Page 13 of Bianca and the Monsters

She nibbles on her lip. “So I couldn’t come home without an escort—that’s what you’re saying?”

“Yes, but you will always have an escort because it is illegal to keep a woman in our land without her consent. A representative of the government will eventually come to the castle to check on your welfare.” I attempt to conceal my worries about what that event will mean, but she’s studying me and seeing entirely too much.

Bianca squeezes my hand—she hasn’t broken contact with me for even a second. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“You will be completely safe with us and in our home, and able to return here whenever you want. There are consequences for bringing a woman to our land, but they are borne by us, not by you, and sharing too much could burden you when that is the last thing we would ever want.”

Her expression transitions to her cute version of perturbed. “Okay, that’s fair, but you’ve watched me long enough to know that I talk a lot and I like to know people and get to the heart of things.” Under her breath, she mutters, “That quality hasn’t ever been truly appreciated.” She holds my gaze. “If we’re going to court, I want us to be who we are—no deceptions. No big surprises later. I’ll be real with you and you all will be real with me. Right?”

My heart is full. “Absolutely.”

“Good. So, if I ask you again about the consequences of me visiting, you’ll tell me, won’t you?”

“Yes, Lady Bianca.”

Bianca’s voice is a whisper as she says, “I really like beingLady Bianca.”

“I thinkPrincessBianca would be better,” I admit.

Her sigh is lovely. “I think we should pack up the cinnamon rolls and eat them in the castle. What do you think?”

“Nothing would please me more.”

Chapter10

Bianca

I’m not shy, never have been. But I’ve also never been this forward. And yet, here I am saying what I want to say, doing what I want to do, leaning into this adventure that showed up in my life just when I needed it.

I might be crazy—definitelyam crazy—but then how crazy is it to stay in a miserable job for a decade? To date a bunch of men who never even seemed to like me? To work so hard to create the perfect house that never really felt like a home?

“Am I going to be gone long? I mean, what about my mail or telling my dad that I’m going away?”

“Time is more flexible at the veil between our dimensions. I can either bring you back to the moment after you left or to the natural time that has passed while you were in my realm.”

“Cool—no need to forward my mail and Dad won’t even know I’m gone.”

Nico’s fragrance is even more powerful now, the tingling in my body more enticing every second. I do want to be naked lying on top of his amazingly soft fur, his warm body beneath me, the scent of contentment enveloping me, while the sound of his rumbling purr soothes me to sleep. I want to naponhim, apparently, and the more I imagine it, the more certain I am that he will let me, that he won’t say no to me, that he already knows enough about me to have decided that I have value.

That thought rattles me. Life shouldn’t always feel like wearing someone else’s uncomfortable shoes, but it does. Dating is definitely uncomfortable shoes with an occasional happy ending. Jobs and families, expectations and shattered dreams. Standing at the soft-serve machine and realizing that all the delicious wonder already ran out.

“Lady Bianca, why are you sad?” Nico asks in that rich, melodious voice that makes me want to lean into him and just allow myself to be held.

“I think I’m realizing just how detrimental my old way of thinking was. I thought I was doing the right things, the dutiful things. I thought people would appreciate the choices I made. I thought at some point someone would notice that I always showed up. In school. In friendships. In work. In love. I thought someone would finally see me and show me the same affection and attention that I gave to so many other people. I guess I thought that I would win points in thegrand accountingfor living a responsible life.”

Tears well in my eyes. “But it’s not like that. We don’t get points for living safe lives, unless we were born to live safe lives. Iwasn’tborn to live a safe life. I was born to live a big life, filled with incredible adventures. I feel more right in this moment than I have inever.”

Oh, no… Nico’s eyes are welling with tears too.

“Oh, don’t cry,” I plead.

He slowly, cautiously raises my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Let me take you to the gateway and introduce you to your big life. We hope it is the correct big life for you, but if it’s not, maybe it will at least show you what life should be. It’s always easier to find the right life when you have a better map. I truly believe we can provide that for you.”

“Yes, let’s go.” I glance down at myself. “These are yesterday’s dirty clothes and I was packing and my hair is…”

“Please, Lady Bianca, come as you are and let us show you what an ordinary day could be like for you.”

“Yes, please.”

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