“Daffy.” Gemma reached for her arm. “Adelaide is for real?”
“She’s for real. I don’t understand it all, but when heaven decides to invade earth, who are we to argue? Oh, shoes.” Daffy pushed up from her chair. “Pregnancy brain. I’ll be back.”
When she returned, Daffy placed a pair of crystal-studded shoes with red soles at Gemma’s feet.
“These are very special shoes. Princess Susanna of Brighton Kingdom wore them to the ball where she and King Nathaniel fell in love. She had a different sort of angel, a woman named Aurora, who gave these to her. Then Susanna gave them to me when I attended John and Holland’s wedding ball. Gus didn’t know I was going to be there. His face when I came running toward him, across the field to where he stood… Well, my heart nearly burst. I’ll never forget it.” Daffy’s eyes glowed as she handed the shoes to Gemma. “Now I’m giving them to you.”
“Give? Lend. I’m not taking your angel shoes.”
“You will if I say so. And keep an eye out for Adelaide in case she visits you again.” Daffy stood back with a glow of admiration. “You are going to steal the show tomorrow night, Gemma.”
“I don’t know about that but I’ll try my best to have a good time.”
She’d dance with John in this one-of-a-kind gown, wearing a pair of Cinderella shoes in front of five hundred pairs of eyes and past a slew of hot, gossipy whisperers.
Maybe the point of her prince journey was to realize how foolish she’d been the last two years. Terrified, almost paralyzed with fear over people finding out she’d surrendered everything she believed in, every core value for fame and fortune.
Maybe that’s what Adelaide the Angel was really trying to tell her. To merely think of herself as a princess.
Gemma had wrapped herself in guilt and shame, almost proudly, and refused to see herself any other way. She could fake it with friends and family, even John, but inside, she knew the whole truth. Saw the real woman beneath her talent, her beauty, and even her kindness.
But the Vegas files had been destroyed. God, or fate—hey, maybe Adelaide—had been looking out for her.
Got to say, it was nice to have a touch of supernatural on her side.
* * *
Gemma
She finally knew what it felt like to walk on clouds. Even under the weight of the gown and wearing a new pair of heels, she floated through every dance.
She and the prince only left the dance floor when the orchestra took a break. Then John shuffled her off to a private room for hors d’oeuvres where she met King Nathaniel and Princess Susanna, Prince Stephen and Princess Corina from Brighton Kingdom, and Grand Duchess, Princess Regina from Hessenberg and her husband, Tanner.
All the princesses were southern American girls, and the moment they met it was like old home week.
After hours of dancing and twirling to stringed waltzes and stumbling through quadrilles, she was warm and energized, drinking in the magic of it all. The splendor.
When John suggested, “Let’s get out of here,” he took her hand as she gathered the heavy skirt, leaving the bright and vibrant ballroom with its gilded walls, glistening floor, and crystal chandeliers for the glorious darkness of a half-moon night.
Laughing, feeling as if they were getting away with something, they ran down the Queen’s Avenue with abandon toward Clemency. Toward the Heart of God. And the crystal shoes bore with her.
“Gunner will be miffed we left him behind,” John said.
“Should we tell him?” Gemma stumbled on a crack in the concrete and fell into him. He caught her about the waist and pressed his forehead to hers.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”
“I think you stumbled first. Just like on the Fourth of July.”
“No, it was you. I think you wanted me to carry you.”
“In your dreams. And like you could carry me in this dress.” She turned away from him, but before she could take a step, she was in his arms, her face inches from his, the dress’s skirt cascading down.
“Where should we go?” he said.
She was about to say “put me down” but instead she wrapped her arms about his neck. “The Heart of God, of course.”
When they arrived, the cathedral lights seemed to blink and wave in greeting. John set Gemma on her feet but they fell against each other. Gemma stretched her hand to the fountain’s cool, flowing water.
