“Because you’re afraid to lose?”
“No, we’re not having any of that introspection nonsense tonight. It’s only alcohol and board games. Maybe a pizza. Chuck the rest of it out the door.”
“Double pepperoni?”
“And pineapple,” she said with evil glee.
“If you think I’m going to argue, I’ll see your pineapple and add bacon.”
“No one on the light side likes pizza like that. I just thought you should know. Maybe you were assigned the wrong side at birth. You should’ve been a dark prince. You have the hair for it.”
“I look like an angel of the Lord, what do you mean?”
“Exactly. In some cultures, hair as blond as yours is the marker of a villain.”
“You’ll think villain when I’m wearing the Pretty Princess crown.”
It was nice to do something that didn’t have any long-term implications. With Ravenna, it was okay if he wasn’t Prince Charming.
He knew it was okay with Zuri, too, but Zuri made him want to live up to the hype.
And Ravenna couldn’t care less.
There was a freedom in that, and it was a strange kind of painkiller for his broken heart.
Chapter 22
Zuri had been avoiding Phillip.
She knew what was coming, and she wasn’t ready to hear it.
As long as she avoided hearing the words, it didn’t have to be real.
She supposed it was childish in the extreme, but she wasn’t ready to tell him goodbye. Even though she knew she was wasting time she could have with him. Part of her wanted to ask him for just one more day.
Although, it reminded her of going on a theme park ride she didn’t want to be over. Doing anything to get one more turn, even though she was already tired and done for the day, but knowing that when she left, she’d never get another turn.
Not that Phillip was a ride—she blushed. Well, he kind of was, but that wasn’t what she meant.
“What do you think?” Anna said as she emerged from the dressing room.
Anna looked nothing short of stunning. Rosebud had definitely outdone herself. The blue and pink rosettes in the veil were nothing short of art.
“It’s perfect,” Zuri managed.
“It’s amazing that you’ve managed to bring everything together. Even having your Hansel rebuild the stage after that crazy fire. You’re a miracle worker,” Anna said.
“More like magic,” Rosebud mumbled.
Zuri gave her a tired smile. “If everything is perfect, this will be your last fitting. We’re so close. Are you ready for your fairy tale?”
“I’ve already gotten it. This is just so everyone else knows it’s our fairy tale, too.”
Rosebud put a hand over her heart and sighed. “Oh, honey.”
“This dress is perfect. Everything is perfect.”
After that fire, it almost wasn’t perfect. Zuri wasn’t sure how she would’ve pulled everything together if Zeva and the godmothers hadn’t shown up.
Of course, Zeva hadn’t done her usual sister thing. This time, she’d just told Zuri to have faith in that irritating way that the godmothers had.
She supposed that was to be expected since Zeva was an FG in training, but she hadn’t thought as her sister she’d get that treatment, too.
“Zuri?” Rosebud nudged her.
“Huh?”
“Anna wanted to know if we need anything else.”
She looked at the expectant bride, who blushed with obvious joy. “No, Anna. We’re almost there. I don’t think we’ll need anything else from you until the rehearsal.”
“Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
It was then that Zuri realized how tired she was. Yes, she loved wedding planning. It was her passion, but passion took a lot of energy. A lot of fire. Zuri realized that her fire was slowly burning down to quiet embers and she needed a break.
Perhaps she should’ve taken a break between Chicago and coming to Ever After.
Zuri knew she still wanted to be a wedding planner, but she didn’t want to stay here and watch her future with Phillip unfold with another woman.
She wasn’t angry with him, none of this was his fault.
Perhaps it was hers because she simply wasn’t enough.
Have faith, Zeva had said. Faith in what? In the magic that had done her dirty since day one?
Zuri was grateful for her time in Ever After, but she wondered if maybe it was over.
She began packing up her satchel.
“Hey, do you have a second?” Rosebud asked. “I have something for you.”
“For me?”
“I have a sense about things, sometimes. Usually, it has to do with dresses. I made this last night, and I knew it belonged to you.”
Rosebud went to a rack and pulled out a lavender dress that seemed to be made of glitter and sea-foam. It was slinky and sexy, with a slit up to just above the knee but still with a long train in the back that glittered just so when it caught the light. The neckline was high, but it would accentuate her high cheekbones and jawline.
She couldn’t stop staring at the color.
“You made that last night? From what? Air?”
Rosebud smiled and pushed it toward her. “It’s yours. With my compliments.”
“I couldn’t possibly accept this.”
“You couldn’t possibly not. It was made for you. Literally.”
“Rosebud, where would I ever wear this?”
“I don’t actually have any idea. I just know that you will. Please. Take it.”
“I . . . I don’t know if I’m staying in Ever After,” she confessed. “I feel like I’d be lying to you if I accepted such a gift without telling you.”
“Honey, I don’t know where the wind is going to take you, but I do know you’ll be wearing that dress. Wherever that happens to be.”
Zuri hugged her.
“If you do end up leaving, stay in touch. And don’t forget that you can always come back.”
“Thank you,” Zuri said, and scrubbed a hand over her face.
A new voice interrupted them. “Leaving? Girl, you just need a break. Let’s go throw some axes.”
Zuri looked up to see Gwen standing there with one of her red boxes. “What are you doing here?”
“You’re hard to track down. I have your order of scones for Zeva. I thought I’d deliver them personally. I heard through the grapevine that you’re having a hard time.”
Rosebud nudged the box open to inspect the scones.
“You’re as bad as the godmothers, Rosebud.” Only Gwen produced another box. “Here. I made you some wedding cake cupcakes, since I know how much you like them.”
Rosebud squealed. “You’re the best.”
“I know.” Gwen grinned. “So listen. My little monsters are spending some time with our neighbor. They seem to like him.” She shrugged. “Wanna go throw sharp things and get loaded?”
Zuri found she wanted nothing more at that moment than to go throw sharp things and get loaded.
“Maybe some of that good brown bread and honey butter, too,” Rosebud suggested.
“You should come, too,” Gwen suggested.
“Oh, I . . .” Rosebud paused and looked around the shop.
“I should. Let’s go.”
The three of them walked over to Pick ’n’ Axe and Shandy, one of the brothers who owned the bar and had rubies braided into his red beard, got them set up in one of the throwing lanes.
“All right, lassies. You be knowin’ how ta throw, do ya?”
“We do,” Gwen said. “Thanks.” She grabbed one and sent it sailing through the air with an expert turn of her wrist, and the head of the axe fixed itself squarely in the center of the bull’s-eye.
“I see. Man trouble, then?” he asked.
“Off with you, Shandy,” Rosebud shooed him away. “But come back with some of that bread.”
“No salads tonight, eh, lassies?”
Gwen scowled at hi
m. “Mead!”
“Water, until ye be done with the axes,” he corrected.
Gwen slouched. “Fine.”
“I like to keep me fingers,” he said.
When he was gone, Gwen scowled again. “Men. Even enchanted ones. Bah.”
“Bah,” Zuri agreed, and grabbed one of the axes and threw it clumsily. The axe head didn’t even hit the target with the sharp side, but it was still satisfying to hurl it through the air.
“Don’t forget it’s in the wrist,” Gwen reminded her.
Rosebud grabbed two axes and double-handed her throw, both of her axes landing exactly where she’d aimed them. She grinned. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
Zuri grabbed another axe, and this time, she breathed and remembered what Gwen had taught her, and she knocked Gwen’s axe out of the center of the target.
“Fantastic!” Gwen cheered her on.
This was what she loved about female friendships. They could be competitive with one another, but the right friends were supportive. Gwen wasn’t threatened that Zuri had knocked her axe out of the target. She was happy for her that she was learning to throw and improving her skills.
“You want to try two-handed?” Rosebud asked her.
“Yes!”
A deep voice sounded from the edge of their lane. “You’re gonna make her a first-class marksman in no time.”
Zuri looked over to see a man, no he was more like a grizzly bear and a lion. He stood as tall as a grizzly on his hind legs, anyway. His appearance would be fearsome, except his bushy eyebrows made him look a bit like a cartoon.
He smiled at them, baring sharp predator teeth, but Zuri felt an instant kinship with him. She had the sudden urge to hug him tight.
Zuri could feel his heartache as if it were her own. Although he didn’t wear it on the outside, she felt it intimately. She wasn’t sure if it was because Zeva felt it, but it was all she could do not to cry.
She searched for the right words to say but couldn’t seem to find them.
“Have I startled you?” he asked.
“No, no!” She bit her lip. “I just want to hug you.”
“If you say it’s because I look like a teddy bear, I’ll . . .”
“You’ll what?” Rosebud dared. “Be a teddy bear and let her hug you?”
He slumped. “Yeah, I guess.”
Zuri laughed. “Oh, you’re wonderful. Can I?”
“Fine.” He held open his big, furry arms.
She hugged the big beast tight, and although his fur tickled her nose and her face, it gave her such comfort to hug him. To be close to him.
Then she realized why.
Zeva. It wasn’t just that Zeva cared about him. It was so much more. So much deeper.
“It’s so good to meet you, Hunter.”
“My reputation precedes me?”
“Kind of.”
“Who? Phillip or Zeva?”
“Both. So you knew I wasn’t Zeva? A lot of people can’t tell us apart, you know,” she said.
“Then they don’t pay attention. You’re completely different,” Hunter said.
She liked him better and better.
“Wanna throw axes with us?” she asked.
“I would, but they don’t let me. I usually throw them through the targets.” He shrugged.
“How about you have some honey mead with us after we’re done?” Gwen offered.
“I’d like that. Today was kind of crappy. Time with friends is just what I need.”
“Why did you have a bad day?” Rosebud asked.
“Eh. I was locked in a room in a castle with Ravenna for more than twenty-four hours.” He shrugged again.
“Holy shit, why?” Rosebud asked.
“I’d rather not go into it.”
“Oh. We’d rather you not go into it, too,” Rosebud said.
“I figured.”
Gwen threw again. Then Zuri. Rosebud took her turn.
Zuri tried two-handing the axe throw, and she got it on her first try.
“You’re a natural!” Rosebud said.
Hunter sat with them while they continued throwing until their time on the lane was up, and then they moved to a table, where they all shared the brown bread and several flagons of mead.
Gwen drank as much mead as Hunter.
“Do you think you might want to get a burger or something with that, cookie lady?” he asked.
“Please, I was a PTA mom. I’ll need another flagon before I feel it,” Gwen replied.
“Fair enough,” Zuri said.
Hunter pushed the rest of his flagon toward her. “For the cause,” he said.
“For the cause,” Gwen echoed, and chugged it.
Hunter put his head down on the table and sighed miserably.
“Oh, fine. Tell us why being trapped with Ravenna was so bad,” Rosebud caved.
“Because I like her. I like her a lot.”
“Why is that bad?” Gwen asked. “And listen, if you tell me it’s because you don’t have those kinds of feelings, I’m going to whack you on the snout with a newspaper.”
Hunter wiggled his nose in what seemed like anticipation. “Listen, I’m not a dog. I’m a . . . Hunter.”
Gwen snorted with laughter. “I’m sorry. Go on. I just get tired of that crap. We all have feelings.”
“Right? I wish you could get Ravenna to understand that. She’s the one who’s all no . . . feelings, I can’t,” he said in a high-pitched voice.
“I don’t mean to be cruel, but it doesn’t seem like she has any other prospects. So what’s her problem?” Rosebud asked.
“Oh, but she does,” Zuri drawled, the honey mead having loosened her tongue just a fraction. “She’s going to marry my true love.”
Hunter sighed heavily. “Yep.”
“Did he tell you?” Zuri asked him.
“Not in so many words. He said he was going to ask her, but . . .” He shrugged and sagged in his chair.
“He told me he was, too. But silly, stupid me, I told him he didn’t have to. I told him I could break the curse. But did I? Did I? Ask me. Did I?”
“At the risk of being the jerk here, I don’t imagine you’d be out drinking with us if you had,” Gwen said.
“No, no I didn’t. I kissed him. I know it was True Love’s Kiss,” Zuri said miserably. “Love can suck it. What’s it good for?”
“Magic, I think,” Rosebud said, scrunching her nose.
“What has that ever gotten anyone?” Zuri asked.
“I don’t know.” Hunter shook his head.
“What a bunch of sad sacks we are, eh?” Gwen asked. “I’m divorced; Rosebud’s not looking; Hunter and Zuri both had their hearts broken . . .”
“You know what?” Rosebud slurred. “Hut-ner . . .” She laughed. “Hut-ner . . .” She laughed again. “Hunter and Zuri should hook up. Show ’em what they’re missing.”
“No more matchmaking,” Gwen said.
“But it’s kinda fun,” Rosebud said.
Hunter and Zuri looked at each other and then shook their heads. They seemed to silently agree it was a bad idea.
Zuri would never do that to Zeva, or to Phillip, or to herself.
That was when she realized she had to face it.
Him.
And the reality that he wasn’t her Happily Ever After, as much as she wanted him to be.
Yeah, she definitely had to get the hell out of Ever After.
Even though she’d just started to think of herself as a local. She didn’t know how she’d fare in the outside world, but she’d figure it out.
And miss her new friends, and the life she’d started to build for herself, every step of the way.
Chapter 23
“Are you ready to do this?” Phillip asked Ravenna as they stood on the moonlit sidewalk outside the doors to Fairy Godmothers, Inc.
“Not really, but we might as well rip the Band-Aid off, right?”
“Right.”
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
He was still a raw, aching wound, and he’d yet to put a Band-Aid on it.
Zuri had been avoiding him, and he realized it was because she knew what was coming. He didn’t blame her for not wanting to hear it. He didn’t want to say it.
Every time he thought of her, he thought of the beautiful future they’d dreamed of together, and now it was gone like so much dust and ash.
As soon as they walked through the doors, Zeva took one look at them and said, “No.”
“You don’t even know why we’re here,” Ravenna said soothingly.
“Yes, I do. The answer is no. You’re not getting married.”
“Oh, so you do know.” Ravenna pursed her lips.
“Zeva, be reasonable. Your sister understands, why can’t you?” Phillip asked her.
Zeva huffed. “No, you’re the one who needs to understand. You’re about to make a huge mistake.”
“Are you threatening him?” Ravenna asked casually.
“Sure. You could call it that. I’m not going to do anything, but you have to live with the fallout of your choices. Are you prepared for that?” she asked.
Petty came out from a back room. “What’s the fuss?”
“These two idiots think they’re getting married.”
“Oh. Hmm. I wonder,” Petty said, pressing her wand against her temple, “if you’ll recall what I told you about fucking with fate?”
“Petunia, if you’ll recall, the message we got from the FGA about my situation. I refuse to believe it’s my fate to be a frog forever.”
Everyone looked at Ravenna, who only managed to say, “Yeah.”
“Don’t be angry with me, Zeva. I don’t know what else to do.”
“I’m not angry with you. I just know you can make a better choice,” she said.
Ravenna turned to look at him. “She’s not mad. Just disappointed.”
“Ravenna,” Petty warned.
“What? We came here as a courtesy since you’re the only wedding planning service in Ever After.”
“Would you really—” Zeva began.
“Of course not,” Ravenna answered. “We just wanted to let you know. We’ll figure out the details ourselves. I need you to know, it’s not my intention to hurt your sister. I do enjoy her.”
Phillip expected Zeva to have more to say than that. To tell her that if she enjoyed Zuri, she wouldn’t marry him. But Zeva said nothing.
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