"I knew it!" Zia punched the air before leaning in to kiss Alara's cheek. "You're the best mom in the whole world. Prince Daddyhadto choose you." She sat back with a satisfied smile. "We can all live happily ever after now, here in the castle."
Her little eyebrows drew together. "But we still need to rescue Homer, too."
"We don't get to live here in the castle forever, Z," Alara told her.
"I know. But Grandpa Grape does, so we'll come here lots to see him." She turned back to Reaves. "I think your apartment might be a very tall tower in the forest."
"It might," he agreed with a smile, though he didn't expect that she or Alara would want to live there once they knew what his dad had in mind.
"We get to be happy ever after wherever we live, though, don't we, Prince Daddy?" Zia asked. "You're ours now, aren't you?"
"I am," he assured her. Then he turned to Alara and held her gaze. "Forever and ever."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alara set down her brush and stared up at the view of the castle she'd just finished painting. She'd completed the one of the bare land earlier in the week, and she'd been eager to finish this one as soon as she could.
When Reaves had told her Ollie and Callie weren't around today—so they couldn't have their Saturday pool day—she'd asked if he and Zia wanted to come over to the house with her instead. It wouldn't have been ideal, though, and Reaves had suggested he could take Zia to the shelter to visit Homer. Of course, that was where Zia had wanted to go.
She pushed her chair back and wrapped her arms around herself, looking at the painting she'd just completed. It really did look like a fairytale castle.
She hugged herself, having to admit that for the last week—since she and Reaves had finally spent the night together—her life really did feel like a fairytale. Charles was the kind old king Zia had described. He'd made everything possible for them, and when he'd returned last Sunday, he'd made everything so easy. She suspected Reaves had talked to him, told him they'd spent the night together, because since then it had just somehow been assumed that Reaves would keep sleeping in her room. And he had.
And Reaves—how she loved that man. He might be Prince Daddy to Zia, but to Alara, he was the king of her heart. Of her whole world. He was working hard; he and Ollie made a great team. Charles kept mentioning how well things were running under their leadership already. And Charles himself seemed somuch happier, more relaxed, now that he got to pursue his passion for being a winemaker without having to deal with the business side of things.
She turned to look back at the house. From her spot out here in the yard, it really did look like a fairy tale cottage. She hadn't made as much progress on it as she'd expected over the last week, but the paint was ordered, and she'd shown Charles preliminary designs for upgrading the bathrooms and the kitchen. He kept insisting she didn't need his approval—that this was her project. Her house. She smiled at the thought. She was starting to cautiously believe that it could be.
She still couldn't quite believe the sum of money Delaney had told her Ollie was happy to pay for the painting he'd commissioned. And she'd already lined up a couple more people—no,clients; Delaney said she had to call them clients—who wanted to commission paintings too.
She fished her phone out of her purse to check the time. She should get back up to the castle. Reaves had said he and Zia might stop to see Grady, Hannah, and Ava on their way back, but she wanted to be there, ready, when they arrived home.
There went that word again.Home. It seemed to come so easily now. She stopped to examine it—but there was nothing left in her that wanted to resist it. Jesse had always told her to just hang in there, because one day she'd find her place in the world.
Now she knew she had.
~ ~ ~
"Prince Daddy?"
"What's up, Z?" Reaves met Zia's gaze in the rearview mirror as he pulled away from Hannah and Grady's cottage.
"Thank you for taking me to see Homer today."
"You're welcome. I told you we'd go."
"I know. And you don't say things unless you mean them."
"I don't." As he approached the gate on the way out of the Jacobs estate, he pursed his lips, resolving that he'd always live up to her faith in him.
He slowed the Land Cruiser as they reached the gatehouse. Slade wasn't there, but John poked his head out and raised his hand.
"There's the Quiet Dragon. Can we say hello?" Zia called from the back.
"Sure thing." He put his window down and had to do Zia's for her.
"Quiet Dragon! Quiet Dragon!" she called.
John came over and nodded at Reaves. "Hey, Miss Zia. It's good to see you."
