Page 4 of Undecided Heiress

“Is this Prince James’ flat?” The teasing in her tone is undeniable, and a smile I could never mask splits my face. My name is illegible on the directory, despite me requesting it be fixed by the building manager. Still, she found me.

“Is this Miss Anna?” I flirt back, unable to contain my excitement. Without another word, I buzz her up, and a few minutes later, there’s a knock at my door. I check my attire, smoothing my shirt as I open it to find my Anna on the other side. She’s breathtaking, impossibly more beautiful than I recall from this morning.

“James? Are you quite all right?”

I blink away my fascination and clear my throat. “Yes, sorry. Please come in.”

As I open the door wider, she steps inside, and it requires every ounce of self-control to not take her in my arms. It feels natural to want to touch her; resisting it feels wrong.

Clicking the door shut, I ask, “May I get you anything to drink? Water, tea, glass of wine?”

“Wine would make all of this easier, wouldn’t it?” she laughs, but as her giggles subside, she answers honestly, “Tea would be lovely, thank you.”

Anna takes a seat at the kitchen island, making herself at home while I put a kettle on. She watches me intently as I peruse the collection of teas in my cupboard. I settle on a herbal for myself, and before I can ask which she’d prefer, she sheepishly requests a glass of wine instead.

I turn off the stove and pour two glasses of Merlot, sliding one over to her. She gulps it faster than water on a warm day, and I can’t help but laugh. “I am just going to come out and say it,” she starts, “we need to fix the book.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Everything!” She flies her arms wide, nearly knocking over her glass. She catches her almost-mess and adds, “Something happened while we were in a dream. James is supposed to be with Eliza. We have to put the story back the way it was.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” I ask into my glass, sipping the wine.

“I don’t know, but it’s all our fault,” Anna all but harrumphs. I adore her feistiness, but she has to understand the absurdity—we aren’t authors. “I thought it was strange that a new edition came out the day after I had the dream. It included a new character and ending, but… James is supposed to be with Eliza.”

And here I thought the real-life Anna would be reasonable.

“In the dream, you said that… often. If James marries Eliza, what happens to Anna? Do they get a happily ever after?” Her cheeks flush a pretty coral, and I quickly correct, “In the book, I mean. But if there’s some way to fix this, could there perhaps be a James and Anna here? In the present and very real world we’re living in?”

“Oh, um?—”

“Are you married? A boyfriend?” I speak over her.

“No. You?”

I bite my lip to hide my smile as hope blossoms in my chest. “No, not married, no girlfriend, just —” I stop short of saying ‘you.’ “Let’s fix your book, and when it’s all over, I fully intend to take you on a proper date.”

“A date? You want to date… me?”

I want what James in the dream had—I’m going to marry you one day, Anna. And we’re buying a piano.

“I know it’s forward of me, but what are the odds that the most incredible woman I dreamt up is real and sitting right in front of me?” I refill her glass, but I intend to cut her off after this one; I want her to make any and all decisions with a clear head.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Prince James,” she jests, and small crinkles form around her eyes as she smiles. It’s truly the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.

I need to find a way to keep her…

“Okay, I have an idea. What if we go to sleep and try to get back into the dream and fix everything? Though, I quite like the new ending. Are you sure you want to change it?”

“Yes,” she quickly insists, taking small sips and nodding. “You—or Prince James, rather—need to marry Eliza. So, I’ll go home, and in the morning, we’ll see if it’s fixed.”

“You could stay here?” I offer.

Anna’s eyes narrow. “Terrible idea.”

“Are you quite sure?” I counter. “This way, you can wake me when the story is fixed. I won’t know what’s right and wrong with the original storyline. Once everything is as it was, you can wake me here in the present?” Rationality has been thrown out the fucking window. Sleep won’t fix a published story—or mine with her—and it’s only a matter of time before she sees through my lies.

But I want her here, even if this is pointless.

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