Page 27 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

“Would you ever consider leaving the ranch for any reason?” he whispered, his lips dangerously close to mine.

Once again, I said the first thing that came to mind.

“It would have to be a really good reason.”

He studied me for a long moment before a slow smile crept across his face. “Well,” he finally said. “That’s a good thing to know.”

After a few more dances, I looked at my phone to realize that it was nearing nine.

“I really do need to get back to Nevada to make sure they took care of her,” I said apologetically.

Much to my relief, Asher didn’t look annoyed or even put up a fight. I could only guess this patience had come from owning a horse of his own. I’d seen the way he’d said goodbye to Tomcat, and the parting had been more sorrow than sweet.

We stopped by Miss Margaret’s stall along the way. As always, she’d come with her pop-up shelves, where she and Belle ran their little store on the grass. And as soon as she saw us, Margaret got the slyest grin I’d ever seen.

“So,” she said, sauntering up to me. “Have you been reading your storybook every night?”

“I’m trying,” I assured her. “But it’s been progressing… slowly.”

She snorted. “If that’s the case, dear, then it’s your own fault.”

Asher laughed. “Margaret, what are you up to this time?”

She waved her hand dismissively at him. “Mind your own business, boy.” Then she gave me a hard look. “I mean it, Ella. Read the book. You’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out soon enough.”

“What was that about?” Asher asked as we left her stall.

I shook my head. “Honestly? I’m almost as confused as you.” Which was true.

Also, I didn’t really want to tell him that Margaret had given me a magical book that had seemingly dubbed him Prince Charming. There were a whole lot of ways to chase a guy away, and I could only guess that that was one of them.

We were nearing my stall now, but before we got there, he gently pulled me to a stop behind a tree that hid us from Casey’s view.

“I have to drive back home tomorrow,” he said with a grimace. “But before I go, I wanted to tell you that I am actually going out of the country soon. And I’ll probably be gone for a while.”

“As in… months?” I asked, trying not to let the disappointment show on my face.

He grimaced. “I can’t say for sure.” Then he drew a deep breath. “But… I was hoping that maybe I could call you sometimes. If you’d like to talk, I mean.”

I grinned. “Of course I’d like that.”

“Good. Um, timing may be something we have to figure out. We’ll be in different time zones and all that. But I figure it’s only right I call now and then.” He shrugged. “Seeing as you’ve got my horse and all. We’ll need to discuss his diet and exercise regimen.”

I crossed my arms. “Oh, of course. We’d be remiss if we didn’t constantly communicate Tomcat’s every need.”

He smiled, and for a brief moment, there was a light in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before. “Thanks, Ella,” he said. “Tomcat would like that.”

I stared at him a moment longer before whipping my purse off my shoulder and working a keychain off the zipper’s pull tab. Then I shoved it toward him, the little silver horse shoe on the keychain catching the festival's lights and glinting as it did.

“Take this,” I blurted. “My parents gave it to me after my first show when I was eight. You should borrow it. For safekeeping.”

For a moment, I was afraid he’d reject it. But then he slowly reached out and took the keychain from my hand.

“Thanks,” he said softly. “I will.” Then his eyes moved back to me, and he took a step forward. Carefully, his hand cradled my cheek, and slowly, he began to lean down toward me.

“Ella! There you are!”

The sound of my stepmother’s voice washed over the moment like a bucket of cold water.