Page 49 of Rapunzel Is Losing It

Too bad about the Pothos though. His kitchen got more light than mine because he didn’t have a winter garden attached to it. Instead, a glass door led right to the backyard. Which was separated from mine by a white fence with a little gate in it. If we got rid of that fence, our combined backyards would actually make a great space. If we planted proper hedges around it, I could see myself out there by myself more often, soaking up the sun. I wouldn’t have to rely on Victor to stay with me. I could put some lounge chairs out. Maybe next to a little pond. There would definitely be enough space for a pond with some fish. I’d have to look up what kind of pond fish could survive winter in Boston. I was fairly certain I’d seen something about Koi fish being almost indestructible.

“Do you like fish?”

“To eat or to feed?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “To look at.”

“Not a fan of fish tanks. Depressing glass boxes.”

“We could put a pond out there.” I tapped my nail against the glass door.

“Sure. We can rip out the fence.”

“Exactly.” I whirled around to smile at him. He didn’t even need an explanation. He just got what I meant. “We might have to apply for a permit to consolidate both properties. I think that would require them to be owned by the same person though. We did something like that with the foundation, but then again, that wasn’t residential property. If it isn’t possible to consolidate both properties, we might still be able to legally separate the backyards from the houses and just combine those as a third estate.” I stopped rambling when I noticed the little tick in his jaw. “What?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“I’ve been fascinated by you since the first day we met, Cordelia.”

My scalp tingled because that compliment hit too close to what I’d heard countless times throughout my life. ADHD girls were manic pixie dream girls right up until that fascination wore off. “You’re just getting swept up by the excitement because I’m about to have a new hyperfixation.”

“No,” he shook his head, “don’t get me wrong. The excitement is fun. I love seeing you get excited about glass beads or porcelain dolls or fish ponds. It’s part of you just like the inevitable crash when your interest fades. Regardless of that, youmakethings. Again, and again. You learn and you grow, and youcreate. Beautiful things and good places. You put so much good into the world, Cordelia.”

“You’re exaggerating.” I pulled my arms around myself, suddenly feeling like all my flaws were on full display. “Fair enough about the foundation, because we really are trying to make the world a little bit better, but I can’t take full credit for that.”

“Hmm.” His eyes narrowed. “No.”

“No?” I laughed. “You can’t just say no.”

“No, I’m not exaggerating.”

“Victor.” I rolled my eyes at him. “I was talking about a koi pond. You’re making a bigger deal out of it than it is.”

He shrugged. “Just you wait.”

“Wait for what exactly?”

“You’re going to change the world, Cordelia Montgomery, and it’s going to be an honor to be there and watch you.” He reached out and unfurled my arms, gentle fingers leaving warm ghost touches on my skin.

“In that vision of yours, what do you do? Just watch? I mean…” I inhaled shakily, dreading all the possible answers tomy question. For whatever it was worth, our roles had changed. There was no way we could go back to pretending he was just my employee. “You won’t have to hide from your uncle anymore once this job is done, right? You can find something that excites you, build something for yourself. You don’t have to stay inside with me anymore.”

“No.” He grimaced, face turning stony. “I’m done. I’ve had enough excitement for three lifetimes. I want a quiet life. I want a home. I don’t need more than that.”

“So you’ll watch me?”

“I’ll watch you.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

In exchangefor getting a whole day with Cordelia, I would have to be in my cousin’s wedding party. Which meant I would be leaving around an hour earlier than I would have otherwise, and staying longer, too. Which wasn’t a horrible trade, but I always hated leaving Cordelia alone. Moreover, I hated leaving her alone with Silas Whitaker’s equipment all over the house.

It had nothing to do with Whitaker. He’d been in the house the last two afternoons, and Cordelia seemed fine. They had moved from the kitchen to the living room, and he filmed while asking her about the foundation. I’d done my fair share of press rooms to recognize the pattern of increasingly personal questions to catch the most emotional soundbites. Cordelia, however, had a perfect answer every time. She’d been binge-watching media training tutorials on YouTube, and it was paying off.

But Cordelia didn’t even like seeing her own webcam view during calls. Her shoulders stiffened the exact same way whenever she passed a tripod or a studio light. I hated leaving her alone when her own house had lost its comfort.

The day before the wedding, I was home early enough to watch them film a segment about the self-defense classes her foundation offered in partnership with August Beckett’s gym chain. Another good thing she had created. Beckett had come crawling to apologize last fall. Instead of pressing charges because he had conspired with his brother to get her fortune, Cordelia had bartered for free classes - not for herself, but every beneficiary of her foundation.

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