Page 135 of Princess of Pride
Like my sister and mom, Adelaide knows where this garden is. I showed it to her on one of her weekends here. Both Kingston and Lachlan were traveling for work, so we planned a girl’s weekend at the house. It was my turn. The time before that we stayed at Adelaide’s new home. Lachlan insists I stay either here or with her, but nowhere else besides my mom’s—and I have no desire to return there. Dad and I aren’t on the best terms—because I haven’t forgiven him for keeping my birth mom a secret, even though I know why he did. I’ll come around eventually. It’s not like Dad and I were ever close, but he did give me Lachlan, which definitely works in his favor.
“I got my party gift.” Adelaide holds up a stuffed silver and black tote with the reader tarot card on the front.
“Ooh. What book did you choose?”
“The Duke’s Betrayal from the historical gilded age romance series.”
I suck in a sharp breath. “I love that one! I love all of them in that series, but that book suits you. It’s a loose Cinderella retelling. Wicked stepmom. Evil stepsisters. A sexy duke with tons of secrets.”
She lets out a soft laugh, and her cheeks turn pink. “More like a dark angel.”
“Are you guys leaving too?” I hadn’t realized the party was nearly over.
She tucks strands of her long wavy red hair behind her ear. “I have class tomorrow. A lab.”
“I miss college.”
“Honestly, if I didn’t need it to do what I want, I would have stopped by now and dedicated more time to the hotel. Thank God for Kingston. He handles everything for me and he’s taking his own classes, but he can do most of them remotely—so from anywhere. Home. The hotel. The castle.”
“How is that going?” They turned it into a museum open to the public.
She glances behind her at the dwindling crowd under the white tent, looking for Kingston, I’m sure. “It’s busier than I thought it’d be. Seasonal, like the hotel. But I love how the curator decorates it for Christmas. It actually draws in visitors.”
“I bet it’s pretty at Christmas. I’ll have to visit it during that time.”
The inside of the VonAston castle has lots of wood similar to Duhnill. It reminds me of my time there. Lachlan hasn’t wanted to return to Scotland for a visit. Things are going well so he doesn’t want to jinx anything.
With Angus’s stipulation for an American business gone, Lachlan could have moved to England instead of here. But he explained he’d never take me away from where he knows Iwant to be.
“Well, you’re in luck,” Addie says. “We set a date for the wedding.”
I squeal and clap my hands together, holding them by my chest.
“I talked Kingston into having it at the castle in the great hall around Christmas.”
“I love it. It’ll be beautiful.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah! That room is incredible.” Lachlan’s castle didn’t even have a room like that.
She grins with a look of nostalgia. “You know he doesn’t have good memories there from his childhood. But when we stayed there, we made it different. You know? We changed the vibe, and a lot of special moments happened there. I feel likewehappened there. Thewewe are now. Younger us is tied to the hotel, but older us was made at the castle.”
My eyes sting with understanding, especially now that I know her story with Kingston so thoroughly. I hug her, my face buried in her hair as I’m sure hers is in mine, considering we’re almost the same height.
We pull apart. “If you need any help, my mom and I are here for you. I know she can be a bit much, but she’s really good at parties.” I wave at the tent, cloth-covered tables, flowers, everything English and in pink to match the theme of the bookstore.”
“That would actually be wonderful.”
“For dress shopping too,” I add. She doesn’t have anyone with all her family dead. “But we’ll leave myopinionated mom at home for that.” I wave a hand. There’s no chance she’d be able to keep her mouth shut.
She giggles, and a sinfully handsome man walks up beside her. It’s hard not to stare at Kingston with his black hair, tan skin, and his near clear eyes that are like silver-gray mist.
He slips his arm around Adelaide’s waist and smiles down at her like she is the only thing that exists in the world. To be pinned by a gaze like that must be sweltering in a good way.
“Are you ready?” he asks her and plucks a strand of her hair from her long lashes.
“Yep. I just told her about the wedding.”
