by Staci Hart
A Post-It stuck out of the top, and I slipped my finger in to open the magazine to the page he had marked.
It was a full spread with an interview and several photos, one entire page filled with a shot of him looking off to the side, shirtless, hanging in the ropes of the bow, rubbing the back of his neck with that crooked smile on his lips.
In the bottom corner was a quote from the interview.
Q: So what would you say to your dream girl, if you had the chance?
A: I’ve been around the world, and I thought I’d seen everything it had to offer until that night, until I saw you. In all my life, I’d never seen anything so beautiful, not standing in the Blue Mosque or the Taj Mahal. Not in the streets of Rome or canals of Venice. Making you smile gives me life. Making you laugh gives me hope. Making you happy is all I want, other than to keep you.
A tear slipped down my cheek. His words were about me, I knew, words he’d spoken before the Hamptons, before I knew how he felt. He’d realized it long before then. Pieces flew together as I went back, back, all the way to the first night.
As scared as I’d been, even though I’d resisted him, I knew even then. I knew it from the first time he touched me. I wanted him. I needed him. And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt something even more.
I loved him.
I touched my lips as my tears fell freely. He’d been waiting for me since that first night, waiting for me to realize it. Waiting until I saw that he was telling the truth, that I could trust him, believe him. Waiting for me to say goodbye to my past instead of running from it, instead of letting it hurt me.
I looked up at my mom, unable to speak. I handed the magazine to her, and she read it over.
“What does this mean?”
“It’s a declaration.”
“And how do you feel about him?”
I took a deep breath. “The same,” I answered quietly.
She smiled, her cheeks pink and eyes shining. “I figured. What are you gonna do about it?”
A smile stretched across my face as I wiped my tears. “Oh, I think I may have an idea.”
25
LIMITLESS
Maggie
I WOKE THAT MORNING FEELING whole for the first time.
My bags were packed, and my plan was set. The sun was shining, the sky a shade of cornflower blue and clouds high. It was limitless. I was limitless.
I kissed my parents goodbye at the gate. Walked through the terminal with certainty in every step, as if every single one was predestined. Like I was always meant to go back to him. As if my future had already been laid out before me — I only had to step onto the path and follow it back to him.
I’d never been so sure of anything. Not in all my life.
The plane ride back was a quiet, reverent trip that I spent looking out the window again with my headphones on. Every lyric, every song was about him, about me, about us. First stop, Jackson. Next stop, Shangri-La, M. Ward sang like he knew me.
When we landed in New York, I felt like I was home. I took the cab to Astrid’s and sat in a chair as a makeup artist buzzed around me. I put on the most beautiful dress I’d ever worn in my life and slipped into the empty backseat of the Mercedes, sharing a conspiratorial smile with Bobby. And then we zoomed through Manhattan, back to him.
26
HOME
Cooper
FLASHES STROBED AS I WALKED the red carpet at the Met Gala, hand in the pants pocket of my Armani suit, The Smile glued to my face, wondering where the hell Astrid was. She was late, which wasn’t unusual for her, but she wasn’t answering my texts, which was definitely unusual.
The Gala’s theme was Spellbound, and the designers and dresses didn’t disappoint. There were opulent fairy tale ball gowns, women in pantsuits inspired by period clothing, reminiscent of princes. One pop star, who was partly known for her outrageous costumes, was dressed as Rapunzel wearing a dress made out of blond hair. Her wig was connected to the dress that looked like hair wrapped around her body, peppered with flowers and braids, which was somehow not creepy. Most of the men didn’t participate like the curmudgeons we were, wearing our suits like we’d wear anywhere, though I noted far more top hats in the crowd than usual.
I paused for photos as I spanned the length of the carpet and made my way inside, straight to the bar for a scotch, pulling my phone out of my pocket to check on Astrid again as I waited for my drink. A text from her waited on my lock screen.
Hey, sorry. I’ll be there soon, held up with an emergency. Everything’s okay. I’ll explain later.
I frowned and texted her back to know I’d gotten it before slipping my phone back in my pocket. It was strange enough that she didn’t want to ride together — meeting me at an event was out of the ordinary. It was the whole point of the charade, in fact. I took a sip of my drink and paced through the throng of celebrities and socialites, saying hellos, shaking hands, laying false kisses on the cheeks of the women I knew, wishing Astrid were there — my security. My partner in crime. But she wasn’t, so I settled on Ash and entourage to occupy me.
But my mind wandered, my eyes roamed the crowd and the dresses on display throughout the room. It had been two days since Maggie had gotten the package. Two days of waiting patiently to hear from her. Of working for my father, grateful for something to keep me busy. I was grateful for the Gala, too. Grateful to stand next to Ash, who would keep my thoughts from her. Until the moment when I couldn’t hide from her anymore. The moment when I didn’t need to.
I felt her before I saw her.
I turned toward the entrance, my eyes finding her like I knew she was there, like she’d always been there. Her long earrings swung as she scanned the crowd, hanging just longer than her wild hair, and my eyes drank her in — her dress long, cut low and fitted, covered in strings of sparkling beads, draped to make her look like she was covered in a delicate spiderweb covered in dew. Her eyes burned bright and blue, lined with smokey kohl, and when they found mine, there was no one else, nothing else, not in the entire universe.
My axis shifted. Gravity took hold. My compass stopped spinning.
I don’t remember moving, only that she was in my arms. My eyes roamed her face, the face that graced my dreams, my thoughts every day. I wouldn’t have believed she was real if not for the weight of her against me.
“You came back,” I whispered.
“I had to. I’m sorry—”
“Don’t. Don’t apologize. You’re here.”
She smiled. “I’m here.”
I slipped a hand into her hair, resting my thumb on her cheek. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”
“I’m sorry I ran away. I was afraid. But I’m not anymore. I trust you, Cooper. I believe you. I just hope you can trust me after everything I’ve done. I was cruel. I hurt you to push you away, but I never doubted you.”
“I know. I knew even when you didn’t.”
She laid a hand over mine, her eyes shining with tears.
“It was why I went after you. It’s why I wouldn’t stop trying. I won’t ever stop, Maggie. I need you, and if there’s a chance for us, I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll wait. I’ll beg. I’ll fight for you. I’ll do anything to make you mine.”
“But that’s what I need you to know. I’ve been yours from the start — I was just too broken to see the truth. But now … now I can give myself to you. I love you, Cooper, and if you want me, I’m yours.”
I closed my eyes and took a breath, opening them to find her still in my arms. And then I kissed her, and she kissed me, without a single demand, a single expectation. Just a simple kiss from the girl who loved me.
I broke away, pressed my forehead to hers, smiled down at her, acknowledging distantly that people were staring and cameras flashed away. But I didn’t care. There was no more reason to hide, no reason to pretend.
I was free.
Her eyes were bright and sparkling as she looked up at me smiling with her hands on my chest. “What do we do now
, Mr. M?”
I squeezed her tighter. “Now? Now we drink. We eat. We dance. And then, I’m going to take you away from here.”
“Where will we go?”
My fingers found a curl near her face and slipped it through my fingers. “Anywhere you want.”
Her smile stretched wider. “First, take me home.”
“Which home?”
“Yours,” she said simply. “Home is where you are.”
A breathy laugh escaped me, and when I kissed her again, I felt the truth of her words in my heart.
I was home.
Maggie
Cooper swept me around the crowd, introducing me to celebrity after celebrity, the upper echelon of New York society. Somehow, I didn’t get ruffled, even though the whole affair was overwhelming. I just smiled and treated them like anyone else. They’re just people, after all, so I shook their hands and kissed their cheeks, asked them questions about their lives without prying or acting starstruck. Even the cold ones warmed up a little.
The dresses were brilliant, and every one had a story. They all asked me about mine — Astrid’s — so many awestruck by the craftsmanship, the detail. And the story was this.
In one of the many retellings of Cinderella, her fairy godmother made her dress from silken strands from spiderwebs and dew. And so Galliano designed the dress around the idea presented by Astrid — a 20s inspired gown, fitted and simple, with hundreds of strings of sparkling beads in varying sizes, all draped around the bodice and skirt to look like delicate, dewy spiderwebs that swung gently when I walked.
It was the most brilliant dress I’d ever seen in my life, never mind to wear it, after some emergency alterations of course. And then, there were the shoes. They were perfect — white platforms, covered in tiny crystals, just enough to make them sparkle without being showy at all. And they fit me. I swear to God, I felt like Cinderella herself when I slipped my foot into that shoe and it fit.
We walked through the exhibits featuring dresses from avant garde to historical pieces, then wandered into the dining room as dinner was announced. The moment we walked in, my eyes widened, and my chin tipped up to the ceiling. The columns lining the room were decorated to look like trees that stretched up to the ceiling, branches that wound across the open space, hanging with blankets of wisteria. Small lights were strung throughout, casting a soft glow, illuminating the canopy like tiny fairies.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
He kissed my temple and whispered back, “It’s nothing, compared to you.”
I could barely breathe as he towed me across the room and to our seats, which were at one of the long tables. I took a seat, unable to comprehend where I was, what was happening. It felt like a dream.
A menu sat just in front of a fresh glass of wine, and I picked the paper up, admiring the elegant vellum and scrolling word Spellbound. The table was covered in hyacinth and peonies, mossy wooden displays dotted with tiny wildflowers and spotted mushrooms.
Cooper sat next to me and smiled, watching me take it all in. “What do you think?”
“It’s like a real live fairy tale, Coop. They really don’t do anything halfway, do they?”
He laughed. “Never.”
“Cooper, I’ve been looking for you, man.” A tall, blond man about Cooper’s age approached with a brilliant smile on his face and a gorgeous girl on his arm, even if she looked incredibly bored. How anyone could have been bored there was beyond me.
We stood to greet him. “Ash,” Cooper said with a smile. “This is Maggie Williams.”
Recognition sparked behind his bright eyes, and he extended a hand. “West’s sister?”
I smiled and took it. “I am. Pleasure to meet you.”
“You too.” He shook his head and shot Cooper a knowing smile. “This is the girl? West’s sister is the girl?”
Cooper smiled back and laid a hand on my waist.
He laughed, a charming, carefree laugh. “Now I know why you weren’t forthcoming with the details. He must not know, if you’re still standing.”
We both laughed at that, though I was curious as to how exactly that all played out. “Once I told him how I felt, it wasn’t all that hard to convince him to let me live.”
The girl on Ash’s arm cleared her throat, and he remembered himself. “Oh, ah … sorry — this is Evangeline. Evangeline, meet Cooper Moore, one of my oldest friends.”
She put on a sour smile and extended a limp hand. “Charmed.”
Cooper gave it a halfhearted shake. “I’m sure.”
“Looks like we’re across from you. Come on, Ang.”
She rolled her eyes. “Evangeline, please, Ash.”
“Sorry, Evangeline. Seems like we could maybe use a little scotch, too.” He smirked at Cooper before dragging not-Ang around the table to sit.
We took our seats as the dining room began to fill up. We were surrounded mostly by strangers, other than a few of Cooper’s friends who sat across the table. Once we’d ordered, everyone chatted, and Cooper and I turned to each other, feeling like we were alone for the first time all night.
He slipped a hand into my lap and threaded his fingers through mine as we leaned in. “I want to know everything that’s happened since you’ve been gone. I feel like I’ve missed everything.”
My brows came together just a hair, thinking back. It seemed like a million years ago. “Well, my mom fed me a lot, and I slept and read. Spent time with Brooke. Tried not to think about you or any of the mess. But then I ran into Courtney.”
“Who?”
“My maid of honor.”
“Oh. Her.”
I sighed. “Yeah, that’s pretty much how it went when I saw her too. She actually tried to tell me she missed me, as if there were a possibility that we could make amends.”
“Smart girl.”
I snorted. “No one would ever accuse her of that. Anyway, then it got out that I was home, and a couple of days later, Jimmy came by.”
His face tightened. “What happened?”
“He tried to apologize, told me he wanted me back, blah, blah, blah. And then I unloaded on him. That son of a bitch even had the nerve to try to kiss me.”
Cooper stiffened, and I smiled at him reassuringly.
“He was lucky he caught me off guard because if he hadn’t, I would have either punched him or kicked him in the nuts. Maybe both.”
He chuckled and seemed to relax.
I laid my hand on top of his in my lap. “But mostly, I realized that I didn’t love him, not like that. I never felt for him what I feel for you. Not even in high school. It was never like this. I just thought I’d always be with him, as if that was just what I was supposed to do. He was a catch, and we were happy enough that I never considered it being any other way. But now? I’ve compared every man I’ve ever met to you, and not a single one measured up.”
“I know what you mean. Like the bar is so high, the scale so tipped. The things I love about you are the measure for everyone else. I’ll look at a woman and think, I bet her laugh isn’t as pretty as Maggie’s, or her hair is so dark, not like Maggie’s in the sunshine. No one can compare to you. There are just too many things that I cherish.”
I met his eyes and smiled, my heart so full. “Why are you so perfect?”
He laughed. “You know I’m far from perfect.”
I squeezed his fingers. “Well, you’re perfect for me.”
Cooper reached for my cheek with his free hand. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful as you are tonight.”
I leaned into his hand, cheeks flushed. “Only because Astrid was my fairy godmother and had her makeup artist spray paint my face.”
“No, you’re always beautiful, even with your face naked, nothing to hide your freckles.” He brushed the apple of my cheek with his thumb. “Where did you get this dress?”
“Astrid. It was the dress she was supposed to wear. She apparently knows one of Galliano’s tailors personally, and he was waiting at her place
to alter the dress for me. I didn’t think it was possible, but he just snapped his fingers and said, ‘Honey, give me one hour.’”
He smiled crookedly. “Fairy godmother Astrid, huh?”
“She gave me her invitation to the Gala, texted Bobby to pick me up. She got me the dress and the chariot and got me to the ball. She helped me get my prince. So, yes. As far as I’m concerned, Astrid will forever be my fairy godmother.”
He laughed and pressed a sweet kiss on my lips.
A flash popped, and we both looked toward it, Cooper with narrowed eyes, mine full of shock, I was sure.
The photographer smiled. “Sorry. I’m with Getty. Didn’t mean to disturb you.” He nodded and made his way down the table, snapping photos.
“I thought paparazzi weren’t allowed in here?” I asked.
“They aren’t. He’s with the press.” Cooper was watching me — I felt his uncertainty when he finally spoke. “Everyone has seen you tonight. With me. People are going to wonder who you are, which means things might get crazy.” He squeezed my hand. “I’ve lived in the public eye for years. I’m used to it. And I can protect you from a lot of it, but there will be times when it’ll be overwhelming. The talk will die down after some time has passed, but in the meantime, it’s going to be a lot. They’re going to seek you out, ask you questions. Speculate. You might be in gossip magazines, and they’re rarely kind.” He searched my face. “I need to know if you’re sure you want to do this.”
As freaked out as I was by the thought, I smiled. “There’s nothing that could keep me from you. This is part of your life, so now it’s part of mine. You’ll just have to hold my hand.”
The relief on his face was perfectly clear. “Always.”
I smiled at him. “So, what will we do now? Spend all weekend in your apartment?”
He shrugged, smiling slyly. “Or we could drive to the Hamptons in the morning, spend the weekend there instead.”