Epilogue Two #2
“Yes, all of us,” she assured me, eyes sparkling with mischief as she turned toward my mom. “Bailey! It's been so long.”
Ducking under her arm as she reached for my mother, I hugged each of their kids, greeting them with equal levels of excitement, but Kyella’s words stuck to me. All of us. Clearly it wasn’t all of them…because Landon wouldn’t be here.
“Let’s get a drink!” Stella grabbed my hand as I nodded eagerly, breaking away from the large crowd.
“I adore your dress,” I said, loving how the sunflower color looked against her complexion. Her dark, coiled hair was piled on top of her head and decorated with daisies. It was a gorgeous look.
“You,” she pointed at my dress as we approached the long table where both wine and blood were being served, “should win an award or something for your clothes—they are exquisite.”
Shaking my head with an amused smile, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her into a side hug.
Stella was happiness and cheer personified.
I couldn’t be any gladder to have my friend here with me after all this time.
“I’m seriously so glad you’re here, I’ve missed you,” I told her, sincerity lacing my tone.
“Do you guys plan to stay for a few days?”
“Oh yes, especially since Landon came with us this year. My parents won’t be in as much of a rush to get back with all of us here.”
“Landon came with…” I drew out in confusion, craning my neck around the space to catch a glance of him.
“He’s checking something with the ship’s captain,” Penelope said as she appeared out of nowhere, rolling her eyes. “So we came along without him. I swear, he gets odder by the year, Rina. You should be glad that he hasn’t been around.”
I swallowed, offering a small laugh. The truth was, I had never considered Landon odd—I’d considered him almost the exact opposite. I’d always felt drawn to his energy and the way our easy friendship lit my heart up.
“I’m grabbing a drink, and then we are dancing,” Penelope tossed out, pointing at me with sass in the way she popped her hip.
After getting drinks, we moved onto the dance floor.
Usually, the dancing picked up after dinner, but there were already quite a few people on the floor.
At first, we were just dancing with one another, but we were soon approached by several men our age.
A fact that both Penelope and Stella loved.
I wouldn’t lie, I liked being asked to dance, but something about it felt off knowing that my father had already received marriage proposals.
Were they even interested in me, or were they simply interested in my title? Had their fathers submitted proposals to mine?
As I danced with the first two men, their names going in one ear and out the other, I couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on me.
I knew I was having a hard time ignoring the fact that Landon was here in our empire, but I knew he wouldn’t come inside.
If his parents had forced him to accompany them on this trip, he would probably stay on the ship the entire time.
After four dance partners, with dinner quickly approaching, I realized that I just needed to sit down. I was far too distracted to carry on a conversation. I didn’t even know what we were talking about!
“Cows,” the man chuckled awkwardly as he spun me under his arm. I winced realizing I had spoken aloud. He wrapped his arm around me, but when I looked up at him, I felt a surge of guilt. Yeah, I was the worst dance partner ever.
“I’m terrible company, I’m sorry. But I’m not feeling up for dancing—”
“One more?” He looked upset at the thought of letting me go.
“No.” The deep voice caused my feet to still for a moment before I spun sharply, spotting Landon approaching us.
People naturally cleared out of his way as he stormed across the room, and I couldn’t blame them.
Holy cow, he was huge now! I hardly recognized this man in front of me.
The formal wear he wore fitted his form perfectly, and the way his dark blue eyes ran over me before narrowing menacingly on the man’s hand on my waist had my breath hitching.
“What?” The man’s grip tightened on me, and I fought the urge to squirm out of his hold.
“I said no,” he responded coolly as he closed the last of the distance between us. In a move I didn’t even understand, let alone track, he had me in his arms. I melted against him, staring up at his gorgeous face as kept his gaze narrowed on my previous dance partner.
“We were still dancing,” the boy behind me insisted.
“No, you’re done here. Rina is not yours to dance with,” Landon said, his tone suddenly steeped in darkness as his arm wrapped around me possessively. My knees felt weak, and the heat of a flush crawled up my neck and onto my cheeks.
The man sputtered but took a step back, brows furrowing before he turned and walked away. Landon’s gaze moved down to mine, eyes filled with an intensity that hadn't been there five years ago. I blinked up at him, realizing I had no idea what to say after all this time…
“Who should I be dancing with, if not him?” There were so many other questions swirling through my head, but somehow, this was the one that really stood out.
“Me, Princess—it will only be me now.”