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“Mama. Daddy.” Aliya took one of their hands in each of hers and prayed they’d understand. The farthest they’d ventured from Blue Ridge was that trip to Destin Beach when she’d been in high school. “I love Prince Curtis August and I’m going to fly back to him and see if he loves me too.”
Her daddy got that angry look in his eyes. “If that fool don’t love you, he’s dumber’n a bag of hammers.”
“Yeah,” her sister’s husband Tommy put in. “So dumb he’d drown standin’ up in the shower.”
“Any yahoo would love you, and you’re prettier than any of them fancy princesses,” her mama put in.
“Well, bless y’all,” she said, grateful for their support. “Are ya goin’ to be okay without me?”
“Oh, darlin’.” Her mama’s voice broke, and she tugged Aliya close and hugged her fiercely. She smelled of her lilac and rose water, just as she always had. Tears pricked at Aliya’s eyes as well. “Of course we’ll miss you like we lost our beatin’ heart from our chest, but you have to do what’s right for you, love.”
“Thank you, Mama.” Aliya hugged her back.
“And if this prince of yours don’t treat ya right,” her daddy threatened, “we’ll show him Southern hospitality the likes of which he ain’t never dreamed.”
Aliya pulled back and met her daddy’s gaze, then glanced around. The men and even the boys were nodding and punching a fist against a palm for good measure.
“Bless y’all,” she said quickly. “But Curt treats me like an angel.”
The low thrumming of helicopter blades cut through the muttering of what the men and boys would do to her ‘shiny outsider prince’ if he didn’t treat her like an angel and a princess.
Everyone paused and looked up at the sky. Sometimes helicopter tours en route to view the beautiful Appalachians flew by, but why would one come so close to the church?
The helicopter was black and a decent-sized one, too. Aliya and everybody else could only stare as it swept over the church steeple then landed at the far end of the grassy field where they were having their potluck dinner.
“What kind of fool thinks they can interrupt our dinner?” Aliya heard somebody mutter.
The doors to the helicopter slid open and Curt leaped out.
Aliya put a hand to her heart and leaned into her mama, sure she was hallucinating.
“Praise heaven above, the prince has come,” somebody yelled.
Two men followed Curt out of the helicopter. All three of them were dressed in fancy suits and looked swanky and handsome enough to be the President.
“Go on now, girlie.” Her mama pushed at her.
Aliya found her strength and dodged around people staring at the three approaching men. She ran in her heels toward them.
The helicopter blades slowed and stopped, and the wind and noise died down.
“Curt!” Aliya screamed out, getting around the last table full of people.
“Aliya.” His handsome face split into a huge grin. He ran to her, swept her off the ground, and crushed her to him. He took her mouth in the most brilliant, breathtaking kiss of the century.
She ignored the oohs and ahhs, some cheering, some grumbling, some threats.
“Curt,” a male voice came from much too close. “We may have an uprising on our hands.”
Curt pulled back slightly, setting her on her feet and framing her face with his hands. He didn’t take his gaze off her or pay any attention to the crowd edging toward them. “Aliya, this is my brother Derek, and you remember Chad.”
“Nice to meet you. Nice to see you,” she managed, completely out of breath. “You came …”
“It was bothering me,” he said in his beautiful accent. How she’d missed his voice, though not as much as she’d missed his lips. “Knowing that I hadn’t taken the top spot of the best kisses of your life.”
She wanted to tease, but even her limbs were weak with longing for him.
The crowd pressed in, and Curt said, “I brought you two along to charm the crowd so I can sweep my girl off her feet. Earn your keep, please.”
