Page 94 of Love on Deck

“Yes, but she could be without the ring for a few weeks.”

At this point, I doubted he cared. Kevin just wanted a ring in a box in his pocket on his way to her house. Which only took another thirty minutes to make possible.

“How are you going to do this?” I asked when we pulled onto the freeway toward Lauren’s apartment.

“I have a plan.” Kevin looked at me briefly before putting his attention back on the road. “And I could use your help.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

LAUREN

“I’ve never been unemployed before.”

Amelia gave me a wry, disbelieving look. “You only quit your job like six hours ago. This isn’t going to last long.”

More like eleven hours, but there was no point correcting her.

“Do you know what you want to do next?” she asked.

“Be appreciated.” I sank lower on my chair and brought my chunky sweater sleeves down over my fisted hands.

“You could teach music to children. There really isn’t anyone who will love you more than a first grader will. Kind of makes me wish I hadn’t taken these next few days off for my honeymoon staycation.” Amelia leaned her head back on my sofa, letting out a sigh. Then she turned to look at me. “Will you braid my hair?”

It had been a long time since she’d asked me to do that. Like, junior year of high school maybe. “If I remember how to do it on someone else.”

She hopped up. “I’ll get a comb.”

We had the live action Cinderella playing in the background, though neither of us were really paying much attention. We’d also watched Ella Enchanted, Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and A Cinderella Story with Chad Michael Murray was on deck. It had always been Amelia’s favorite fairy tale, and I kind of wondered if she related to it a little extra right now with the super-rich husband. Her life was almost a rags to riches story. Maybe the crazy in-laws felt like a wicked stepmother? Either way, she needed comforting, and Cinderella in all her many forms was providing it tenfold.

If only there was also a major fairytale about a woman who got screwed over at work and lied to by her boyfriend and was left feeling directionless and unappreciated. I could really go for a happy ending to that story right now.

Amelia settled on the floor between my knees.

“Two braids or one?” I asked.

“Two.”

“Dutch or French?”

“Dutch.”

I got to work, brushing through her damp hair from her earlier shower and dividing it into sections. “Have you talked to Prince Charming yet today?”

Amelia’s shoulders slumped forward. “He’s tried to call a few times, but I didn’t answer.”

“He’s probably a mess right now, Ames,” I said gently. It was easier to be blunt when she was facing away from me. I didn’t have to look into her puffy, sad eyes to deliver these opinions. “You say you’re doing this for him, right?”

“Right.”

“Then maybe you should talk to him about it. He’s half of the equation of your relationship. Doesn’t he deserve a say in the matter?”

“Does the same go for Jack?”

My fingers tightened the braid on impulse.

“Doesn’t he deserve to have a say, too?” she pressed.

“How do you know about that?”

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