40. Helen
Chapter 40
Helen
I wriggled back in the double daybed, pulling the thick green fleecy comforter over my legs as I peered around at the other beds, which were all full. Before I could look too closely at who else was here, Conner appeared with a glass of something fizzy.
“Champagne, Ma?”
“Thank you. And where did you vanish to?”
“Met a friend. You can meet her another day.” He winked, making me shake my head, slightly surprised because Conner had never intentionally let me meet a girl he was seeing. “Have fun.” And with that, he wandered off to the other side of the field.
I sipped my drink and let my head fall back, watching the sky darken and the stars start to appear, only looking up when I heard the opening song of my favourite film. Bruce Willis had just graced the screen when a familiar amber scent caught my attention as Jax sat down next to me.
“Is this seat taken?”
I laughed quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone. “No.”
Jax sat, lifting the blanket. When he was settled, he entwined his fingers in mine and let out a sigh. “I’ve missed you so much.”
I didn’t reply, instead focusing my attention on the film, but it was really hard to think about anything other than him being so close.
As the night continued, Jax topped up my drink, fed me chocolate-dipped strawberries, and edged closer until our thighs were pressed together, making my whole body hum with excitement. When Bruce and the team left to board the rockets into space on the huge screen in front of us, I shivered, the cold night starting to seep through the blanket.
“Here. You look like you need this.” Jax handed me a black hoodie, and I released his hand so I could put it on, grateful for how soft and warm it felt. “You like?” he asked, and I glanced down, wondering what he was talking about.
“What the…” Written on the front of the hoodie in cursive text were the words, ‘Searching for Prince Charming’.
My head snapped to the side just as the movie paused. Rumbling conversation ran through the audience and then a voice echoed out of a speaker somewhere. “Ladies and gents, we are having a slight technical problem. Give us five minutes. Jax, could you come and help us?”
Jax tutted, looking annoyed. “Sorry. Back in a minute.”
I leaned forward and took another strawberry from the bowl balanced on the end of the bed, groaning as its sweetness hit my tongue. Then the screen went completely black before flickering back to life, but Bruce and the gang were no longer hurtling through rocks trying to land on the meteorite heading on a collision course to Earth. No, instead, the face on the screen was mine.
I glanced around, panicking that everyone was looking at me, but it was probably too dark to make me out among the hundreds of people here, although it didn’t stop the blush from spreading up my cheeks. Then a voice that sounded all too familiar began playing from the speakers. “Once upon a time, in a magical town by the sea, lived a queen.”
Somehow, a silver crown appeared on my image, making me giggle. It was a recent photo that I didn’t remember having taken, but I looked… well, I didn’t look half bad.
I took a sip of my drink, wondering what was coming next as Jax’s voice continued, “Our beautiful queen was loved by everyone in town.” Photos popped up on the screen of my friends, people I worked with, my boys… even Jasper on a beach at the other side of the world, all holding signs saying, ‘We love Queen Helen’.
I shook my head, emotion burning in my throat as laughter built in my chest. “But she was forced to live in a tower by the evil Lord Lanton and his sidekick crony, Sir Silver Fox Sean.”
This time, my laughter erupted as a loud snort as a picture of Sean and Thomas appeared on the large screen, both of them wearing fake moustaches and sunglasses, looking like comic book villains, making everyone around me break into boos and hisses.
“No one could get into the tower to save Queen Helen… and many tried.”
The next photo was of random town members all dressed as a range of fairy tale characters lying outside Lanton House, pretending to be injured. I rolled my lips between my teeth, my chest filling with warmth at the idea that all these people—people I’d known for years—had all taken time to be a part of whatever crazy plan Jax had come up with.
“The town thought their queen was lost forever, that was until Prince Jax Charming showed up.” Jax’s handsome face appeared on the screen, making everyone scream and cheer. “Famous for fighting fire-breathing dragons, Jax had heard the stories about the beautiful Queen Helen and was determined to free her from her captors. He tried everything.”
Tears of laughter rolled down my cheeks as I watched the slide show of Jax badly superimposed into a variety of photos: trying to scale the building, sword fighting with Sean, and tied to a chair being dangled over a tank of sharks. It was possibly the funniest thing I’d ever seen.
Sniffing, I wiped my eyes, my cheeks aching from smiling so wide, as the voice-over continued, “But nothing worked… and Jax was sad.” An image of Jax, sitting outside my office, dressed in his fireman’s uniform, looking miserable, flashed up next, making the crowd let out a sad “Awwwwwwww,” in sympathy.
“Then he had an idea. Maybe he couldn’t do this on his own. Maybe he needed everyone’s help. So Prince Jax gathered the town’s people together and planned a way to trick Lord Lanton and his sidekick crony, Sir Silver Fox Sean, into letting Queen Helen come to the park to watch her favourite film. First, they set up the cinema… didn’t they do a good job?” Everyone yelled and clapped their appreciation, and I joined in. “Then they put on live music because Lord Lanton and his sidekick crony, Sir Silver Fox Sean hated music and Prince Jax knew it would keep them away.” Torches popped up all over the place as people stood up and voices began singing “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” by Aerosmith. I pressed my hand to my heart because Jax knew how much I loved this song.
“Then the town’s people lit a path so that Jax could find his way to Queen Helen.” More lights appeared, forming two rows and as they got close, I realised people were holding lanterns leading to a chair in the middle of the grass. My heart beat in my chest, my palms turning sweaty.
“Queen Helen managed to make a break from the tower and followed the lights to the path Jax had laid out for her.”
I looked around, unsure if I really needed to get up and join in.
“Helen, move that sexy ass.” Vee’s voice was unmistakable, making people nearby chuckle. “Quick.”
I stood, nervously pulling down the ‘Searching for Prince Charming’ hoodie, as the words of my favourite song danced through the night air. I sucked in a deep breath and walked to the chair, just as Jax appeared at the other end of the pathway, lit by the bright screen behind him. He held a microphone in his hand that he raised to his lips.
The people holding the lanterns placed them on the ground and backed off into the darkness, making me feel like we were alone, despite the crowds of people around us.
“Hi,” he whispered.
I curtsied. “Prince Charming, I presume.”
Jax’s smile spread wide, just as the people singing finished the last few notes of the song, making it so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city…” He paused, rolling his eyes. “Sorry, wrong movie.”
My head lifted to the sky as I laughed at his rendition of my second favourite movie, Labyrinth.
“Helen Fischer, you deserve to be loved and adored. You deserve to be the leading lady of your own story, whether you choose to be with me or not, so I came up with tonight to give you that moment. A chance to see how important you are, not only to me, but this whole town…”
“You can thank me later, Ma,” Conner’s voice yelled from somewhere over my shoulder.
“Don’t make me come over there, Conner Fischer,” Lizzy yelled back, making everyone clap and whistle.
My attention turned back to Jax, who had stepped closer.
“Queen Helen, I have to be honest. I am way more the Beast than I am Prince Charming. I am damaged goods and I might never really heal from the narrative I’ve been telling myself for the last sixteen years, but you make me feel like I’m enough. I made some bad decisions, I walked when I should have stayed, I gave up when I should have fought harder… but I promise, if you choose me, I will spend the rest of my life reminding you how important, how special, how beautiful and how loved you are. I guarantee that life won’t be a fairy tale… you’re way too grumpy in the morning for birds and mice to come and do our spring cleaning…”
He stepped ever closer, and I could see the curve of his smile and the warmth in his brown eyes. “But I will always treat you like a queen, fight any dragons that show up in your life, and make sure that Lord Lanton and his sidekick crony, Sir Silver Fox Sean, remind you to take lunch. I’ll massage your sore spots after Pilates and watch the sunrise with you and eat dessert before dinner…”
He pointed to the chair, and I sat, looking up at his wide frame, loving how he towered over me, but then he dropped to his knees, leaning in close and bringing the mic between us. “I guess I have one question left before we put the movie back on…” He put the mic down and reached under the chair, pulling out a box and lifting my shoes from our date out of it.
They had been hidden in my closet since he moved out, so seeing them sparkling in the moonlight made me gasp dramatically because I’d forgotten how stunning they were.
He eased off my sneakers and socks and slipped one onto my foot. He winked and lifted the mic again. “Well, the shoe fits,” he announced, making everyone clap and cheer again. “And you know what that means… you’re meant to be mine, but in this fairy tale, we’re all about consent, so Helen Fischer, let me ask you in front of all these people so you can’t change your mind… I am offering you all my broken pieces, my missing parts, all the…” He paused and I couldn’t resist, running my fingers up along his jaw.
“Ask me.”
Eyes glazed, he swallowed hard. “Knowing everything about me… can you choose me, beautiful?”
I pressed on Jax’s chest so he moved back and then stood, his brows pinched and his lips formed into a thin line. I got up from the chair, taking out the other shoe and slipping it on before I reached for the mic so it was between us again.
“No more secrets?”
“Never.”
“You’ll move in with me… properly live together?”
His tongue flicked over his lips. “If you’ll have me.”
“Choosing you will be the easiest decision I’ve ever made.”
I wasn’t really aware of the screams and cheers going on around us, too focused on Jax to care about anything else. He leaned forward to kiss me, but I placed two fingers over his lips. “I am going to need one thing before we go any further.”
“Anything.”
“I’m going to need a crown.”
And with that, Jax dropped the mic and slammed his lips against mine.