“Some lessons do stick.”
“I just don’t think this is a good idea. Why can’t Roderick get fake married to Lucky?”
“I heard that,” Roderick called back into the office. “Not a chance. You’d murder me in my sleep.”
“There is that,” Jonquil said.
They were right. Despite everything, he did still have feelings for Lucky. How ridiculous was that after all of this time? After everything that happened, that should’ve been closure enough.
But the idea of seeing her again . . . of being in the limelight, someone would dig up that story and it would explode from the gossip rags like an awful comet.
“You’re not that boy anymore, Ransom.” Jonquil touched his hand. “You’re a grown man with a successful empire. And we need you.”
It was the “we need you” that got him.
Ransom made a secret promise to himself when he discovered magic and his godmothers had helped him start his business and make it what it is today. He swore if there was ever any way he could help them, he’d do it without question.
He hadn’t expected it would come at such a personal cost. He hadn’t imagined any future where what they’d need from him would rip his heart out and tear down the idea of himself it had taken him so very long to construct.
Of course, if one silly mishap from the past could tear it all down, maybe he needed to start over anyway.
“Ransom, one more thing.”
He looked up into Jonquil’s wide, and kindly, blue eyes. “What?”
“She already said yes.”
He coughed. “I didn’t say no. I . . .” Saying yes would make it real. Of course he was going to say yes, but Ransom was having trouble getting the words out of his mouth. Making the commitment outside of his own head.
“I know this is scary, but we believe in you.”
Yes, the godmothers had always believed in him. Although, he’d always had the fairy dust as a backup. He couldn’t fail with fairy dust, right? Maybe they could just dust him for this?
No, he knew there was no magic like that of the human heart. They couldn’t make you brave, or change who you were deep inside.
This would be all him.
Roderick had come back inside. “Since I was eavesdropping, I figured I might as well come in and offer my two cents.”
“Yeah, thanks for that. Privacy, man.”
Roderick shrugged. “Whatever. You were going to give me the play-by-play anyway. Is this the woman from college?”
“You just eat your cookies and mind your business,” Jonquil advised.
“Everything Ransom does is my business. I’m his assistant and his best friend.” But he didn’t hesitate to eat another cookie.
Jonquil made a face, but relented. “Yes, it’s that woman.” Then her eyes narrowed. “I suppose if Ransom is getting married, then you should be in attendance. You’ll need to be the best man.”
“Yep.”
“Lucky’s best friend is about to be single.” Jonquil eyed him pointedly.
“No thank you.”
“You haven’t even met the woman.”
“I don’t have to meet her to know I don’t want any part of her.” He leaned against the desk. “I’m sure she’s lovely, but I am not interested in a relationship right now.”
“Doesn’t matter, if the relationship is interested in you.”
“That’s true,” Ransom agreed. “Sometimes, it just happens.”
“No, relationships don’t just . . . happen.” He wiggled his fingers to accentuate his point. “They take planning. Work. Effort.”
Jonquil nodded. “They do at that, but you find yourself doing those things for the right person. You want to do them.”
“Nope, and you can keep your fairy dust or whatever to yourself, ma’am.”
She laughed. “No fairy dust needed.”
“I’m all for fake best man duty. You know I’m always up for an adventure. But the rest of it? No thanks.”
“We shall see.” Jonquil grinned. “So you’ll do it?”
“Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll fake marry Lucky Fujiki.”
“Good. I’ll see you in Ever After, then? We’ll have our publicity people get started.”
Dread sank like a rock in the bottom of his gut, but he nodded.
Jonquil stood up on her tiptoes to hug him and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best godson we could ask for. All will be well. Eventually. You’ll see.”
“It’s the eventually I’m worried about.”
Jonquil headed toward the door, but stopped in front of Roderick. Instead of kissing his cheek, she gave it a solid pinch. “Sweet boy, we’ll get you right as rain soon enough.”
“No more meddling. You’re not my godmother.”
“I think yours had an accident on her broom on the way to Bora Bora.”
“That would explain it.” Roderick nodded in all seriousness.
Jonquil waved her goodbyes and after she was gone, Roderick turned to Ransom.
“Does she really believe she’s a fairy godmother?”
Ransom studied him for a long moment and considered his next words carefully. “Do you doubt her?”
“I know they gave you the seed money for Heart’s Desire, but . . .”
Ransom eyed him.
“But . . .”
He continued to eye his friend.
“You’re fucking with me. You don’t believe all that nonsense. This fake-marriage thing is just an excuse to get you in a room with Lucky.”
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But you can’t deny that the chocolate is good.”
“Because you worked on it. You put all of your blood, sweat, tears, and heart into a product.”
“I did. But Jonquil, Petunia, and Bluebonnet really are fairy godmothers.”
“I’m on some kind of prank show, right? If I say I believe you, a crew is going to come out of their hiding places and—”
Ransom shook his head. “Nope, they’re the real deal.”
“Where the hell is my fairy godmother, then?”
“Jonquil just told you she’s still recovering from an accident on her broom.” Ransom laughed. “That’s probably why she brings you cookies, too. They’re really wonderful ladies. I’m so relieved to finally be able to tell you the truth. I hated keeping that from you.”
“Say I believe this. What else are you keeping from me? Are you really a dragon who hoards chocolate?”
“Maybeeeee.” Ransom grinned and ate another cookie.
“So Ever After. It’s actually magical?”
“Yep.”
“Huh.”
“You’re taking this much better than I thought you would, honestly.”
“Yeah, I’m still hung up on Jonquil’s prediction for me with Lucky’s friend. I don’t like it.”
“You’ve never met the woman.”
“She’s still married.”
“But she won’t always be. The godmothers know these things. Their specialty is love.”
“Don’t want it.”
Ransom shrugged. “You can’t fight fate.”
“I don’t believe in that crap. You know that.”
“So you can accept there are fairy godmothers with real magic, but you don’t believe in fate?”
“Considering I met one and, really, it explains so much. The easiest answer is usually the correct one, so I’m just going to roll with it. I figure if you get one over on me, that’s fine. You know what you’ve got coming.” Roderick grinned. “By the way, this fake-wedding thing? Consider me still on the clock.”
Ransom rolled his eyes. “As if I don’t actually pay you a robber’s fortune anyway.”
“You couldn’t live without me.”
“You’re right.” Ransom grinned back. “So, uh, I guess we should get ready to go to my doom.”
“It’s not going to be that bad. No one is going to call you The Boy Who Missed. They stopped doing that when you made your first million.”
&n
bsp; “Let’s hope you’re right about this, too.”
Roderick stood. “I’m always right. Obviously. But would it matter if I wasn’t? The godmothers need you.”
“Right again.” Ransom sighed.
Even though trepidation coiled tightly around him, something warm sparked in his chest and Ransom wondered if the flame between them would still burn as hot after all of these years.
And if it could burn through the shame of the Incident.
Chapter 3
As a child, Lucky had spent a few summers in Ever After with her godmothers, and she was thrilled to be able to share some of that magic with Gwen’s kids now. Even though it was the end of January, it was a perfect day in Ever After. Unseasonably warm, but beautiful.
The sun shone overhead, the trees were thick and lush . . . come to think of it, the only time she’d ever seen snow in Ever After had been the one Christmas she’d come to visit. Snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
She supposed a town named Ever After had to be a little different from the rest of the world. Or at least, that’s what her inner child hoped.
And speaking of children, the three-hour car ride hadn’t been too awful, and Brittany and Steven were entranced by the little fairy-tale-style cottages, the town square, and the abundance of wildlife that allowed the children to get ridiculously close as Lucky took them on a walking tour of the town.
If Lucky didn’t know better, she’d swear all the animals had some kind of silent agreement with the children that they could get close as long as they didn’t touch.
Brittany and Steven laughed and squealed when one gray squirrel with a giant, puffy tale threw an acorn at another squirrel when he seemed to take one from the first squirrel’s pile. They made sounds at each other that sounded like a laser gun. Pew. Pew. Pew.
The children couldn’t stop giggling.
“I can’t believe we’ve never come here with you before,” Gwen said.
“I totally should’ve brought you to visit sooner. I’m glad you’re here now, though. The kids seem to be having a great time.”
“Who wouldn’t? This place is so cool. You’re so lucky that you got to spend time here as a kid.”
Normally, she would’ve cringed at the use of the word, but Gwen was right. “Yeah, I am.”
“I can’t believe the godmothers rented a cottage for the kids and me.” Gwen shook her head. “I also can’t believe that more people don’t know about this place.”
“They will after the fake wedding.”
“When does he get in?” Gwen didn’t have to specify which he she meant. They both knew.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it.” She pointed to the edge of town at the castle that looked like it had been plucked directly from the Brothers Grimm. “Look at the castle.”
Gwen looked up at the spires rising out of the forest, and a path into the woods seemed to become more visible.
“We’re actually in a fairy tale. I don’t want to go back.”
“Not even for your stuff?” Lucky teased.
Gwen bit her lip. “You know what? Not even for my stuff.”
“I’m sure the godmothers could help you out with that, if you’re serious.”
“Really? You think? I don’t know what I’d do here. How I’d pay my bills.”
“Specialty baking. You were going to bake three hundred allergy-friendly cookies like it was nothing. I’m sure with a booming wedding industry here, they’ll need something like that.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Gwen was quiet and thoughtful as they wandered down the quaint path.
“Oh, hey. We should take the kids to the fountain. It’s on the way to the castle. Come on.” Lucky led them through the forest.
The trees arched like a cathedral overhead, and the path seemed to open up for them, almost as if the forest itself invited them to explore her leafy depths.
The sounds of the gurgling water led them onward, and warmth swelled inside her chest. She hadn’t been to the fountain since she was little. It was her safe place. Where she went to think, to plot, to be with her thoughts when she thought that the whole world was coming down around her ears.
It was especially amazing during summer evenings when the fireflies danced and flickered long into the warm night.
Except when they emerged into the carefully manicured little park, they were not alone.
Lucky knew before the figure standing by the mermaid fountain turned around that it was him. She hadn’t seen Ransom in years, but she’d recognize his broad shoulders anywhere, and the way his dark hair curled just under his ear.
“I’m gonna puke,” she murmured.
“Aunty Lucky’s gonna yark,” Steven echoed.
“Shh,” Gwen said. “She’s fine.” But she stopped short and held the children’s hands. To Lucky, she said, “You’re fine. You’re not gonna puke.”
“Yes, yes, I am.”
“You should listen to a person when they say they’re going to be sick,” a deep voice said from the other side of the fountain.
“I think I know my friend, thanks.” Gwen scowled at the man who emerged.
He looked familiar. Lucky thought she might have seen him somewhere before. He was obviously one of Ransom’s friends.
“Do you know her better than she knows herself?” The man arched a dark brow.
Lucky noticed that he was handsome. Not as handsome as Ransom, of course, but there were few creatures on heaven or earth that were.
“I do. Not that it’s any of your business,” Gwen growled.
Her best friend bristled next to her, and for a brief moment, she was terrified that Gwen’s immunity to Lucky’s bad luck was going to run out. Lucky was definitely going to be sick. Why was her stomach like this around him? He hadn’t even turned around to face her yet.
She considered running back down the path the way she’d come, but Lucky had known this moment was coming since she’d agreed to this charade.
Ransom had agreed to it as well, she reminded herself.
“Of course it’s my business. I’m Roderick, the best friend, the best man, and the personal assistant. We can’t have little Lucky here puking all over the groom, can we?”
At that moment, Lucky knew that he knew. About the Incident.
That shouldn’t have surprised her. Everyone knew. Of course he did. She’d become an urban legend, a cautionary tale they told coeds about the dangers of all the sins to be found on campus. From eating the cafeteria sushi, which she didn’t, to drinking, which she didn’t, and to having sex. Which she almost gave up on after the Incident.
“Really? You’re an asshole.” Gwen rolled her eyes at him.
“Asshole,” Brittany repeated in her little voice.
Gwen didn’t correct her, and she began to sing a song made entirely of “asshole.” She skipped around, singing and doing a little dance, stopping every so often to point at Roderick.
“You’re not going to correct her?” Roderick drawled, with doubt scrawled across his features.
Ransom still hadn’t turned around. Lucky wondered if he was still as embarrassed as she was. That gave her a small measure of comfort.
“I teach her not to lie.” Gwen smiled.
“I can’t believe Jonquil wanted to set us up. That’s the worst idea in the history of bad ideas.” Roderick snorted.
Gwen bark-snort-coughed. “That has to be a lie. Jonquil loves me. She’d never saddle me with you. Plus, I’m married.”
“Not for long, it seems.”
“Thank God for that.” Then, a stricken expression crossed her face and she looked at the kids.
Steven hadn’t noticed anything, but Brittany stopped and wandered back over to her mother.
“It’s okay, Mama. We’ll live in Ever After and you can marry someone else. But not him.” She stuck her tongue out at Roderick.
Lucky slid a glance to Ransom to see that he’d finally turned around.
The years had been overly kind. Not t
hat she expected he’d look like a mole person or anything, but where there had been the first awkward bloom of male youth, there was a man. His jaw had been a sharp angle, but now it was a bladed edge. His shoulders had once hinted at the way he’d fill a space, an outline of the width and breadth of the muscle to come. He moved with the confidence and grace of a man used to power. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the depth in his eyes. The warmth and kindness there that made her fall in love with him so many years ago.
Roderick and Gwen, the kids, everything faded away at that moment. It was as if the two of them had been caught in a bubble outside of time and space. The sound of her heartbeat in her ears was like listening to the ocean in a shell.
Lucky didn’t want any of the old feelings that surged in her chest. She didn’t want to remember how much she loved the way he smelled. How natural it felt to move closer to him, because that had ended so well the last time.
Why did he have to smell so good?
The bastard actually smelled like chocolate.
What an asshole to come to this meeting smelling like her favorite thing in the world.
Worse? He looked down at his feet just for a second before raising his ridiculously blue eyes to meet hers once again. It was endearing. It was devastating.
Then he gave her that half smile that had always given her a case of what Lucky liked to call “Turtle Syndrome.” It made her want to throw herself on her back, and stay there, much like a turtle that couldn’t seem to right itself.
He was the first to speak. “It’s good to see you.”
“I didn’t expect to see you,” she blurted.
“At all?” He gave her a full grin. “Since we’re getting married, I’d say you have to look at me at least once.”
She pursed her lips. “You know what I mean.”
They stared at each other again for a long moment. His eyes moved over her, and his perusal made her squirm. Ransom wasn’t gross about it, he wasn’t objectifying her or treating her like a fuck doll, but the butterflies in her stomach had started cannibalizing each other. It was getting ugly in there.
Lucky wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“Are you okay?”
“Why, you scared?” She mentally slapped herself. Why was she such a dick? He’d been nothing but gracious and she was acting like a spoiled brat.
A Hilarious and Charming Feel-Good Read Page 3