Cin Wikkid: April Fools For Love (11 page)

The love in his gaze spoke the words for him. He was going to ask her to marry him again. A smile bubbled up inside her, and her own words,
I do.
She even opened her mouth in anticipation.

“But I made a commitment to my sister, and that comes first, even before my happiness.”

The bottom dropped out of her stomach. “What do you mean?”

But Cin knew. Rosette came first. And because his sister came first, Gideon had to come first.

Gideon, not Rafe.

Any future with Rafe meant marrying the Prince heir—becoming Mrs. Gideon Raphael Montoya-Prince, with all that implied.

Was he trying to tell her gently that offering marriage before was a mistake? His board of directors would never accept the likes of her—maybe afraid her being poor would rub off on them, maybe just snobbish pricks—but to keep his sister safe, Rafe needed to marry for duty, not love. A simple sandwich girl wouldn’t make the cut.

Her “I do” was no longer required. She understood completely. Worse, she even agreed with him.

But anguish was a hot knife to her chest.

Chapter Nine

“I know that look,” Rafe said.

Cin tried to speak but her “I do” had congealed in her throat. She swallowed, managed, “You’ve done that since the beginning. Answered questions I haven’t asked.”

“You’ve asked them.” His smile was tentative. “Not in words, but with your face and body language, your hesitation texting. You’ve spoken loud enough through action.”

He
spoke through action, not words. Of course he’d listen that way, too. “Okay, then, what was I thinking?”

“That you’re not right, or not good enough, for me.”

“It’s not you,” she said quickly. “But your board won’t want me.”

“Hang the fucking board. You’re better than good enough for me. Know why?”

She shook her head, clinging to the warmth of his gaze, that slim thread of hope.

“As Rafe, I hid in the back of the lecture hall because of my scars. You were the woman who saw past the scars from the beginning. Who connected with
me.
I want you as my wife because while everyone else is stabbing me in the back, I know you’ll be packing the wounds. Because you love me for
me,
not for my good looks or vast fortune or flowery words.”

She gave a watery laugh. “You don’t have flowery words anyway.”

“See? You know me.” He paused, adding emphasis to what he said next. “But you still love me.”

“I love Rafe Montoya.” It pained her, but she had to be honest with him.

“I am Rafe Montoya.”

“No. You’re the Prince heir.”

“Damn it, that’s not all I am.” He dug vexed fingers in his hair. Then, with a grimace, he dropped his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m being selfish.”

Tentatively, he reached out to wipe her cheek with his thumb, drying the tear she hadn’t even known was falling.

“What I was asking of you…” He sighed. “I know it’s impossible. Learning a whole new way of behaving? Somehow figuring out how to play nice with my ‘friends,’ rattlesnakes who’d make your stepsisters’ jealousy look like a touch of indigestion? Utterly out of the question.”

The truth of that was a hard, sour lump in her stomach. “Sandwich girl” was almost kind next to gold-digger and whore.

“You’d have had to tolerate the shenanigans of my company’s board, covering up issues rather than dealing with them. Marriage to me would have required, not just a thick skin, but tank armor, to hide your heart.”

Hide her heart? With what he’d described, she’d have to bury it.

God. Totally impossible.

All she’d ever dreamed of was a nice, comfortable accounting job, a little place of her own, and maybe the love of a good, uncomplicated man.

Rafe came with a whole lot of baggage.

She hurt for him—for his difficult past, for his impossible present with its terrible choices. She hurt for him, and for her, too. For the “them” that would never be, because for her to have Rafe, she’d have to give up her dreams.

Except he
is
my dreams.

A cry of denial cut through her, emerging as a pained gasp. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. All her life, Cinderella had believed in her mother’s words.
“Be a good girl, be a woman of character, and virtue will bring its own reward.”
She’d worked hard to follow her mother’s teachings, to be kind and caring and thrifty and hard-working, sure that one day she would reap the benefits.

She’d worked hard, sacrificed her whole life—and this was her reward? Her dream killed before her eyes? Anguish rose inside her, a hot, fast flood. She scrunched her eyes against it, squeezing a trickle out to thread down her cheek. “Rafe…”

“Oh Cin.” His voice was a whisper, his own pain a needle stitching through it. “I’m so sorry.”

Opening her eyes, she met his gaze. Soft, apologetic, mirroring her own pain, her own fear.

“I’m sorry, too.” Shame stung her—she was being selfish. He’d been through as much as she. More. Trying to comfort him, she smiled. He smiled tremulously in return.

In that moment, she knew she loved him, the real kind, the sacrificial kind.

The kind that would give up her dreams, if that was best for him.

Her eyes stung and swam with hot tears. Her chest felt hollow.

“I understand,” Rafe whispered. “It’s too much. Hell, even I have to run away to keep sane, and I was born to it. For you, it’s impossible.”

Reading her thoughts as he always did. Understanding.

Understanding isn’t enough. To be truly wise, you must care deeply.

For the wise heart, nothing is impossible.

Her entire world inverted.
I love him. Why is a future with him impossible?

Yes, life with Rafe would be one battle after another. Not her dreams of a better future, but the hell of dealing graciously with his “friends”, his board, his obligations, of going from a family who didn’t love her to a whole world who hated her.

But she’d been fighting all her life already, endless drudgery while scraping for bits and pieces of a better future that seemed nowhere in sight.

Her heart told her that she loved him.

Her
wise
heart told her that was the game-changer.

Marrying Rafe, she might be fighting a losing battle to be accepted—but she’d be fighting shoulder to shoulder with the man she loved.
With
him, hand in hand and heart to heart.

She might lose the war, but with him in her life? Ultimately, she’d be the winner.

Her
dreams
of a future poofed, to be replaced by a
future.
With him.

“Rafe…” Her words swelled in her throat, hot and terrifying, so big she nearly fainted.

“Cin?” For once he didn’t follow her thoughts, his dear black brow quirked in confusion.
Now he needs words…

She managed the one word that would tell him her decision. His name, the one she’d never used before. “
Gideon
…”

Both brows rose, his eyes wide. Then he whooped and dropped to one knee, joy shining on his face. “Cinderella Wikkid, will you marry me?”

Tears clogging her throat, she could only nod. But with him, that was enough.

And so, Cinderella wed her Prince and moved into his palace—along with Spike the kitten who grew to be good friends with Snoopy the beagle. She met Gideon’s board of directors and his sister, loved the sister and, amazingly, learned to get along with the board.

The Steps came to live with them at first. They were cloyingly sweet to Cin’s face but still scathing and judgmental behind her back, until Gideon bought houses for them in Rio, Paris, Bora Bora, and Sydney, and suggested strongly they check them out—for the next few decades.

Occasionally, Gideon would pad his cheeks and put on his scars and Cin would see her Rafe again—but with love and caring, as they battled through life together, she began seeing Rafe’s twinkle in Gideon’s eyes, even at his most Princely.

Her mother had been right in a way, predicting that if Cin was good and kind, one day she would find her prince. Virtue had brought its own reward, leading her
to
him.

But it was her good and wise heart, for which nothing was impossible, that brought her joy
with
him.

Five years later, Gideon, in the gazebo where he’d proposed and she’d accepted, finally said the words she’d longed to hear.

“Cinderella Prince, I love you.”

“Oh Gideon.” She kissed him. “I love you, too.”

And they lived happily ever after.

About the Author

Who am I? A lover of stories that crackle with action and emotion. A mother, a flutist, a binge-TV-watcher of NCIS, Sherlock, and Agents of SHIELD. Most of all, I'm a believer in grand passion.

I’d love to hear from you!

Website
http://www.maryhughesbooks.com/

Blog
http://maryhughesbooks.blogspot.com/

Group Blog
http://www.lustwithalaugh.com/

Group Blog
http://magicalmusings.com/

Amazon Author Page
http://www.amazon.com/author/maryhughes

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/MaryHughesAuthor

Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/MaryHughesBooks

Newsletter signup
http://www.maryhughesbooks.com/index.html#MHNewsletter

Look for these titles by Mary Hughes

Bottled Up

A clogged drain. A pretend plumber. An April Fool’s Day to remember.

Good looks don’t last forever, and neither do modeling careers. When Nate’s time in the sun ends, he goes back to school. Trouble is, in order to pay for his last semester he’s going to need to get naked.

When a four month modeling contract took Nate Dallas on an adventure around the world, he was too young to realize he was an idiot to leave his Blue-eyed Betty behind. After one night of passion he let her love letters that fade in his pocket instead of fighting for a trip home.

Betty Townsend never forgot about Nate. He’d sent her the world in envelopes filled with sea shells and sand. She saw stars when he kissed her under a sparkling spotlight on stage. And she felt her heart break when he never returned to her.

When Nate shows up at Betty’s door, big wrench in hand, she can’t believe her first love is the one her friend hired to fix the sink.

Once Nate recognizes Betty, stripping is out of the question. So is leaving. He can’t throw this chance away. The heat between them is undeniable, but when Betty finds out her first love is covered in glitter down to his g-string, do they stand a chance at rekindling the love that never really burned out? Or will fate make fools out of them again?

Must Love Menage

Chloe keeps a strict policy of not mixing work and play. But play is exactly what she wants with both her hotter than sin bosses.

Rumors and false accusations from an ex-girlfriend forced Ben and Sam to close their Florida restaurant and try to reopen one in Bayburgh. They’ve vowed to never date an employee again but the vivacious Chloe is temptation personified.

When a series of events cascades from a prank gone wrong, the three of them end up committed to running in a charity marathon. Training for the event throws them together outside of work and explore the attraction they’ve been fighting.

Will Ben and Sam to risk everything by inviting Chloe into their lives, not knowing if she’s willing to be shared?