Chapter Fifty-Two
Frankie
We had one perfect day. One perfect day of freedom and happiness.
Then I started worrying.
When I woke up and reached for him, he wasn’t there. I sat up, pushing the hair out of my eyes, and called out his name. I thought he was in the kitchen, making coffee, or would come bounding in from the bathroom.
He didn’t.
I wandered through the apartment, noting he wasn’t there.
The familiar ache from the day in Scotland tried to make an appearance. I shut it down. I wasn’t going to go there. I knew he wouldn’t leave me. Not after everything. Not even the parts of him that made up Charming could ever make him leave.
Still, something was off.
He was gone already today and yesterday… yesterday he’d been gone most of the day as well. When he returned home (looking mighty lickable in those jeans he wore so well), he acted like everything was fine. He grabbed me up and kissed me senseless, almost making me forget to ask where he’d been.
But I didn’t forget.
I asked.
He was shady.
And now he was gone again.
I really thought the honeymoon period of my happily ever after would last a little longer.
I decided to give him hell when he got home.
But in order to properly give a man hell, a lady had to make sure she looked hot.
Hot as in you better watch it because if you don’t treat me right someone else will kind of hot.
My heart would never belong to another man, not even if Olly never came back today, but he didn’t need to know all my secrets.
I rushed into the bathroom and took a hot shower.
I shaved, I exfoliated, and I did things to my body a man would never even dream of doing to his.
Then I lotioned and potioned and styled until I stepped out of the bathroom in a way that if I walked down the street, every man would turn his head. Some would probably even follow.
And then I waited.
I heard the key in the door not too much later, and I smiled, sitting sideways in the armchair with my legs flung over the side and an open magazine in front of my face.
When he walked in, I flipped down one corner and looked at him. “Oh, hey,” I said casually.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “That’s quite the dress.”
“This old thing?” I scoffed and stood, tossing the magazine onto the coffee table. I gestured toward the red body-hugging dress I wore. “I found it in the back of my closet.”
“I’m surprised you found your way out of your closet.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“I’m guessing all this is because I’m in trouble,” he said, waving his finger at me.
Damn. “All what?”
He smirked. “Before you give me a lecture—I hate lectures, by the way—why don’t you open your present?”
“Present?” I perked up. Oh, he was good. He got me a present before he got in trouble.
He handed me a white envelope. “What’s this?” I stared down at it.
“The million dollars I owe you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Olly, that was a joke. I hated that job anyway, which you well knew.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just open it.”
I ripped open the seal and slid out a stack of papers. I read the first document, looked up, and reread it again. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My eyes had to be playing tricks on me. “Are you— Is this for real?”
He grinned. “Yep. You now are the new owner of the Iced Princess.”
“Holy pink cupcakes!” I exclaimed and threw myself into his arms. I couldn’t believe he bought my favorite place ever.
My job was now literally playing with sugar all day long.
“Is this why you’ve been acting all shady the past couple days?
” I said, bouncing around in his arms. I was just too excited to stand still.
“I was not acting shady. I was acting secretive.”
I pulled back. “But my cupcakes aren’t as good as the ones at the Iced Princess.”
He kissed my cheek. “Yours are better.”
I squealed and hugged him again. “I love you.”
“I know.”
He pulled me back. “Now about that lecture…”
“What lecture?” I batted my eyes.
He scowled. “You thought I was already changing my mind, didn’t you?”
“No. I know you want to be here with me, but I thought maybe you were having second thoughts… maybe a couple regrets. Losing all your abilities and your immortality can be a lot on a guy.”
“A friend once told me something I didn’t really understand until I met you. ‘We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets.’”
“Marilyn Monroe said that.”
He smiled. “She was right. You don’t have to worry about me having second thoughts. I’m not going backward. I’m only going forward. With you.”
I kissed him.
But then I pulled back once more. “You know you really need to tell me what happened with Marilyn Monroe. I want the truth.”
“I can’t tell you all my secrets at once,” he said slyly.
“Well, then it’s a good thing we have an entire lifetime. I have a feeling you’re going to keep me very well entertained.”
This time he kissed me.