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“Lucas, you have been my faithful friend for as long as I can remember. Selflessly, you’ve given your heart and soul to Edoria. And here I am, standing in the way of the first real love you have ever truly known. How could any man be more fit for my daughter than you? And how could I so carelessly toss you aside when you stand poised to give my Ava the greatest gift of all?” My father cleared his throat. “If you’d be so kind as to return to the palace, you are welcome here. And if you wish to be with my daughter, I am sure I can find a more suitable role for you than merely my right hand.”
It was everything I had hoped my father would say to me since I’d arrived.
“Yes,” I said, tears in my eyes. “I’ll stay.”
The king’s eyes glistened, and he quickly wiped them.
“Wonderful. Just wonderful.”
Luc cleared his throat. “And I’d be honored to return, Your Grace.”
“That’sAlaricto you, old friend,” my father said with a smile.
Luc and I turned to one another, the look on his face making it obvious he had the same thing on his mind as me.
“While we are sharing so openly and honestly, there’s one more thing we need to talk about…”
Chapter 48
Ava
“Next!”
God, it felt good to be back in the truck.
The middle-aged man, looking especially entitled in his tech bro outfit of jeans and a hoodie, ambled up to the front of the line like he owned the place.
“Good afternoon,” he said. “Now, I know you guys do the crab cake thing, but what’re the odds I can do that keto style? You know, no breadcrumbs or anything like th—”
I leaned forward, tapping on the sign that said, “no alterations or substitutions!”
“You want just crab,” I said. “The ocean’s right over there. Now, if you want the best crab cake sandwich in Seattle, I’m happy to serve you one.”
He looked more than a little disappointed. “I seriously can’t eat more than thirty carbs a day. Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“Well, lucky for you, we’ve also got the best crab cakesaladin Seattle. Pretty sure that’s as low carb as it comes. Then again, you can’t spell ‘carb’ without ‘crab’.”
The tech bro pursed his lips. “I’ll take one of those.”
“You hear that, kids?” I called out.
“Heard!” Hailey shouted.
“Heard!” added Sammie, one of the foster kids who Hailey had brought on as part-time help and who was totally kicking ass.
“Next!”
The tech bro thankfully hurried out of the way, making room for the next person in line. As she made her way to the front, I took a moment to appreciate the sights around me. It was lunchtime at Pike Place Fish Market, the place done up with Christmas lights, a bit of snow drifting down from the fluffy clouds above. I loved Christmas and was beyond happy that the season was well underway.
I’d gotten right into the groove when I’d come back to Seattle, feeling like I was finally back in my element. We plowed through the lunch rush, the line dwindling over the course of the next hour until we were out of cakes. By the time we were done, I was more than eager to take a little break with some hot coffee.
Lucky for me, a solid knocking on the back of the truck let me know that break time had officially begun.
“Is that Luc?” Sammie asked, her expression eager.
“It sure is,” I said, making my way over to the doors.
“He better have brought the right coffee this time,” Hailey said with a wink.
