The Prince's Bride (Modern Fairytales) (14 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Sometime between being shoved in between two huge, smelly men, and the flight attendant’s announcement that the airplane would be taking off five minutes ahead of time due to prompt boarding of the passengers, Alicia admitted to herself that she’d made a huge, stupid, colossal mistake. It wasn’t just the fact that leaving Leo was ripping her heart out all over again, and it wasn’t just because she literally lost one of her favorite shoes in his driveway. It was what he’d said as she left.

“
There’s nothing worth saving here
.”

Rubbing her forehead, she closed her eyes. Last night, he’d said things that had scared the hell out of her. Things about never letting her go, and how they had a connection between them. And while that terrified her and kind of made her want to throw up, it sparked an excitement inside of her that she couldn’t deny.

Because he was right.

They did.

All her life, she’d cared for him, even after what she thought he’d done. He’d broken her heart, and his promises. But she’d learned a great deal about him throughout the last week. He was a great man. Kind and considerate. And she finally had to admit to herself…

There
is
something worth saving
.

The way he made her feel, the happiness that he could bring her if she let him, deserved a chance. That was all he’d been asking for, and she’d made sure to crush his soul.

Those stupid letters. It was crazy that she was so determined to hold on to the past. Maybe he couldn’t marry someone who wasn’t a princess, but they could at least see whatever it was they had through. Screw his stuck up advisors, and screw logic.

She wanted to
be
with him.

She stood up, heart racing, and slid sideways as much as she could with a huge bear of a guy blocking her way out. “Excuse me, sir.”

The flight attendant frowned. “Please be seated. We’re about to take off.”

“I have to get off this plane immediately.” She scooted past the huge man next to her, tripping out into the aisle.

“You can’t get off the plane,” she said, shooting her coworker a worried look and blocking her escape. “Once the doors are closed, you can’t—wait. Aren’t you that woman the prince detained the other day?”

She latched on to that statement gratefully. “Yes, and I escaped.” She held her hands out, wrists up. “If he finds out you helped me leave the country, you might be charged with aiding and abetting. Arrest me immediately.”

“If you’re escaping…” A man stood up, frowning. “Why are you turning yourself in when you’re about to get away with it?”

“Guilt. Tons and tons of guilt.” Which was true because, God, it was so obvious he hadn’t actually gotten those letters, and that he was a man she could
trust
. She’d just been too scared. Well, not anymore. She held her hands out even more. “Detain me instantly, or you’ll answer to him.”

The two flight attendants exchanged looks, and it took all her control not to groan out loud. When she didn’t
want
to be captured, they couldn’t call her location in quickly enough. But when she tried to turn herself in, they
hesitated
.

“I don’t know…” the man said.

“Let me off the plane,” she said, between clenched teeth. “Call the palace, and ask to speak with the prince. He’ll back up the story about my escape after he hears my voice.”

The man stepped forward, brandishing his Air Marshal badge, and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “I’ll take care of this, ma’am,” he said to the flight attendant.

“Thank you,” Alicia muttered, wiggling her wrists. “Go on. Get it over with.”

The man slipped a cuff on her wrist, shaking his head. “So you escape, get on the plane, and then have remorse?”

“Pretty much,” she said, watching as he locked the other cuff.

The door to the plane flew open, and the flight attendant leaped back, eyes wide. “You can’t just come—” She covered her mouth. “Oh my God.”

A man fell into the plane, breathing heavily.

He was out of breath. And his hair was sticking up all over the place, and he doubled over, clutching his stomach. His white dress shirt was half tucked in and half out, and he was so disheveled that it took her a second to recognize the dark blond hair. But in her defense, she was all the way back in coach, and he was by the cockpit, so there were easily twenty rows between him and her. “Leo?” she whispered.

The flight attendant gasped and curtsied, “Your Highness?”

Leo lifted his head, scanning the plane for her with a wildness to his eyes she’d never before seen. He was sweaty, his face was flushed, and he wasn’t wearing his jacket. He’d never looked more out of sorts than he did now…or more
perfect
.

You came for me.

When he finally saw her, standing in cuffs in front of her seat, his brows slammed down. Half the people on the plane stood and bowed or curtsied, and a chorus of
Your Highness
filled the silence of the cabin, but his eyes never drifted from her.

The air marshal looked from her to Leo, understanding lighting up his eyes. “Your Highness.” He bowed once, his southern accent giving a soft drawl as he spoke. “She’s here. Just so you know, she turned herself in of her own accor—”

“Please release her immediately.” Leo staggered forward, his eyes never leaving hers. “She’s not my prisoner, and she’s free to go wherever she pleases.”

Alicia remained quiet because right now, she had no idea where she wanted to go at all. Everything inside her was a big jumbled ball of cords and wires.

“I’m so sorry, Alicia.” He came forward another row, patting a beaming child on the head as he went. “I’m sorry for everything I said, everything I didn’t say, and everything I’m about to say right now.”

“I—” She swallowed hard, her heartbeat echoing in her ears and almost drowning his voice out. Nervously, she glanced around the plane—and found every freaking set of eyes on either him, her, or darting between them both incessantly. Knowing his dislike for causing a scene, and his unwillingness to let people know who and what she was to him, she lowered her cuffed wrists in front of her waist. “There’s a crowd here. Let’s go somewhere quiet and private, and we can—”

“No. I’m not hiding you from the world anymore. I ran all the way to this plane, and I didn’t give a damn who saw it, or me, and I still don’t.” He gestured to her wrists. “
Please
remove her restraints.”

The Air Marshal undid them immediately, offering her an apologetic smile as he turned back to Leo. “Do you need any assistance in getting her off the plane?”

“No, thank you. I won’t be forcing her off the plane,” Leo said slowly, passing another row of seats and smiling absentmindedly at the crowd. The woman in the aisle seat gaped at him. “Do you mind if I delay your flight for a bit?”

The crowd all shook their heads, or offered verbal encouragement.

“Thank you,” he said, bowing slightly. “I appreciate that.”

Alicia rubbed her wrists and let out a little laugh. “We can just get off the plane, and you can tell me whatever—”

“I’m going to say this one more time, and for the love of God, please believe me. I never got your letters,” he said. “I swear it. I didn’t mean—”

“I know.” She forced a smile, admitting what she’d been too afraid to admit before. She’d needed that barrier between them protecting her heart. “I believe you.”

“And I—” He cut himself off, his forehead wrinkling. “Wait. You do?” he asked, looking surprised. “You believe me?”

“I do,” she said, nodding.

She should have long ago.

She shouldn’t have been so
scared
.

“But you don’t know yet why I never got them.”

She gripped her hands together in front of her. “And you do?”

“I found out today that my father took them. Hid them. And Harry was the one who wrote to you,” he said, pressing his lips into a tight line as he moved forward another row. “I’ll explain more, if you want, but I think those details are best left for a more private moment. Perhaps email, or over the phone once you’re back home. But…I wanted to tell you the truth before you left for good.”

So
that’s
why he was here.

To say his piece and then send her on her way.

It was sweet that he came all the way out here, literally running across an airport to tell her something he could have done via mail or a phone call…but it was more
bitter
sweet than anything. She forced a smile, though, because he had enough on his mind, and he didn’t need to know how close she’d been to throwing herself at him and telling him she wanted to love him with all her heart.

That she wanted to be with him, even though she couldn’t.

Because he was a
king
.

“Thank you for that.” She widened her smile, clasping her hands in front of her so she didn’t reach for him. “It’s nice to know what happened. Closure and all that. I didn’t know he disliked me so much as to go to all that trouble, though.”

“He didn’t dislike you. I think he just felt I was too young to be in love with someone as deeply as I was. Afterward, he felt bad, though. Not that this makes up for what he did, but he’s the one who paid your tuition,” he said slowly, still staring at her with a desperation she couldn’t quite ignore or deny, despite the rational thoughts she was trying to cling to. “And he requested Baker send you here, too.”

Blinking, she clasped the seat in front of her, letting that all sink in. When she’d gotten the scholarship for struggling kids, she’d been shocked—mostly because she had only applied for it on a whim. But she’d gotten a full ride to college.

Food. Boarding. Books.

The whole nine yards.

And then when her boss insisted she be the one to go on this trip…suddenly, it all made perfect sense. “So he brought me here…why?”

“To make it up to you, and to bring us back into the same country together.” Another row closer. She could feel that invisible pull he’d talked about, urging her to step closer to him. To grab him and never let him go, no matter the consequences. “I’m guessing.”

“Wow.” She let out a small laugh and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I don’t really know what to say to that.”

“I’m even suspecting he had a part in us seeing one another that night.” He cast a quick look at the crowd, leaving off any detail of how or where.

Her jaw dropped. “Now that you mention it…I got a flyer slipped under my door, with a ticket for free entry and some free drinks. I thought it was just a complimentary hotel thing.”

He let out a small laugh and rubbed his jaw, coming one step closer. There were only ten rows between them now. Every time he passed one, the people in it stared at him with awe—even the Americans. She didn’t blame them. He
was
a prince.

A king, actually…

Even if they didn’t
know
that yet.

“Well, then, that confirms my suspicions.” He smiled sadly. The emotions inside of him had to be even more messed up than hers were. His father had lied to him, hid things, and then tried to make it right…but had died before doing so. If that wasn’t enough to make a person want to scream, she didn’t know what was. “He brought us back together, the best way he could, because he regretted his actions. It doesn’t excuse him, or make it okay, but I wanted you to know.”

She swallowed, blinking rapidly, because all this information was a lot to take in. And because this was a good-bye. A real good-bye. “Thank you for letting me know. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. It’s…it’s been a rough few years, and I’m not saying it makes my actions okay, or anything, either. But…it’s hard for me to trust. To leap in with both feet. I’m not that girl who introduces herself to the cute boy at the skating rink anymore.”

He smiled and came another row closer. “And I’m not that boy, either.” He froze, glancing around the plane, almost as if he’d just remembered where they were, and why. “We met before, you see. In America. We were what you Americans call High School Sweethearts…is that the right term, Alicia?”

Alicia laughed, impending tears making her throat ache. “Kind of, yes.”

“I loved her, you see,” he said slowly to the crowd, pressing a hand over his chest. “I loved her with all my heart. The type of love that you only read about in books. That was ten years ago, and I thought of her every day.” He turned back to Alicia and tapped his chest, shutting out the crowd again as he focused on her. “I thought of you every day, Alicia, and I just thought I’d let you know, before you go, that I loved you so very much.”

The woman next to him clutched her own chest and sighed, tears running down her cheeks. It took Alicia less than a second to realize that tears ran down her cheeks, too. It took all of her control not to throw herself at him and beg him to take her back to the castle with him. She didn’t want to go home. She wanted him.

He could still marry his princess, like he had to, and she could—

And
that’s
where the fantasy ended.

Sitting idly by, watching him marry another woman? Have children with her? Yeah, no. No way. She wasn’t that woman. She couldn’t be
that
woman.

Not even for him.

But, God, I wish I could.

“I thought of you, too.” She smiled, but tears still rolled down her cheeks. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. “Every day.”

Another row closed between them, and he stared at her with parted lips. “You’re crying. Why?”

“I don’t know,” she said, swiping her hand across her cheek. “It’s just sad, I guess. All of this is just…
sad
.”

“That we thought of each other?” he asked quietly.

She laughed uneasily, because she could feel at least a hundred pairs of eyes on her, and she swiped her hands across her cheeks, trying to dry them. It was pointless, because more tears came. “Yes.”

“Yeah…” He nodded. “You’re free to go, you know.”

Tears blurring her vision, she nodded, watching as he took another step toward her. The woman in the aisle seat touched his shirt in awe. “I know.”