“Do you know where he is?”
Alexandra shook her head. “What did you do to him?”
Stella swallowed hard. “I loved him.”
She didn’t wait to see what Alexandra said. She ducked out the doorway and down the hall to continue her quest.
41
STELLA
Stella paused at the top of the cliff trail, staring down at the beach far below. Teddy paced the line where the ocean met the sand. His summons had arrived just moments after she’d returned to the McKay Estate. She’d been delighted to escape her family’s scrutiny after the pandemonium in the throne room until she got to the beach trailhead and realized that escaping their knowing looks meant facing Teddy when she had no idea what to say.
The salted breeze whipped the loose curls around her face into her eyes, and she batted them away.
“You shouldn’t make him wait,” Rosie said. “I’ll leave the cottage key in the door in case you need to hide out—or need some privacy.”
Rosie had come with her for support, but Stella suddenly felt the irrational urge to cling to her little sister. Maybe it was because the last few weeks had been so monumentally tumultuous. Still, Stella had a feeling that whatever she was walking toward now was somehow bigger and more life-altering.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so scared, Stell-bell,” Rosie whispered, squeezing her hand.
“What do you think he’s going to say?”
“I think he’s going to propose.”
Stella stopped breathing. “What?”
Rosie giggled. “Gods, you should see your face.”
Stella held up her hands. “It’s not that I—” She blew out a slow breath to compose herself. “He kind of already did—poorly. It’s just very fast.”
“The man gave up the Argarian throne to be with you. That sounds pretty serious to me.”
“We don’t know that’s why he did it,” Stella snapped.
Rosie grinned and wrapped an arm around Stella’s shoulders. “You didn’t see the way he was looking at you because you were too busy being frozen in shock. He looked at you like you were his salvation.”
“Well, I was—several times.”
“Stella, gods!” Rosie shook her head. “You are truly exasperating. You’ve always given him a hard time, but Teddy is a good man. You shouldn’t be so afraid to believe in him. You two clearly have something. You must be the only twonotto notice that you always have.”
Stella was afraid to be disappointed again—afraid she’d invented another fairy tale from the ashes of her wildest dreams. Teddy wasn’t charming in the way Arden was, but they’d been through something truly traumatic together, and couldn’t that make myth of what was simply survival?
She didn’t want to be another person who wanted too much from him—not when he’d just had the courage to break that pattern in his life. It wasn’t fair, and she wouldn’t walk down the trail until she was certain of what she would do.
She turned to face Rosie. “Do I look okay?”
Rosie nodded emphatically. “On the slim chance that he’s going to end things instead of profess his love, it would be really hard to do so with you looking that good.” She smoothed Stella’s hair and pulled her into a hug. “What does Mama always say?”
Stella groaned into her sister’s hair. “To be brave with my hand and brave with my heart.”
Rosie pulled back and smiled at her. “Go get him, Stella.”
With that, her sister turned and walked back toward the cottage.
Stella listened to her footsteps fading away. When she could no longer find any reasonable excuse to delay, she kicked off her silk slippers and walked down the sandy path slowly. She welcomed the sting of the rocks and cool sand against her feet and breathed in the salty sea air.
Normally, being on the beach made her feel calm. But that was because she was normally on her way to a morning swim, not a seaside…whatever this was.
