Page 5 of Heir of the Beast

“May I help you?” I say, more angrily than I want.

I’m not in a good mood, lady.

“I noticed the letter you’re holding.” She nods to the paper, fisted into my grasp. “It would seem that we both are having trouble finding Mr. Charming.”

What?!

Relief washes over me like a waterfall. So I’m not the only idiot present tonight. “It’s midnight,” I say in defeat.

“Well,” she begins as she glances around the busy streets, “they can’t be mad if we are late with directions like that. I mean, this is silly anyway.”

She laughs and looks at me as if desperately seeking to confirm her thoughts.

And really, this is silly. “I guess I feel a little ashamed even searching for Charming, curiosity got the best of me.”

She giggles and blows out a big breath, starting to fan her face. “I know, and it’s so hot tonight. I bet they’re filming us right now. We’re probably the only two who showed up.”

I join in because there is nothing else to do but make fun of ourselves. We look around for maybe a hidden camera or a group of people looking our way and pointing.

What I was not expecting was to see a very handsome man dressed in a crisp white suit, standing not too far from us, in the alleyway across the street. Our laughter dies as we both sober and stare at him.

I swear I looked in that direction earlier and he was not standing there with a brilliant smile directed at us. Is this him?! I’m lightheaded, and that tingling in the pit of my stomach is back, my pulse pounding.

“You see him too?” I ask hesitantly. “The man?”

“Sure do.”

“What do we do?” I risk a glance at her, my pulse hammering.

“Make kissy faces at him? I have no clue,” she offers breathlessly, her voice wavering.

I’m too shocked to grin. Glancing back at the man, my brain realizes that this man is incredibly handsome, standing there with one hand casually tucked into his suit pocket.

He is leaning against a door, just staring at us with an amused smirk that is utterly charming.

“You think he’s into that?”

“Into what?”

“Kissy faces.”

She grabs my hand and looks down at me, pulling me. “We should go over there.”

I think I say something, but it’s lost in the humid night air.

Walking up to him does not ease our nerves. I can tell because Tall Redhead is grabbing my hand in a death grip.

He smiles brightly at me, then to her, and shifts his weight. His gaze lands on me again, and something odd sparkles in his perfect blue eyes that makes a shiver slither down my back.

“You girls are late.” His voice is smooth and lovely. His blond hair is combed back perfectly, and his face is that of a prince.

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

My mind is flatlining.

“Please, come in. The Fairy Godmother hates to be off schedule,” he says, like we were talking about the weather, something completely normal. He opens the wood door that ascends upstairs and beyond.

It’s dark up there.

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