Page 125 of The Princess and the Fraud

“You’ve met Annalise—she likes to do everythingtogether.” That was one thing I’d learned after spending the last two months at her guesthouse. She wanted to have morning coffee together, invited me to the main house for dinner together, and if there was a movie she was about to turn on, she made sure to send me a text first. “That’s why it’s a pre-emptive anniversary dinner, so she can drag me along. She’s very much so aquality timegal.”

Ji-ah laughed. “I get it, I get it. From what she’d said when I met her at the mixer, she’s making up for lost time.”

“Most definitely.” Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d turned down one of her invitations. I’d longed for a friendship like this, where we both pressed in. It wasn’t a friendship where one person always gave and the other person always took—it was mutual. And I loved it.

The last two months had been a whirlwind I still could barely wrap my head around. After Rhythms of Hope bought 1442 Everview Road, Mirabelle and Alfred asked Aaron to set up a meeting with me. As it turned out, they had been looking for a new replacement cellist after theirs moved onto other opportunities. Coming across me at that moment in time, they’d said, had been like fate.

When I told Paige that, she’d smirked.

I moved out to San Diego not long after, into the guesthouse on Annalise and Michael’s property. I’d barely had time to unpack before I was heading to Rhythms of Hope’s west coast hub. The moment I’d stepped into that sunlit rehearsal hall, something inside me had stirred. The hall had a similar vibe to Alderton-Du Ponte in terms of architecture, but the difference in the air had been palpable. There was no vanity here, no ego—just people who loved music, dedicating themselves to performing for the charity. The thirty other musicians welcomed me with warm and open arms, settling me into the ensemble with ease.

It was everything I didn’t know I needed.

Ji-ah and I headed out from the practice hall toward the main entrance. The glass walls let in an almost blinding amount of golden sunlight, shining on the smooth floors. “Is your boyfriend joining you guys?” she asked. “Or is he not back in town yet?”

I sighed. “He had to push coming home back another week.”

Aaron had come out to California with me in the middle of April and helped me unpack, but almost immediately flew back to Connecticut to help with the new hub planning. Rhythms of Hope had hired him on in a full-time position for the east coast project. Apparently, there were a lot of specifics and semantics that required the mind of a former Strategy Analyst, and the charity brought him back on to ensure the beginning stages of the building process went smoothly.

I knew Aaron loved it. He’d confessed to me one night over the phone thatthiswas what he needed. His sleepy voice had been a relieved sound in my ear. “Thank you for helping me jump, love.”

And I’d kicked my feet like a teenage girl at that.Love.

But that also meant that while I settled into a new life here, Aaron was over a thousand miles away, forced to linger in the one I’d left behind. “He’s almost done, though,” I told Ji-ah now, pushing the glass door open to lead us out into the summer air. “And then he’ll work remotely from here until the construction gets further along.”

“I was talking with Mirabelle, and she said that they hope to have it completed in time for a Christmas gala,” Ji-ah said.

“That’d be beautiful,” I murmured, already envisioning it. Aaron had gotten his hands on the mockups and inspo images, and had sent them to me one night last week. The grand hall’s south-facing wall would be entirely made of windows, showcasing the bay’s gorgeous views. In the wintertime? It’d be breathtaking.

Mom would’ve loved the view. She would’ve said it looked like a dream.

Ji-ah turned left toward the parking lot, waving me goodbye as I continued right, toward where Annalise normally parked to pick me up. My beater car hadn’t made the trip out to California—it had, in fact, died about five miles past the Grand Canyon—and I’d yet to get a replacement. San Diego driving wasmuchdifferent from Addison driving, in a way that chased away any guilt about needing Annalise to drive me everywhere.

Of course, Annalise didn’t mind it one bit, probably because it was her excuse to stop by Fashion Valley before heading home.

I closed my eyes as I walked, letting the sun warm my face.This is what life is supposed to be like, I thought as I slowed.Aching from performing, spending time with people I love, and looking forward to tomorrow.

I’d missed auditions for fall admission, but after settling in and speaking with Mirabelle and Alfred, they’d helped me come up with a game plan—to spend the next few months finding my technique again, growing comfortable behind the cello, and applying for a few local community college classes. Then, in the spring, when I felt ready, I could audition for conservatories. That way I wasn’t diving head-first into anything overwhelming, and I wasn’t pushing myself too fast.

I had more than enough money to supplement me for a while, giving me time to figure out what I wanted to do. It was a strange feeling to have the world as my oyster instead of a dream house as my cage. The drastic change still had me reeling some mornings, as I looked up at my ceiling and expected to find my old apartment’s water stains, but it was a good sort of realization as it crashed down. A good sort of relief.

When I opened my eyes now, expecting to see Annalise parked at the curb, I found myself looking at Aaron.

He was leaning against a sleek black sedan I didn’t recognize, parked in the drive-up lane. He looked down at his shoes, the same Hefman & Italia ones that’d gotten coated in mimosa the first time we’d met. Or, well, thesecondtime we’d met. His recently trimmed dark hair didn’t fall into his eyes nearly as easily now, but he reached up as if to bat it back from muscle memory. It made me smile to watch him do so now, and even from here, I could see his lips quirk in annoyance.

My heart soared at the sight of him, excitement lighting through me, but I held myself back. I hooked my thumbs through my cello’s straps, hoisting it closer against my back as I raised my voice. “New car?”

Aaron looked up then, and I was sure it was the sun in his eyes, because he immediately looked dazzled. It couldn’t have been because of me. The orchestra didn’t technically have a dress code for practices, but I still wore black dress pants with a black shirt, as did most of the ensemble. I’d let my blonde hair loose after practice, but I hadn’t done anything to style it this morning. I didn’t even have makeup on.

Aaron started toward me. “Finally putting that inheritance to use, then, huh?” I asked as he strode closer. I felt my lips quirk. “You’ve hardly bought anything after it cleared?—”

My words were cut off as Aaron drew me into him, his frame all but slamming into mine. He embraced me with ease, as if I didn’t have a bulky cello case strapped to my back. One hand wedged between the back of my head and the case, and his other rested at my waist, using both to secure me to him. “I’ve missed you,” he murmured into the crook of my neck, words vibrating into my skin.

I melted into his touch, my arms wrapping around him. “It’s been two weeks.” I closed my eyes and savored the feel of his frame. I could smell his cologne on his shirt, the heady scent relaxing me further into his chest. “And we videochatted every other day.”

“Two weeks is too long.” Aaron pulled back to look into my eyes. His own were still sparking as they roamed my face, his dark lashes framing the brown. “Far too long, and far too boring. Board meetings, and budget analysis, and project data. I missed you too much, hence the reason I’m here, grabbing at you like a caveman.”

“I like it.” I reached up and combed my fingers through the hair at his temple. “I missed you, too. But didn’t you say you had another week of meetings?”

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