Keeping My Prince Charming (11 page)
Read Keeping My Prince Charming Online
Authors: J. S. Cooper
Xavier
The squealing of Stephan’s car wheels fifteen minutes after he’d arrived made me smile. I pumped my fist in the air and then jumped out of my chair. I felt high on life and I knew that I should wipe the smile off of my face before Lola found me. I could hear her footsteps coming closer to my study as she walked and I knew that she was looking for me and was probably ready to scream and shout at what I’d done. I knew I’d been immatur
e
—
stupid,eve
n
—
to invite Stephan over. It wasn’t even that I was testing her. I trusted Lola with all my heart. I just wanted to ensure that I was the one for her, the one that she wanted, deep inside her heart and soul.
“Xavier,” she called out as she walked down the corridor and made her way to the study.
“I’m in here,” I called out as I fell to the floor and grabbed the box out of my pocket.
“Xavier, you’re an asshole, you know that.” Her voice was annoyed as she walked into my study. Her jaw dropped open as she looked at me down on my knees, with the ring box open in front of me. “Xavier?” she said, her voice unsure now. “What’s going on?”
“Lola Franklin, from the first time I saw you in London, I knew that you were someone special. I knew that you were
the
someone special. I might be a prince, and I might be your professor, but we both know I’m still human. I’ve still made mistakes. Lola Franklin, I want you to know that I love you more than life itself. And I wanted to make sure that, before I asked you to be mine, I gave you every opportunity to choose someone else. I love you enough to want you to be with someone else if that was what you wanted.”
“Xavier,” Lola started, her face warm and her eyes glowing, “you’re the only one that I want.”
“Lola, you don’t know how happy you make me when you say those words.” I took the ring out of the box and held it up to her. “Will you marry me, Lola Franklin? Will you make me the happiest man in the world?”
“Yes, Xavier.” She beamed as I slid the ring onto her finger. “I’ll marry you.”
I jumped up then and pulled her into my arms. “I’ll look after you and protect you forever, Lola.” I kissed her cheeks and her lips and she giggled as she kissed me back softly.
“And one other thing...” she said softly as her voice trailed off.
“Yes? Anything, my darling,” I said, curious, wondering what was making her blush.
“Will you continue to be adventurous in the bedroom?” she said mischievously. “I kinda liked that pain and pleasure thing you did.”
“Your wish is my desire.” I laughed as my hands slid to her ass and slapped it quickly before rubbing it gently. “I’ll do anything you want me to.” She gazed up at me and wrapped her arms around my neck and I kissed her eagerly, loving the warmth of her body against mine. I knew in that moment that we could get through anything that life had to throw at us. I might be Lola’s Prince Charming, but she was my forever princess.
Lola
There are three things you should know about me:
1. I believe in love with all my heart.
2. Every night, I dream about the Prince Charming that I get to spend the rest of my life with.
3. I’m a walking contradiction.
And upon further thought, there is one last thing you should know about me. I received an envelope a couple of months ago and all it held was a feather and a piece of paper. On the piece of paper there was one sentence. One sentence that I think about every day. One sentence that I dismiss from my mind whenever it starts to make me warm and cozy or whenever it starts to make me worried and afraid. I keep the letter because as much as the writer is correct, he is also wrong. I read the letter whenever I want to remind myself of who I am and where I’ve been. I read the letter to remind myself that I’m not perfect. I read the letter to remind myself that life isn’t black and white. Love isn’t perfect and Prince Charmings are just regular men. I read the letter to remind myself that I have my happily-ever-after and that it’s all I could have ever asked for. Yes, when I read the words in the letter, it makes me pause. The writer, you see, wrote one simple sentence: “In the darkness, you will always remember me.” And he’s correct. I will always remember him, but not for the reasons that he thinks. In the darkness, I remember the confusion. In the darkness, I remember the exact moment that I realized that Xavier was a morta
l
—
a human being like me. That he made mistakes and I made mistakes and that was okay. As long as we could both forgive and forget. As long as we could grow. And grow we did. Yes, Stephan had touched a primal part of me that took me on a short walk on the dark side, but the memory of that walk only made me stronger. The memory of that walk made me realize that I had the best man in the world. The memory of the feather and the memory of the darkness only showed me that I’d kept the one man in my life who was right for me. Xavier Van Romerius was my Prince Charming and the fact that I’d captured his heart was the only thing that mattered. I smiled every time I saw that letter now because it reminded me of where I’d been and where I am now. I smiled because it made me excited for my future. I smiled because it reminded me that I’m engaged
—for real this time—to marry the only man I’ve ever love
d
. The only one who can really turn me on, heart and soul. I smile because I know that when I walk down the aisle at my wedding in front of all of my guests, including Stephan, I’m not going to be the one thinking about what went on in the dark.<3
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