Page 68 of The Rejected King
“I know, it’s so romantic,” the mom said, shaking her head. “It’s just like the fairy tale. The king going after her to declare his love.”
Everything around Emree paused. She stood there, speechless and unmoving. Davin had won the revote. It had been all anyone had talked about the last few days, but she hadn’t heard the part about him leaving the castle to come and find her.
“So do you have a book with Cinderella in it?” the mother asked again, trying to jar Emree out of her speechless, stunned stupor.
Emree nodded. “Yes.” She walked to the third shelf where she kept her books about fairytales and grabbed one. She took the woman’s name down and gave her instructions on how long they could borrow the book. Then the woman left.
Emree stood there, wondering if she had even given them the right book or told the woman the right things. It was like her body had just gone through the actions while her mind tried to process everything she had heard. She let out a little laugh. Was Davin looking for her? She didn’t even know what to do with that information. Should she be doing something? Looking for him?
No.
What if that woman had been wrong? What if Davin wasn’t looking for Emree, after all? She decided that the first thing she would do after work was buy a newswriter and see if she could make sense of what the woman had said.
A loud knock at her back door pulled her out of her head, and she walked to the backroom, opening the door.
“Your mail, Miss,” a young boy in a gray hat said as he handed her the stack.
“Thank you,” Emree said to the boy. He turned to leave, but Emree stopped him. “Hey, Olivert?” The boy turned around again. “Do you have a newswriter I can look at?” The boy shook his head and ran off.
Emree looked down at the pile of mail in her hand as she shut the door. She flipped through the stack, lost in her own head when the bell on the front door rang again. Of course, she would be busy right now—right when she was the most distracted she had ever been. But when she got back to the front of the store, it was empty except for a single book on the front desk. A book Emree recognized. She took a step closer, tracing her fingers along the embossed title,A Collection of Fairy Tales.It was Emree’s book—the book she had given Davin. She looked around the small shop. It was empty. She grabbed the book and rushed out the front door, the bell banging loudly behind her. Her eyes scanned the dirt streets, the wooden carriages, the gray men and women walking past. Emree’s shoulders sank. Davin was nowhere.
“Hi,” he said behind her.
Emree froze, slowly turning around. Davin was suddenly there; he must have come out from the side alley next to her shop. Their eyes met, and her stomach danced with anticipation and longing.
He had come for her.
Davin looked more handsome than she had even remembered. He stood before her wearing black pants and a light blue t-shirt. His face was covered in stubble as if he hadn’t been worried about keeping up his flawless king image. It reminded Emree of the first time she had met him at the Morreck Inn. His light brown hair lifted at the top from the slight breeze in the air, and his eyes pierced through her. The corner of his mouth raised up, and instantly Emree could remember every nuance of his trademark smile.
She stepped toward him. She couldn’t come up with anything brilliant to say, so she matched him. “Hi.”
His brown eyes moved across her face, taking her in. “I’ve missed you.” He lifted his hand, running his fingers through the strands of her dark hair. His fingers skimmed the side of her ear, cheek, and neck before dropping. Her shaky breath caught under the sensation of his gentle touch.
Emree shrugged. “I’ve missed you, too.”
He smiled softly. “In my monthly province report, I was happy to see that a new book shop opened in Dakotaland, its main purpose to provide a book exchange for working-class children.” He looked up at the sign hanging above her shop. “D and E’s Book Exchange.” He looked back at her with a glint. “I like the name.”
Emree glanced at the sign. When she had named it after Davin and herself, she hadn’t pictured how embarrassed she would feel when he realized what she’d done. Big mistake.
“It stands for Daring and Educated,” she quickly added.
Daring and Educated?
“Not Disappeared and Evermissing?”
“No.”
“Or Dinkum and Eponymous?”
Emree shook her head lightly. “I don’t even know what those words mean.”
Davin raised his shoulders but kept his expression sober. “Neither do I.”
She let out a nervous laugh. Davin looking for her and coming for her meantsomething, but her heart proceeded cautiously, hanging on Davin’s every word.
She held up her fairy tale book. “Thanks for bringing my book back.”
“I can’t just give it back to you. I’m afraid it means too much to me.” His smile deepened. “But I’d be willing to share. It could beourbook.”
