Page 34 of Once Upon a Royal Summer
She cleared her throat. “It’s kind of funny, don’t you think?”
“I suppose it is,” he said, although why would a person say such an insensitive thing to her? The thought of anyone hurting her feelings made every muscle in his body tense.
Lacey was kind—kinder than anyone he’d ever come across before, and after spending so much time with her these past few days, he could tell it wasn’t just an act. She was beautiful, inside and out. Rose worshipped her, and her adoration didn’t have a thing to do with Ever After Castle or the princess trappings. Rose was royal in her own right. It took more than a pretend castle and pretty dress to impress her. His daughter liked Lacey because Lacey understood her in a way no one had before. Lacey empathized with Rose. She genuinely cared about people. She’d taken the time to help a tiny little bird. Who did that sort of thing?
He slid off his horse and helped Lacey down from hers while Ian made sure Rose disembarked safely. Lacey placed her hand in Henry’s and landed on the platform of the carousel in a swish of tulle and satin.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and held it until she met his gaze. “I can’t thank you enough for this,” he said quietly. Words seemed inadequate.
“All in a day’s work,” she said, eyes glimmering with tiny bits of light from the carousel.
When they’d talked on the Ferris wheel the night before, he’d simply been unburdening himself in a rare, unguarded moment. Lacey had been so open with him, so willing to let him get to know the real her. Henry had wanted to do the same.
He’d never expected her to try to help Rose want to ride her horse. He’d never expected a lot of things he’d felt or experienced in the past few days. He’d never expected her.
Henry had been a prince his entire life, white horse and all, but it had taken a story book princess in a plastic crown to make him realize surprises weren’t so bad, after all.
Lacey never should’ve said what she did about Henry and his white horse. She’d wanted to reel the words back in the very moment they’d flown out of her mouth.
What had she been thinking? He probably thought she had some bizarre Cinderella complex or something—as if the ballgown, the tiara, and glass slippers weren’t already evidence enough.
She’d been so struck by the sight of him sitting on that white carousel stallion, though. The memory of what Mark had said to her on the night of their breakup had nearly knocked her off her own wooden horse. If Lacey hadn’t known better, she would’ve thought maybe fate had tossed Henry into her path.
That was crazy, though. She was Henry’s glorified tour guide, a grown woman who played dress-up for a living. Fate was probably laughing its head off right now.
The morning had been such a success up until the moment she’d put her foot in her mouth. Lacey had had doubts at first, particularly as Rose had gone quiet when she’d realized Lacey wanted her to ride one of the colorful horses. But by the time her first turn on the carousel was over, the little princess had been happy and smiling. Lacey had no clue if Rose would feel any better about riding her pony when she returned to Bella-Moritz, but at least she’d have a pleasant equine-related memory…even if the equine in question hadn’t quite been real. Sort of like everything else at Once Upon A Time.
Don’t think about it.
Lacey forbade herself from dwelling on her pretend royal status and the embarrassing prince-on-a-white-horse comment as she did her best to cram as many attractions as possible into Rose’s final day at the park. She didn’t want the sweet little girl to miss a thing. Lacey ticked off her mental list of all the rides and attractions, one by one. Only a few remained.
By lunchtime, they’d gone through Hansel and Gretel’s Haunted Forest, where Rose had grabbed Lacey’s arm and scream-laughed every time one of the eerie green ghosts that were projected onto the attraction popped out from behind a tree. Then they hollered their way through the mini-roller coaster that wound its way through the Three Bears’ Woods.
Rose stayed glued to Lacey’s side throughout the day, which was probably for the best. So long as she and Henry didn’t have another moment alone together, Lacey could avoid further embarrassment. A part of her couldn’t help but feel disappointed, though. Time seemed to be passing at warp-speed. Tomorrow, they’d be on their way back to their kingdom, and Lacey would once again be waltzing with a theme park Prince Charming instead of the real deal.
Which is perfectly fine, remember? All appearances to the contrary, Lacey was no delusional Cinderella.
Still, the thought of going back to her regular life made her stomach squirm. She wasn’t ready to return to hosting tea parties and doing meet-and-greets. Lacey had made a real connection with Henry and Rose. She’d gotten to know them—really know them—which was rare. She typically spent five minutes or fewer with each guest, not days.
Then again, she’d never been quite as drawn to a guest as she’d been to Henry and his precocious daughter. She didn’t even think of them as guests anymore. Rose was her friend, and Henry…
Well, as unbelievable as it seemed, sometimes Henry felt like more than a friend.
Lacey had no business thinking like that, though. Doing so would only leave her with a broken heart. I work at a theme park, and he rules a country…a country he’s returning to in just a matter of hours.
But when Henry spoke up as their foursome approached their last ride, a rebellious swam of butterflies took flight in her stomach. “Rose, would you mind if I rode with Princess Sweet Pea on this one?” he said, resting his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “I’d like to chat with a her a bit while I still have a chance.”
“You can ride with me. We’ll have a nice time, won’t we?” Ian ruffled Rose’s hair. “Besides, I don’t think your daddy and I would fit into one of those small boats together.”
Ian cast a dubious glance at the line of miniature pirate ships floating just inside the entrance to the Wild Pirate’s Ghost Ship Experience. They were indeed small, built to carry guests through a dark, eerie haunted shipwreck scene, two at a time.
Rose nodded. “Okay.” Then she slipped her hand into Ian’s and they made their way toward one of the tiny pirate boats.
Lacey glanced at Henry, and when his eyes flashed over to her, the corner of his mouth curled into a grin. He’d procured another baseball cap since losing the navy blue one he’d worn when they’d first met. The new one was charcoal gray, with the image of Ever After Castle stitched onto it in deep purple embroidery. He looked far less grumpy than he had at the tea party—probably because it was near impossible to look cranky while rocking a fairy tale castle hat. But Lacey couldn’t help hoping she had a little something to do with the smile on his face.
Her heart skittered. She wasn’t imagining things, was she? There really was something happening between them.
“Shall we?” Gallant as ever, he motioned for Lacey to go in front of him.
