Page 46 of A Midnight Kiss on Ever After Street
I let myself relax into it because there’s something about Witt. Just being with him is calming and makes me feel as though he was made for me and simultaneously as though my life has been empty until now. He’s filled a hole that I didn’t realise was there. In the past few years, I’ve focused only on work, and thoughts of romance have been the last thing on my mind. More than anything, he makes me wish I’d stayed the other night. Whatever this could have been, I threw it away before it had even begun.
‘I’ve got an idea I want to run by you,’ he says eventually. ‘And you’re going to think I’m nuts, but will you hear me out?’
I nod against his chest, and feel the breaths he takes to centre himself and my fingers brush over the back of his neck. ‘Got all the time in the world.’
‘What if we gave your second-chance dresses a second-chance ball to attend?’
‘On their own? Might be a bit difficult without involving the wearers too.’
The laugh that bursts out of him is unexpected and drains so much tension from his body that he nearly topples us both over. ‘Why don’t we throw another ball? Nothing to do with the seller or any potential buyers this time – just me. A celebration of Ever After Street and a way of saying thank you for making my cynical old soul see a different side to this place. I didn’t want to take this job, and now I’m very glad I did. You wouldn’t have to boycott it then. You could come with no repercussions. So could everyone else on Ever After Street who has been so kind to me since I got here. And all those extra customers needsomewhereto wear their new dresses, don’t they? What do you think?’
‘I think you’re nuts.’ Without taking my hands off him, I pull back until I can look into his blue eyes. ‘In that lovely, thoughtful, slightly crazed, let’s-do-it way. Are you sure?’
‘Yeah. You’re right, this castle should be celebrated. So should Ever After Street. Most of the decorations are still here from the other night, and I could get the caterers in again, but we don’t need anything too fancy. I’d prefer a ball with tea and biscuits. And no masks this time. No one needs to pretend to be something they’re not. Seeing your dresses get second chances has got me thinking. A second chance for anyone who didn’t get to come last time, a second chance for your dresses, and a second chance for… me. Andher. I want to invite her, personally. For whatever reason she wasn’t supposed to be there last time, maybe it will be different this time. If she wouldn’t be in trouble for going, maybe she could tell me who she is.’
So much for him starting to realise. Maybe it’s me who’s imagining how special that night was. Despite what he’s saying, it can’t have meant that much to him when he’s literally dancing with the same person and he doesn’t know it.
‘How are you going to invite her?’
‘Online. On the website, or social media or whatever.’
‘You’ll have half of England turning up. Look how many oddbods showed up in the inbox. Do youreallywant to meet those people in person, Witt? Oh, you might even get lucky and that one in prison will be able to secure a day release.’
He can’t stop himself from smiling. ‘It’ll be a personal invitation, just to her.’
‘Like when Prince Charming invites all the maidens in the land to try on the glass slipper, and in the original Grimm’s stories, they start cutting off their toes to make it fit? Doesn’t sound like the best idea to me.’
‘I’ll invite her to meet me in the place we kissed. She’s the only person who would know the way – I’ve never taken anyone there before. No one will ever find it – except the person I showed the way.’
‘What if she doesn’t have a great sense of direction and gets lost?’ In my mind, I’m instantly trying to map out the route through the castle we took that night. There were too many hallways, too many twists and turns and rooms we cut through. ‘What if she’s forgotten?’
‘Am I that unforgettable? Er, wait, no, I mean forgettable, not unforgettable. I always get that muddled up.’
He did at the ball too. Is it a hint? Is he seeing if I remember? ‘I think you were right the first time, Witt. You areunforgettable.’
His cheeks flare red but he can’t stop himself smiling. ‘I know it’s mad, but I just want to know if I imagined how wonderful that night was. I can’t get her out of my head. I feel like I’llneverget her out of my head. I have to go soon, and I can’t leave this place without seeing her again.’
I realise what he’s really saying. This isit. Do or die. One last chance. I have to decide whether I’m brave enough to reveal the truth or say goodbye to him forever. ‘What if she’s scared you won’t like her as she is? Without the make-up and the princess dress? What if she feels stupid for not coming forward before? What if something’s happened between then and now that would make things different?’
‘I’m sure she had her reasons.’
He reallyisthat perfect. He’s kind and understanding, but will hestillbe when he realises the runaway Cinderella he’s been looking for has been beside him all along, using his story to gain followers and prove I’d know a marketing opportunity when it hit me in the face? Will he forgive me? Or will the fact I haven’t told him erode every inch of his trust in me and put an instant end to our friendship, never mind anything more?
One of his hands touches my elbow and slides down my arm until he can take my hand and pull away to spin me around and then back against his chest. His chin rubs against my hair and his voice is a tiny whisper. ‘Do you think she’ll give me a second chance?’
I lean back in his arms until I can reach up and hold the side of his face and brush my thumb over his cheek, loving the first prickle of stubble and the way he turns into my hand.
‘She’d be the biggest fool in the world not to,’ I say, because I would, wouldn’t I? There’s nothing in the universe that would make it worth letting this man go.
12
The two weeks since Ebony left have been mad. Scarlett’s had to get Jackson to cover for some of her hairdressing clients, and Witt’s come down to the shop to help out when we’ve been particularly busy. Second-chance dresses are flying off the shelves like proverbial hot cakes, although the queues to get into The Cinderella Shop have been arguably longer than the queues for Lilith’s tearoom, so maybe we’re even outsellingactualhot cakes.
Witt’s idea of giving the second-chance dresses somewhere to go has erupted like a non-deadly volcano and the lava flowing out is satin, organza, and reams of tulle. The second-chance ball is now two weeks away, and rails in the back room are empty and boxes full of returned dresses are being aired out and given a second shot at finding someone who loves them. Takings are up massively, followers on all our social media accounts are skyrocketing, and people who had never heard of Ever After Street before are making day trips here, bringing kids on weekends, and it’s half term this week so it’s likely to be even busier. The whole street has come alive with delighted shouts, sing-alongs to Disney songs, and shoppers carrying bags full of goodies, andeveryoneis talking about the second-chance ball.Everyoneis going to be there. All of my fellow shopkeepers love Witt and have set their boycotting tendencies aside and admitted they were all disappointed to miss the first ball and can’t wait for a second chance.
After a late evening of doing alterations to make sure every second-chance dress fits perfectly, I’m lying in bed, reading Witt’s invitation to the missing Cinderella for approximately the seven hundred and fifty-seven thousandth time.
To the girl I danced with at the ball. The girl I kissed. The girl who ran away at midnight. Everything deserves a second chance.
