But I know there'll be a million videos surfacing of that moment.
So I watch my soon-to-be king-in-law’s reaction as I bite my bottom lip to keep from shouting in excitement.
Love pours from his eyes; it’s in the softness of his expression, the parting of his lips as he gasps. After a moment of pure bewitchment, a coruscating smile breaks across his face, and he leaves his post, bounding down the stairs and meeting Lorelei and Dad right where the seating begins on either side of the golden aisle. He hurriedly takes her hand from Dad, bowing to him then wrapping his arm around Lorelei’s waist as he leads her up the five stone stairs.
Stone.
It’s a shame I can’t think about using that descriptive word in its adjective form without thinking about the person who makes it a proper noun.
Regardless of my healing journey, I still miss him.
And that’s how I know there was something deeper than lust between us.
I wasn’t lying when I said it.
I love him.
Presently.
A love that is a ghastly thing echoing around my heart.
As the ceremony begins, I find my thoughts drifting to the little story he wrote for me. After reading it, I cried and cried, attempting to determine if he meant the words he said or not.
Upon reflection, I remembered Stone never lied to me. He was always upfront and honest with what he knew to be true. Hecouldn’t be honest about his feelings for me at the time because fear had him in a chokehold and the feeling that he could never deserve me was kicking him in the shins.
It was this one line he wrote from the male main character’s perspective that gave me pause and pried open my heart to believing his reason for walking away: “I am choosing you in my rolling away for a moment, Lioness. I am choosing to better myself so I no longer stab you in the foot as you walk. I am choosing to shave off my rough edges and become something better for you. Become a pebble who doesn't cut you. Because I can’t imagine my life without you.”
The male character was named Stone and was depicted as an actual arrowhead stone. The female character was named Lioness and depicted as an actual lioness. It was cute and written more as a friendship story than a romantic story, but Stone did write a note from himself at the end that said it was because of our easy friendship that he fell in love with me.
I read it over and over for days. I allowed Brandi to read it in confidentiality. I talked to Lorelei about it and sent her images of the text. And we all came to the same prayerful conclusion: Stone had never lied to me, and it didn’t look like he was starting now.
The crowd claps around me, and I blink to attention, kicking myself for zoning out so heftily. But it was simply the transition from the priest’s scriptural reading to the vows.
I tune in completely, dismissing Stone from my thoughts, and watch my twin and the love of her life exchange holy and royal vows to each other and their country.
When the ceremony is over and we’ve all arrived at the ornate ballroom in Stjarna Palace, I watch for Gabriel to enter to dance with him as I promised on Thanksgiving. I search the crowds of women in stunning dresses, full of bright colors that counteract the long, dark days of the winter season in Korsa. The orchestra begins playing some unknown-to-me tune that has a happy, upbeat flow to it. Men are dressed to the nines in tuxedos, and all around me, people speak in a language I do not understand. Mama and Dad are somewhere, but I left them on my initial high of being at an actual ball. Now, feeling overwhelmed and a little lost, I make my way to the edges of the golden room in my silver stilettos that tie into a bow around my ankles. I lean against a cool, white column, recentering myself through deep breaths.
I watch as Astrid asks Anders to dance, then she catches my eye and throws a wink in my direction. I laugh, wondering when she got that grumpy man wrapped around her finger. I’ll ask her about it tomorrow over tea in the royal gardens.
Suddenly, someone taps me on the shoulder, and I spin around, breathing a sigh of relief. “Oh, good. You’re here. I was looking for you.”
Gabriel flashes me a million-dollar smile, and in his french accent, says, “I’m promised a dance, yes?” He offers his hand, and I slip mine into his. He leads us out onto the polished wooden floor area meant for dancing. The song transitions into a waltz, and I follow Gabriel’s lead. We are clumsy and a bit ridiculous, but I laugh through our errors, enjoying this moment and blocking out the haunting memory that me and Stone were supposed to do a well-practiced waltz to an instrumental Taylor Swift song thatFinley promised he would play when I asked him about it months ago.
As Gabriel begins to spin me around, my arm flies out, and someone catches hold of my wrist as Gabriel releases me, and I spin right into someone else’s arms.
I snap my head around to complete the spin and see my new dance partner.
My breath hitches as I gaze into familiar, baby blue eyes and inhale Bad Boy by Carolina Herrera.
Chapter 24
Stone
Spicy vanilla invades my nose from her spin, and those beautiful hazel eyes—which look stunningly green with the help of her sage-colored gown—lock onto me in shock. She gasps, her fingers tightening around my shoulder as her other hand clenches mine.
A little too tightly, but I’m not going to complain.
She’s not throwing herself away from me in disdain, so it’s a win!
