Page 38 of Once Upon a Royal Summer
“We’re friends. Period.” Still…a royal ball. Just the thought of it gave Lacey goosebumps—completely platonic, completely unromantic goosebumps.
Right. Because those are totally a thing.
“What are we going to do if Mr. Dole won’t give us the time off?” Ava scrunched up her face.
Lacey winced. “Don’t be mad, but I already asked him.”
“You’re saying the park manager found out I was going to Bella-Moritz before I did?”
“I didn’t want you to get your hopes up if it was going to be impossible, but don’t worry. Mr. Dole is so eager to make the royal family happy that he said yes on the spot.” Every role at the theme park had backup players. In fact, Lacey’s understudy had been hosting Sweet Pea’s Royal Tea Party the past few days so Lacey could devote her time to Henry and Rose. The key to preserving the magic of the theme park’s make-believe was making sure two Sweet Peas or two Snow Whites were never, ever seen together. Lacey plopped down on the sofa beside Ava and grinned. “So I guess we’re really going!”
Ava spent the next two minutes screaming into the throw pillow Lacey had recently weaponized.
Lacey wanted to join her—oh, how she wished she could simply shake off her humiliation over the non-kiss and just bask in the excitement of Henry’s invitation to Bella-Moritz. He’d seemed so sincere, and the way he’d looked at her as the sky had erupted into glittering light had made her feel all bubbly and fizzy inside.
“As friends, of course.”
The words kept coming back to her, even though she had no reason whatsoever to feel disappointed in the qualifier. Lacey adored Rose and wanted to spend more time with her. She couldn’t wait to see the little princess ride her pony in the royal procession. She could totally be just friends with Prince Henry. That was completely doable.
Wasn’t it?
“Oh, nooo.” Ava groaned into the pillow and then popped her head up. “I just thought of a complication.”
Lacey wilted. She was almost afraid to ask. You mean in addition to the fact that I’m a pretend princess who might be having feelings for a real-life prince? She shifted her gaze toward Ava. “What is it?”
“We’re leaving in just a few days, right?”
“Yes. Ian, Henry’s bodyguard, is supposed to send our itinerary and all the other necessary information as soon as they get back to the palace.” In the meantime, at least Lacey would have a few days of waltzing practice at her Sweet Pea tea parties.
Ava threw her hands up. “What are we going to wear to the ball?”
In keeping with fairy tale traditions dating back to the 1600s, one of the perks of being a theme park princess was having a theme park fairy godmother. At Once Upon A Time, the fairy godmother role was played by a former kindergarten teacher named Madeline Martin.
Madeline had been popping up in surprise locations around the park, waving her magic wand and sprinkling guests with a dash of her fairy godmother dust—cupcake-scented glitter, if you must know—for the past three years. With her beaming smile and glorious singing voice, she’d become a park favorite practically overnight. Madeline often belted out humorous fairy tale songs in an operatic voice at her appearances. Park goers loved it, kids and adults alike.
Lacey and Ava often invited Madeline to tag along on their trips to Fort Lauderdale Beach Park. One night, over frozen peach Bellinis, she’d told them how she’d become such an accomplished vocal performer. As it turned out, before Madeline had become a kindergarten teacher and way before she’d taken on her fairy godmother persona, she’d been a pageant queen. She’d started off winning crowns in tiny local pageants, gradually making her way to the Miss Florida stage, where she’d performed an aria from La Traviata in the talent portion of the competition.
Madeline hadn’t walked away with the crown, but after years on the pageant circuit, she’d walked away with an impressive collection of evening gowns. Lacey had never seen anything quite like it.
“Whoa,” she said as she stood staring at the contents of Madeline’s packed walk-in closet. “This reminds of me of the closet scene in that movie 27 Dresses.”
Madeline laughed. “I’m pretty sure there are more than twenty-seven gowns in there. And you and Ava are welcome to borrow whatever you like. I haven’t worn any of them in years, but I can’t bear to part with them.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” Ava clapped her hands. “A real-life fairy godmother.”
“Where are you two going again?” Madeline asked as Lacey ran her fingertips over the soft tulle overlay of a violet-colored mermaid gown.
Lacey’s gaze darted to Ava. This was the hard part about asking to raid Madeline’s closet. She still didn’t feel comfortable telling anyone except her boss’s boss’s boss about the royal ball, but how was Lacey supposed to explain their urgent need for two fancy ballgowns? “It’s just a fancy black-tie thing.” Lacey let go of the mermaid gown. It seemed like it might be a tad dramatic for the occasion. She was going for more of a Duchess of Cambridge vibe—soft and graceful without being too daring.
Ava waved a hand. “Right. We’ll probably be bored out of our minds, but we still want to make an appearance.”
“Oh.” Madeline sighed, looking a little deflated. “I was hoping this had something to do with Lacey showing that prince around the park all week.”
Lacey somehow resisted the urge to bury her face and hide in a rack of sequins and organza.
“He’s gone back to his kingdom already, didn’t you hear?” Ava shrugged. “He and his entourage left after the fireworks tonight.”
“Thinking it had something to do with the prince seemed a little too good to be true, but a girl can dream, right?” Madeline shrugged.
