Esme stood at the gate. Her boarding pass was in one hand. Her suitcase was in the other. Everyone had boarded, and not a soul was rushing down the hall. The last vestiges of hope left her on an exhale, and her shoulders deflated.
He wasn’t coming.
Jan wheeled her case up to the annoyed attendant. Beep went her boarding pass, confirming that time was up. Esme stretched out her hand to give over her pass. But she jerked it back and turned once last time.
Perhaps he had gotten caught up at security. This traditional scene would likely suffer some technical issues in today’s high security age where only ticketed passengers and guardians of minor travelers could enter the actual terminal.
But Leo was the king. This was his country. He was the final law.
And he was not coming.
Finally, Esme handed over her boarding pass. The beep was like the last blip of a heart monitor where the spike in the line signaled the end. It was the end of her fairytale. The last page of the book. And the tale had not ended well.
Maybe those kindergarten parents like Aubrey Thomas’s mom were right. Maybe Esme shouldn’t be reading the children fairytales. She’d read them all of her life and grown up believing. Leo and Penelope kept insisting that their lives weren’t that of storybook fodder. But Esme had refused to believe them.
Duty and matters of state came before matters of the heart. A five-year-old got that lesson. Esme, a grown woman, was just now coming to face the fact.
Still, she couldn’t be too disappointed. Penelope had developed a small sense of imagination. Hopefully, that would carry her through her life. And Leo …
Well, he’d been loved by someone who’d wanted his happiness more than anything. And he’d loved her too, Esme was sure of it. She just needed to content herself with that part of the tale.
The past week of her life had been magic. She’d been rescued by a knight in shining armor. She’d journeyed to a faraway land. Slain a stone dragon. And even kissed a king.
Oh, that kiss. She’d felt like she could fly when he’d kissed her. And now she was being told to strap in for the journey back to earth.
“Goodbye Cordoba,” she whispered looking out the plane’s window. She saw the spire of the castle in the distance. It looked like a magical kingdom, and it was. But it was all grounded in reality.
“Girls like us live in the real world, Esme,” said Jan. “But ... I will admit, there was a thing between you two.”
Esme nodded as tears pricked her eyes.
“But a thing like that can’t exist in the real world. Only in dreams.”
“Leo was a dream come true.”
“He’s a good guy, but he has a job to do.”
The plane began its taxi, and Esme’s tears fell in earnest. She buried her face in Jan’s shoulder as the plane accelerated and the wheels left the ground. Even before takeoff, Esme’s heart dropped into her gut. It still couldn’t let go of the dream that should’ve been.
Soon, the fasten seat belt signs went off. For a while, Esme kept hers on. She felt so restless and lightheaded that she needed to be tethered to something.
After thirty minutes in the sky, she needed to be free of the constraints. And so she rose and walked toward the front of the plane to the nearest bathroom. She didn’t need to use the facilities. She just needed to move.
She couldn’t shake that this was not how her story was meant to end. Part of her wanted to knock on the cockpit and tell the pilots to turn the plane around. And then what?
Leo had made up his mind. He was likely on the balcony kissing the duchess at this moment. Esme would have to move on.
But there would never be another king of her heart. A prince would no longer do. Even a knight would not suffice.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the pilot’s voice rang over the intercom. “Please retake your seats. We will be making an unscheduled landing.”
Esme snapped back to reality. Had she heard that right? She flagged a passing flight attendant.
“What’s wrong?” Esme asked. “Is there an emergency?”
“Nothing to worry about, ma’am. We’ve just been ordered to land.”
“Ordered? By who?”
“By the king.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Leo tapped his foot on the floor. He tugged at the strap of the seatbelt wanting desperately to be free. He knew the jet would outpace the commercial airline, but he needed to go faster. He needed to get to her this very moment.
“She’s on an airplane,” said Alex. “She can’t escape you, though she tried.”
The last part was said under his breath, but Leo heard his brother. Though Alex spoke in his typically droll fashion, Leo saw his brother drum his fingertips on the armrest. He was anxious too.
They had left the gala the moment Leo knew that Esme had gone. He was nearly an hour behind her. He’d pulled an uncharacteristic move when he’d used his power to halt all air traffic until his plane could take flight in pursuit of the woman he loved; the woman he needed to hold in his arms for the rest of his life.
What must she be thinking flying away from him? He hadn’t told her that he loved her. Though there was definitely a thing between them, neither had verbalized it.
What if she hadn’t truly known his feelings for her? He had denied those same feelings for duty. She was likely feeling horrible because of the choice he’d made. He just needed to get to her and rectify it.
He’d thought of calling her on the radio, but this needed to be done face to face. He needed to look her in the eye and tell her what a colossal idiot he’d been for not choosing her. His heart had chosen her, but his sense of duty had clouded his judgment.
That would be the last time. He was determined he would rule with his heart from this day forward. If he got to her in time.
“What if she’s changed her mind?” he said. “I did walk away from her.”
“Just toss her a tiara and a few jewels,” said Alex. “She’ll come running to your throne.”
Leo sat up in his chair. He leaned forward, but the belt held him back. “She’s not like that, and you know it. She liked me before she knew who I was, what I was. There’s a thing between us.”
Though Leo spoke with vehemence, his brother only grinned at him. Alex, who had unfastened the belt a moment before the light went off, reached over and patted Leo’s knee. “Then sit back and relax. Your happy ending is on its way.”
Easier said than done. “She’s waited all her life to have her own fairytale, and I ruined her happy ending.”
“Don’t they call that in the books the Dark Moment? But here you are about to bring a silver lining. In full regalia no less. What woman wouldn’t swoon?”
Leo looked down at himself. He’d rushed out of the castle without changing his clothes. Giles had been yelling after him about protocols and dry cleaning. Leo had ignored the man, so intent on following the love of his life.
Penelope had wished him luck, so had Lady Teresa. Would luck be enough? Could he play this by chance? It was just the rest of his life that was on the line.
“You’ll have the rest of your life to make up for it,” Alex was saying.
The rest of his life. The rest of their lives. He hoped so. He wanted to give Esme the world. He wanted to give her a fairytale.
Finally, the captain’s voice came on the overhead with instructions to begin preparations for landing. The moment, the jet came to a stop at the terminal, Leo shot out of his seat. They’d landed at a private portion of the airport. The commercial side was on the other side of the air park.
Leo raced through the airport toward Esme’s terminal. He dodged slow moving passengers and leapt over luggage trolleys. He’d move faster if he weren’t in full regalia, but he had no choice.
And then he saw her. She was walking out of the arrival’s gate with her suitcase bumping the back of her heels. Their gazes connected. Her mouth formed a perfect O. He could almost hear the gasp.
She didn’t
look at him in anger. She didn’t turn away from him. Her face positively lit up. And there, there it was.
The thing.
It pulled him toward her like they were magnets. Like there was magic between them. He couldn’t have fought the force if he’d tried.
Leo took a step forward … and bumped into a traveler. The bump of his shoulder caused the man to lose his grip on his large suitcase. The case tumbled over, and a Chinese dragon spilled out.
The massive green head rolled over onto Leo’s foot. The red, snaking tongue curled around his ankles. Leo tried to step over it, but his feet got tangled. He went down on one knee. But that didn’t deter him.
He got to his feet, making quick work of the fake dragon until he was on the other side of the destroyed beast and in front of her; his tale-telling teacher, his irrepressible instructor, his starry-eyed scholar.
He needed to tell her how sorry he was he’d let her go. He needed to tell her that he couldn’t imagine another moment without her. He needed to tell her he loved her. Leo opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Esme waited patiently, expectantly while he fumbled their ending once more.
“I had everything I wanted to say to you planned in my head,” he finally managed. “I just forgot all the words now that I’m looking at you.”
“That’s a good start,” she said. “Did you just slay a dragon to get to me?”
“I would defeat any and everything that came between the two of us. I’m not sure if you’re a damsel or a witch, because I came under your spell the first moment I laid eyes on you. I boarded a white jet and rode it hard to come to your rescue. And yes, I destroyed this man’s dragon—which I will pay for, by the way—all to get to you.”
She was in his arms, and Leo felt everything in his world shift. He came to realize that all his life he’d been looking at the world on a tilt. Now that the love of his life was finally in his arms, the balance was restored, and he saw the world anew.
“I nearly made the same mistake twice,” he said. “I was ruling with my head instead of my heart. I was set to marry someone else, but I couldn’t do it. See, there’s this thing between you and me. I haven’t encountered it before, so I wasn’t sure if it could be what I thought it was. You’re the expert in these types of stories, so you’ll have to correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it’s love.”
“I know this story,” she said. “I’ve studied it all my life. It’s definitely a case of love.”
“I love you, Esme. You are the queen of my heart.”
“I love you too. But what about the country and the tradition?”
“The country will learn to love you as I do. You’ll teach them, just as you taught me.”
“I’m so glad you came. I almost gave up on fairytales.”
“Not this tale. This is the only way this story could’ve ended.”
Esme tilted her head to the left, and he went right. Their lips met in the middle in perfect alignment. Leo pressed his lips to Esme’s and sealed their lips with a kiss to start the beginning of their happy ending.
Epilogue
Alex looked at his brother and his soon to be sister-in-law and queen. He’d had more than his fair share of women offer their undying love to him. Watching Leo and Esme, Alex knew each of those women had been liars. Not one of those propositions came close to the bursting passion between those two.
For years, Alex had watched his brother toe the line. He’d had tried to lighten the load for Leo, but he usually wound up making a mess and more work for his overworked brother. With Esme in Leo’s arms, Alex saw a definite lightening in his brother’s shoulders.
Alex’s gaze flicked to Jan on the other side of the couple. A rare smile peeked out of the corners of her lips. He knew Jan wasn’t one for fairytales. The practical pie maker only had time to pair different spices. And she was a master at it.
He couldn’t get the taste of her last dish out of his mouth. The woman was a wonder in the kitchen. He was glad she wasn’t going away too soon. He couldn’t wait to get her back into his kitchen.
Alex had his favorite dishes. But no one had ever made him want to try the same dish twice in a row on the same day. But Jan did.
She’d only made him desserts. He wondered what a side dish under her mixing spoons might taste like. He wondered if he might coax her into making a main dish? Perhaps even a full course if she stuck around?
Despite his parents barring him from the castle’s kitchens when he was younger, Alex loved the world of food. He’d had to indulge his passions away from his homeland and spent most of his time on food expeditions to the far reaches of the world tasting exotic dishes. Jan was the first woman he’d met that shared that passion.
He wanted to show her his private spice collection and see what she’d make of it. He wanted to cook beside her and come up with new mixtures. Yes, he definitely wanted to watch her work in the kitchen again. Perhaps she might even consider a partnership with him?
Alex was tired of being known as the playboy prince, as the directionless spare. He had an idea, an idea that made him excited. An idea that made his mouth water. And Jan was the one, the only one who could bring his vision to light.
He went around the kissing couple and stood next to Jan. “Hey.”
She eyed him suspiciously. She’d done that since the first day they’d met. She was a smart girl.
“I suppose you’ll be catering the wedding reception?” he said.
With a tiny shake of her shoulders, she laughed. It was a pleasant sound. He’d heard it while she’d prepared the winning pie the other day. He caught a whiff of sweetness from her breath on his tongue.
It wasn’t the sweetness of her winning pie. It was the sweetness he’d tasted when he’d stolen a kiss from her when they’d won the competition. The kiss had meant nothing. Except that he couldn’t get it off his mind.
“Before wedding plans get underway, I have a proposal of my own. For you.”
“What kind of proposal?”
* * *
To find out what plan Alex has cooked up for the pie maker,
be sure to grab your copy of
The Prince and the Pie Maker!
About the Author
Shanae Johnson was raised by Saturday Morning cartoons and After School Specials. She still doesn’t understand why there isn’t a life lesson that ties the issues of the day together just before bedtime. While she’s still waiting for the meaning of it all, she writes stories to try and figure it all out. Her books are wholesome and sweet, but her heroes are hot and heroines are full of sass!
And by the way, the E elongates the A. So it’s pronounced Shan-aaaaaaaa. Perfect for a hero to call out across the moors, or up to a balcony, or to blare outside her window on a boombox. If you hear him calling her name, please send him her way!
* * *
You can sign up for Shanae’s Reader Group at
http://bit.ly/ShanaeJohnsonReaders
Also by Shanae Johnson
The Rebel Royals series
The King and the Kindergarten Teacher
The Prince and the Pie Maker
The Duke and the DJ
The Marquis and the Magician’s Assistant
The Earl and the Exterminator
The Count and the Carpenter
The Baron and the Barista
The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch series
On His Bended Knee
Hand Over His Heart
Offering His Arm
His Permanent Scar
Having His Back
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The King and the Kindergarten Teacher Page 14