Chapter 15
fifteen
brIDGET
Ever After Farms is abuzz with activity.
There’s still enough of a chill in the air this morning that I can enjoy the Golden Clover Hot Chocolate I picked up from the Storybook Cafe as soon as we got here. Food isn’t my forte, but the rich white hot chocolate has notes of caramel and cinnamon that I’d never have thought to pair. When the barista was finishing it, I watched her sprinkle gold flakes across the foam before putting the lid on.
It’s why this place thrives. Not just the farm, but the whole town. There’s no detail left to the imagination. When they celebrate something, they celebrate big .
The cute little tables out front of the cafe are covered in craft pieces, with a chalkboard advertising ‘How to Catch a Leprechaun’. There’s a few reading nooks outside, with green shamrock and rainbow shaped pillows. No one is here yet, so I plan on walking around for a few minutes, check out all the fun offerings they’ll have for this holiday.
“What is this?” Laila hisses, grabbing me by the elbow and yanking me around the main building of the cafe.
She shoves her phone in my face, and I blink back at photos of Weston and me. Lots of photos.
Hollow Hub has been busy busy.
“I assume you’re looking for a less obvious answer than what you see,” I say, glancing up at her.
Laila’s mouth is pressed into a hard line.
“I think that goes without saying.”
I’ve been avoiding this conversation since I got here, with short answers and strategic photos to make it look like I’ve been having the time of my life relaxing and enjoying the town. I should’ve known that this place practically has eyes and ears everywhere.
“Wait wait!” Ella cries, breathless as she rounds the corner. “Don’t start without me.”
I sigh. “You two really are the worst.”
“There’s a very handsome gentleman over there that told me your carbon copy kidnapped you and I’d find you back here.” Ella is absolutely delighted with this development and I wish she’d take it down a couple of notches.
“Wait, so he's cute and funny? I like what I’m hearing so far,” Laila says.
“Can you both please stop talking about me like I’m not here?” I snap.
Both of them freeze, shock on their faces.
Fine. I don’t normally snap at them. They’re used to quiet, don’t disrupt the peace Bridget. Neither of them have contributed to it, but I’ve felt like a third wheel for so long I don’t remember any different.
Mom bossed me around, Andrew had expectations—in the last week, I’ve been front and center in someone else’s life and I don’t want to go back.
Ever.
“This is Weston,” I say, holding up the phone and pointing to a photo. “It’s sort of a long story, but we actually met at Holly’s wedding. He plays with Cade.”
Ella’s eyes are bright and wide while Laila’s mouth is hanging open. They don’t look like they have anything to contribute yet—which is awesome—so I continue.
“Andrew and I broke up last month—I’m fine, by the way. I came here and booked the Wanderlust Refuge and Weston was already there. Funny story. Double booked by magic I guess. Anyway, we’ve spent the week experiencing Enchanted Hollow and now here we are. I’m here to build a leprechaun trap with my niece and he wanted to meet you two.”
I exhale a huge breath as the weight lifts from my shoulders. That felt so much better than I thought it would.
Laila is fighting back a laugh. “You were double booked at the Wanderlust? Stuck together? All week long?”
“Apparently there’s no rooms available anywhere.” I shrug.
“Wait wait wait!” Gaby screeches, bursting out the side door of the cafe. She’s Luke’s sister so I’m not sure why she’s here, exactly.
“This is kind of a family meeting,” Laila says.
“I’m here to beg for a favor.” Gaby is breathing fast. “It’s hard to run in all these clothes.”
“Why do you look like Fiona from Shrek?” She’s painted green and I don’t envy getting all of that off later. “Or are you the Wicked Witch?”
“We only feature villains the week of Halloween and I make other people take those jobs.” Gaby smiles sweetly.
“So who’s Shrek?” I ask.
At this point, consider it a morbid curiosity.
Gaby gives me a pointed look. “I’ve only been kissed by frogs so far.”
“And that’s better than ogres, how?”
All three women turn to look at me. Maybe I’ve been around Weston too long already.
“At this point, I’d take an ogre if he gave foot rubs and had a personality. But I’m not here to talk about that.” She sighs, then holds up her phone. “You two are kind of popular this week. I had this cute skit planned to do before we make leprechaun traps, and I think we’ll get more turnout if you do it. Please.”
“She’s asking really nicely, Bridget. She’s usually much more demanding,” Ella says, trying to hold in her laughter.
“If you say yes, I’m videoing this. For posterity of course.” Laila smiles.
Ella takes a couple of steps forward and lays her hands on my shoulders. “In case you need help making the right choice, I can grab Lucy.”
“Don’t you dare use my niece against me,” I warn. “What’s in this for me?”
“You’re helping your family.” Ella glances over at Gaby then back at me. “Plus it's fun. How often do you get to play dress up as an adult?”
I point to my cup. “I came here to be a guest . Kiss the Blarney sheep.”
“It’ll just take a few minutes.” Gaby pleads.
As much as I’ve enjoyed my time with Weston this week, I’m glad my worlds are finally colliding. Although I have a feeling I’m going to regret whatever I’m about to agree to.
“Fine. But at least let me go warn Weston about what you three roped me into.”
“Um.” Gaby sucks in a breath. “He may have gotten roped in, too.”
Never mind. I’m definitely going to regret whatever this is.
“Once Upon a Time in a land of rolling green hills and endless mischief,” Gaby begins. “There was a charming, but terribly arrogant Irish prince.”
Weston strolls out from his hiding place, wearing a much too small green vest for his build, and a lopsided faux crown. Laughter bubbles up in my chest and I try to hold it together from where I’m hidden away, on the opposite side.
He flashes a smile that probably blinded half the audience and I realize I’m in so so deep.
“We’re talking about this later,” Ella whispers in my ear as she tugs on my dress.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
In the background, Gaby continues on with her altered version of The Frog Prince. One thing is for sure, she knows how to capture an audience. She’s a teacher, but I think storytelling comes to her naturally.
She lightly taps me on the arm. “Oh, Pinocchio, your nose is growing.”
“You’re such a mom now.”
When I glance at her, she’s so lit up she practically glows; motherhood is a great look on her. I can’t imagine how much brighter she’ll shine when they add to their family.
“Don’t change the subject. Does he make you happy?”
“I think so,” I say softly.
She wraps her arms around me so tight it steals my breath for just a second. I wish I’d let myself open up to her more about everything with Andrew.
“The only way to break the spell?” Gaby asks.
“That’s my cue.” I squeeze Ella and pretend my hardest to be a super unimpressed princess. My acting skills are tested thoroughly when I hear little girls in the audience gasp in delight.
But when Weston’s eyes land on me?
I deserve an Oscar for not melting on the spot. Or maybe he does, because I’ve seen that look on men before. Luke looks like this at Ella; Holden looks like this at Laila. But no one has ever looked like this at me.
We do our best to follow the instructions Gaby gave us: he tries to charm me, I act like I’m unimpressed and fairly grossed out by the fact that he’s supposed to be a frog.
When she finishes her story, we launch into the mini skit we’re supposed to end with. Gaby gave us each a headset—like the ones we used from the wedding—and we’re each fed our lines.
“I can’t believe this leprechaun cursed me!” Weston cries, dramatically throwing his arms in the air.
I shrug in response, like a truly uninterested princess would do. “Well, I suppose you’re destined for a long, slimy life.”
“He said if a princess kissed me, I’d turn back into a prince…”
“I have some friends on speed dial,” I say, turning away.
The crowd bursts into laughter.
He walks toward me. “But you’re a princess.”
I turn back toward him, trying my best to channel my best Disney Princess. This is much harder than it looks.
“I have a strict rule about kissing frogs?—”
“Please.” He bats his eyelashes playfully, and it’s getting increasingly hard to take any of this seriously.
With a disgruntled sigh, I kiss my hand and then press it to his cheek. “There!” I announce. “You’ve been kissed by a princess.”
But then Weston goes off script, and reaches up, threading his fingers through mine. I think I’m going to stop breathing, right here in front of everyone.
There’s not much distance between us, but he takes a small step forward, then one more. I’m fairly certain my heart is about to leap out of my chest as he inches closer.
“That didn’t work, Spitfire. I’m still a frog,” he whispers, with a grin. “Guess you’ll have to do it properly.”
At the moment, I can’t name a single reason why I shouldn’t kiss this frog in front of everybody. I want the Irish prince back.
And I really want to know what it’s like to kiss Weston Reilly.
“I suppose it would be the right thing to do.”
There’s shouting in my ear but I can’t make out what they’re saying. I think the crowd is chanting for us to kiss, maybe, or it could be me. Telling myself to walk on the wild side.
I rise up on my toes at the same time he bends down and our lips meet. It’s chaste and perfectly G-rated, but holy wow.
For that couple of seconds, the whole world went quiet. Now the roar of the crowd is deafening and I can’t think. I don’t want to think. My fingers itch to tug him back down to me so I can see if it was a fluke, or if it’s normal for your legs to turn into Jell-O over a sweet, simple kiss.
“And the curse is broken!” Gaby cheers. “Now we’ve got to catch the leprechaun who cursed our fair prince, so it never happens again!”
I’ve got no clue what I’m supposed to do now.
I guess I act like everything is normal and go build a leprechaun trap with my family?