—”
“I love it,” I said, taking the paper gently from him. “Though I feel as if I look much prettier in this drawing than I did that day in real life...with all my...yelling.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t even think I caught half of how beautiful you looked,” he whispered, and when I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t find any words to say. I felt all bubbly and weird.
“Thanks,” I muttered quickly and also reached for his cupcake. “Thanks for this, too.”
“Wait for it,” he said, pulling out a lighter from his pocket and setting fire to the top of it. “Now, make a wish.”
I giggled and blew out the candle, but it lit back up again. I glared at him, and he just grinned. “A trick candle?”
“I like to think of it as a many-wish candle.” He laughed.
I blew again, and it came back, so I blew once more, and each time he laughed. It felt more like a gift for him than me, but I didn’t stop trying—I liked his laugh. Finally, after what felt like the hundredth time, the candle finally went out and stayed out.
“Bravo.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I meant it, but I couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, this is just the beginning.” He kissed the side of my cheek. “Get ready. We are going out.”
“Out? Out where? Iskandar is letting us out again?”
He laughed and nodded. “It’s a special occasion, and I should at least do one princely thing today of all days.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he said instead, getting up to leave, but I got up too, holding on to my cupcake.
“But...but how do I get ready?”
“How?”
“I mean, what am I supposed to wear? Where are we going?” I couldn’t help but get excited as I followed him into the hall.
“Oh, just wear something comfortable and warm.”
That was not helpful. I looked downstairs to see if Iskandar or Wolfgang would give me any hint, but they weren’t there, which meant he’d sent them somewhere.
“Go on,” he said, waving me to my room with a smile on his face. “You aren’t going to figure it out.”
“Give me a hint.”
“Odette.”
“Fine.” I walked across the hall and to my room, shooting him a glance again, and he just kept watching me. Shaking my head, I entered only to rest against the door. It was the first thing in the morning. There was no reason for my heart to be racing as it was.
“Get yourself together, Odette,” I muttered, pushing myself off the wall and toward my closet only for my cell phone to vibrate beside my bed. I wasn’t sure how it had gotten there, but there it was charging, and on the screen was a text message from my mother, which read, Happy birthday, my dearest and most special stubborn princess. Love you, Mom.
I love you, too.
Good. So, try to have fun today and send me pictures!
So Gale had told her what was happening? Exactly how close were those two? I texted for her to give me a hint, but she just stopped replying.
I did not like surprises!
That was why it took me three outfit changes, two hairstyle changes, and a broken toenail to finally put myself together—all so I could wear jeans, a flu
ffy sweater, and my hair in a ponytail. And even then, I wasn’t really sure, but I also didn’t want to keep him waiting any longer. When I stepped out of the room, Gale was waiting by the stairs, thankfully, dressed in jeans and a sweater, too.
“And here I was wondering whether I would need to send in the troops.” He grinned.
“It is a little hard getting dressed for something you don’t know about,” I replied defensively, wondering how many times he’d heard me curse through the door—very ladylike.
“And yet you did so perfectly,” he said, outstretching his hand to mine. “Part of me was thinking of what I would say if you came out in a cocktail dress or something.”
That was option one, actually. “So, where we are going is not cocktail dress appropriate?” I probed, but he didn’t answer and led me down the stairs.
“You really are not good at surprises, are you?”
“Nope, terrible. They make me anxious.” I hopped—yes, hopped—like a bunny in front of him because he was obviously affecting my mental state.
He cupped my face. “I guess you’ll just have to be anxious for a little while longer.”
I made a face, and he made one back as we reached the bottom lobby. It was sunny outside for once, and parked outside the lobby was Wolfgang. He grinned as if it were his birthday.
“Wolfgang, good morning.”
“Happy birthday, ma’am. I hope you—”
“Ahem.” Gale coughed, glaring at him.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he said quickly.
“Sure you weren’t,” Gale muttered before ushering me into the car.
I did my best not to laugh. He was putting a lot of effort into this morning, which was hilarious and sweet. I had no idea what he planned, but the fact that he was trying so hard, no matter what happened, today was already one of the most memorable birthdays I would ever have.
“Where is Iskandar?” I asked, putting on my seat belt.
Again, he gave me a look that screamed, just let me surprise you!
“I wasn’t prying. I was just asking,” I said quickly.
“Uh-huh.” He nodded.
Rolling my eyes, I looked away from him and out the window, trying to figure out where we were going by landmarks. However, the farther we went down the highway, the clearer it became that we were not going to be staying in the city. After almost an hour, the gravel switched to a dirt road, and we pulled up someplace called Hummingbird Forest. But that wasn’t the most surprising part. It was Iskandar standing there feeding carrots to two large dark-brown horses.
“Are you just going to stare, or are you going to ride with me?”
My head whipped back to Gale, but he was already out and coming around to open my door.
“So, you are using magical prince powers?” I giggled, taking his hand as I came out of the car.
“Something like that.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it before winking.
“I haven’t gone horseback riding in years,” I said gleefully as we approached the horses and Iskandar. For the first time, he looked genuinely relaxed. “My father got me a horse just like this once. I named him Maple because of a white birthmark he had on his forehead that looked like a maple leaf.” It brought back so many memories I couldn’t help but smile as I stood alongside the horse.
“Father got me a horse as well, but I named him Ass,” Gale said, placing the helmet on my head carefully.
“Ass?” I asked as I adjusted my ponytail to make sure it fit.
He grinned and nodded. “I did it solely so I could yell to the stable hand, ‘Please bring me Ass,’ Or tell my mother, ‘I’m going to ride Ass today.’”
I laughed. “Oh, why do I have feeling your father was not happy about that?”
His blue-green eyes gleamed mischievously. “That was the point.”
“So, what you are telling me is that you’ve always been a handful?” I shook my head, grabbing onto the saddle to help myself up.
“Exactly,” he replied, his hand on my hips as he helped me onto the horse though I didn’t need it.
“And handsy,” I muttered.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” I lied, taking hold of the reins. “Where are we riding to?”
“It’s your birthday. Wherever you want.” He got onto the other horse beside me.
“Fine, try to keep up, Your Highness.” I winked before kicking off. The feel of the wind on my face, the blur of green as I sped past, and the sound of the hummingbirds above us was like a symphony all made to feel too magical to be real.
“You have to do better than that, Cinderella!” he yelled as he raced in front of me.
Ugh, that nickname. Ugh, him. Ugh, me for grinning so damn much.
“I win!” She smiled so wide you would have thought she had won the Royal Ascot. It was funny how one moment she looked breathtakingly sinful and the next unbelievably innocent.
I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her ever since she overtook me. Each time she laughed or smiled or giggled, my heart swelled a bit more with pride. I hadn’t slept. The moment I had remembered it was her birthday, I had run out of the room like a madman and forced Iskandar, Wolfgang, and her mother up just to plan something, which was completely limited by the fact that I wasn’t allowed to be seen anywhere. We’d all but been trapped inside for most of my time here, and although I did enjoy those moments, I also wanted to do something—something more than a restaurant. Something more than any other guy would normally do for her. I wanted her day to be amazing.
“Gale?”
“Hmm...I mean, yes?”
“You’re staring,” she said as she and the horse now walked side by side with me and mine.
“You’re worthy of staring at.”
“Oh, the lines are back.”
Normally, they were lines, but with Odette, they were feeling more and more like reality. I wanted to know more about her, everything about her—everything.
“What happened to your horse Maple?”
“I sold him.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I was immature? My dad grew busy with work, and I got upset at never seeing him or Maple because I only ever went with my dad. So, I called my dad and told him I was going to sell Maple. What I really meant was, ‘Dad, you aren’t spending time with me, and I’m upset.’”
“You wanted him to tell you not to sell him.”
She nodded. “He said to make sure I got a good price for him.”
“Ouch.”
“And I did, still thinking he’d regret it or call to change his mind. I was waiting for that point in the movies where there is an epiphany, and they fix the issue.”
“And it never came.”
“Nope.” She exhaled slowly and smiled a little. “What happened to Ass?”
I chuckled. “I went riding one day, and there was an accident. Both he and I fell and broke our leg.”
She gasped.
“Is that intake for me or Ass?”
“Ass! I know you made it out all right.”
“Excuse you. I was very seriously injured. The doctors were called, my mother wept...it was a lot.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, poor little prince. The horse, Gale?”
I pouted, but it did not last as I answered, “Ass made a full recovery and now lives peacefully in a horse sanctuary, being hand-fed apples and oats by people like you.”
“At least he got a happy ending and is no longer being used by a prince to anger his parents,” she said.
“Ass loved me—oh, very odd sentence,” I replied.
“You...wow.” She gasped. Her gaze moved away from me and onto the private dark and sandy beach up ahead of us. The water was a deep, stormy blue, and it rolled in gently with the breeze. In the distance were mountains that reminded me of Ersovia. “This is beautiful. How did you know of this place?”
The internet. “Don’t spoil the magic,” I replied, hopping off my h
orse and helping her down from hers. “Especially when it’s not finished yet.”
“What do you mean?”
I grinned, taking her hand into mine and leading her onto the beach.
“Gale, the horses!”
“Don’t worry about it. They will be here when we come back.”
“Back? Back from where?”
“There.” I pointed to the white sailing boat by a large thick tree.
“You know how to sail?” she asked skeptically.
“What can I say? I am a prince of many traits,” I replied, spinning her into my arms. “Come, brunch is on board!”
“Gale, you didn’t have to do all of this!”
“No. But I wanted to.” I really wanted to.
He did know how to sail, and he looked completely magnificent as he did so—the wind blowing through his hair as he stood with his jacket off and sleeves rolled up, holding on to the wheel as if he were the king of the sea. He would let me touch nothing. I was seated like a queen behind him, stuffing my face with bagels, fruits, and juice as he took me away. It was so surreal and perfect that I needed a picture.
Taking my phone, I sat up a bit straighter, leaning forward to where he was.
“Make sure to get my good side!” he called out, catching me.
“And which is that?”
“Good question,” he said in a serious tone, glancing back at me. “I am perfect, so I guess every side is good.”
“Way to be humble.” I groaned, tossing down my phone.
He laughed, leaving the wheel. Coming back over to me, he lifted my phone up before sitting down.
“Royals are not supposed to take selfies, but since you asked for my good side—”
“I did not ask!” I said as he hugged me to him.
“I will make an exception,” he continued on as if I didn’t have his face beside my face.
It was worse looking at myself in the camera, seeing how—how happy I was, grinning like a fool. What happened to me rejecting him? What happened to me wanting him to go back home? What happened to me?
“Three...two...one...” I smiled, and he turned his head, kissing my cheek as he took the picture. “Happy birthday, Odette,” he whispered in my ear, making me shiver.
