Fairytale Come Alive (Ghosts and Reincarnation #4)(93)
Author: Kristen Ashley

It would be worse if he saw them in Chicago, worse because he could get to them swiftly.

And he would.

And Elle didn’t want her father anywhere near them.

She quickly offered, “I’ll pay someone to deal with it.”

There was silence before Prentice asked, “You want to pay someone to do it?”

Oh no.

She’d sounded like a pampered, spoiled rich girl!

“Um…” she muttered.

Prentice’s voice was low when he said, “He’ll no’ harm you, Elle.”

That thing that had relaxed deep inside her but coiled up tight during their conversation, relaxed again when Prentice read her mind and made his vow.

“Pren.”

“I hope he finds out we’re there.”

Elle saw her own eyes get wide in the mirror. “You do?”

“The only good part of those f**king photographers is that there are so many of them, he can’t escape the way it is between you and me. I want that bastard’s nose rubbed in it. I want him to see you happy. And I want him to know I made you that way.”

That thing relaxed further.

But not completely.

“But Pren, what if he confronts you or me and the children are there?”

“Then you and I’ll have a deal. The children are present, you take them away and I’ll handle Carver.”

“He’s not easy to handle,” Elle warned.

Prentice’s voice was gentle when he replied, “No’ for you, baby. For me, it won’t be a problem. Fuck, I’m looking forward to it.”

That didn’t sound good.

“Pren –” Elle started.

“Trust me, Elle.”

“But –”

“Trust me.”

She took in a breath and nodded to herself in the mirror. “Okay.”

“I’ll take care of you, Elle.”

That thing relaxed further and she whispered again, “Okay.”

But he wasn’t done. “That time in your life is over. Over. It ended last night. You may burn your hand and Jace may lose a football match and Sally may get the flu and other shit might happen but it’ll be ours and we’ll handle it. You’re no’ taking shit from anyone, no’ ever again. I’ll see to that.”

After his promise that thing inside her was so relaxed Elle had to lean against the mirror to keep standing.

“Pren –” she started but she didn’t know what she was going to say.

She didn’t have the opportunity to say it, Prentice interrupted her, “I’ve got to go.”

“All right,” Elle whispered.

“I’ll see you quarter to.”

“Okay.”

“Love you, baby,” he murmured.

Her breath hitched on his words, words she adored, words she hadn’t heard in a long time, words that settled warmly deep inside her, delaying her reply but he didn’t give her that opportunity either, he rang off.

Two seconds later, Annie threw back the curtain to her changing room.

Elle threw her arms over her body which was clad only in underwear.

Annie ignored Elle’s state of dishabille and demanded to know, “Are you going to become one of those sickly ooey, gooey, lovestruck heroines from a fairytale? Because if you are, Dougal and I are going on vacation until you snap out of it.”

Elle stared at her friend then hissed, “Annie, close the curtain!”

Annie looked to her left then to her right then to Elle. “There’s no one out here.”

“I don’t care, close the curtain.”

“Bella, sickly? Ooey? Gooey? Hello?” Annie replied.

Elle took a step forward, pulled Annie into the changing room with her and snapped the curtain shut.

Then she faced off with her friend. “If I remember when you finally got through to Dougal, you were sickly, ooey, gooey, lovestruck and enthusiastically detailed.”

Annie grinned. “It wasn’t me who described my first time doing it with Dougal against a wall.”

Elle just knew she’d shared too much.

“That’s because you did it in the front seat of his truck, twenty years ago,” Elle retorted.

Annie’s face grew dreamy. “Oh yeah. That was nice.”

Elle rolled her eyes and informed her friend, “Pren and I were just talking on the phone.”

Annie’s dreamy expression faded and a happy one took its place. “I know. I listened.” She came forward and framed Elle’s face with her hands before she whispered, “Isn’t it fun?”

“What?” Elle whispered back, entranced by her friend’s carefree, happy face, something she saw a lot lately but she hadn’t seen for many a year and she wasn’t quite used to it.

“To talk to them on the phone,” Annie answered.

Elle closed her eyes.

Yes, it was fun.

It wasn’t being whisked away on a jet only to be put in a limousine and taken to a yacht to cruise the Mediterranean in order to eat a cordon bleu dinner (something Laurent had done).

It was just normal stuff like Pren coming home after work, Pren eating sponge in the kitchen after a long day, Pren tickling her in bed while she tickled Sally and Jason grinned on.

And it was the best.

When Elle opened her eyes, they sparkled with tears.

She didn’t have to answer, Annie knew.

In the end, Elle didn’t buy a dress as she was in the wilds of Scotland and wearing a dress to the local Indian restaurant was probably not the thing.

She bought a pair of tailored, tweed trousers with a wide, cuffed hem and a ribbed, blond, slim-fitting turtleneck (not to mention, she bought a bunch of other stuff). She paired these with black, spike-heeled sandal pumps with a notch opened at the toe and a thin, saucy ankle strap. She’d got the kids ready and then did her hair and makeup while Sally sat on the bathroom’s long counter, watched and babbled.

Now Prentice was home, asking if she was ready.

Which she was not.

“Can I talk to you a second?” she blurted.

“We don’t want to be late for the booking,” Prentice replied, his eyes guarded.

“A second,” Elle repeated and didn’t wait for his response. She turned and walked straight to the study.

She was staring at the drinks cabinet wondering if she should belt back some whisky when Prentice arrived and closed the doors behind him.

He didn’t delay in approaching her and before she knew it, he had her in his arms and his head was descending.

Elle jerked hers back, exclaiming, “No!” When Prentice froze, Elle went on, “No kissing. We need to talk, not kiss.”