Page 29 of The Prince and the Double Shot
“Would you return home with us?”
“Like I said… Maybe.”
“I’ll accept that for now. I’m glad that you are finding your joy, and Phillipe… Be careful with your heart, son.”
She hung up – always she had to have the last word.
I laid my phone down on the table and thought about the last couple of days with Zane. I was lying to myself. I knew it. When it was time for me to leave – I would be leaving him. My heart beat faster around him. My face flushed when he looked at me. My body went rigid when he touched me.
How could I want to leave even if I knew I had to? There was something wonderful here, but it had no future.
Be careful with my heart, Mother said. I’m afraid that it was already too late for that.
What good could come of us besides more sadness? Hadn’t I had enough? Was the scar tissue on my heart deep enough to stop it from being broken again?
Then there was Zane. When I left, would I be breaking his heart, too?
I wasn’t strong enough to stop seeing him. In fact, every fiber of my being pulled me towards him as if he were created just for me. A gift from the universe to one who had suffered. The way he looked like Petra. The fire that matched my own. Maybe there was some way for us, even if I knew that wasn’t the case.
Rules.
I hated rules.
But they were in place for a reason, weren’t they?
I just had to make sure that both of us could live with the decisions we made.
ZANE
“Sheena wants to see you,” Daryl slapped me on the shoulder before heading into the back.
“Now?” I shouted, making a couple of customers turn their heads. “Where is she?”
“She’s in the ballroom. That’s what Layla said, anyway. Sorry, I didn’t actually talk to her, so don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just relaying the info, man!”
I took my apron off and balled it up before throwing it into the bin. It was almost my time to clock out anyway.
“Alright! I’m outie!”
“See you later,” Mateo grinned as he wiped down the counter.
“Later, dude.”
I walked all the way to the ballroom and was quite shocked at how nice everything had looked. The renovations on the old wing had taken a long time to complete – or that’s how it seemed anyway. Hell, I barely remembered what it used to look like.
I walked down the hallway and marveled at the new flooring. It looked so nice and new. I had been here a long time, hadn’t I? Maybe it was time to move on? I stayed here longer than I intended, but Layla and Sheena made it hard to want to leave. The friends I had made in the café were the same. When I lefthome, I didn’t think I would ever find a family again, but here I was surrounded by people who actually gave a fuck. That meant something.
But if I stayed too long, they might find me.
When Phil left, maybe it would be my turn to leave, too?
Right under their fucking noses, and they had yet to find me. I had been lucky. Coming here was a risk, but it felt like the last place they would ever look. They knew I was smart. Princedelphia had been safe – but staying here was asking for too much.
This is what freedom meant, right? To stay free, I had to be free.
“What do you think?”
“Why should you care what I think? You’ve seen my torn t-shirts.”
