Page 32 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

“Girls, come here!” Casey called out. “Harper! Jaelyne! Come quick!”

I had obviously not been included in that summons, but I wandered into the kitchen anyway, curious as to what had my stepmother nearly hyperventilating.

“What is it?” Harper whined. “I was doing school.”

More precisely, she’d been texting a guy from school with her textbook open on her lap, as I’d noted not five minutes earlier.

“What is it?” Jaelyne asked. She, too, had her phone in her hand, but unlike her sister, she didn’t pretend she’d been doing school.

“In honor of the re-opening of the Buchkarte Ski Resort,” Casey read aloud, “its proprietor, Jay Kentworthy, is hosting a Harvest ball on October thirty-first. This celebration is not only meant for the staff but for the whole city. And as neighbors, you are cordially invited to attend!”

Casey put the letter down. “Girls, we’re going to a ball!”

I couldn’t help smiling as I thought of Asher’s gift. So that’s what the tiara was for. I pulled out my phone and shot him a text.

So the tiara isn’t just for the stables?

To my surprise, his response was nearly immediate.

As much as I would love to see you ride a horse in a crown, I thought it might serve a dual purpose this time.

I giggled and began to text him back. But when I glanced up, I found that while the girls were still chattering about costumes, Casey was watching me with a strange expression.

What did that mean?

That night I found that the storybook’s pages had been added to once more. This time, it was a scene I was quite familiar with from the traditional tale, and I nearly laughed.

That night, a message arrived from the king, inviting the whole family to a royal ball.

Either Margaret was insanely good at predicting huge sections of my life, or her magic was getting more pronounced. I shook my head as I studied the picture. This image was of the main character accepting a sealed letter from a uniformed messenger.

“I wonder…” I murmured, turning the page to find another blank spread.

Margaret had said to try to help the story along. And I hadn’t known what she meant. But now that I knew the next part of the story, I wondered…

I wondered if I might try.

Even if knowing the next part of the story filled me with foreboding.

16

The Pretty Dress

My opportunity came two days later, when Casey was getting ready to leave for her conference, and I walked into the living room to find Jaelyne glaring petulantly at the window.

“Hey, kiddo. What’s wrong?” I asked as I stuck my coffee in the microwave. Again. “It’s Saturday. You love Saturdays.”

“I want to buy a costume before all the good ones are sold out,” Jaelyne pouted. “But Mom’s too busy packing to take me, and Harper says she doesn’t want to.”

I was about to answer that I wished I could help, but that her mother had left far too much for me to do, when I had a sudden wisp of inspiration.

Margaret had said to help the story out.

Well, I knew how the next part of the story was supposed to turn out. Which meant this was my chance.

“I’ve got to finish checking all the horses’ water systems,” I said. “But if you help me, we would have enough time to go shopping before it gets dark.”

Jaelyne usually balked at the suggestion that she help me in the barn, but she must have been pretty desperate because she jumped up to help me right away. And an hour later, we were bundled up in our coats, scarves, and gloves, making our way into town.