Page 119 of Enchanted Kisses
Someone tugged my arm and pulled me aside.
“I’m Trinda,” the petite girl said with a slight Spanish accent. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’d suspected you would be the guest of honor, even before I saw the dress. It was brave of you to come this evening. If it’s any consolation, I’m rooting for you. Bianca doesn’t deserve Caiden. She never has.”
“What?” I said, my voice hoarse, my body tense. How did she know?
“Oh, don’t worry. Not everyone knows.” Her eyes were sympathetic.
Seeing that Laken and Jorhan’s staring match had morphed into a battle of wits, I took the moment to steal Trinda away.
I guided her from the crowd and behind a tall, thick bush. “You have to tell me what you know, and why everyone keeps calling me the guest of honor. I don’t feel right wearing this and I’m this close,” I made an inch with my finger and thumb, “to leaving.”
“If you’re planning to leave, I’d wait until after the dance to do so.” She smiled, her gaze moving up and down my body. She looked at me in the same way I gawked at celebrities.
“What dance?” I asked, self-conscious. I pulled at my dress, making sure everything was in place.
“The queen’s guest of honor shares a dance with her appointee. It’s tradition. And the queen usually chooses her best friend.”
I would have sighed, but I didn’t want to look sappy. “Who’s the appointee?”
“Caiden,” she answered, seeming surprised that I didn’t know.
My bottom lip fell. “Will people see us?”
She laughed. “You’re funny.”
She thought I was joking? I was about to tell her I was serious, but someone pulled me out from the bush.
“You won’t be getting away that easily.” Laken grinned.
“I wasn’t trying to get away,” I said.
Laken put his hand at my back and guided me toward the dance floor set beneath a cluster of trees. Lights twinkled in the branches like stars. Some shot from limb to limb, while others fell like raindrops that disappeared in mid-air. It was magical.
I smiled at the lights, barely noticing when Laken placed one hand on my hip. He laced my fingers through his other hand and moved us about the dance floor.
A whimsical melody floated across the air. Still watching the lights, it wasn’t until Laken twirled me that I realized we were dancing. No, dancing hardly described it. I was gliding with the grace of a professional ballerina.
“Are you doing this?” I asked, my steps so light, I barely felt the ground. Was I floating?
“Can’t take credit, though I’d love to. You’re a natural, Lily. Knew you would be.”
“But I’m not a natural at anything.”
His head went back with a laugh. “Ah, but you are. You’re part nature goddess. You don’t get any more natural than that.” He laughed again.
The deep, genuine sound made me smile.
We whirled and swayed until my head spun. When the cheery melody ended, everyone faced the gazebo.
Raysa stood and the crowd silenced.
“Good evening, Realm of Life. I am honored to be here and to serve you. Before everyone gets too settled, I’d like to invite my appointee, Caiden, and my guest of honor, Lily, to the dance floor. Keeping with the tradition, a special dance will go to the two people who helped me achieve this position.”
A light shined on me as Raysa singled me out among the crowd. My cheeks warmed. I gripped Laken’s arm and focused on Raysa or else I’d run off.
“I couldn’t have done it without the both of you.” She glanced over at Caiden.
A glow of light surrounded him as well. He smiled genuinely at her, and my heart tripped with understanding. Bianca had only erasedmefrom his memories, not what had transpired between him and Raysa or the rest of his life. I’d been the only piece removed.
