His Princess - Stacy Gail Page 0,18
your next video, right?”
“Yeah, it’s great. Maybe I shouldn’t see Gus’s one call as a bad sign,” Joelle went on, half to herself as she turned the problem over in her mind—just like she’d been turning the problem over in her mind for four freaking days. “It’s not like he’s completely forgotten about me. I mean, he does send text messages several times a day, so that’s a positive sign that I’m not like every other princess he’s been seen with, right? I’m not destined to be a one-and-done woman like all the others were in his past. Right?”
“Joelle.” With a sigh, Alice dropped the skirt and came over to where she sat at her workspace, which she’d positioned by a wide bay window overlooking the townhome’s back garden. “I love you, honey. I need you to know that, because what I’m about to say comes from a place of love.”
Uh-oh. “Okay.”
“You’ve lost your damn mind.”
Joelle winced. “Ouch.”
“Sometimes the truth really does hurt. I know you’re upset that this Gus guy hasn’t called you more,” Alice went on, reaching out to grab her hand to give it a squeeze. “But you’re obsessing on him to the point of mania. It’s not healthy. In fact, I’ve never seen you act this way about a man before. He’s just a guy, Jo.”
“No, he’s not,” she protested softly, shaking her head. “I’ve never felt this way before, about anyone.”
Alice’s mouth pursed before she dropped her hand. “In case you’ve forgotten, it wasn’t even a week ago that you concocted a wild plan to make that snob, Emerson what’s-his-name cry in his dry martini over dumping you. Yet now here you are turning yourself inside out over another guy you literally just met and know almost nothing about, except that he has a thing for perfect princesses.”
“Which I’m not.” Joelle sighed and rubbed a weary hand over her face. “I hear what you’re saying, and I know how it must look. But please believe me when I say that Gus Bloch is completely unlike any man I’ve ever met. That means I feel differently about him. Completely, utterly different.”
Alice frowned. “Different how?”
“My whole body starts to tingle when I just think about him. I can’t sleep because I’m afraid I’m going to somehow miss his call or text. When he smiles at me, he’s not trying to be charming or put up some kind of schmoozy front that’s going to vanish the moment I turn my back. When Gus smiles at me, it’s the most real thing I’ve ever seen. I want to find ways to keep that smile going because I love how real it is. Everything about him is real, and solid, and so damn impressive I could just sit there and glow about how much he’s already achieved in life. He’s smart. He’s funny. Yeah, he’s kind of bossy, but I love that aspect about him, too. It’s definitely a departure from all the mealy-mouthed, indecisive jellyfish I’ve dated throughout the years.”
“I need to stop you right there, because I’m kind of freaking out.” Alice held up a hand, all the while staring at her like she’d never seen her before. “Just now, the word love came out of your mouth not once, but twice. You’re not falling in love with this serial princess dater, are you?”
“I…” Stunned, Joelle stared at her foster sister as that one question put everything into sharp focus. “Oh my God, you know what? I think it’s a strong possibility. Or at least, falling in lust. Is that a thing? I seriously think that might be a thing with me. Do you think people really can fall in love at first sight?”
“For most people, I’d say no way, but we’re talking about you here, and weirdly magical things have a tendency to happen around you”
“Like what?”
“Like that sorority that begged you to join, when come to find out it was the most exclusive sorority on campus. Or that one time an executive chef decided you needed a meal that literally went from soup to nuts, gratis, just because he overheard you talking about how you’d had nothing to eat that day except SpaghettiOs.”
“To be fair, I think any chef would’ve had that reaction.”
“That’s not the point,” came the eyerolling response. “The point is, amazing things happen around you. Weird and crazy and wonderful things. I’ve always assumed it was because that’s what you put out into the world, so that’s what the world gives back to