Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(59)

A thousand thoughts and emotions swirled around in my brain, but the tiredness I’d been fighting all day overcame me, and I fell asleep, safe in Luca’s arms.

Later when I awoke, Luca went down to dinner, leaving me to freshen up. I ran to the bathroom and glanced at myself in the mirror. The mascara that had been carefully applied by one of Xavi’s team was now smudged all around my eyes giving me the appearance of a panda. I washed my face clean of all my makeup and gave myself a long look in the mirror. At only nineteen years of age, I was a young queen, but the last year had taken its toll. The young, carefree girl I used to be was long gone. Instead, a weary woman stared back at me. I sighed. Looking down at my buttons, I tried the top one again. This time it opened easily as did the others. Fastening them back up I wondered why they hadn’t earlier. It was almost like someone had fastened them shut with magic.





The Garden Party





The next week passed quickly. What with having to read more sensationalist crap every day from the newspapers, and having daily meetings with Leo and Dean about everything going on in the police force, I’d almost forgotten about my date with Luca. I’d barely seen him since our kissing session had come to an abrupt halt. He’d spent most of the week organizing the garden party with Cynder and Jenny. I was glad they were all so busy because it meant I hadn’t had to see Cynder either. There was so much evidence that he was really married that appeared every day in the papers, that I’d given up and taken to not reading them at all. I had too many important things to deal with such as running a kingdom, to worry about my pathetic excuse for a love life.

The weather outside had warmed up considerably, and now spring was in full bloom. The showers that usually fell all April had kept at bay and on the morning of both the date and the garden party, the sun shone down, warming the palace gardens and bathing them in the unseasonable heat. It would make Xavi’s job a little easier. She always hated it when I had to wear boots instead of pretty shoes.

The garden party was a ruse to get the Freedom of Magic into the grounds to have a meeting with them, but to make it work, an actual garden party had been planned for the early afternoon. After that, we would all retire inside and make plans for the future. Once that was over, I was free to go on my date with Luca. It exhausted me just thinking about it.

Jenny knocked on my bedroom door early and presented me with a silver tray with a fully cooked breakfast, a bowl of fruit, and a jug of coffee. There was also a small vase with a beautiful pink flower in it. It was so out of character that I almost thought I’d dreamed it until the smell of the bacon and coffee swirled around me.

“Has someone died?” I quipped, pouring myself a cup of the coffee and swirling a spoon of sugar into it.

“Only the pigs for the bacon and sausages,” she replied back. “Luca asked me to bring you this. He wants you to have a day you’ll remember forever. He asked me what way would you like to be woken the most and I told him you can’t go wrong with bacon when it comes to you.”

I grinned up at her. “You are not wrong,” I replied, spearing a piece and taking a bite.

“I’ll leave you alone, but he told me to tell you to go to Xavi and dress up for the occasion.”

“I was planning to. Whatever I wear for the garden party will have to do for the date tonight. I’ll not have time to change in between.”

“I think Luca expects you to wear something extravagant. He’s got something wonderful planned.”

“He has?” My heart dropped. I’d told Luca to plan something special, but extravagant? I wasn’t sure I was up for too much, especially as I had a busy day to get through first.

“Yes, he has!” Jenny clapped her hands together in glee.

“What exactly has he got planned?” I asked, suddenly feeling worried. Jenny rarely got this excited.

“I can’t say!” She ran her hand across her mouth and pretend zipped it, before leaving my room with a big grin on her face.

Great! Just what I needed, something else to worry about.

Xavi was already waiting for me with her whole team when I arrived at the dressing room. Just as Jenny had been, she was filled with excitement about the coming day.

“I’ve got a garden party today,” I began. “I need something light, just above the ankle maybe, with no heels.” I didn’t want to spend the afternoon on my tip toes for fear of sinking into the lawn.

“No, no, no.”

“Excuse me?”

“You are going to be wearing something special today. I’ve already chosen it.”

She clapped her hands and immediately two of the helpers brought out the longest dress I’d ever seen. Yards and yards of pink material floated behind it like a train. Another helper held out a pair of matching pink shoes.

“I can’t wear that. It will get filthy out in the garden.”

“Luca tells me that a marquee has been erected and flooring has been put down to cover the grass. You’ll be fine, and what’s more, You’ll look stunning.”

I sat in the chair waiting for Alezis to do my hair and feeling blindsided. Why was it that no occasion ever called for me to wear long pants and comfortable shoes? My mind flashed back to the few days I’d been on the run with Cynder where I’d been able to dress as I liked. Our date had been the same. I’d been allowed to be me. I threw the thought away. Thinking of Cynder hurt and I didn’t want to feel anything but focused on the day ahead. What may look to the outside world as a day of fun and frivolity was actually a coordinated political event, and I, for one, couldn’t wait to get the party part over and bring everyone inside for the meeting. Although Leo and Daniel had been keeping me up–to-date with everything that was going on at the police headquarters, it was fair to say that they were getting nowhere finding The Regent, despite hiring the best men and women to join the task force. I tried not to be disappointed, after all, they’d spent the first few days of the week doing interviews and hiring, but I’d hoped that with all the technology they had, they’d be able to come up with something in the past three days. A lead—anything.