She twisted, turning back to face me, and I looked away. Not wanting her to, but just like she did that day at the airport, she held my face.
“Forgive me. I do not wish to keep bringing it up. We have reunited and should be happy—”
“You lost your brother,” she said. “You cannot just be happy going by everyone else’s time. It does not work that way.”
“As the prince, I have to be, even if I do not want to be.”
“You are not the prince to me,” she reminded me again. “We can be happy, and we can be sad. We can fight and then be happy all over again before the evening comes up. When my father passed, I would break out into tears at the most random times. Walking, singing, getting groceries. It did not matter. That was when the feelings hit, so that was when I felt them.”
I sniffed, trying to regain my composure. “So, I shall save those emotions for then? Can you handle them?”
“You won’t let me run away.” She chuckled, and so did I, placing my forehead against hers.
“I wish to stay with you here.” I felt better here with her.
“But you have to go back to the palace.”
“We do,” I replied, and when I saw the fear on her face, I hugged her. “But let us not think about that now. We still have a few hours here, to ourselves, as just Gale and Odette.”
“Odette and Gale,” she shot back.
“The one with the higher rank gets the first billing.” I snickered.
She pouted, and I smiled...truly smiled.
Truly happy for the first time in a long time.
Yes, there was no way I would give this up. Not without a fight.
Chapter 5
I watched as she tried to towel dry her thick head of curls in front of the bathroom mirror. She stood with only a giant white towel around her, and I wished it would just drop, and we could go back to bed. It was clear now that time had a bias against me. When I was in misery, time decided to move slowly. When I was in bliss, it went at lightning speed. I did not want to go back to the palace. I just wanted to stay here, away from everyone and everything. Here reminded me of Seattle, our time together before everything turned. A time when I just admired her beautiful smile and stayed captivated by her brown eyes, which seemed to shine as if they had stars in them. We had spent more time apart than we had together, and yet in a few short hours, it was as if we had picked up from where we had left off.
Being with her felt so right.
“Dammit,” she cursed more under breath as she fought her hair.
It was amusing to watch for two reasons. One, because when Odette was frustrated, she spoke and cursed to herself. And second, I was amazed by how her long curls magically shrunk, rising from the middle of her back to her shoulders and puffing out a bit from the water in the shower.
“Why? Why are you doing this to me now?” she asked her hair as if it were a person, and I just snorted, exposing myself. Her head whipped around, and I clamped my lips shut. “Are you laughing at me? This your fault!”
“Your hair is my fault?”
“Yes, you, Mr. Swoon eyes,” she snapped. “Of course, I would be all Gone With the Wind when you stare at me like that, making forget that I’m not in my home, with my shower caps or combs or even, at least, essential oils and hair moisture to prevent my hair from doing this. I just hopped into the shower, all dazed.”
I could not hold it anymore. I really couldn’t without busting a gut. I laughed so hard my eyes started watering, which Odette just made a face at, before turning around for anything in the sink to help with her current hair apocalypse. Containing myself, I walked up behind her as she gave up. Nothing I had was any use. Instead, she kept trying to brush it out of her face.
She met my eyes in the mirror, glaring for a bit before sighing. “Everyone in the world is going to see me today. I do not want to look—”
“You will look beautiful because you are beautiful,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Do not stress. You