Page 57 of The Cinderella Prince

He would get to kiss it however much he wanted. Later. And I would kiss him back.

Sophia led us to my apartments, where the sitting room was sizeable enough for a party of five. Books were scattered around the furniture, and my little shrine to Antinous was the first thing Tristan noticed. I wondered how strange it was for him to be here and how intimate it was to show him the rooms where I had grown up. This space had so much of me, more than any other, and letting Tristan in gave the rooms some higher meaning. It gave them heart and soul and life.

“Blessings to Antinous,” Tristan said, looking at the small bust I had commissioned some years ago. The altar was an elegant thing, containing the bust, a small bouquet of red flowers of various kinds, candles, an incense burner, and a small porcelain dish with a few golden rings I had outgrown to symbolize his light.

I leaned in from behind Tristan, arms sliding around his torso and hands resting on his abs. I pressed my frontagainst his back and kissed the length of his neck. “You are an impossible man, Tristan,” I whispered. “I never loved anyone the way I love you.”

Tristan turned his head and looked at me. “I believe you.”

It was a leap. From the hurt boy who couldn’t fathom anyone could love him to someone who was willing to risk it all for a shot at being with me, he had flowered and bloomed. He had stepped into his true self, and I loved him more than I had thought was possible.

“And I love you, too, Cedric. So much.” His words were spoken in a quiet voice, just for me.

Sophia made a cheerful sound and announced that there was wine. Maximilian and Élodie seemed excited about it, so Tristan and I turned to them, glanced at one another, smiled, and joined the celebration.

CHAPTER 17

Happily Ever After

Tristan

Although it began quietly,almost with an awkward silence, the little party of five warmed up as the first round of drinks came and went. Sophia recounted the events of the afternoon, saying she had resorted to calling their father when it seemed like Alexander wouldn’t back off. For days, their eldest brother had been holding fast against Sophia’s attempts to discuss the marriage arrangements. “‘He needs to learn how to do what he is told, Sophie,’” she imitated in a deep, mocking tone, sitting on the floor with her back against the chair in which Maximilian sat. The young prince’s back was straight and his movements elegant. According to Cedric, that was not very much like him, but Élodie’s proper conduct inspired Maximilian to act the way he was taught.

My gaze moved from one face to the next until I reached Cedric, sitting next to me on the ottoman, holding his wineglass in both hands.

“Hm?” he said quietly, his gaze never far from me. And when he looked at me, I couldn’t believe he was this beautiful. I couldn’t believe it had worked.

“You’re all nobility,” I said, looking around the room. “I’m sorry,” I said, laughing, “but I never processed this completely.”

“Almost all of us,” Sophia said. “Max doesn’t qualify.”

“Hey,” the young prince said as everyone laughed.

“He lost that status when he set off a stink bomb in school,” Sophia explained.

Max seemed on the edge of arguing but then nodded in surrender. “That’s right.” He chuckled like he had revisited a fond memory.

Élodie asked me about cooking and my ambitions, and I talked about Neon Nights. A job waited for me there, which made Maximilian and Sophia exchange a look that drew my attention.

“They’re assuming you’re going to be a socialite from now on,” Cedric explained.

I laughed. “Me? At soirees? I’d sooner jump out of the window.” And when that provoked a laugh with an underlying note of bewilderment, I spoke again. “I love preparing food. It’s when I’m the happiest. And when people eat what I made with my own hands, that’s when I feel real pride. I feed people.”

They wondered if I wanted to have a chain of restaurants, but I said I only wanted one, eventually. Until then, I was happy with Mama Viv’s Neon Nights.

“And is that the place where Cedric worked?” Maximilian asked with a cheeky smile, barely containing the snicker that visibly tried to escape him.

“Hey, at least I worked,” Cedric said. “Sure, I wasn’t the employee of the month, but I did my best.”

“You should have seen him drop a tray full of drinks,” I gossiped.

Cedric poked me in the rib cage, then pressed a kiss on my face. It was enough to derail my thoughts completely and leave me fighting for air. I loved him so much. I couldn’t shake off this feeling of having won something immense and incredible tonight.

The party slowed down after another round of drinks. Élodie invited Max to her sitting room to listen to music. Sophia wondered if she should visit this bar where Cedric had worked, saying she would adore seeing her brother pour a beer with the right amount of foam. After that, she yawned and got up from the floor, kissed Cedric on the cheek, and then did the same to me. When she left, silence settled in the sitting room.

I took a sip of my wine under Cedric’s loving gaze. Inhaling, I dared myself to check if everything was still true. It was too big, too impossible to believe right away. “Are you sure about moving to New York?”

Cedric chuckled. “Absolutely,” I said. “I’m not sure I’ll survive visiting Neon Nights. Mama Viv might welcome me with a firing squad.”

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