Tokyo Ever After: A Novel (Tokyo Ever After #1)(81)

“The prince never tried to outrun me. This is a first,” Reina says through her teeth. Poor Reina. I promise to make it up to her.

My eyes scan the sidewalk, the bushes, even the trees. They land on a figure twenty feet away. Tall. Dark. Out of uniform. My heart pounds hard. Akio is there, body framed in shadow, the setting sun behind him. I continue to approach slowly. I might be floating. Who knows. He sees me, too. His eyes are hooded, fond. A murmur of recognition runs through the crowd. A picture is snapped.

“Hi,” I say when I’m close enough for him to hear me.

“Hi.” He bows with a flourish.

I’m a little out of breath. “Did you leave this for me?” I open my hand, show him the key chain.

“I did,” he says. His voice is rich and warm, fills me up.

“Thank you.” It’s the best, most perfect gift I’ve ever received.

“You’re welcome.” We stand and stare at each other dumbly.

“As much as I’m enjoying this reunion, so is everyone else,” Reina pipes in.

Akio rocks back on his heels. His hair is a little longer. He brushes it from his eyes.

“Would you like to come in?” I nod toward the palace. “That is, if you’re not busy.”

“Not busy at all,” he says. “In fact, I’d cleared my next few days. Had to wait outside a palace, planned on taking as long as it needed to see a princess.”

“Well, then…” I smile like a dummy.

Side by side, we walk to the gate. “New guard?” Akio nods to Reina.

Reina is whispering into her earpiece. “Stole her from Yoshi,” I say.

His eyes crinkle with a smile. “Bet he hated that.” He doesn’t know my cousin was responsible for leaking the story. I’ll tell him later. There are more important things to focus on now.

“She knows how to snap someone’s neck using only her own body weight. She’s going to teach me later,” I say.

Akio addresses Reina. “Please don’t show her that.”

“I already told her no,” Reina says, gaze directly ahead.

My hand is so close to his. I could hold it. Instead, I fold mine into a fist. Too many witnesses. We’re nearly to the gate, our progress slow because of the growing crowd. My name is called. Pictures are snapped. But it’s like we’re in our own private bubble, and I am light as air. My limbs tingle. Akio is here. He came for me.

We pass a palace map. There is a red arrow and it says 現在地. Genzaichi. You Are Here. Then the gate is in view. It opens, and we’re through. We keep going up the driveway until the path bends and we’re out of sight. The guards have fallen away, too. Only Reina remains, keeping a respectful distance.

“I saw the magazine article,” says Akio.

“You did? What did you think?” I don’t wait for him to answer. “I’m so sorry, Akio. I never meant for you or your family to be hurt.”

He shakes his head. “I should be apologizing to you. You left Japan because of the Tattler article … because of me.”

“You were fired,” I say.

He grimaces. “I wasn’t fired.”

My thoughts freeze. Time slows and stretches. “Mr. Fuchigami said…” He’s gone. He couldn’t possibly stay, is what Mr. Fuchigami had said. “I thought you’d been fired.”

“What? No. I quit,” Akio says. “As soon as the story broke, I turned in my resignation. It didn’t seem like a big deal. I was going to leave soon anyway.” He says it all so nonchalantly. My brows dart in. He hurries to explain. “I was planning to quit the guard. I was going to tell you at the luncheon, but then we started dancing, and then…” He blushes. Then, we were kissing, he means. Full-on making out.

I feel myself blush, too. “I don’t understand. Your parents, the media…”

He nods. “It was rough at first. Definitely not how I wanted to break the news to my father. But he understands, or at least he’s trying to. It helps that he likes you so much.”

My frown is fierce. “I thought I ruined your life.”

“And I thought I ruined your life,” he says. “That’s why I didn’t come around. I thought you didn’t want to see me. But then I read the article and the reporter intimated you might still have feelings for me.… Was she—is she wrong? Is there any hope for us?” He stops and turns fully toward me. “I know I’m not the man you or your family need me to be. But I’m on my way. I promise if you give me this chance, I’ll spend my lifetime being worthy of you. I’ve enlisted in the Air Self-Defense Force. In a few years, I’ll be an officer and can make a good income. It will be difficult, but—”

I cut him off with my lips on his. No more talking. Just kissing. His hands land on either side of my neck, thumbs stroking my jaw. We pull away from each other. He wipes a tear from under my eye. “Radish,” he says. “Don’t cry.”

“They’re happy tears,” I say. Only happy tears from now on. Orange light filters through the trees. The sun is setting. Reina has turned her back. We kiss again softly and let it linger. “I just never thought I’d belong anywhere,” I whisper.

He strokes my jaw with his thumbs again. “Izumi, you are a world unto yourself. Build your own space. One meant uniquely for you.” My thoughts exactly.