“Well, it seems you both have thought this through. I suppose there’s nothing left to say except congratulations.” Petty shrugged. “If you want to use any of the services, I can give you the price lists and everything. Although, I don’t think many people will attend.”
“We don’t need many people to attend. We just need to be married. But we do need to talk to Grammy about officiating, as she’s the only one who can marry us, except us.”
“Oh, we could do that. By royal proclamation?” Ravenna suggested. “Save us the trouble?”
“Good idea,” he said.
“Oh, it’s them,” Bluebonnet said from the door. “Dumber than two boxes stuffed full of hair, I say.” She shook her head.
“Come now, Bon-Bon,” Phillip said.
“Don’t Bon-Bon me. That just gets you in trouble, if you’ll recall,” she said.
“As if I could forget,” he reminded her.
“Phillip?” Petty called. “Before you do this, make sure you speak to Zuri. I know she’s made herself unavailable, but I think she’ll be ready to talk.”
“I will. Of course I will.”
“Do it soon,” Petty prompted.
“Ravenna, dear, can I talk to you?” Bluebonnet asked.
“Not if you’re going to tell me all the reasons why I shouldn’t marry Phillip.”
“Nope, none of that. Promise.”
Phillip didn’t know what he was supposed to do with himself while Ravenna was in the back talking to Bluebonnet. He’d not been uncomfortable around Petty in at least a hundred years, but he suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands.
Or his feet.
Or his bottom.
He wanted to sit down but had the distinct feeling he wasn’t welcome.
“Do sit down, you’re making me nervous,” Petty snapped.
He sat and still didn’t know what to do with himself.
“You know, if you’re feeling out of alignment, that’s because you are.”
“Petty. Give it a rest.”
“I can’t. Not until you stop screwing this up.”
“How am I screwing it up?”
“Saints and apple pie, son! If I could tell you how you’re screwing it up, I would. But I can’t. It’s against the rules. It doesn’t count if you don’t do it yourself,” Petty cried. “But seriously, you’re making my hair fall out. My head is as bald as a baby’s bottom. I can’t take this stress.”
“Don’t guilt-trip me. I know all your tricks.”
“You think I’m kidding?”
“I think you’d never let your hair fall out. You’re too vain.”
Petty grinned. “Okay, fine. You’re right about that. But if I wasn’t vain, my hair would fall out.”
“Any chance you’re going to tell me what Ravenna and Bon-Bon are discussing?”
Petty snorted. “You know better than to ask.”
They sat there in awkward silence for a long time before Petty spoke again.
“Okay, I can tell you this one thing. Zuri loves you. She loves you so much she’ll step aside while you marry someone you don’t love to break your curse.”
“I know that.”
“Then how are you going to let her live the rest of her life thinking her love wasn’t enough?”
“I have no control over that.”
“Don’t you?” Petty asked carefully. “There’s always a choice.”
He didn’t want to think about her words. He didn’t want them to echo through the marrow of his bones or tattoo themselves on his brain.
He could choose not to rail against his froggy fate. He could choose to trade an endless but empty existence for a finite one full of moments with her.
He could choose Zuri.
He could choose not only for her love to be enough, but to give her the indelible knowledge that she was enough. She always had been. Curse breaker or not.
He could choose, but it wasn’t Zuri he doubted. It was himself.
Phillip just nodded, and Petty finally let it drop.
“By the way, we’re still doing a frog-kissing booth at the spring carnival,” she said.
“What if someone gets frog pox?”
“We’ve inoculated all of them, except you, of course. But that’s not going to be a problem, anymore, is it?” she said.
Okay, so maybe she hadn’t dropped it at all.
Finally, Ravenna emerged from the back and her eyes were rolling so hard, he was surprised they hadn’t fallen out of her head and rolled all the way back up to the castle.
“Can we please go?” Ravenna asked him.
He was more than happy to oblige.
On the walk back to Castle Blackheart, he asked her, “Care to tell me what you and Bon-Bon talked about? Petty wouldn’t tell me.”
“I’d rather not tell you, either, if you don’t mind?”
He nodded, and they walked in silence for some time, until she said, “Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live out in the world? Away from Ever After, I mean.”
“Live there? No. Not really. I’ve thought about visiting, though, now that we can come and go.”
“Where would you visit, then?” Ravenna asked.
“Somewhere new. Somewhere completely unlike Ever After. Nothing in Europe. Maybe Thailand.”
“Thailand. That could be good. I have no idea where that’s at, but I like the way the word feels on my tongue. It’s pretty.”
“What about you? Have you been thinking about traveling since we opened our borders?” he asked.
“I have. Quite a bit. I want to go to the North Pole and build myself an ice castle. Like a holiday cabin. No one would be able to see it, of course. But I think it would be quite something to watch the northern lights from my bedroom.”
“That sounds like a fantastic trip.”
“Esmerelda isn’t too excited about that. She doesn’t like the cold.”
“You could enchant a polar bear.”
“Hunter said he’d go with me to keep me warm.” She turned to look at him. “Not like that.”
He held up his hands. “Even if it was like that . . .”
Ravenna sighed. “I forgot to ask, was there anything you needed from me to cover the damages from Esmerelda?”
“Aside from the fact that Bronx needs therapy, no.”
“Does he, really?”
“Oh, yeah. He’s afraid to leave his nest, now. Rosebud tells me that he’s not coming to work. He just sits in his nest eating Cheetos and binge-watching Queer Eye and Project Runway.”
“Well, that’s a kind of therapy.” Ravenna grinned. “I didn’t want him to be permanently damaged, but he’s been harassing Esmerelda for quite some time. Her retaliation didn’t come out of nowhere.”
“You should’ve let Rosebud know. She’d have talked to him and set him straight.”
“Rosebud and I aren’t on the best of terms.”
He walked her the rest of the way to the door. “I suppose here is where I say good night.”
“You could come in, if you wanted. We could play another board game?” she offered.
“On another night, I’d like that. Tonight, I need some time. You know?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I do.” Then she sighed. “No, what you need to do is talk to Zuri.”
“She won’t see me.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t, either. Not if I knew you were going to tell me what you have to tell her.”
“Maybe I could just tell her that I love her.”
“Maybe you could.” Ravenna stepped inside. “I hope it goes the way you want it to.”
“Look at you, Ravenna Blackheart. Kindness after all.”
“I’ve always had kindness to give. No one wanted it.”
“Can you blame them? You’re kind of scary.”
She snorted. “Are you afraid of me?”
“A little, if we’re being honest.”
“A man should be a little afraid of his wife.” She winked at
him and closed the door behind her.
He traipsed the path back down through the Enchanted Forest until he found the fork that led him to his own castle.
His life had changed so quickly in these last weeks. He found himself in situation after situation he’d never imagined.
He never thought he’d fall in love.
He never thought he’d get married.
He never thought that the two would be mutually exclusive.
At least, not until after he’d been cursed.
Zuri, Zuri, Zuri. Her name was a mantra, and the chant echoed in his brain beneath every thought and every action.
He checked the position of the moon and realized it was late. Probably too late to go creeping around her door, but he had to give it one more chance.
He had to talk to her.
Then he remembered what she’d said about Alec. About how his need to explain things was only about him and not about her at all.
She’d told him time and again she didn’t want to speak to him, but he’d continued to pursue her anyway.
Was Phillip pulling an Alec?
He stopped to consider his motives and decided he’d try this one last time. If she still chose not to speak with him, he’d leave it be.
When he entered the castle, it was obvious it sensed his distress. It tried to send him down to the mineral baths, because it knew that’s where his heart wanted to be. Down there with Zuri.
“Stop,” he whispered. “This is something we have to figure out for ourselves. No locking us in together.”
The magic in the air dissipated.
“Thanks.”
He loved how she thanked the castle and treated it as if it were sentient.
He loved how she did most everything.
He loved her.
Phillip walked slowly to her rooms. On the way, he noticed little things had changed in the castle, and he realized they’d changed to accommodate her.
She’d remarked once that she didn’t like the suit of armor that stood not too far from her door. It had been moved nearer to his door.
She’d commented how much she loved the old tapestries, and they’d all been refreshed and hung in the stairwell up to their rooms. Tapestries he’d never even seen before had been resurrected to please her.
The stone steps were covered in the red carpet that spilled down the outer entrance to the castle because she’d said she thought it was nice.
Drinking chocolate found its way into her room, and he knew from the warmth in the walls that the fire would start itself before she returned to her room.
He’d changed to accommodate her, too, but not in a shallow way. It hadn’t been with the intention to accommodate or impress her. It had simply happened.
As a prince, he’d never cared one way or another for social functions. Weddings had always been matters of state, and he’d never been moved in the planning or preparing of them. Yet, he loved working with her. He loved running the B and B. He liked having the castle full of tourists, and the castle liked having people to care for.
He never thought he’d be excited to fill the castle with other people’s children, but being able to offer that to Zeva and knowing the magic those children were going to experience, it was a gift he was happy and ready to give.
Zuri’d changed him in so many ways.
She made him want to be better because he liked who he was when he was with her.
He’d mistakenly thought Ravenna’s indifference was a kind of freedom, but it wasn’t. Or it wasn’t any kind of freedom he wanted.
He liked Zuri’s expectations of him.
She expected him to be every inch the man he’d promised he’d be with no exceptions.
It was with that thought in mind he knocked on her door.
Chapter 24
Zuri could tell from the cadence of the knock that it was Phillip who stood outside her door.
She knew it was time to face him.
To face the loss of all her dreams once again.
It would be easier if she could be angry with him, but she wasn’t angry at all. Just heartbroken.
She pressed her cheek against the door and sighed.
“I know you have all the drinking chocolate,” he said softly.
Zuri opened the door.
Still, even though she knew it was him on the other side of the door, she hadn’t expected the sight of him.
That sounded stupid.
But seeing him twisted things up inside of her. He was just so . . . perfect. Not a hair was out of place. No five-o’clock shadow. He was always so perfectly groomed. She knew part of that was the castle, but she wanted to see something that reminded her he was real.
Just a bit of stubble.
And just like that, he had the beginnings of golden scruff.
Why had she done that to herself? It made him hotter.
He reached up and ran his hand over his cheeks.
“So, you want the ruffian look tonight. I can deal with that.” He gave her a gentle smile. “The castle obeys you in all things.”
“She’s accommodating.” She opened the door wider so he could come in.
He smelled so good. She wanted to throw her arms around him and retreat from the outside world. To find someplace where they could just be together.
Zuri knew it was time to shake all those thoughts out of her head.
Two cups of steaming drinking chocolate appeared on her counter. “She knows us well, it seems.”
He accepted the mug, and she tried not to think that this was the last time they’d share their late-night drinking chocolate.
“She does.” He didn’t seem inclined to do anything except stare at her.
The tension built in the room, and they were awkward around each other. Something they’d never been before. Zuri didn’t like it.
“Things weren’t even weird like this when you gave me frog pox.”
“Ah, but I didn’t give you frog pox. You caught frog pox.”
She arched a brow. “The difference?”
“You had to chase me to get it. I was just hanging out in my fountain doing my thing, and you snatched me up.”
“I beg your pardon, I did no such thing. You approached me. You kept staring at me with your sad little froggy eyes, and I finally caved. But I didn’t snatch you up. I offered you my hands and you jumped.”
He laughed. “Okay, I’ll let you have that one.” Phillip took a deep breath. “I’ve got only three days to break this curse.”
“Three? That’s all? Oh, Phillip. That’s awful. You must be so scared.” She went to him and surrendered to the urge to hug him tight. “I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. It was selfish. I just wasn’t ready to face what I know you’re here to tell me.”
His arms closed around her. “I understand. This isn’t . . . what does that stupid curse know anyway? I don’t love Ravenna. She doesn’t love me. But I do love you.”
She hadn’t expected those words again. They were like a deluge of cool, crystal water, and her heart was a dry, cracked desert.
Zuri allowed him to comfort her. Inhaled the familiar scent of him. “I’m sorry my love couldn’t break the curse. It is true, you know. I hope you don’t doubt that.”
“I don’t doubt that, Zuri. Or you.”
“It’s just not good enough,” she murmured.
“It is. Don’t you doubt yourself.”
“Phillip, the fact remains. If I was enough, your curse would be broken. But it’s not. You’re going to marry someone else.”
“It’ll be a marriage of inconvenience,” he said quietly.
“That’s miserable. No one should have to live that way, and I can’t imagine that’s something that any kind of magic would subject either of you to.”
“Maybe it’s not the answer, but I don’t know what is,” Phillip said. “And my time is up.”
“I know. So is mine,” she confessed.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t wan
t to be in the way here, and I would be.” She pulled back from him and shook her head when he rushed to reassure her she wouldn’t be in the way. “I need to leave. I need to heal and recharge. So after the Markhoff wedding, I’m leaving Ever After.”
“No. This isn’t it. It can’t be.”
“But that’s why you’re here. To tell me this is it. You can’t . . . Phillip, that’s not fair.”
“I know. I’m a bastard. Just let me see you one more time. Let me see you off.”
“Only if you promise not to make it hard.”
“It’s not me that makes it hard, beautiful,” he teased.
“This is not the time for dick jokes.” She sniffed. But then she laughed.
“See? What better time?”
“I don’t know if I can make that promise. It’s too much. It would be better for both of us to say our goodbyes now,” she said.
“Would it?” He kissed the top of her head. “Or would it be better if I could see you leaving for something better and know that you’re going to be happy again, and you would know that I’m still here?”
“Why is it good for me to know you’re still here? I mean, aside from the fact I don’t want you to turn green forever?”
“Um, that’s it, really?” He chuckled. “I just want to see you. Yeah, I guess it’s still selfish.”
She could give him that, couldn’t she?
“Plus, what if I see you after tonight? If we’ve already said goodbye, then it’s awkward, right?”
Zuri laughed again. “It’ll be awkward anyway, won’t it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”
“New territory for us both. Oh, wait. That’s a lie. I’ve been somewhere similar,” she managed to tease.
He stumbled back from her and clutched his stomach overdramatically. “Shots fired! A gut wound. It’ll take me hours to bleed out.”
“I guess you better think about where you want to spend your last hours. Will it be drinking honey mead at Pick ’n’ Axe? Will it be picking out your funeral finery with Rosebud? What do you think?”
Had she just really compared picking out his tux to marry Ravenna to funeral finery? That hadn’t been what she meant, but that’s where the analogy easily led.
He was silent but seemed to brush it off. “Right here. An exchange of witty barbs to my last!”
They were silent for a long moment.
Men Are Frogs Page 23