Page 22 of A Midnight Kiss on Ever After Street
He looks down at the dress and then up at me. ‘Of course I would. We may have been wearing masks, but every moment of last night is imprinted in my mind. Believe me, I would know her thesecondI saw her.’
I almost laugh. It’s too absurd to be real. Him saying such lovely things is negated by the fact he is literally standing right in front of me.
Scarlett’s still quizzing him for more details about last night to see if there are any clues to the mystery woman’s identity, but an idea has started forming in my head. A horrible, terrible, brilliant idea.
He’s the estate agent in charge of the sale, and he wants to use me for… the spin I could put on the castle or whatever he just implied. He’s the one man who might have some power over who buys the castle. He might be able to stop it being a supermarket. He might be able to find a better buyer, someone who’d keep it as it is, or even better, restore it to its former glory. And he wants to use me to help with that. Well, why shouldn’t I use him too? Why shouldn’tweuse him… to prove to Ebony that my dresses can bring in customers?
‘Put the dress in the window,’ I blurt out.
Scarlett stops talking and both of them turn to look at me, but the idea is snowballing in my head. I thought last night was the start of a great romance, but clearly not so great that he remembers me the next morning. And he doesn’t even live in Englandorbelieve in love. What kind of relationship could I ever have with a guy like that? If last night meant so little to him, maybe we can both get something out of it without either of us ever having to confront each other. ‘Think about it – you’re the Cinderella Prince searching for Princess Charming – it’s like the roles have reversed. And we could find her for you.’
He raises an eyebrow.
‘This is a real-life fairy tale happening on a fairy-tale street,’ I carry on as the idea grows. ‘ArealCinderella story happening in The Cinderella Shop. It’s like fate. It cannot be ignored. We have to get the word out – let her know that you’re looking for her.’
‘Okay?’ He sounds hesitant and unsure.
‘We’ll put that dress in the window and display the shoe, and put up signs saying we’re looking for the woman who has the other shoe. We’ll post about it online and tell everyone we know. If she’s local, word will soon reach her that you’re searching for her. We’ll share this story far and wide. It’s a modern-day love story. People need to believe in this sort of thing. Proof that fairy tales still exist in this miserable world. It’s a story to bring hope to all ages.Everyonewill get behind this – someone is bound to know who the missing Cinderella is.’
‘I really didn’t want to geteveryoneinvolved.’
‘Oh my God, Sadie, that’s genius!’ Scarlett ignores him. ‘It’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. People will love it.’
Witt looks out of his depth, as though he’s being swept along by an unseen current, but this is the perfect idea. I’ve always wanted the dresses I make in my spare time to have a place in the window display, but Ebony would never allow it, yet with this literal Cinderella story behind it, she can’t refuse. It will get people talking. People will want to know who the mystery Cinderella is. Ebony told me to do something spectacular on the marketing front. To do something that draws attention to our shop and brings in customers. What better way to prove that I can manage this business on my own than by creating a fairy-tale buzz around all things Cinderella?
And my dress, my special dress that was made on one special endless night and worn for one special midnight kiss will be front and centre of it all. Customers will finally get to see one ofmydresses, the dresses I’d make if I had any say in how The Cinderella Shop was run, and my aunt won’t be able to do anything but accept it. ‘We were – literally – made for this job. Where better to look for a missing Cinderella than The Cinderella Shop?’
‘And that stunning dress will be in our window.’ Scarlett picks up on my bubbling excitement and seems to realise how important this could be for us. ‘Permission to use everything you’ve just told us?’
‘Um…’
‘Can we have a photo?’
‘Um…’
‘Here, hold this.’ She shoves the shoe at him and before he’s even taken it, she’s got her phone out and snapped a few pictures of him while he stands there, looking bewildered. ‘Oh my God, there’s so far we can go with this. We can do a website. We can print out some posters. Flyers! Flyers, everywhere!’
‘This really wasn’t what I intended.’ He sounds like he’s struggling to get a sentence out. ‘I’m not much of a front-and-centre person and she said she wasn’t either.’
‘Well, it’s a good job you came here then becauseweare the front-and-centre people youbothneed.’ Scarlett has zero time for his hesitation. ‘Do you actually want to find her?’
‘Yes, of course, but—’
‘Brilliant. Come back tomorrow and we’ll have everything set up.’ She takes the dress out of his arms and lays it on the counter. ‘I’ll get my boyfriend to do a website, and we’ll get a contact form thingy sorted so potential Cinders can send in their info, and we’ll have this displayed in the window and get the word spread around Ever After Street.’
Websites? Contact forms? Potential Cinders-es? Alarm bells start ringing. I didn’t mean we’d actually look for anyone, just that it would be a great bit of publicity for us and an excuse to display a dress that might attract some customers, unlike Ebony’s usual creations.
He looks over at me again, but Scarlett is a force of nature when she’s got a bee in her bonnet about something, and she’s herding him out the door as though she can’t wait to get started on this.
‘Thank you for all your help,’ he calls politely through the door she’s just closed behind him, and it makes me smile again. Those manners. That charm. He might not really be a prince, but he certainly acts like one. Sometimes. Not when he’s failing to recognise me and the only ‘something in the air’ he felt last night was what my words about the castle could do for him.
‘Oh my goodness, if that isn’t the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.’ Scarlett turns back to me, but my eyes are on him, watching through the window as he walks away. ‘I’m going to write up everything he just said for the website. Even the most jaded of cynics can’t deny the romance of that.’
‘Didn’t sound like it had much to do with romance to me. Just business. Just another guy with an ulterior motive. And what about the girl? What if she doesn’t want to be found?’
‘Did youseehim? He’s a Prince Charming from head to toe. Tall, dark and handsome. The posh accent. And that name! Hewitt Kingscote sounds like it should have ‘sir’ or ‘lord’ in front of it. And he’s staying in an actual castle. Who wouldn’t want to be found by a guy like that?’
‘It might not be that simple. What if she ran away for a reason?’ I rub my fingers over the blue bodice of the dress. I knew it was a special dress, but I never thought it would lead to anything like this.
