Page 43 of Once Upon a Royal Summer
Back to reality.As she limped toward the castle’s backstage dressing room, she felt more like Alice returning to the real world after her magical adventures in Wonderland than a princess, poufy ballgown notwithstanding. She hobbled toward one of the benches beside the lockers where the performers kept their personal belongings.
The wardrobe supervisor, a stout woman named Sally who’d worked there since before Lacey had been born, peered at her. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, but one of my shoes cracked.” Lacey lifted the hem of her princess gown to show off her shattered slipper. “We have a spare around here somewhere, don’t we?”
“Of course. Sit down for a minute, and I’ll find it.” Sally winced at the sight of Lacey’s foot. “I’ll grab you ice pack too.”
“Thanks.” Lacey’s foot throbbed. The pain wasn’t excruciating, but she’d be on her feet for at least six more hours today. She’d take all the help she could get.
After Sally left, Lacey propped her foot up on the bench and extricated it from the broken shoe. The dressing room, ordinarily a hive of activity, was eerily silent. The characters were all off interacting with guests or performing at their scheduled mealtimes or shows. Furry costumes and glitter-encrusted princess gowns hung on the costume rack, looking forlorn.
Then a familiar little chirp sound pieced the air. Lacey’s gaze swiveled toward the lockers. Someone’s phone was going off.
Another chirp sounded. It was the same exact tone Lacey’s cell made when she got a text. Had she forgotten to turn her ringer off?
Characters weren’t supposed to carry their phones while they were in costume and on duty, for obvious reasons. Hansel and Gretel wouldn’t have needed to toss breadcrumbs if they’d been in possession of a phone with GPS. Seeing the Big Bad Wolf or one of the princesses with a phone in their hand would put a serious dent in the park’s magical, whimsical atmosphere.
But Lacey wasn’t out in one of the public park areas at the moment. She was temporarily laid up with a glass slipper-related injury. So she scooted toward her locker and dug around in her purse to check and see if her phone was the one making so much noise.
Sure enough, she was the guilty party. The display on her iPhone showed a little red number two by the green text message icon. She set her phone to vibrate and then tapped the icon to see who was messaging her.
An unfamiliar number flashed across the top of the screen. It started with a plus symbol and a one, followed by a longer-than-normal string of digits.
Lacey gasped. This was a European phone number, wasn’t it? Her hands shook as she read the first message, even though she fully expected the text to be from a palace official or someone in Henry’s office. She’d given Henry her phone number for her travel arrangements and fully expected the text to be something official about trip logistics.
It wasn’t, though.
Do I hear waltz music?
Lacey pressed her hand to her chest and laughed. Those words could’ve only come from Henry himself. The second message was even more flirtatious than the first.
It’s evening here, but something tells me my favorite princess is dancing with another prince at a tea party right about now.
His favorite princess? Lacey’s heart did a little flip-flop, even though she knew he was just being sweet. His daughter was a princess, after all. Lacey knew he wasn’t serious. Still, she liked to think that maybe, just maybe, she was in the running as second favorite.
But that was ridiculous. He probably knew dozens of actual princesses. Maybe even hundreds. You’re not real, remember?
But the way her breath hitched in her throat as she reread Henry’s words was real. And so was the smile that tugged at her lips.
She texted him back right away so she wouldn’t be tempted to overthink what she should say.
Don’t worry. I have a midnight curfew, remember? I left Prince Charming standing in the ballroom all by himself.
Three little dots appeared and then a single word, followed by more x’s. Three this time instead of two.
Good. xxx
Was this really happening? Were they flirting across multiple time zones? Lacey glanced up and spied her reflection in one of the dressing room makeup mirrors. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes, bright. She felt drunk with happiness.
They were just friends, though.
Weren’t they?
Lacey tapped another message into her phone. This isn’t fair. You know exactly where I am and what I’m doing, but I don’t know a thing about your life at home.
She pressed send, hoping he’d say he was doing something ordinary like watching a movie or playing a board game with Rose. If he was wearing a crown right now, she would die.
I have a lot of business dinners in the evenings. Tonight, I’m dining with the ambassador from Monaco.
