I knew why, I could fix it.” Wasn’t that obvious?
“I mean, how do you know?” Petty demanded.
“She kissed me today. At the fountain. Nothing.” Phillip sighed. “And she’s still talking to her ex.”
“Ex, schmex.” She waved her hand. “Whatever. Things aren’t always what they seem, Phillip. Don’t lose hope.”
“Petty, I’ll be honest. Right now, hope hurts a lot more than despair ever could.”
She patted his cheek. “It’ll all work out, if you just trust me.” He studied her and decided to confess what he’d done. “I might’ve done what I wasn’t supposed to.”
“Which time?”
“We went to Ravenna.”
Petty snorted. “Of course you did. Well? What was her answer?”
“A wedding.”
“Excuse me, what?” Petty wiggled her nose to adjust her glasses.
“A wedding. Her crystal ball showed me an image of a wedding with a bride in a lavender dress and Esmerelda flying over the bride’s shoulder.”
Petty gasped. “You can’t be serious.”
“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do.”
“Not that. Marrying Ravenna is not the answer. I do promise you that.”
Phillip didn’t want to marry Ravenna, and Ravenna didn’t want to marry him, but he didn’t want to be a frog, either. He had a choice to make, and no one could make it for him except himself. He knew Petty meant well.
“Anyway, will you see that your guest gets this?”
He took the folder. “Yeah.”
Petty disappeared in a puff of pink glitter, and he sneezed.
“I wish she’d stop doing that,” he mumbled.
He didn’t mind the excuse to see Zuri again. It probably wasn’t the brightest course of action, either, but all his choices at the moment sucked.
He ran a hand through his hair and walked down the long hallway to her door, where he knocked lightly.
She opened the door, and his mouth went dry. He forgot what he’d come for. Hell, he was pretty sure he’d forgotten his own name.
Zuri was wearing leggings and a soft, lavender, seemingly cashmere sweater that clung to her in all the right places. Her hair was pulled back under a kerchief, giving him a view of the tender line of her neck.
She smiled. “Hi.”
What was he doing?
Why had he come?
He was holding something, and he held it up in front of himself dumbly.
She arched a brow. “That’s very sparkly.”
He looked at it, then he looked at her, then back to the file. His brain finally took pity on him and switched into gear. “Petty dropped this off for you. She asked me to deliver it personally.”
“Did she? If she were here, why didn’t she deliver it?” She accepted the file. “Not that I’m complaining about a visit from my new friend.”
“I sense the wheels of matchmaking are furiously turning,” he said.
“Do they ever stop turning with those three?” She stepped to the side. “If you wanted to come in and we could have more drinking chocolate, I wouldn’t mind it. I’ve had one hell of a day.”
“Me too.” He followed her inside and closed the door behind him. “You can go first. Tell me about your day.”
“I kissed a frog,” she blurted.
He nodded. “You’re not alone. Everyone tries. I’m sure the frog, if he really is a prince, appreciates it.” The words were cold on his tongue.
“Does he, though? I mean, he didn’t seem to be in distress.”
“Kisses from a beautiful woman don’t seem to be the kind of thing to be distressed over.” He flashed her a grin and went to the screen on the refrigerator. He typed in the unnecessary request for the drinking chocolate.
The castle knew what he wanted and would deliver, but now was not the time to clue Zuri into the realities of magic.
She snorted. “Oh, please. I thought we were past that.”
“Past me thinking you’re beautiful? Nope. We’ll never get past that.”
She gave him a shy smile. “I mean, if you insist, who am I to disagree?”
“That’s the spirit. I ordered some drinking chocolate.”
“You could build up the fire, too. If you were feeling inclined.” She sat down on the couch and thumbed through the file Petty had sent her.
He was happy to start the fire and get it roaring nice and high, filling the room with soft light and just enough warmth to make it cozy.
“Everything in this town is crazy. Even the weddings. These people want me to pull off a wedding, from beginning to vows, in three weeks.”
“You can do it.”
“How do you know?” She grinned.
He sat down on the couch next to her. “Because I know the godmothers. They wouldn’t have hired you if you couldn’t. Nor would