Of Princes and Promises

by Sandhya Menon

  “Definitely likes you,” Carter, a bearded guy in his early twenties whom RC had met a few times, agreed.

  Everett beamed. “I hope so. I think I’m going to ask her out soon. Where do you think I should take her?”

  “Is she into old stuff?” RC asked, but then the short reporter from Evanescence, Roubeeni, was in their circle.

  “Hey, guys. Sorry to interrupt you, but can I grab you, Everett, for a quick interview?”

  “Oh, sure.” Everett set his empty glass down on a passing waitress’s tray.

  “And, RC, Carter, I’ll be back for you guys in a few?”

  They nodded and she was gone.

  “Whoa, incoming,” Carter said quietly.

  RC turned to see Caterina, her face set, her bright brown eyes fiery and determined, heading straight for him.

  “Yeah, I should probably just go see what Trevor and those guys are up to,” Carter said, melting away quickly. Clearly he wasn’t a stranger to Caterina’s wrath.

  She climbed up the step that separated the sunken great room from the area RC was standing in, her black ankle boots clicking loudly on the marble floor. “Hi.” Her voice was controlled, though determination shone in her eyes.

  “Hey.” RC nodded, trying not to let his heart break at just how beautiful she looked. Her thick hair cascaded down her shoulders in big, silken waves, and all he wanted to do was run his fingers through them.

  “I need to speak with you,” Caterina said softly. “Will you meet me in the conservatory in about twenty minutes? It’s on the far side of the house.” She pointed, her big black-and-gold bangle sliding down her arm.

  “You can tell me whatever it is now,” RC countered. He hated waiting for things; it just made his anxiety go haywire.

  She bit her lip. “I can’t. Not yet. I need some time to prepare.”

  RC’s heart stuttered in his chest. “Is it something bad?” Though how much worse could it be? They were already broken up.

  Caterina shook her head without hesitation. “No. It’s something good. Very good, in fact.” She allowed herself a small smile. “Life-changing good, maybe.”

  “Oh.” He was thrown; he had no idea what this could be. Life-changing good? Did her father get some good news about his businesses or his upcoming political campaign? But why involve RC in that? And more importantly, why did he care so much? He was furious with Caterina for the way she’d treated him, and still a part of him couldn’t help but be drawn to her. “Okay. I’ll be there.”

  Nodding, Caterina went back down into the great room and disappeared into the crowd. A middle-aged man, one of Harper’s mom’s friends, had begun to play on the baby grand in the corner of the room, adding to the general mayhem. RC could barely hear himself think.

  Someone cleared their throat delicately beside him. He turned to see Mia, in her mermaid-y skirt and a lacy top. Her mauve-painted lips were pulled up to one side, her thin arms crossed. “You look worried.”

  RC shifted his weight; Mia wasn’t his favorite person, but he wasn’t sure exactly why. Something about her reminded him of an icy lake, deceptively thin, waiting to swallow you into its depths. “I’m not worried.” But he spoke too quickly.

  Mia’s smile broadened. “Caterina wants to talk to you, I imagine. Whatever could that be about?”

  RC’s breathing quickened. “Wait. Do you know what she wants to tell me?”

  Mia leaned closer to him. She smelled like dark things in a forest—moss and damp wood. “Caterina and I are best friends, Rahul.” He tried not to flinch at her using his name here, at this party, where anyone might overhear. “Of course I know. I know just about everything there is to know about her.”

  He didn’t like the way she said that at all, like a cat with a nearly dead bird. But he forced his distaste down. This was important. “So what? What is it?”

  Mia put one hand on his upper arm, her golden cat eyes holding his. “Caterina’s dad has just acquired a huge company. She’s telling everyone, spreading the news as it were. But… she’s worried you won’t know how to respond. Think of this as a test of sorts—can you truly help her? Can you be someone who knows how to slot into her life and handle the media attention that comes with it?”

  RC frowned. “Handle it? What do you mean? Why would I need to do anything about her father’s business news?”

  Sighing, as if RC were a particularly opaque child, Mia tugged on his arm and turned him around so they could both see Caterina.

  RC watched her on the far side of the room, where she was immediately accosted by Trevor Hodges, whose parents owned some big newspaper or other. Trevor leaned in toward Caterina, smiling confidently and easily, the dimple on his cheek showing. Caterina laughed at something he said and touched him on the arm. Just then, a photographer from Trevor’s newspaper paused and asked to take a picture of them. The two of them posed easily, looking very much a power couple. RC felt jealousy plant its stinger deep inside him, the metallic taste of its poison turning his mouth sour.

  “Oh.” Realization at what Mia was telling him began to mingle with the jealousy.

  Maybe that’s what he’d done wrong. Maybe, even as RC, he just hadn’t been able to foster relations with the media enough for Caterina. He’d been content to follow her lead. But maybe he should’ve done more to show her he could fit into her world just as easily as the Trevors and the Alarics in her life. Caterina had looked determined as she walked up here, and she insisted the news she had to give him was good. Good enough to change her life, apparently. But maybe what she meant was, the news could change their lives together. Why else would she have brought it up to him? Maybe if he handled this well, she’d give him another shot at being her boyfriend. It wouldn’t change the fact that she’d dated him out of some sense of obligation, but maybe—maybe that had been his fault, as usual. Maybe that had been him being awkward and clueless.

  RC turned to Mia, his face flushed with possibility. “Are you saying—”

  Mia held up her hands. “Do what you want. This is your decision. I’m just giving you a gentle nudge. Okay?”

  “RC!” Roubeeni was back at his side, tiny and energetic. “I thought we could chat in about fifteen, twenty minutes? I’m going to interview Carter really quickly, and then I’d love to talk with you in the study.”

  RC studied her, his mind working overtime, and then glanced at Mia, who winked at him and slipped away into the crowd. “Roubeeni,” he said slowly as a genius idea began to take root in his mind. Thank you, Mia. “Why don’t you meet me at the conservatory instead? I think I have something for you that’ll make a really interesting angle for your paper.”

  “Really?” She smiled. “What’s that?”

  “You’ll have to wait and see,” RC said in what he hoped was an intriguing manner. “Talk to you then.” And he melted into the crowd, just as Caterina had done, smiling. Roubeeni looked after him, intrigued.

  He passed by his friends from Rosetta, who were all standing around eating snacks. “This cake tastes a little funny,” he heard Leo say.

  “It’s a little dry,” Samantha agreed.

  “Maybe it just needs some Wickers jam filling,” Leo replied, and they kissed, to DE’s protestations. Grey and Jaya just laughed.

  None of them looked up at RC as he passed them. He wasn’t sure if they hadn’t noticed him or if they were all still feeling some kind of way about his new self. But he’d deal with that later. One thing at a time.

  What he’d done with Roubeeni was good. It was perfect. When Caterina shared her news—about her dad’s new business—Roubeeni would be there to get it all down for the magazine. It was exactly what Trevor would do. Maybe then Caterina would see RC could still fit into her world. Maybe then she’d give him another chance. Mia had said so. It had to be true.

  CATERINA

  Caterina paced the length of the conservatory, her heels clicking on the tile and driving her a little mad. Finally, she kicked off her boots and walked in her tights, ju
st to give herself some quiet in which to think. At least the conservatory was adequately heated; it was a comfortable place to chew on her words.

  In just five minutes, Rahul would be here. She paced past a grouping of hanging ferns, past the cluster of comfortable chairs to the glass wall on the far end. This time of year, she was looking out onto a mostly dormant garden lit up with landscaping lights and kissed with snow, but it was still beautiful in a way. Caterina had a sense of old things ending and new things sprouting, deep under the ground, where no one could see them yet. But in time, with enough care and light and air, they’d grow up to be beautiful, big and vital and healthy.

  That was her hope, anyway.

  She turned and began to pace back toward the door, rehearsing what she’d say to Rahul.

  I like you? No, too trite. It sounded like something a sixth grader might say to her math class crush.

  I’ve thought about us dating through college? Ugh. Now she sounded like a stalker.

  I love you? Caterina stopped short. It was, by far, the one that felt truest. Was she… falling in love with Rahul? She blinked, her stomach in knots. Was this what love felt like? It was sickening and exhilarating at once. It was like being on a constant roller coaster. It was too much. She definitely couldn’t just lay that on him right here.

  Maybe she’d wait for him to stride through that door and see how she felt. Go with the flow, as people said. Caterina had never been a “go with the flow” kind of person, but wasn’t that precisely the point? Wasn’t she trying to break old, brittle habits and reset them so they could grow into stronger ones?

  There was a noise behind her, at the door. Her heart beating furiously, Caterina turned. RC entered the room, smiling.

  She smiled back and stepped forward, toward him, her hands held out. It was time. She would say everything in her heart.

  And then the reporter Roubeeni entered too, her cell phone at the ready.

  Caterina let her hands fall, the smile vanishing off her face. “What’s going on?”

  RC

  “I brought Roubeeni along, so she can hear what you have to say too.” RC tried not to act too excited; he wanted to preserve at least a little bit of an air of coolness. The object was for Caterina to think he could fit right in with all the attention, just like her old boyfriends. He could be an asset, not a liability.

  He had to admit, she looked way less impressed than he thought she’d be. “You… brought a reporter here.” She looked from him to Roubeeni, who was watching their interaction closely. “Why?”

  RC spread his hands like a convivial host. “If there’s good news to share, the world should hear it!”

  “Caterina, there you are!” Mia walked in, ending a call on her phone. “I’ve been looking for you.…” She trailed off as she took in Caterina’s expression, and then RC and Roubeeni. “What’s going on?”

  Caterina folded her arms, her lips set in a thin line. “I had something important to say to RC. But apparently, he thought an audience was needed, because he brought Roubeeni, too.”

  “Oh?” Mia looked from Caterina to RC, her expression unreadable. “Everything’s about the media now, is it, RC?”

  He frowned. What? Why were they acting like this was a bad thing? Mia had said… well, she hadn’t said anything directly. Had he misunderstood? Or maybe he just wasn’t being clear enough. “No, this is good. If it’s something for your dad’s businesses or, like, about the political campaign…”

  Caterina shook her head. “And that’s all I’d have to say, right? Something about my father or the business. Because I couldn’t ever want to speak personally to you.”

  Was she upset? She sounded upset and she looked upset, but… why? Isn’t this exactly what she’d wanted, for him to be more like the Trevors and the Alarics in her life? “I don’t understand,” RC said. “I—is this not the right magazine?” He felt bad asking that in front of Roubeeni, who obviously took great pride in her work.

  “I think I may have left my keys in here earlier.” Leo had appeared at the conservatory door with Sam. His eyes were red and his voice sounded a little hoarse. “I don’t feel so…” He stopped as he took in the gathering and everyone’s expressions. “What has happened?”

  Picking up her boots, Caterina let out a breath and brushed past RC and then Leo, her face red. “Never mind, RC,” she said in a high, tight voice that felt like a sucker punch to his gut. “I was obviously wrong.”

  “Nice work,” Mia hissed as she walked past, following Caterina.

  Confused as hell, RC rushed after them, but Caterina was practically running, her boots still held in one hand. Mia, he noticed, was keeping pace with her, speaking in her ear, her expression serious as they both turned right off the main hall. What the hell had just happened? What the hell had he done?

  In his pocket, his phone buzzed. Still feeling dazed, RC pulled it out and held it to his ear. “Hello?”

  “Mr. Chopra?” Oliver’s smooth voice drifted down the line. “It’s Oliver from CdT. I have good news. One more small pot of the Estonia gel has arrived, but I’m afraid there are three other people waiting for it. Since you are a personal friend of Ms. LaValle, I thought to offer it to you first. Are you interested?”

  There was a large mirror in the great room where RC had stopped, and he happened to glance into it now, studying his reflection, the phone at his ear. Of course. It dawned on him with the suddenness of a snakebite. He’d been rationing his gel, hadn’t he? And tonight there wasn’t really enough for a full use, but he’d stretched it anyway. It was clear the magic of the gel wasn’t as potent as it was when he used his usual generous amount. It wasn’t what he’d done; it was what he hadn’t done. He hadn’t been RC enough, and now Rahul had peeked through and ruined everything.

  Leo and Samantha passed by him, talking urgently, Leo’s eyes meeting RC’s in the mirror. RC looked away and walked a few paces into a quiet hallway; he didn’t have time for Leo’s questions.

  Panic leaped into his chest, like flames from a quickly growing fire. He needed to go to Oliver’s right now. He needed to get more of the gel; he had to rectify this situation. “Yes,” he found himself saying into the phone, his voice thick with urgency. “I need it. Please hold it for me, Oliver.” Rahul might be frozen with confusion, but the moment RC was all the way back in the driver’s seat, this would all be taken care of. He and Caterina would have a serious talk. He’d explain himself. As angry as he was with her, as much as she’d hurt him, he still didn’t want her to hate him.

  “All right, Mr. Chopra. But I close in forty-five minutes. Do you think you’ll be able to make it in time? I can’t hold it much longer than that, I’m afraid.”

  RC checked his watch. “Yes, I’m coming right now. Please just—just wait.” He had just enough time to hurry back to Rosetta and go to Cassa del Tesoro before it closed. And then he’d rush back here. Ending the call with Oliver and opening his Lyft app, RC hurried to the front door.

  * * *

  By the time he arrived at Oliver’s shop, night had settled in for good. Cassa del Tesoro sat like a small glowing beacon on the side of the road, inviting him in. RC marveled at his panic, his anxiety, that had built and built with every mile he’d covered on his way here. How was he still able to function when his brain was going haywire?

  He’d convinced himself on the way into town that Oliver was going to tell him he’d changed his mind and sold the hair gel to one of the three other people after all, that the gel RC had was the very last of it there was in the world. What would he do then? How could he bear to go back to being Rahul, when he knew there was such a grand, big world waiting for him on the other side? When he was this close to being the man Caterina needed him to be? It would be like sending snowflakes back into the sky once they’d fallen or pushing shed tears back into their ducts. You could never go back. The only way was forward; the only life he wanted was RC’s.

  He pulled the door open and rushed into CdT, waving the assista
nt away, not stopping until he found Oliver in the back, placing what looked like an antelope skull studded with gemstones on a shelf.

  “Ah.” Oliver turned with a smile when he saw RC’s haunted expression. His assistant melted away. “You made it, Mr. Chopra.”

  “Please call me RC,” he said, a little out of breath. “Where’s the gel?” RC tried to say it in calm, steady tones, but was afraid it came out in a desperate rush anyway.

  After the longest pause in the history of the world, Oliver nodded. “It’s in this back room here. I haven’t had time to put it on the floor yet.”

  RC nearly collapsed against a velvet chair in relief, his damp palms grabbing the curved back of it. “Oh, thank God.” He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, trying to settle his pulse.

  “Why don’t you come with me?” Oliver wound his way toward the checkout desk, beyond which lay a door.

  RC obeyed, his heart finally slowing, his mouth finally replenishing itself with saliva. Oliver had it; he hadn’t sold it to anyone else. It was all going to be fine. RC could come out now—permanently, soon enough.

  As Oliver opened the door to the large back room, beyond which RC could see a wide variety of antiques and objects from different locations around the world, a worrying thought occurred to him. “I, um, probably don’t have all the money up front,” he said, realizing that he didn’t even know how much the gel would normally cost. Oliver had been kind enough to give him the last pot for free. “But I can pay you in installments, and pay interest on it, whatever you need.”

  Oliver smiled at him over his shoulder as he walked to a chest of drawers with ornate brass handles. “I’m certain we can come to an arrangement, Mr. Chopra.” RC stood awkwardly off to the side as Oliver looked through the drawers for a few long minutes. Finally, just when RC was beginning to lose hope, thinking that maybe Oliver had sold it after all, Oliver turned around, a small iridescent glass jar held in his spindly-fingered hands.

  RC’s gaze zeroed in on the gel as if it were the only sign of life on an alien planet. “I’ll pay whatever your asking price.”