Page 52 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

He snorted. “Is that your way of telling me there isn’t even a Starbucks?” He shot me a cheeky grin. “Well, maybe I could handle roughing it for a few days.”

I laughed at that. With or without a Starbucks, how could living in a castle ever count as roughing it?

We stopped outside another building. This one didn’t boast the same historic features as the others, instead looking like some modern warehouse. I nudged Kenna awake, and we headed inside. There were exposed brick walls, polished concrete floors, and a private showroom of designer clothing.

“What is all this?” I asked.

“Your Cinderella moment,” Alfie teased, pulling a dress from one of the waiting clothing racks. Kenna flitted to the sparkle like a moth to a flame. “This is where you complete your transformation.” He tucked the dress away. “Alistair wants to take you two out for dinner tonight. Hair and makeup will be here shortly.”

“Oh my God,” I whispered. Was this what it felt like to be a celebrity?

Before Alfie could say anything else, we were greeted by two stylists. Cheryl took Kenna off to look at outfits. Veronica held her hand out to me.

“You can call me Ronnie,” she said, tugging on my arm, spinning me in a circle as she sized me up. “How do you feel about a little off-the-shoulder number?”

“I guess…good? I mean…” I laughed, delirious. “I don’t really dress up like this.”

She grinned. “Oh, I’m going to have fun with you.”

She pulled dress after dress from the rack faster than I could blink. Then she whisked me into a changing room. I paraded in and out of the room over and over again for the next half hour, standing on top of a platform in front of a bank of giant mirrors. Sometimes Kenna joined me, spinning around in crinoline skirts and ruffles.

Alfie whistled, clapping for each number.

“Now the pink one!” Kenna declared, rushing back into her fitting room.

“I really do like the blue sparkles,” I called.

“No, I want pink!”

Of course she did. I stepped back into the changing room myself, and Ronnie zipped me into a turquoise number that felt like a second skin. I ran my hands over my front, loving the silk.

“Mm-hmm,” Ronnie hummed. “I think this might be the one.”

I stepped out in front of the mirrors again, and Alfie’s jaw dropped. “Girl, you look lush.”

“I hope that means nice,” I said, twisting to check out my backside. It had never looked so good. Quality tailoring was doing it all sorts of favors, but I also believed that sprinting all over the castle was doing wonders for me.

“It means drool-worthy.” He bowed down to Ronnie. “You continue to make magic, my queen.”

She waved him off, then checked a notification on her smartwatch. “Oh, the hair team is here. I better let them in.”

“I’ll come with you,” Alfie said. “I have some ideas I want to run by them.”

I took the moment alone to twist and turn in front of the mirror, appreciating the sight of myself in a dress I’d never be able to afford in a million years. Wanting to preserve the moment, I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo. I fired it off to Emily with a text. Want to bet this dress cost more than my parents’ house?

Holy shit! It’s gorgeous.

My phone rang a moment later. “You look friggin’ hot. Where are you going, the Oscars?”

“I have no idea, Em. It’s been a wild day.” I told her everything, from the moment we stepped onto the jet until now.

“And has he kissed you again?”

“No,” I mumbled. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed about that. But today had made me feel so special, it was hard not to swoon at the thought of Alistair.

“You sound happy,” Emily mused.

“I am. Happier than I’ve been in months, honestly.”