“Yes, dear. But it seems I need some help with something at the house. Would you mind coming back over here?”
I glance at the time, realizing it is only eight at night. I thought it was much later than that. Ever since I sent my resignation email to the center, I’ve thrown myself into authoring full-time with the help of my sister’s fiancé, Crown Prince Finley Andersson. He once offered to promote my books, and I decided I needed the exposure more than I needed my pride. Having a prince promote my rom-coms has definitely rocketed my sales. Anything to keep me from leaving the house and bumping into Stone. Grocery shopping is hard enough. He’s in every shadow down every aisle.
Grandma clears her throat, and I remember I need to answer her. “Of course. Give me a few minutes to change my clothes and I’ll be right over.”
After slipping into leggings and an oversized Taylor SwiftMidnightsera t-shirt, I hop into the car and drive the short distance to my grandma’s place.
The gravel driveway crunches under my tires as I arrive at the quaint cottage-esque home. Just around back, she has this lovely garden growing inside a collapsed shed that gives off a shadow fairy garden vibe, and it used to be one of my favorite places to sit and write before I secluded myself away to the confines of my personal prison—also known as my apartment.
I shut off the car and make my way towards the small white fenced-in porch and stand underneath the light. I knock on the oval-topped lavender door and shout to Grandma that I’m here.
But it’s not Grandma that opens the door.
It’s a person who looks just like me.
“Lorelei!” I scream, throwing myself at my twin who stumbles backward into the entryway. I prepare to tumble to the ground, but we don’t.
I glance behind Lorelei’s head and see Hadley grinning with her hands braced against Lorelei’s back. She winks but that turns into a wince of pain. I drop my eyes to where she removed a hand from Lorelei’s back and placed it on her ever-growing stomach. “I think little Anna Layne is excited we are all together again. She’s ready to meet her two favorite aunties.”
We laugh, and Lorelei peels me off her. I try to at least grab her hand, but she shakes her head and says, “I’m beyond overstimulated from the trip. We can hold hands and frolic through flowers tomorrow, huh?”
“Right.” I nod, though I can’t help the tiny prickle of hurt at her rejection. She’s autistic and struggles with sensory overload, and well, sometimes it makes me feel alone when she can’t meet me where I need to be met through no fault of her own. I shake it off and attempt to live in the moment. I mean, for the love of all things, she’s here! “One, how did Finley’s mother allow you to sneak away so close to your wedding and the coronation? Two, did you travel alone?”
Hadley, in her leggings and oversized t-shirt that I’m pretty sure belongs to her husband, wraps me in a hug. Well, as much as she can with her belly in the way. She whispers in my ear, “There are two very fine personal protection officers in the other room with Finley.”
“Do you really think I would have let her travel alone?” A familiar sunshine-like voice says. I release Hadley and bound towardsmy almost-king-in-law. He wraps me up in a friendly hug. “It’s good to see you again, Lucy.”
Gabriel and Anders—Finley’s PPOs who are dressed in suits—linger at the back of the room and wave gingerly. I wave back, and when Grandma comes to the doorway to call everyone to the table, my heart fills with genuine happiness for the first time in a while.
“Did you not get the memo that this was a leggings and baggy t-shirt sort of dinner, Finley?” I glance at Lorelei, whose outfit resembles mine and Hadley’s.
Finley chuckles as he sets a plate of food down at the crowded table for six. Grandma always said she wanted to keep a big table at the house even though she lived alone so she could gather people together for food and fun times. “Trust me, you do not want to see this in leggings.”
We laugh as he gestures down his polo shirt and blue jeans. We eat leftover Thanksgiving food and some new dishes that Grandma apparently whipped up in our short time apart. We catch up, crack jokes, and enjoy each other’s company.
“Where are you two staying while you’re here?” I ask Lorelei as we clean up dishes.
“I’m riding back with you, so I hope the apartment is clean.”
A look of horror flashes across my face, and she rolls her eyes and mumbles, “Yeah, I thought so.”
“What about Finley? Is he coming back with us?”
Lorelei shakes her head. “No, he’s going to stay in Mason’s vacation home. It’ll be just like old times.” There’s a giddiness to her voice that makes me smile. “Tomorrow morning, Hadley andI are taking you down to the coast, though, so we should probably leave here shortly to go get some rest.”
“The coast? Why are we going there?”
She shrugs. “For fun. This is basically my bachelorette party, after all.”
A smile stretches across my face as I rub my hands together.
“Don’t get any ideas.” She pins me with sharp eyes. “Nothing scandalous will be happening, got it?”
I feign a shocked expression. “Scandalous? Little ole me?”
She snaps me with a dish rag as I run away from her, right into Gabriel’s arms. My gaze snaps up to the handsome brown-haired frenchman who I once attempted to date while my sister was going back and forth between allowing herself to date Finley. “Hi.”
“Bonsoir,Lucy.” He smirks at me, and I launch myself from his arms.
